Tac 20 Walking Ultralite

[dimecovers3]

I "need" a new varmit rifle and I think a Tac 20 would suit just fine. I want the rifle for yotes and some groundhogs. Shots will be 20 yards to 400 yards. I would like to build the rifle as an ultralite calling rig and use a variable 4 x 14 or 3 x 10 approx. scope. I would really like it to have everything as light as possible except put a little weight where it would do some good in the barrel,maybe a #3) How would one go about doing this off of a Rem. 700 action,Titanium?) I'm not sure how to go about all this and in what order. I would like to do it as cheap as possible and add parts, trigger, barrel, stock, action trued) over time. I just want to get it chambered for now, and the trigger cleaned up to 2.5 pounds and see how it shoots with factory parts. Any guidance would be a big help.

 

[Caduceus]

The terms "cheap" and "titanium" are usually mutually exclusive.

However, a Remington 700 action sounds like the best place to start. Does Remington still make the Titanium 700?

 

[kory]

Yup, they still make the titanium. Saw one yesterday. It looks awesome and is very light.

Kory

 

[dimecovers3]

The smallest the Titanium comes in is a .260 & 7mm/08---would this work with a a Tac 20 once the barrel was changed?

 

[kory]

Steve,

The Tactical-20 is based on a 223 Remington case, which has a .378 head/bolt face. The 260 & 7mm-08 have the larger .473 head. So you would definitely need to get a new bolt. I don't know if Remington makes the smaller bolt for the Titanium action. The non-titanium bolt may work, but it will look a bit odd. I don't even think the bolt or the handle is titanium, but it is finished to match the color and texture of the action itself.

You may want to contact David Kiff at Pacific Tools and Guage. He makes from replacement bolts for the Remington 700, so maybe he can finish something to match the Titanium.

One other minor issue is that the Rem 700 titanium action, being designed for the .308 family of cases, will have magazine and follower that may not work perfectly with the smaller diameter Tac-20 Case. If you are building a repeater, there may be some feeding issues, but I doubt it.

If you can live with a single shot, I would seriously consider getting a Cooper Model 21 Classic in Tac-20. It is light, accurate, and wonderful fit and finish. It will probably end up costing you less than building a custom gun around the Remington. I know, I took that path just recently.

Good luck,
Kory
20 Cal Editor

 

[kory]

Steve,

FYI, the 7mm-08 fits a short action. So if you saw the Titanium 700 chambered for a 7mm-08, it must have been a short action. The one I saw the other day was a long action and I was erroniousely told that they were only making long actions.

Sorry about that.

Kory