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Newbie seeking advice on building a rifle

First let me say thanks to the forum and its members. There is a great wealth of information and I have yet to read a thread that digressed into childish name calling. That is refreshing.

I am thinking of building a somewhat budget oriented build. Somewhere between re-barreling a Savage and hiring a smith to build a full on custom. I like to DIY things and part of the goal is to have something that I made. My initial plan was to take a PTG blueprinted 700 SA or the B52 and add a remage barrel to it. Jewell trigger and something like a Richard's microfit stock in midgrade walnut. The intended use is mainly paper punching at ranges of ~100 to 350yds. and maybe a pdog hunt one of these days. I am set up to reload in .223, but also considered a .204 Ruger. The 6mm stuff just seems excessive and I like the idea of being able to buy factory ammo if needed.

I read in a thread here that spending a premium on a re-worked or even custom action then putting a remage system on it was spending the money backwards. Why so? The Bighorn Origin is not too much more than the PTG and has the bragging rights (maybe resale) of a custom, but with the above statement it seems that I am going about it backwards with even more money. A Savage target action seems like a good base as well, but if the remage system is not the best approach, why is the savage barrel nut system any different?

Thanks
Ben
 
I have read mixed reviews whether the PTG threads have been cleaned up to the extent that a standard threaded barrel will not fit properly, and that should be investigated to obtain an accurate answer. Regarding the remage barrel it seems strange that we trust a shop to make a long, true barrel but then question their ability to chamber said barrel. All I can from personal experience is that a group of guys in my area shoot Criterion prefits, and typically win or place high in Fclass matches and set NRA records. I do not doubt that a few gunsmiths have a few tricks up their sleeve regarding barrel timing, etc which leads to improved accuracy but I doubt many can load and shoot well enough to tell the difference. At your stage as a DIY shooter I would not hesitate to jump on a quality prefit such as CBI on a decent action, and the 223 is a great paper puncher for your stated yardages.
 
First let me say thanks to the forum and its members. There is a great wealth of information and I have yet to read a thread that digressed into childish name calling. That is refreshing.

I am thinking of building a somewhat budget oriented build. Somewhere between re-barreling a Savage and hiring a smith to build a full on custom. I like to DIY things and part of the goal is to have something that I made. My initial plan was to take a PTG blueprinted 700 SA or the B52 and add a remage barrel to it. Jewell trigger and something like a Richard's microfit stock in midgrade walnut. The intended use is mainly paper punching at ranges of ~100 to 350yds. and maybe a pdog hunt one of these days. I am set up to reload in .223, but also considered a .204 Ruger. The 6mm stuff just seems excessive and I like the idea of being able to buy factory ammo if needed.

I read in a thread here that spending a premium on a re-worked or even custom action then putting a remage system on it was spending the money backwards. Why so? The Bighorn Origin is not too much more than the PTG and has the bragging rights (maybe resale) of a custom, but with the above statement it seems that I am going about it backwards with even more money. A Savage target action seems like a good base as well, but if the remage system is not the best approach, why is the savage barrel nut system any different?

Thanksgiving
Ben
Savage TA is a dead end road IMO
R700 in a Bobby Hart IBS stock and a shouldered barrel is a much better road
Criterion Remage is also a good road
 
https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/49420/REM+700+RECEIVER+S/A+SINGLE

719018547.jpg

Buds has the 700 single shot 40x action for $375. Get that. A Jewell trigger, and Criterion barrel, or better yet get a nut barrel from Bugholes.com from a BARTLEIN blank. That is Southern Precision and he is joy to work with. He has the Savage heavy Varmint contour read yto chamber with a nut. You can use his not or the standard Savage style nut (I would use the standard nut myself).

The Bobby Hart laminated stocks are made by Keystone and are amazing. Get the aluminum bedding block. No bedding is necessary. You could have assembled in a few hours.
 
Thanks for the information, guys. Gives me some things to read up on more, but good to hear that good results are possible with remage style barrels.

If one could get a Stiller TAC30 for reasonable money, would that be a good basis? Better than a trued 700? I hear complaints about loose bolt fit (as I understand made this way intentionally) and since I am not using it for hunting does that make it any less accurate on the bench?
 
Thanks for the information, guys. Gives me some things to read up on more, but good to hear that good results are possible with remage style barrels.

If one could get a Stiller TAC30 for reasonable money, would that be a good basis? Better than a trued 700? I hear complaints about loose bolt fit (as I understand made this way intentionally) and since I am not using it for hunting does that make it any less accurate on the bench?
Unless you're a benchrest shooter you won't notice much difference except $$
 
Unless you're a benchrest shooter you won't notice much difference except $$

I do plan to do bench shooting, but not benchrest competition. I assume you refer to the latter in your comment? I wouldn't have minded spending a little more on an action than just a stock Rem 700, but if I read it correctly that money just isn't going to have a big impact on accuracy when I am using remage barrels and varmint style stock options. I was just thinking of a used TAC30 for $600 that might be worth the extra few hundred.

Savage is out for me. For what I have in my mind a 700 platform is a better option, not that a Savage couldn't shoot equally well.

Urbanrifleman, that is a very nice looking rifle! Your build seems like it is what I need to do. Thanks.
 
He could hook the OP up with the whole 9 yards. Action, barrel, trigger, stock, nut, tools...all without the fear of a sore backside from getting ripped off.
They quit selling stocks a while back
 
Dont get a trued remington if you want to use a pre-fit.
Dusty,what is the reasoning behind that ? I have a trued 700 that I had thoughts of putting a pre-fit on in the near future. The bolt has been sleeved also . OP,sorry to hijack the thread but maybe Dusty can save us from both making a mistake ?
 

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