Newbie seeking advice on building a rifle

[Dusty Stevens]

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 ?

If the threads have been opened up and were already on the large side, they have to make the pre-fits fit even the smallest threads out there so with tolerance stacking AND an opened up thread the fit will be horribly loose not to mention the added bolt nose clearance it could get dangerous

 

[drover]

munsonbw,

From the uses laid out in your post a Rem 700, Remage barrel and nut from the maker of your choice, a varmint style stock (unless you plan on shooting it off the bench only, then a Benchrest style stock), a Jewell trigger will serve you well.

If Buds still has the single shot 40X action for $375 that would be my first choice of actions. Chances are that you will not see any signifigant difference in accuracy between a custom action and the 40X given your stated usage, in benchrest competition a few thousandths is the difference between winning and placing back in the pack for your use the differences are insignificant.

Your choice of 223 is good also, especially since you are already set up for it. It may not shoot groups quite as small as a dedicated 6BR but i certainly have no issues shooting groups in the .2 and .3's with the 223 - it is very user friendly, easy to tune and a lot of components work very well in it.

 

[munsonbw]

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 ?

I had exactly the same question in mind, so I am very glad you asked it.

What I can't wrap my head around is if they open up the threads are they no longer the same thread pattern? So, the barrel then needs to be custom threaded to a slightly larger OD? Would have never thought about this and I am very glad I started the thread to gain more knowledge before money started leaving the wallet. I would have understood the truing reducing headspacing.

I think I need to give NSS a call. Southern Precision is just a couple hours from me as well. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Evan]

Don't get stuck on one action. Look up a bunch of the rem clones and start calling around. You'll likely be surprised at how quickly and affordably you can get a "custom" rem clone that is worth more down the road as well as better put together than the reworked actions.

Edit: if you aren't in a rush, call around. You may again be surprised at how affordable a custom barreled action is. You make the stock and mount the optics and save thousands on buying a "complete" custom.

 

[munsonbw]

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/49420/REM+700+RECEIVER+S/A+SINGLE

View attachment 1061607

Buds has the 700 single shot 40x action for $375

That looked like a good option, but .308 bolt face. I'll search around and see if anyone else has them.

 

[urbanrifleman]

40x from Buds, Criterion, and a Jewell, is barely even a thousand bucks. That is less than you can buy a custom action. I started on far worse equipment.

 

[urbanrifleman]

That looked like a good option, but .308 bolt face. I'll search around and see if anyone else has them.

NSS has them and they have trued ones too.

 

[rjtfroggy]

Don't miscount the Savage PTA no matter what the nay sayers say.
A trued PTA with ground lug and trued nut cost about $850 And a select match barrel is around $350, add a McMillan stock $550 and you have a real good bench gun for less than half the price of a full custom and you can put it together your self.
When finished it will hold it's own any where.
Remember it is not the sword but the sword manship.

Give me a few minutes so I can get my turnout gear on.

 

[joshb]

You’re working on the twin right now aren’t you

Not yet, but I’ve looked for a Bumble Bee aka Yellowjacket blank. The only place I found them was a big supplier that would only sell me 10. No singles. That’s what had me looking for veneer to make my own. Remember that conversation?

 

[JFrank]

I'm so close now on my Savage I might as well finish.
Improve

Don't miscount the Savage PTA no matter what the nay sayers say.
A trued PTA with ground lug and trued nut cost about $850 And a select match barrel is around $350, add a McMillan stock $550 and you have a real good bench gun for less than half the price of a full custom and you can put it together your self.
When finished it will hold it's own any where.
Remember it is not the sword but the sword manship.

Give me a few minutes so I can get my turnout gear on.

what is your approach to the bolt lift problems?
I'm curious
J

 

[Dusty Stevens]

For the money youre willing to spend id buy a used br gun. A worn ppc will outshoot everybody on your range and run like a sewing machine. Then your gunsmith can do you up a barrel with a phone call and you dont have to compromise on anything

 

[#40Fan]

They quit selling stocks a while back

There are a few Savage stocks left in the clearance section.

 

[JFrank]

There are a few Savage stocks left in the clearance section.

They used to carry F class -no more

 

[hoz53]

Not yet, but I’ve looked for a Bumble Bee aka Yellowjacket blank. The only place I found them was a big supplier that would only sell me 10. No singles. That’s what had me looking for veneer to make my own. Remember that conversation?

Yep I do—but I didn’t know you were a yellow fan— I found a supplier of laminated wood for industry but I figured you already knew about them. I don’t remember the name like usual

 

[dolek]

If the threads have been opened up and were already on the large side, they have to make the pre-fits fit even the smallest threads out there so with tolerance stacking AND an opened up thread the fit will be horribly loose not to mention the added bolt nose clearance it could get dangerous

Thanks Dusty,makes perfect sense to me now.Looks like a smith will be fitting my next barrel on this one.

 

[hoz53]

Not yet, but I’ve looked for a Bumble Bee aka Yellowjacket blank. The only place I found them was a big supplier that would only sell me 10. No singles. That’s what had me looking for veneer to make my own. Remember that conversation?

I take it you checked Richards micro fit and Boyd’s?

 

[rjtfroggy]

I don't have any.
Polish the cocking ramp and use the 38 cal. with a ball bearing under the BAS.
There are a few people who make and sell bolt lift kits even a couple of smiths on this site.

 

[jds holler]

I have built exactly one rifle in my life, and it is very similar to what you desire -- budget oriented, light caliber, and really sweet shooting at the ranges you mention.

Action was a 700 ADL, seventies vintage. (222 Rem) A local smith turned the old barrel out, and I had to force twenty bucks on him for the service.

I ordered a barrel chambered in 20-222 from PacNor, Remage type, and IT IS BEAUTIFUL. Price came in at $550, which didn't seem cheap at the time. I know different now. The precision fit of those threads into my unaltered action was a beautiful thing.

I had lucked out and found 222 Go/No-go gauges on eBay for twenty sumpthin. -- definitely in the budget zone.

I ordered a stock from Numrich without much expectations because it was dirt cheap. (like 53 bucks shipped) It was an old 40X rimfire stock. Not a full-on bench rest stock, but as close as I cared to go. The thing was freakin great. It fit my action perfectly, and took minimal work to open up the barrel channel to fit the barreled action. I was able to get the proper bottom metal for it, for under forty bucks, which made the project easier, add a new Pachmeyer butt pad, for $15, and I had my stock for a little north of a hunnert bucks.

I'll cut to the chase, and say that this thing shoots great, easily sub .5 MOA, and I have many groups in the .2's and .3's. Haven't done anything with the trigger yet. This one breaks at 3 lbs. and isn't bad but that will probably be a future expense.

Everything came together perfectly with this rifle, and even after the addition of a Vortex Viper, I'm in at less than a grand. jd

 

[Bc'z]

Bumblebee.

Yellow jacket!!!

 

[22BRGUY]

There's one other cartridge in that category that would be good to consider but I can't remember what it was ?#%@&(