Remington- Buy complete rifle or action then build?

[HillBilly98]

Food for thought....but before I start I will say that I do not own a custom action. Hopefully I will soon. I don’t competitively shoot but I do take accuracy serious.

If you look at the cost of a stock Remington compared to the custom actions out there you are only talking about maybe 500 bucks more if you are going to build a rifle. If you choose to have the Remington trued up that closes the gap more.

Let’s forget about the fact that the customs will give an edge in accuracy. Think about all of the money spent on a build and shooting it over a few years time. The loading dies, time and money spent working up loads, trips to the gun range. If you are wanting to compete then the money traveling to the matches. Upgrading other gear like bags and rest. If you look at all of the money spent a few hundred bucks over time is not much.

Anyway that’s how I’m beginning to look at it lol

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Theres 4 good reasons to use a custom. If these dont fit your style then a remington will do you just fine and a custom is only a luxury.
1: speed. If youre in a timed competition where your getting rounds off as quick as possible during a condition is the difference between winning and losing. Examples of this are benchrest. F-class is also timed but with target pulling you have enough time to load any action. One reason for a custom action in f class or any prone game is to have a left port to keep your position while loading.
2: showing off/resale value. If you like to have nice things such as buying a platinum f250 diesel when you dont even own a trailer or getting a denali with navigation but live in the same town of 10,000 you have for 42yrs and never travel.
3: options. Its nice to have trigger hangers, built in recoil lugs, nice smooth bolt, custom bolt stops, exotic metal, exact machining, etc. sure you can make a remington have all these but youre going to pay.
4. Ability to withstand pressure. Custom actions made their way into benchrest mainly because a remington cant shoot a full house ppc and make it. The coned bolt also pushed it over the top. You cant load a flat faced bolt action near as smooth as you can a coned bolt. Beeson fixed this part way back selling coned bolts but that still didnt fix the overpressure situation.

Remember all custom actions are a distant pretty cousin of a remington. You can make a remington do anything a bat will do- if you know how or have the cash. Do you need a custom action for informal quarter matches down at the club? No, and you dont have to have power windows in the truck that gets you there

 

[skeet_man]

Thoughts on a Tikka T3X Tac A-1 instead?

It has really caught my eye and I have a line on a new lefty for $1650 which is a couple hundred under what everyone else is selling them for, plus they still have the free extra (which would be 3rd) magazine rebate going on.

It'd be a bit of a stretch (not so much financially as it is justifiably, my Scottish heritage makes me hate spending $) since I was planning on piecemealing the 700 build together over time as spare cash came in (easier for me to mentally justify many small bites than one huge one), but I could swing it (perhaps selling off a few unneeded guns in the safe would help ease my conscience) and TBH I'd probably have about as much into a piecemealed 700 built as just buying the Tikka. I would imagine the Tikka would hold it's value exponentially better as well.

Yet again I'm stuck in decision paralysis LOL

 

[Sniper338]

I got it every way you can do it. Money best spent is a custom action build to how you want.

 

[dolek]

I think it all boils down to the shooter...some folks will never be able to shoot very well no matter what, so they keep their hopes up by spending more and more money hoping to buy their way to accuracy ...and then their are the folks that can shoot just about anything ,they can make their decision simply by knowing if the gun is limiting them or if they are holding the gun back from it's full potential.

 

[Delfuego]

Thoughts on a Tikka T3X Tac A-1 instead?

Tikka makes a very nice action. Many people that in the past would build a out Remington 700, now will build out a rifle using a Tikka action instead. They are smooth and well made. I do not like the Tikka "tactical" stock, it looks cheap and hokey to me. One major drawback is that you need to use Tikka/Sako magazines. These are plastic and very expensive. If you drop a Tikka into another stock/chassis, you can utilize AICS type magazines. There are more and more stock options and upgrades for Tikka out there. If it was me; I would build from the action up and add it to a different stock/chassis and add a premium barrel.

 

[skeet_man]

If it was me; I would build from the action up and add it to a different stock/chassis and add a premium barrel.

Thought about that too, only problem is I'd be spending basically $800 for the action since the OEM stock won't be worth much and from what I've read the original barrel will be damaged when removing so probably no value there either. I wish Tikka imported the CTR in LH, that would be a perfect "split the difference" starting point (they make them, and they are available in Canada, but not US, go figure) and would give me a good starting point on a barreled action and a mag to sell and recoup some $ on.

 

[skeet_man]

Leaning more and more to just biting the bullet on the Tikka.

Ran some numbers, and if I went w/ a Bighorn action (which is the cheapest custom lefty action I'm aware of), by the time I buy everything else (all the additional components and some tools to assemble) the Tikka would be 600-700 cheaper for an identically equipped gun, which would give me plenty of room for a rebarrel in the INCREDIBLY unlikely scenario that I shoot out the first one (or more logically, cover most/all of the glass for it).

If I can offload the Magpul 700 Pro chassis I jumped the gun a little bit on earlier this week when I first got to thinking about this project (just listed in classified BTW if anyone is interested LOL) I'll probably just swing for the Tikka.

 

[Delfuego]

if I went w/ a Bighorn action

I shoot nothing but Bighorn for years and love them! They keep getting better the more I shoot them.

If I can offload the Magpul 700 Pro chassis

Didn't know you already had a chassis. I say keep the chassis, and suck it up and get the Bighorn. You are 1/2 way there brother! I think you will be happier in the long run.

Remember, we are here to spend your money, not find you a bargain Either way, good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[JBT47]

Definitely buy a custom action (there are many good ones) and have a good gunsmith build you a rifle. Buying cheap is always more expensive in the long run.

 

[Clancy]

Leaning more and more to just biting the bullet on the Tikka.

Ran some numbers, and if I went w/ a Bighorn action (which is the cheapest custom lefty action I'm aware of), by the time I buy everything else (all the additional components and some tools to assemble) the Tikka would be 600-700 cheaper for an identically equipped gun, which would give me plenty of room for a rebarrel in the INCREDIBLY unlikely scenario that I shoot out the first one (or more logically, cover most/all of the glass for it).

If I can offload the Magpul 700 Pro chassis I jumped the gun a little bit on earlier this week when I first got to thinking about this project (just listed in classified BTW if anyone is interested LOL) I'll probably just swing for the Tikka.

I’m a little confused. I believe we are talking about a PRS rifle here, but then you said that it would be incredibly unlikely that you’d shoot out the barrel.

If you’re going to shoot PRS, or practice in a similar fashion, you should plan on rebarreling VERY often. Like, order 3 barrels at a time often, to ensure that you don’t sit around waiting on one.

In most of the cartridges listed, you’re looking at an average of 1750 rounds tops.

 

[Evan]

The Tikka is a great way to go, particularly if you don't know if you will even shoot PRS and just want something fun that looks cool. The Tikka will sell down the road just fine. A lot of Tikka nuts out there.

 

[Dgd6mm]

NSS sells trued Rem 700 actions for a decent price. http://northlandshooterssupply.com/actions/remington/

Do this^^^^.

 

[DirtySteve]

Check out Cheaper Than Dirt for actions only. I would go with an action only Remington. I know that customs are great but I don't sell any guns as I always end up with seller remorse. So I build for me and not based on resale value. That being said if I did pony up the money for a custom I would probably end up hating all my other rifles. Except the 6.5 Creedmoor of course.

I just checked out Northlands.. I would go that route..(edited)

 

[ballistic64]

Yet again I'm stuck in decision paralysis LOL

LOL, I get the same thing every time I want to build a new rifle. This number, 570-965-2505, has always cured it for me.

 

[PAshooter20BR]

Buy used here! The market for rifles is so soft now, you can get a humdinger for a great price. I have seen $3-$4k rifles that struggle to sell for $2k. You could not build rifles like these for >$3k. Don't waste your money and time on a Remington. Get a good custom action rifle used and you will have it a long time

This is true - everyone says go custom but you don’t get your money back either. You loose the same percentage on a Remington build as a custom build. If used guns aren’t steals they don’t sell. At least not fast. Build on an action that has the features you want and the price point you want to spend.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

LOL, I get the same thing every time I want to build a new rifle. This number, 570-965-2505, has always cured it for me.

I don’t know whose number that is and I’m not about to try. Whoever it is, I’m sure my piggy bank must be too small!

 

[ballistic64]

I don’t know whose number that is and I’m not about to try. Whoever it is, I’m sure my piggy bank must be too small!

It doesn't matter, That's why I added that it is the cure for me. After receiving my first custom action, I gave up putting money towards factory rifles and parts.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

It doesn't matter, That's why I added that it is the cure for me. After receiving my first custom action, I gave up putting money towards factory rifles and parts.

Yes , just joking. I’ve done a couple of customs now,and the accuracy spoils you to where you can’t go back.

 

[Forum Boss]

For a match rifle, I would definitely look at one of the many fine customs available -- Barnard, BAT, Pierce, Kelbly, Borden, Shilen among others (no harm intended if I didn't name your favorite). For a Varmint rifle, I would seriously consider getting a Howa barreled action (with nice 2-stage trigger), then putting a Criterion pre-fit on it when the barrel was shot out. For Varmint shooting I'd probably do a 22 BRA for P-dogs (6mmBR necked to .22 with 40deg shoulder), and a 20-221 Fireball for ground squirrels (that's sort of a Vartarg, but without the proprietary chamber). I really like the ballistics of the 22 BRA (sort of an easier version of the 22 Dasher). The Howa actions are smooth and the HACT triggers are very good for a varmint rig.

Howa How-To: Basics of Howa Rifles and Barrel-Swapping Tips
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com...sics-of-howa-rifles-and-barrel-swapping-tips/