Building a hunting rifle
- Thread starter DGP4
- Start date
They will all work. Start by defining what YOU want. Material, stainless, carbon, titanium? Fixed mag or removable? Integral scope rail, screw on, individual bases? Stock, style, material?
dryhumor
When an old man dies, a library is lost forever...
I have a 7mm08, Brux barrel and just a standard Remington short action. Does what I want to do. SAAMI reamer, 9 twist. Sits in an HS LTR stock I’ve had for years. I’ve worked through projectile weights through 150, my to do list is moving up a bit in weight.
The only true benefit will be resale value.....
Every Remington I have ever owned has been more than accurate enough for hunting.
Coyotefurharvester
Silver $$ Contributor
I like integral rails on hunting rifles, hinged bottom metal(I always worry about losing detachable mags). Thread the muzzle, for brakes, sound moderation, tuners. Have a weight limit, that may make some decisions easier/more expensive.
jackieschmidt
Gold $$ Contributor
The CAD/CNC revolution has resulted in countless custom action manufacturers.
From a machinist point of view, in the vast majority of these, there is not enough difference to make a difference.
Just about all are using 416 Stainless bar stock, commercially heat treated to a desired RC hardness. Most are using some type of Chrome zmoly Steel for the bolts.
I personally think that the there best attributes of a good hunting action are feeding, extraction, and ejection. These even take president over ultimate accuracy, as long as the accuracy potential is within the realm of the rifles intended use.
Also, I have seen numerous manufacturers come and go. While not many parts actually break on most actions, (under normal use), there is always the possibility you might have to get a replacement part or have it worked on. Companies that go out of business usually are just that, out of business.
You also need to decide if you favor a push feed or controlled feed action. Many offer the same features in one, it will control feed very efficiently and snap over a case rim for push feed.
From a machinist point of view, in the vast majority of these, there is not enough difference to make a difference.
Just about all are using 416 Stainless bar stock, commercially heat treated to a desired RC hardness. Most are using some type of Chrome zmoly Steel for the bolts.
I personally think that the there best attributes of a good hunting action are feeding, extraction, and ejection. These even take president over ultimate accuracy, as long as the accuracy potential is within the realm of the rifles intended use.
Also, I have seen numerous manufacturers come and go. While not many parts actually break on most actions, (under normal use), there is always the possibility you might have to get a replacement part or have it worked on. Companies that go out of business usually are just that, out of business.
You also need to decide if you favor a push feed or controlled feed action. Many offer the same features in one, it will control feed very efficiently and snap over a case rim for push feed.
My choice would be the Stiller Predator action.
Thank you. Can you explain why that is your choice?
To me it's just a fantastic action for that purpose. Well built, and great price for what you get. Perfect action for a hunting rig.
I like Kelblys actions with the mechanical ejector. Ejection force depends on how slow you pull the bolt, nice if you’re in a blind and trying to unload quietly. This style bolt is really easy to work with too. To find touch with the Wheeler method you only need to pull the firing pin out and that operation is identical to a Rem 700. And you don’t have to worry about a broken ejector spring or losing the ejector because it went airborne during removal. I’m sure there are other actions with these exact attributes but my experience is with Kelblys. Great customer service and they have been around a long time so less worry about them disappearing per @jackieschmidt ’s comment. Also like most customs it takes a while to get one special ordered, but some parts houses have such as Bruno’s carry some of the more common types in stock.
100% agree on Tikkas! I love them, but I have a lot of bits and pieces for a 700 action so I decided to go that way for this build.
Super helpful! Thanks so much for that well thought out commentary!
it would depend on your if you want good hunting gun. buy a tikka almost all will shoot under moa. and moa @ 500 yds is 5.5 inches which as good as you should need . in a hunting rifle . But if you can afford more.
then put together a Remington clone you won't be sorry in 5 years . caliber isn't that important there's so
many good ones. pick one and stay with it . I think 6.5 ' s 7mm and 30 cal. are best . 50 + years of hunting
taught me its not the gun. its the hunter ! rick
then put together a Remington clone you won't be sorry in 5 years . caliber isn't that important there's so
many good ones. pick one and stay with it . I think 6.5 ' s 7mm and 30 cal. are best . 50 + years of hunting
taught me its not the gun. its the hunter ! rick
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