Custom remington 700 in 30-06. Not the easiest thing to do!

[wesleysgreen]

this is my first post and i hope it will get some interest! I am trying to build a bolt action 30-06 that will be .25 MOA or better and for around $800.oo without optic. The weapon will be tactical marksman in nature.

So far i have decieded on;

a model 700 long action in 30-06 (have one but would like to keep with the current gun it's on) need to find a used one not in stainless steel.

a Krieger 22" barrel # 7-8, 1/12 rifling, possibly custom exterior slotting for heat disapation and threading for suppresion

HARRIS BIPOD 9-13'' (LEG NOTCH)

It seems hard to find a quality synthetic stock to fit my budget. A Manners MCS-TA could work but I would like to spend less (I know i am asking to much!).

the optic will be a 4x10 50mm or so, and light enhancing

thanks for your input! I thought of buying a remington 700 sps tactical and upgrading but that is a waste of a good gun, so i would rather build from scratch and see what i can do.

 

[watercam]

Look at the Bell & Carlson Tactical/Target stock - I have seen it for as little as $350 or so. Not sure if they have a long action or not. They do have Medalist stocks with bedding blocks for long actions (I have one and love it). Also there is a Sponsor on this sight who has laminated target stocks with aluminum bedding blocks installed.
Frankly, with your budget in mind you might consider a used rifle with some life left in the barrel. '06 should be good for 2500 rounds or so if taken care of properly. The trouble will be finding an '06 as most will be .308s. Consider a Savage repeater action for around $500 or try to find a used Remmy but by the time you have it trued you will be close to the cost of a custom action. A Barnard repeater with trigger will run you around $1200 plus $500-600 for a good barrel. MT Guns (www.mtguns.com) are great (I have three rifles barreled by them and all shoot great).
Good luck, have fun,
Mike T.

 

[CJ6]

Are you doing any of the work yourself ? Buying action $300-400, True action,Chamber,Install, buy barrel $ 600 plus. Stocks the Rem injection molded (long action) I don't believe come in anything heavier than Sporter contour and they are NOT that good. Aftermarket wood (Boyds etc.) may be cheaper than a used H&S/Rem Sendero (typically $200-250) B&C stocks are a bit less.

 

[butchlambert]

You won't get there with what you are doing. That is very good BR group sizes and you ain't seen any at a BR match. If those group sizes are your requirement, you need to start over in a different caliber. I took a model 600 Remington and did the full BR work on the receiver with help from Mike Bryant. I had $850 in the receiver and it became a nice hunting rifle for my Grandson. Add a good barrel, chamber job, a good stock and bedding, and scope bases and rings, and lastly a trigger. You will have at least $2100 into it.
Butch

 

[wesleysgreen]

I am seeing that reality more and more! I do enjoy the 30-06 and this build is a two part thing; this rifle and a semi-auto 30-06 with external magazine that will be 1-2 MOA.

For now the project is my 30-06 tribute. I know I could do this in a day with .308, but the point here is to make some really nice weapons in 30-06 on a budget. The budget is growing! I think I can do it for $1200 and be happy.

the barrel for this bolt action will be around $300 and $190 for mating. $360 for the reciver, trigger and lug (all remington for now, latter I will upgrade the trigger). So that is $850 and I still need a stock that is about a Manners MCS-TA and the Bipods (I have the bipods -$65).

I am going to keep pushing with the 30-06 for now and I hope it works out. Thanks, wes

 

[CJ6]

Maybe German Salazar will chime in. He has this thing with 06's. LOTS of info/ knowledge.

 

[jonbearman]

german salazar is the man. I would pm him now and get his imfo.Why does it have to be a kreiger?A shilen short chambered barrel will do it pretty well and a bit less money.I have 2 of there barrels and they shoot quite well.I hate to say this but there are people that have had good luck with er shaw.I am sure the guru's will slam me for it ,but some of us dont have lots of money to spend in this economy.

 

[wesleysgreen]

Update, I will be working with a great, but little known, gunsmith on this project in the next few weeks. I will let everyone know what I end up building, spending and shooting with this project. I will also be doing a custom AR in .223, I will let everyone know about that in Jan, 2011, when I get back from leave. thanks for the interest! Wes

 

[whiskey08]

Im working on same project, ive got the rem 700 la, shilen - remington varmit contour barrel that i will cut to 25", working on either a mcmillian or manners stock. I find it hard to believe that yours or my recipie wont shoot .25 moa. Well now at least i have something to strive for. Im wondering if my .308, since it isnt a br gun or cartridge isnt supposed to shoot the .15 groups off of my bipod either. Or the factory rems and savages ive had that shot .25 moa.

 

[GermanS1]

Wesley, I have to agree with Butch that the level of accuracy you want is likely unattainable. I assume, like Butch does, that when you say a 0.25 moa rifle, you mean one that you can lay down on the bench and shoot five consecutive five-shot groups that will average 0.25 moa or less - most likely at 100 yards.

However, and this is the big one, why would that matter anyway? This clearly isn't intended to be a competitive Benchrest rifle, it's something else altogether and it's performance should be measured by the demands of its intended use. I don't ask my pickup truck to deliver 50 mpg like a Prius and I wouldn't put a load of cement bags into a Prius. Similarly, I would find it a waste of time to shoot a .30-06 from a bench with light Benchrest type bullets - I want to shoot it from 300 to 1000 yards with heavier boat tail bullets and get good results on NRA targets for the appropriate distance.

My best suggestion for your rifle is to get a much longer barrel than you have contemplated. At a minimum 26" and 28" would be better yet. The .30-06 generates a lot of gas and the gas pressure at the muzzle can have a detrimental effect on accuracy. At 22" there will be much higher pressure than at 28" and it can definitely disturb the bullet at the most critical point in its flight. Further, the longer barrel will give you the MV that the .30-06 is capable of generating - why waste all that lovely gas pressure?

I'll assume you intend to use the rifle at longer distances than the typical Benchrest 100/200 yards. For 300 yards, the 155 or 175 gr. bullets can be very good; for 500 to 600 yards, the 175 and 190 grain bullets are my favorites and for 1000 yards, I shoot the 190 or 200 grain bullets. This is simply a matter of optimizing the load to the intended distance as the lighter bullets can show a bit more pure accuracy, but the heavier ones have more wind drift resistance. If I had to use one bullet for all distances (and I have) it would be the 190 Sierra or 190 Berger VLD.

The greatest virtue of the .30-06 is its flexibility, the ability to use a very wide range of powders and bullet weights accurately. Make sure that your rifle design gives you the ability to take advantage of that flexibility.

This article has a bit more info. Enjoy the rifle!

http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/2009/11/cartridges-logical-30-06.html