Ready to buy 6mmBR...now what?

[thefish]

Am ready to buy a 6mmBR, want to use mostly for Varminting. Don't know where to start re production Model 12 Savage LRPV/Benchrest or have a custom built for me. Will have to keep cost at $3000, not including optics.

1) If I do my part on the reloading and trigger end of it, what is REALISTIC difference to expect in production Savage vs. Custom?

2) How to find a reliable person to build one for me if I go that route?

Thanks,
RIF

 

[MarkS]

Rif,

A Savage is a good way to go for a Hunting gun. I have a LRPV in 6BR 8tw, nice gun and shoots well. A custom barrel will shoot better than most factory. I varmint from a bench or hood of a jeep, with a rest. A benchrest stock works great from a rest. The 3" forearm makes a big difference in long range shooting for me.
Also a used custom gun is good way to save some money, if the gun has most thing you like. you get a good action, trigger, and stock. It may need to add a 6BR barrel. A 6PPC gun can have the boltace opened to 6br and the barrel can be punched to 6BR. I like a gunsmith that I can drive to. Ask around aboutthe gunsmiths in your area.

Mark Schronce

 

[tome]

When you say " varminting " how do you expect to hunt..savage Lrpv's are 13-14 lb rifles...these aren't walking around rifles..very accurate..but heavy..ment to be shot from a bench or shooting table..i sure dodn't want to carry one all day..i've won club " varmint gun " shoots with these (22-250 & 6mmbr LRPV's )..but they are not going to compete with full out bench rifles..i like them so well i bought 2.

 

[RonAKA]

A third option is to buy a Savage Target action, get a drop in barrel from PacNor or others, and McMillan or the like stock. You can fit the barrel yourself with the Savage action.

 

[sbrabec]

If you have $3000 to spend, I would go with a custom. You'll be further ahead when you see how a 6br will shoot (they shoot awesome, but if your like me, its never good enough)and you won't have to spend any more to have a factory action accurized or a stock upgrade (although I hear the savage stock is decent). Just my 2 pennies..........
Scott

 

[thefish]

For Tome: Yes, this would be from a shooting table or such. No carrying of this gun except from car to shooting area in dogtown.

 

[thefish]

This is my dilemma. There is nobody around here (Eastern Iowa) that I know of. I'd have to go with someone else and ship to them. I don't even know how or where to start. Who can anyone recommend for me that has done a lot of these and is honest and turns out a good product?

What do you guys think the actual, real world difference between a factory Savage and a custom job would be. I mean, not a bunch of bragging and b.s., but if the shooter/reloader is doing his job and being honest about consistently shooting good groups of say between 5 and 8 shots? What, like the factory Savage might be 0.5" MOA and the custom might be 0.35" MOA. So far, the only 6mm I've ever shot has been .243 Winchester. Am I headed towards unrealistic expectations?

Thanks for your posts and taking the time to respond,
RIF

 

[Kenny474]

I think you need to start off with a list of what you plan to do with the rifle, what you expect out of it accuracy wise, and if you want to upgrade it or have it built exactly as you want from jump street. That will help give you a better idea of what is going to be an acceptable end product.

http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek036.html
That is a link to the 6BR the moderator built from a Savage action so you can have an idea as to what can be done with a basic action. He claims to have around $1000 into the rifle, and while it won't out shoot a full on custom, it's accuracy is stellar for the investment.
From what I have seen, a factory Savage in 6BR should shoot .5MOA or better at 100yds. As the article above shows that can be improved upon with a new stock and barrel.
If you want superior accuracy, than a full custom is going to be the answer, as many are capable of .25MOA or less very consistently.

I suggest either starting with a Savage Target action or a Steven's donor rifle if you don't want to go full custom. The Steven's is identical to the pre accutrigger savage, so it's not a bad start but does need a better trigger, though that is easily replaced. Savage has many benefits, though there is nothing like your own full blown custom rig. If done by a good smith the work is simply amazing.

This site also has a list of top smith's that do this stuff everyday. The wait will probably suck a bit, but the end result will be worth it.

I do believe Gordy Gritters is in Pella,Iowa, and you will be hard pressed to find anyone better.
http://www.gordysgunsmithshop.com/

 

[MarkS]

thefish,

I have seen many factory F-class Savages shoot 2" groups at 600 yd benchrest. My LRPV will shoot 0.5 MOA out to 500 yds. I not used to shooting a factory round bottom, stocked guns. I could do better with a flat stock. A custom barrel will step that up. For what you are going to do, I would go with the Savage factory Benchrest or the LRPV. I do like the HS stock on the LRPV.

Mark Schronce

 

[Frankr]

hey guys i use a full blown bench rifle for my varmit hunting, 3" flat bottom mcmillian br stock. i just screwed a swivel stud in the bottom of the front forarm have a harris flat bottom plate that goes over the stud and install the harris bipod. and away i go. carry over my shoulder holding the barrel end of it,works well . get around well with it that way and when head back to the bench remove bipod unscrew stud and back in benchrest mode. my opinion there are alot of low cost custom actions out there.for a first i would go with one of the lower cost custom actions,match grade barrel and a stock that you like.

 

[DOGCAPPER]

Buy used custom from this site..
I bought rifle last year with 1 6BR barrel and 2 6PPC. Later got a 6X284 and third 6PPC (new and chambered)for less money than you are talking about spending...The original PPC just shot me a .093 at 100 last Thur in a club match...Some very good deals to be had with cash...

 

[6BRinNZ]

I went down a Howa in 6BR - shooting 75 v-maxes, thing is it is so good at 300 - 400 yrds I started to reach out to 400+ but the 75s were a struggle in the wind, so I ended up going a custom rig so I can shoot the heavier 105s...all varminting....

so if you do go down the factory route try not to limit yourself with the twist rate.

Also I feel the full custom rig has helped me to be more consistent....

 

[tome]

savage LRPV 6mmbr from the bench @ 100m .2 - .3 5 shot groups w 80 gr bergers...i just bought a custom benchrest by sharp shooters supply in 6mm br that the former owner claims to have shot bach to back .127 groups..don't know if there 3 or 5 shot groups. this is an example of a custom over a vg shooting factory rifle. in varmint shooting..you would'nt know the diff....neither would whatever you shot at.

 

[liseo]

Hello

A friend of mine bought one Savage in 6 BR with hight expectations, as seems everybody love this rifle.
With NF scope, glass bed and factory Lapua amunition and handloads with 107 SMK, this rifle do 1 MOA at 100 yards.
At first, we think that the rifle must shot some more rounds with the expectations that they will do best after 200 rounds.
But this dont improve the groups, and the barrel take a lot of copper. Now, the rifle will be sent to one gunsmith to change the barrel. Maybe one lemon, but for this price, i believe that a custon varmint action( Predator, etc) with a good barrel and stock is a money better spent.
And yes, we are using windflags and the shooter is capable of .25 to .30 moa groups with custon PPC and 30 BR.
For me, no more factory rifles.
Just my opinion

 

[Josh11]

mine shot about .5 inches at 100 yards the first 216 rounds. the 217 through current shoots .3 inches. and 2.5 inch groups at 600. this is the average groups. someyimes better and sometimes i dont do my part. not saying every savage is like this, but im glad mine is. i will rebarrel this after the barrel is shot out.

 

[1000yardstare]

Following your thread with interest. A month ago there was a two day F Class competition in Kingston, Ontario and a 6BR was lights out in F/Open in the 300, 500, 600 Grand Agg. This past Sunday the same 6BR shooter won the 300 metre Sierra ISU event in F/Open on another Army base in Ontario. A great short to mid-range cartridge.

In the Sierra, I was second in F/TR with a .223, struggling with the wind a bit compared to the .308 shot by the F/TR winner. We were both many points behind the 6BR F/Open winner.

I have a Rem 700 VSSF in .220 Swift with 1300 shots down the tube. The X Mark Pro trigger is one of the best I own including Timney and Basix. This Winter will have MacLennon fit an 8 twist 6BR hand lapped 8 twist barrel to the VSSF action. Will bed it in a Fajen laminated prone target stock with Anschutz fittings.

My cost will be considerably below your projected $3000 but you have a good project on the go.

As previous posts in this thread have stated, go with an 8 twist barrel. That way you can shoot the 105s and 107s for long range varminting or F Class if you eventually go that route. Lighter bullets will shoot well in the fast twist.

 

[thefish]

Great responses, and thanks for taking the time to write. Anyone else have any other thoughts? If going w/custom, any top choices for barrels or triggers or favorite stocks? Thanks so much again.

RIF

 

[Frankr]

Well the action is a tough one,there are so many fine custom actions and most of them offer a rem700 footprint action.Pick the one you like. Barrels- i feel any stainless select match barrel will shoot,(i have owned several from top makers and they all shoot well) But i will say my last three barrels have been pac nor's and i have been very happy with them. dont skimp on the trigger go with the jewell trigger. stocks,there are just to many you have to have some kind of idea what you want or what you are going to do with it. I think if say you went with one of the custom actions with the rem700 footprint stain/match barrel-the HS precision varmit stock is a good stock for the money and usually readily available. lets say 800.00 for custom action,250.00 for trigger,280.00 for barrel,350.00 for stock smith work lets say ready to shoot 400.00.=2,080. you could do it for that. or you can spend way more.

 

[Frankr]

Hey lets build my new one. My action will be 1,200 and comes with jewell trigger(any gueses). my barrel will be i think its 405.00. the stock is 425.00. smith work will be 200.00 . i will do my own stock and bedding work.and in that i may close to 100.00 bucks in materal and alot of my time(but i am very good)=2,330.00 and i will expect it to shoot alot of groups in one very small hole. Rifles are fun. The optics(scopes) are the big expense. at least for me i have bad eyes. and yes i will do every thing with this rifle execpt big game, it will be a true varmit/target rifle. so you need a scope that is useable in the field but has a trusty zoom to high power for makeing them little holes in the paper and yea expect 5shots in that one little hole so i guess it has to be a big nightforce 12-42nsx the 42power is cause my eyes are real bad. the 32x just doesent cut it any more.10years ago i could make little holes with a 20x but no more. really want one of them march scopes yea the 10-80x oh yea.

 

[Kenny474]

I have heard a lot of good things about BAT actions, and when I go full custom that will probably be one of my top choices. Stiller also makes very nice stuff, as do many of the top makers. I have envied Speedy's fully engraved Stiller Viper since I first saw it. You could probably build a whole gun for the cost of the action and engraving.

I think that most of the top barrel makers put out a very good product, and any of them are capable of producing winning barrels. I have had excellent results with my Pac-Nor, as it has far exceeded my expectations. I know it shoots far better than I can, as I have seen it done by my own eyes, and probably will for some time.
A lot has to do with the machining done by your smith, as bad machining will make a good barrel shoot like crap. So make sure you have a competent smith do the work, and buy your own reamer so you know it's specs and that it is in good condition. Talk to Dave Kiff and have him help you set it up as well, that way it is ground to suit your brass and bullets. He is very knowledgeable and will let you know what you need to suit your specific needs. You can also have additional barrels made at a later date and know the chamber is as close as possible to what you already have. You can always sell it down the road, so it is truly money well spent.

I think if you go through the guns of the week section that will give you lots of ideas as to what you like and also what works. The review sections posted on the bottom left of the main page also show lots of good gear and links to manufacturers websites. As for stocks, look around a bit and just check out whatever catches your eye. They are going to be a matter of what fits you and the type of shooting you do more than anything else.

Also, if there are any matches in your area, consider attending a few. That way you can see a bunch of different guns, talk to the owners, and maybe even see how they fit you and if you like the way the action is set up. The people in this sport are some of the nicest and most helpful people in the world. I guarantee that they will be willing to help you out if you ask. There is nothing like being able to see something in person as well. It gives you a much better idea of how something is built than a picture on a computer screen.

Good luck
Kenny