WHAT ACTIONS ARE ABLE TO USE FOR CUSTOM GUNS

[waldo1979]

Like custom cars, everything is all a matter of money.

 

[hpshooter]

They (Rugers) are great utilitarian hunting rifles and some of the tang safety 77's I have owned were very accurate varmint rifles and I really like my 77V .220 swift and my .280 rem. 77 hunting rifle.

That being said, IMO Remington patterned and dimensioned receivers are easier to bed, have better trigger and stock options and have a crap pot load of smiths who know how to get the nth degree of consistency out of them and a whole industry of after market items supports them. Sort of like the parts availability and knowledge available to build a small block Chevy verses a Mopar. Research Ruger Palma rifle. I am not privy to the back story but think it is significant that Ruger built a group of specialized rifles for the US Palma team and to my knowledge none were used. Perhaps Boyd or others on the site can fill in the blanks on these rifles and whether or not they were viable accuracy wise.

 

[JRS]

You might find those 20 Ruger built rifles in a vault at the NRA Whittington Center I believe they were fired one time. They were completely different from the model 77 we are used to.

 

[shortgrass]

I've custom barreled quit a few 77s, both the tang safety and the MK2. They shoot OK if ya' put a good barrel on 'um. But the big hang-up is stocks and triggers if you want anything more than a Tinmey and a factory stock. All those investment cast Rugers' are 'harder than the hubs'. The Rem. 700 has the most aftermarket. Triggers, stocks and all the rest of the 'goodies' people seem to want. The nicely wood stocked customs, like the pics of those Butch posted, are a different animal. Ya', they have good barrels and nice triggers, but the stocks are individuals, not something bought "off the shelf". That's not to say an varmint rifle can't be built on a Mauser and stocked with a nice piece of English walnut.

 

[Trapper243]

I have, sort of anyway, a custom Ruger 77 tang safety. It wasn't my goal to build a custom Ruger. 40 years of field use and just changing parts as needed, the only thing left from Ruger is the action, and the rings. Shilen barrel, Timney Trigger, and a McMillan stock. As a big game rifle accuracy is good, but its not likely to win any Matches. With the register everything laws in California now, the DROS fees, and the sales tax, rebuilding isn't such a bad option.

 

[lightman]

Butch, thats some beautiful wood on some of those rifles!

 

[butchlambert]

Butch, thats some beautiful wood on some of those rifles!

Thanks, Courtesy of Roger Vardy in Australia.

 

[Will Henry]

Custom rifles can be built using any sort of action. In fact, the less suitable an action is perceived to be, the more it will have to be "customized" to perform well.
While Ruger actions have some shortcomings ( appearance being a big one), they can work out pretty well. The triggers are a bit lacking but that is easily addressed. I have one 77 on which I used a Canjar LP trigger meant for the Remington 700 (some modification of the receiver and cocking piece was necessary). WH

 

[GSPV]

Build whatever floats your boat. That's why you do custom...to do what *you* want rather than what someone decides for you.

My friend Mike Ezell did this for me. It's a Tikka T3 action that I traded for, a Manners drop in stock for it that I bought on here for a good price, and a Broughton barrel. It's chambered in 7x47 Lapua using a reamer that I speced myself.

It isnt the most practical way to get to a hunting, varmint, plinking rifle, but it makes me happy and that's what matters.

 

[ebb]

GSPV that is a very nice looking rifle!