New Rifle Build

[brianboh]

I am in the starting stage of building a 6.5x284. What are your thoughts. Do I go with a Remington receiver from PTG that has been trued with a one piece bolt and a M16 extractor for 640 or suck it up and go with a true custom receiver like a stiller for 950?

 

[Umpqua Hunter]

Or a Defiance and wait a year

 

[brianboh]

Or a Defiance and wait a year

I heard that. I can actually get a defiance from brownells. They have them in stock. That what I want just haven't decided if I want to spend the extra cheddar

 

[Tim McCoy]

Any of those will work well for a hunting rifle. If you plan to compete with it, then a full custom action may make the most sense. I used a Rem 700 for my last rifle build, mostly because I already had a donor 700 action. A very good barrel, properly chambered, crowned, installed and bedded, is much more important to accuracy IMO, than which action is used, a trued 700 or custom action. That said, a Defiance action, especially the ultralite, sure looks good and would make a great hunting rig.

 

[Slugz]

Any of those will work well for a hunting rifle. If you plan to compete with it, then a full custom action may make the most sense. I used a Rem 700 for my last rifle build, mostly because I already had a donor 700 action. A very good barrel, properly chambered, crowned, installed and bedded, is much more important to accuracy IMO, than which action is used, a trued 700 or custom action. That said, a Defiance action, especially the ultralite, sure looks good and would make a great hunting rig.

What Tim said x 2. You gotta decide if its a hunting rifle accuracy or competition accuracy. Next people ask me then what's the difference? Competition in that caliber is hole in hole, third one touching. Hunting is 1/2" MOA. Just my 2 sense and what I use to decide. I can usually get right at 1/2" with a 270 to 30 caliber with a trued 700 action, proper barrel match, crowned and bedded.
Plenty of options with a donor 700 to start.

 

[Tim McCoy]

As an example, both my trued 700's are consistently under .5 moa with favored factory loads at 100-200 yards off a bench, one a Krieger barrel, one a Brux barrel. Am sure one could tune hand loads and get much better groupings fairly quickly.

Field accuracy is a tricky thing, but either of these rifles have the accuracy to give me confidence to 350 ish sitting off of sticks or to 500-600 prone. Only shot once past 400 at big game, so that's enough reach for me.

 

[maninthemaze]

I went with a Stiller Tac 300 for my custom rifle. Very very smooth action. Also, bugholes.com keeps most actions in stock.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

Field accuracy is a tricky thing, but either of these rifles have the accuracy to give me confidence to 350 ish sitting off of sticks or to 500-600 prone. Only shot once past 400 at big game, so that's enough reach for me.

You have that spot on. The longest shot I have tried (and got a one shot kill too) was 473 on antelope. I am sure my rifle will do a longer shot (if I do my part), but I have never needed (or wanted) to even try. I have shot a lot of paper out to 600 yards with less than moa groups. I do have Leupold Ballistic Turrets on all mt hunting rifles. so that part helps a lot. I have spent literally hundreds of hours working on hunting loads for my rifles. Once I got them where I wanted them to be, that was it. I have stayed with these loads for years and they continued to deliver what I want.

Have fun, because it is really a journey.

 

[Tim McCoy]

Because I can have a highly accurate rifle exactly like I want it...

I built my first one to have a higher degree of accuracy than I could reasonably expect from any factory rifle in the mid 90's. Factory rifles have come a long ways in 20+ years, 1 moa guarantees are common now.

I built my second one in 2014 to have close to certainty of getting .5 moa or better for a rig I could shoot to 600. I wanted a heavier barrel to facilitate that mission. Already had an action and stock, so it was doable for about 2x what a new factory rifle would have cost me. Very happy with it.

I will say, with great barrels so common today, I bet a guy would be fine just squaring the bolt face and rebarreling a factory rifle if it was not to his accuracy specs out of the box. Bet you'd end up .4 -.7 moa. Be about a $400-700 project, depending on barrel choice and many barrel makers offer it...less for a Savage. I do have several factory rifles that shoot under 1 moa, use them often, but not much past 375 or so. But if there is a hunt where long shots are expected, 350 - 600, I'll have one of the custom jobs in my hands.

To each their own.

 

[DRUSS]

Tim,CC have it pretty summed up here. I have a couple custom 700s built that serve my purposes quite well. But if wanted a competition type or longer range setup (750+) I would get the custom action. I think all are nice my preference maybe defiance or lone peak. But stiller and pierce would be right there

 

[Timberstalker]

Because I can have a highly accurate rifle exactly like I want it...

I built my first one to have a higher degree of accuracy than I could reasonably expect from any factory rifle in the mid 90's. Factory rifles have come a long ways in 20+ years, 1 moa guarantees are common now.

I built my second one in 2014 to have close to certainty of getting .5 moa or better for a rig I could shoot to 600. I wanted a heavier barrel to facilitate that mission. Already had an action and stock, so it was doable for about 2x what a new factory rifle would have cost me. Very happy with it.

I will say, with great barrels so common today, I bet a guy would be fine just squaring the bolt face and rebarreling a factory rifle if it was not to his accuracy specs out of the box. Bet you'd end up .4 -.7 moa. Be about a $400-700 project, depending on barrel choice and many barrel makers offer it...less for a Savage. I do have several factory rifles that shoot under 1 moa, use them often, but not much past 375 or so. But if there is a hunt where long shots are expected, 350 - 600, I'll have one of the custom jobs in my hands.

To each their own.[/QUOTE

I understand the idea of building something you like vs buying something close to what you like, that makes sense. I've never entertained the idea, but maybe someday I will.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

My 2 go to rifles are an older tang safety Ruger M77 in 25-06. It is factory stock except for glass bedding the stock. Still shoots less than moa after hunting/shooting it since 1976. My other is a custom commercial Mauser action, Shilen match ss barrel, Bell & Carlson stock in .300 Wby. Took a lot of work and range time, but it shoot 1/2" moa.

Took lots of work to get them where they are today. Jim is right about new rifles today, they do shoot better than what you used to buy off the shelf. I think I just got lucky with my Ruger.