300 WSM Sheep Rifles

[bjlooper]

I'm Having a Sheep Rifle built it will be light 6-6.5 lbs with scope. I'm using a Borden alpine action, rock creek barrel, and Hi-tech stock.
My question is am I wasting a custome action on a rifle that I probly will never shoot over 500yds. Would a cheaper Rem Mod 700 action do just as well at these short ranges.

DR B

 

[wildcat]

YES!!! Remington actions are excellent, and when they are tuned they are close to custom actions. Your rifle sounds nice. It will be very accurate with a Remington action. Good luck.

Wildcat

 

[James Jones]

I think that you would be well served with a Rem 700 SA if its built right , some guys have even come up with way to trim the weight of the rem action down.

Are you gonna do the High Tech stock yourself?
the last 2 I got from Brownells were pretty crappy , you could see thin spots in the glass and it still had the mold seams on it it came out nice but took a good bit of work and now that their price has gone up I seriously doubt I'll ever use another especialy since I've got a new Lone Wolf they are much nicer sticks.

 

[davewilson]

the titanium action would be the ticket for a light gun.

my technique is to keep the gun at 10 lbs, so much easier to make a 500 yard shot and loose 10 lbs off my rear end getting in shape for the hunt.much more effecient use of weight!

 

[Slopeshunter]

A couple questions.

Is it possible to just purchase an action from Remington, or do you need to find a rifle that has the action you want then basically just toss the rest away?

If you buy a remington action then have it trued and so forth by a gunsmith. Wouldn't the cost in the end be similar to the cost of purchasing the borden action?

Thanks!

 

[Boman]

This is what I would do and did.. Rem action, High tech stock, Lilja #2 barrel. Swarovski scope. The rifle weighed 7lbs even. But mine is a long action. You could do the same in the short action and shave that half pound. The key to an accurate light rifle is bedding the action and barrel correctly and a high quality light contour barrel. I shoot my rifle very accurately out to 600yds. But I limit my shooting to 3 shots and cool down. Good luck and have fun.

 

[Ian M]

I would consider using a custom action, by the time you purchase a Rem action and have it trued you are not far from the cost of a Lawton or GAP-7000 (same action I believe) or a Borden or others.

Bottom line, the 700 has some significant flaws that the Remington fanatics ignore and just put up with, but why? The custom actions can do away with the minimal extractor that fails so regularly, bolt handles that might fall off, small opening for inserting cartridges (even offering detachable magazines) and triggers that require rebuilding to be safe and function properly. Not to mention the design issue of the safety and trigger that is the big bugaboo that will not go away. I do suggest you look at having a Sako style extractor installed if you go with a 700, I just had another Remington extractor fail - the result is the case stays in the chamber after you shoot. The extractor is a throw-away piece of metal, surprisingly mickey-mouse but they work.

I have 700's and 40x's and shoot them a lot but they are simply not nearly as good as they should be. Matter of fact my push-feed M-70's are easier to insert cartridges into, have superior extractors and simple, reliable safties and triggers - they require trueing etc but they are nicer actions to shoot in my opinion.

Regardless, we put together rifles to enjoy them so good luck with your decisions. You won't regret using the .300 WSM.