Custom Rifle On A Shoe String Budget

[Mike D Texas]

If you are recoil shy you are going to hate life with a 300RUM, and you aren't going to want to carry a 12-14# rifle in the mountains. Disregard your "mentor" and his speed freak issues. The 200fps difference between a 300 RUM and a 300 Win Mag or PRC is negligible for any meaningful metric other than possibly extreme distances.

My buddy has a 9.5# 300PRC and it's a bit sporty to shoot even with a suppressor attached.

The advice Idaho Lefty gave is pretty solid. I have a Tikka T3x Roughtech 300WSM that weighs 9# and it's reasonable to carry, and recoil is very manageable. And it shoots well under MOA.

 

[Rum Man]

Dont let the Boys lead you a Stray !
Nothing wrong with a 300 Rum when it's set up right !
The 41 or 42 Critters hanging on my wall never said a word about it !

Honestly Remington was really smart developing the 300 Rum . You can load from 150 gr up to 245 gr bullets ! Totally depends on your game .

Also dont get caught up in the Custom Rifle thing either .
Not a single person on here could convince me other wise , I have proved the a Remington action is just fine out to 3027 yards so far ! But the them expensive actions are super cool when setting around the fire at deer camp with all the Boys ! Ha ha

They are nice but not totally needed.
I forgot how many 300 Rums I have had /put together ect .

Honestly if you could find a used gen 1 or gen 2 Stainless fluted heavy barrel factory 300 Rum that's a perfect start ! I just typically change out the trigger for a $125.00 trigger tech and have the barrel threaded 5/8 x 24 grab a SRS st 4 or 5 port .
You grab a few boxes of Nosler Ablr 210 gr . It will shoot like a dream !
I took a Remington Stainless Sendero with no brake factory stock trigger topped with a talley lights 0 moa a old Vx3 6.5 x 20 moa Leupold shot a long distance steel match ( my first ever ) factory ammo right off the Sportsmans warehouse shelf and Finnish right under the Army Sniper on it team with a $7000.00 custom Rifle .
I was the only one on our team that hit the 1400 yard steel on first shot ! Boom !!

That was absolutely the worst thing I could have done ! Ha ha I went crazy after that course . I had to keep trying to go further ! I also found LRH about the same time !
Speed ahead and 1500 , 1760 yrd. Milk Jug , 2056 on steel and then right out to 3027 yards (1.72 ) miles .

Wow to much coffee this morning! Lol
Sorry so long winded!!

Just grab yourself a factory 300 Rum most guys dont shoot them alot . Get use to being behind it . Then if that $5000.00 is still burning up you pocket .
Have Dallas at LPR rifles build you one !
I still get goose bumps when he post a Rum for sale !
If I can help you give me a shout !

Rum Man

 

[ducky]

I currently have a 308 and 6.5 CM that I enjoy shooting a lot.

So all you need to do is spend some money and get a good scope and start hitting the range more.

m well aware that as my first go at long range that a 300 RUM will be a handful… I have the opportunity to shoot other large cartridges in order to prepare.

You can learn to tolerate a heavy recoiling rifle, by making sure to have a custom rifle properly fitted to you. So if it doesn't feel right when you're behind the rifle, don't use it until you make it right. Try it in as many field positions as possible and pay attention to what feels comfortable for you to use when setting up for the shot.

Use of a good muzzle brake will help as well to tame recoil. However, I can also say sometimes a muzzlebrake creates as many problems for the shooter as heavy recoil. I've had a rifle that even with plugs and muffs, the brake caused severe headaches and flinching. I'm sure brake tech has come a long way as this was almost 25 years ago that I had this issue.

It doesn't matter what you shoot to learn to manage recoil. What matters is can you manage the the rifle you are hunting with. Good luck with your build.

 

[338 dude]

I'm embarking on a custom rifle build for my first soree into long range shooting and hunting. I'm pretty confident it will be a 300 RUM. I don't have a huge budget, as I would like to be all in for around $5k including optics. So with that in mind, of the 4 major components (action, barrel, trigger or stock) what would be the one that you'd say doesn't have to be the best of the best? For example, I'm considering a blueprinted 700 action from PT&G versus one of the lower end Defiance actions. If I were to go the Defiance route, something else would have to give in order to meet my budget.

For the slightly higher expense of a custom action, you'll be much happier in the long run. They are butter, smooth, but more importantly, no more gunsmith you can order pre-fit barrels!

 

[Mark37082]

Only you can define what you want in a rifle. Sometimes you get an itch that you have to scratch. Customs are special. Are they worth it? This depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Some things need not to be justified.

 

[FEENIX]

@fguenther0925 this why I never ask what rifle to build or buy.

 

[Rum Man]

Once you taste the "Rum" ...nothing else matters ! Ha ha

Rum Man

 

[Shane Lindsey]

Buy once cry once...but around here, I seem to cry alot.

By taking your time and shopping around, from this site alone, you can find the parts needed to build a custom. The art is in finding the GS to put it together, unless you are looking to do it yourself.

To save yourself the frustration, buy the action that is already complete, without having to order parts (PTG). Trust me, you will be happier in the end.

Nothing wrong with a Rem 700 as is. However if you want it done right, you will end up spending the money to have it set up as a custom action was, for probably about the same coin, and you have the action company's backing. You start modifying a Rem and it's all on you.

 

[fguenther0925]

So all you need to do is spend some money and get a good scope and start hitting the range more.



You can learn to tolerate a heavy recoiling rifle, by making sure to have a custom rifle properly fitted to you. So if it doesn't feel right when you're behind the rifle, don't use it until you make it right. Try it in as many field positions as possible and pay attention to what feels comfortable for you to use when setting up for the shot.

Use of a good muzzle brake will help as well to tame recoil. However, I can also say sometimes a muzzlebrake creates as many problems for the shooter as heavy recoil. I've had a rifle that even with plugs and muffs, the brake caused severe headaches and flinching. I'm sure brake tech has come a long way as this was almost 25 years ago that I had this issue.

It doesn't matter what you shoot to learn to manage recoil. What matters is can you manage the the rifle you are hunting with. Good luck with your build.

Thanks for the advice. The goal is to set this rifle up properly so that recoil is mitigated. I think some people take my comment about recoil as that I can't handle more than a 223, but I'm able to tolerate a decent amount from what I have shot so far. As we progress, I guess I'll have to keep everyone updated on the status of my shoulder.

 

[fguenther0925]

Once you taste the "Rum" ...nothing else matters ! Ha ha

Rum Man

View attachment 632586

I feel like this is the most sage advice thus far.

 

[fguenther0925]

@fguenther0925 this why I never ask what rifle to build or buy.

Apparently I goofed up.

 

[med358-boise]

We have a buddy that has a 7 PRC and it shoots good… just not fast enough for what I want to accomplish. This project is still in the conceptual stages so to speak, so the 7 isn't out of the question. I've just envisioned a 30 cal of some sort.

If my best friend told me that a 7 PRC shooting a 195 grain bullet at ~2800 fps was not enough for a 750 yard elk rifle and 1000 yard target shooting, I would advise him that he is significantly misinformed.

 

[Rum Man]

I feel like this is the most sage advice thus far.

I have been shoot a 300 Rum and my Wife has also since 1999 /2000 .
I had my Wife set up on a nice Montana Mule deer at 367 yards , two days before her Surgery . She was using a Mountain stainless Remington 270 . She said that's to far for my rifle give me yours , I said no it kicks a little she persisted on it so I set it up for her and she said where do I aim?
I told her right where you want to hit . She looked at me never said a word , pulled the rifle in and bang ....the deer dropped .
She said i want a 300 Rum now you can sell this 270 ! Ha ha
I'm not sure how many Critters she has put down now with her 300 Rum !
Factory Stainless magnum barrel !
No brake back then !
She dont mind the 180 gr. bullets but hates the 200 gr.ones ! That's another story ! Lol

Rum Man

 

[jja600]

I have factory and custom builds. Both are great for the intended use. About 10 years ago i picked up a new Rem 700 RUM XCR. I installed an HS precision stock, Timney trigger, muzzle brake. I could shoot it all day from a recoil standpoint out to 1000 yards at steel. Running 215's at 2950 fps from a 24 inch barrel I recently had cut from 26 to put a suppressor on it. I lost about 50 fps (was around 3000 fps). I have taken a few elk between 120 and 375 yards. Its a hammer. Message me if you have any questions.