Donor action or custom

[toddc]

My current Savage build budgeted like this.
Donor $300 OTD
Barrel $250 on classifieds here (Thanks songdogslayer BTW)
Stock $200 Choate (Yes its fugly and heavy but they chooooot)
Lug $40
Bolt handle $49
Brake $57 (Nathan at muzzlebrakesandmore.com)
Trigger FREE (Yeah I can get a stock Savage trigger to shoot and be safe)
I can still sell the Savage stock and barrel (never remember to do it lol) use them as pry bars and tomato stakes.

 

[toddc]

Sorry ment for each

Youre in great shape either way then.

 

[PEEWEE69]

Let me clarify some I have a Savage 10 predator hunter Max 1 in a 6.5 creedmoor being restocked with a mcmillan A3 sporter and other stuff by Nat Lambeth as we speak so the the Savage option is a good one but for me I'm not real comfortable or confident to work on a rifle yet so the rifle will go to a smith

 

[toddc]

Let me clarify some I have a Savage 10 predator hunter Max 1 in a 6.5 creedmoor being restocked with a mcmillan A3 sporter and other stuff by Nat Lambeth as we speak so the the Savage option is a good one but for me I'm not real comfortable or confident to work on a rifle yet so the rifle will go to a smith

If you are going to a smith anyway go custom. It will be worth more, prettier, smoother and quite possibly cheaper.

 

[toddc]

Let me clarify some I have a Savage 10 predator hunter Max 1 in a 6.5 creedmoor being restocked with a mcmillan A3 sporter and other stuff by Nat Lambeth as we speak so the the Savage option is a good one but for me I'm not real comfortable or confident to work on a rifle yet so the rifle will go to a smith

And just to be clear, if you are mentally competent to own a rifle you can work on a Savage lol. Aint rocket science to put it mildly and ALL the info you would need is all over the web. One of the main reasons I build them is the last Savage build I did I conceived it Thanksgiving evening and had it at the range 7 days later.
A Savage will NEVER be as NICE as a custom however. Neither will a worked Remmy either.

 

[PEEWEE69]

And just to be clear, if you are mentally competent to own a rifle you can work on a Savage lol. Aint rocket science to put it mildly and ALL the info you would need is all over the web. One of the main reasons I build them is the last Savage build I did I conceived it Thanksgiving evening and had it at the range 7 days later.
A Savage will NEVER be as NICE as a custom however. Neither will a worked Remmy either.

This is probably true but I have been known to destroy a crown with muzzle straight up don't ask how I managed that

 

[PEEWEE69]

Either way I decide I do want a repeater

 

[toddc]

This is probably true but I have been known to destroy a crown with muzzle straight up don't ask how I managed that

I'm a train wreck myself that's why I know ANYONE that can tie their shoes can build a Savage. I actually liken it to boiling water. Even I cant screw that up.

 

[ATH]

Let me clarify some I have a Savage 10 predator hunter Max 1 in a 6.5 creedmoor being restocked with a mcmillan A3 sporter and other stuff by Nat Lambeth as we speak so the the Savage option is a good one but for me I'm not real comfortable or confident to work on a rifle yet so the rifle will go to a smith

Well a man has to know his limitations. But I just installed a 20 Practical barrel on a Savage action tonight. It uses a 223 go gauge so I bought one since I'm also building an AR today too. I replaced the bolt head with the new 223, which already had the extractor and ejector stripped. I screwed the barrel nut onto the barrel, dropped on the new recoil lug, and screwed the barrel most of the way into the action. I inserted the whole thing into my homemade action vise. I inserted the go gauge, then the bold and closed it. I screwed the barrel hard into the gauge. Then I screwed the nut in. Using a nut wrench, I hand tightened the nut, then whacked it a few times with a hammer. Removing the barreled action from the vise, I found the bolt would close on the go gauge but way too tight. So I put it back in the vise and loosened the nut. I backed the barrel off a quarter turn. Now I whacked the nut very tight again. Now, the bolt closed as it should. I put two layers of Scotch tape on the back of the go gauge to turn it into a no-go gauge. The bolt would not close on this, not even close. Headspace good. The barreled action is now ready for the chassis due to arrive end of the year.

I had never had a Savage bolt head apart before and needed to move the extractor and ejector from the old to new. I messed with the extractor and figured it was a plate on top of a ball on top of a spring, and got it apart with fingers. The ejector, I did a quick Google search to figure out how it worked. I didn't have a small enough punch to remove the retaining pin, so I grabbed a tiny nail from a picture hanging kit and it came right apart. Moved the parts over.

This is not rocket science. If I had a regular stock instead of a chassis I'd have to bed it, and that is not rocket science either. I learned off the internet and have pillar bedded about a dozen guns now, with no major problems at all. For the money it saves, I didn't mind learning. Especially if you like guns and know you will use the skills on more of them.

 

[PackersFanboy]

about finish 338 edge +p build 30" $600, northwest action trued 700 $550, Watching youtube videos [ MarkandSam AfterWork ] taking stock remington out 3000 yards. Iam ok trued action or spend extra for add ons for custom action.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Probably been asked before but here it goes
Someone has put pencil to paper on cost and efficiency between a donor action and a custom
Now this is not a action already owned it would be a rifle bought just for the action then have it blueprinted or just go custom from a money and accuracy stand point
Also this is a left hand build

Some people say either one, but the fact is, if you get a used 700 BDL rifle for around $400-450...You will be money-ahead than buying a $1,200+ custom action. Even custom actions will require some lathe work, even if it is a by a significantly lesser amount than a mass-produced action. Ask any professional smith...It's a well-known fact amongst smiths, but not one widely accepted or lamented by the masses who pay the smiths to do the work. Most just assume that being a "custom" action that it's 100% perfect out of the gate...Which is rarely ever-to-never the case. So, regardless of what you go with, the smith is gonna chuck it in a lathe to check square, and it will most-likely get turned.

I build all my customs on 700 actions, and with a gunsmith that knows what he's doing, and that charges good prices, and has a quick turn-around time... I have no reason or need to build on anything more expensive. Some of mine shoot 1/4 MOA.

 

[FEENIX]

I think toddc and ATH about covered it and on the money.

If your heart is really set on a custom action, check out the Actions - BigHorn ArmsBigHorn Arms (I have the SR2 LA on my full custom)

[ame]https://youtu.be/ZSM3CYOcGgI?t=1[/ame]

[ame]https://youtu.be/rWB4sPNFyWY?t=24[/ame]

and

Mausingfield Bolt Action

[ame]https://youtu.be/A0LdnDIk-jU?t=89[/ame]

[ame]https://youtu.be/XqhlbCrN980?t=30[/ame]

... they are simply awesome.

My gunsmith was very impressed with my BHA action, he said it's one of the best machined action he'd seen in awhile as well as the design feature; a floating bolt like the Savage action and 700 clone compatibility.

 

[FEENIX]

Each=Custom. Both=Savage lol.

Cheers!

 

[toddc]

Some people say either one, but the fact is, if you get a used 700 BDL rifle for around $400-450...You will be money-ahead than buying a $1,200+ custom action. Even custom actions will require some lathe work, even if it is a by a significantly lesser amount than a mass-produced action. Ask any professional smith...It's a well-known fact amongst smiths, but not one widely accepted or lamented by the masses who pay the smiths to do the work. Most just assume that being a "custom" action that it's 100% perfect out of the gate...Which is rarely ever-to-never the case. So, regardless of what you go with, the smith is gonna chuck it in a lathe to check square, and it will most-likely get turned.

I build all my customs on 700 actions, and with a gunsmith that knows what he's doing, and that charges good prices, and has a quick turn-around time... I have no reason or need to build on anything more expensive. Some of mine shoot 1/4 MOA.

If I buy a $1200 action and it needs $200 worth of truing, 1 of 2 things is happening. My smith is gigging me for merely CHECKING my action or doing a CLEAN UP cut. OR. My action builder is going to fix my action. A pile of junk Savage can be home trued to shoot .25 MOA in many cases. Anyone who ACCEPTS that they need to hand a smith a bunch of cash on top of a $1200 action doesn't LAMENT enough and is too ACCEPTING of both a gunsmiths bill and an action makers production tolerances.