First long range gun

[ATT]

Newbie here. I'm looking to customize my first long range weapon. I have a Winchester M 70 classic stainless with the BOSS brake. It is topped with a leupold vx3 6.5-20x50 LR.

I hunt midwest deer (500yds to 800yds is reasonable on my land) and will also be traveling to Colorado to hunt deer and elk starting this year.

I plan on using this action but am open to suggestions on replacing or changing/re-working anything. I am sold on the round. I like muzzle brakes. I would like a thumbhole stock if I don't have to sacrifice accuracy.

I'm asking for you guys to point me in the right direction on what I need to do to this gun. This forum is awesome because of the feedback y'all give.

ATT

 

[James Jones]

The action you have is a good one and can be made to shoot as well as any other if the smith want to work on it. Not sure what round you are "sold on" so I can't realy say what length barrel you would be best of with , if its a magnum like a 7mm rem mag or 300 win mag I'd say a 26" minimum length if its an Ultra mag then I say 28" to get the most out of it.

Get a good barrel for it say in the #5 conture or heavier so it won't walk as fast after 2-3 shots and get a good brake for it , Boyds makes some deciant stocks , HS precision , McMillan and Manners make some realy nice thumbholes also.

Is their any sort of size or weight restrictions your looking for? What caliber are you wanting and do you reload?

 

[ATT]

Thanks for the quick reply. The rifle is in 300 win mag and the action is at the suggestion of my smith.

I would like to see some suggestions on weight and size as I've never hunted in the west and primarly hunt from a stand or blind in the southeast and midwest. I am looking for a very accurate hunting rig that I will do some target shooting with also just because I enjoy shooting.

As for handloading, I'm just beginning to explore so any suggestions there are appreciated as well. I have shot premium factory loads till now.

Can you guys help me to understand the costs I should expect in the rifle work/items you suggest? I'm also curious about the fees I should expect from my smith on this project.


ATT

 

[pinshootr]

check out the Armalite ar30m they shoot great hand lapped barrels and you can find them for what you will pay to have that action set up or less and you can start shooting alot sooner.
http://www.ozarkguns.com/Armalite/armalitear50.htm

 

[DONTSTROKEME]

My Rem 700 probably from the late 80's has a Boyds Laminate Thumbhole Varminter Ventilated forend, I haven't swaped the barrel yet but it is a factory 24" and it shoots out to a 10" gong at 400yards and I only put about 4 rounds through then I let it cool but it hits every time. I like the short, light and cheap barrel and it shoots good enough so far.

Sorry the round is a 300 WM and shooting a 168SMK with IMR4350, and RL22....I might be down on velocity from the book but I can't imagine that it is more than 150FPS???

Back to my reason to reply, I really like my stock from Boyds. My rifle was a BDL and it kicked very hard for the weight and the stock made a world of difference...that and the Limbsaver Pad. Very cheap @ $100 as opposed to the mcmillans...not that they are anything close to the same.....you might talk to Joel Russo on here about an A5-L.

I am a firm believer that almost 60% of the bad recoil is in the stock, the comfortable shooter is the best shooter.

Hope this helps

Joe Oakes

 

[ATT]

I have admired the boyd stocks online for a few days only to find out they are out of stock until Nov.

I've handled a really solid HS this past week on a savage action and plan to investigate their thumbhole options. I'm really holding out for a thumbhole if I don't sacrfice accuracy. Anyone have a take on thumbhole stocks as they relate to accuracy?

I appreciate the tips

ATT

 

[BountyHunter]

Bruce Baer in PA can make any stock you want in laminate, I have one of his thumbholes on my 300WSM. His blanks are around $250 rough inletted. Thumbhole has zero effect on accuracy from the bench, and to many it makes it easier handling offhand.

Dan Lilja normally has standard barrel configuration blanks for sale and in stock.

A decent blank will run right at $300

chambering will run $150-200

trigger tuning under $50

pillar bedding will run $150-200

a wood stock will require final sanding and finish- if you have that done it could run $200-500. Fiberglass requires bedding $75-100

Harrels brake $30, Holland QD brake $95, installation $75 for either

BH

 

[ATT]

This is good info.

I know I can have the trigger ready quickly and buying the stock or the barrel is alright but both would be too much too soon for the wallet.

What is the best order to re-work the gun? Should I focus on changing the barrel before having any stock work done, etc.?

ATT

 

[DONTSTROKEME]

Personally I would go with the stock first and see how the barrel shoots and then if you change your mind on the caliber you can change when you rebarrel. However if you barrel first then you would only have to bed the gun once....but I did mine myself and it isn't the prettiest but it worked. But I belive that if you rebarreled then you would have to remove the bedding from the first go around, unless you have the exact same contour on the new barrel, then it might be a matter of sanding on the bedding and skim coating it. Not removing the whold thing.

I also agree on the thumbhole, no accuracy problems just feels alot better and you can suck it up to your shoulder better.

Joe Oakes

 

[SES50]

Also Check out Lone Wolf for the thumb hole stock. I think it is the Howler Stock. I have been told buy a couple of guys that the lone wolf stocks help to manage felt recoil.

 

[ATT]

Bought a Boyds (Ross Thumbhole) stock in pepper laminate today ($168 shipped). Should be here in a reasonable timeframe according to the really helpful folks at Boyds. I've studied up on trigger adjustment and plan to spend some time with my smith next week. I'll post pics as soon as the stock is fitted.

I'll make a decision on barrel and muzzle break based on the performance I get with the original stainless 300 win mag with BOSS that came with this Winchester M 70.

Also, I wanted to let each one who posted know that I looked into each product you guys suggested. I believe y'all have helped me to get a good start on this project.


ATT

 

[Buffalobob]

A couple of points if you have never finished a laminated stock before. I got mine from Joel Russo and so these tips come from him. Study the layers of laminate and understand that how you sand will change the "pattern" that is formed by the layers. Decide beforehand what layer you want to be ontop and where. I forget what grit I used but maybe 400 for final sanding (twice). The thumbhole should suit your hand so you may need to shape it a little differently. My hands are not very big but I wanted my thumb to be in a particular position so I worked on the opening until it was the way that felt good to me.

Don't do what I did and sand without the recoil pad on because you will always tail off at the end. I refuse to remember how many times in my life I have done this wrong.

A limbsaver recoil pad is nice.

I installed conventional swivels plus one for the bipod and then put in a pair of flush cups on the off side of the gun.

 

[ATT]

buffalobob,

The stock that I bought is listed as F (fit and finished).

I'm sure that I will want to tweak the stock for my personal preference. Do you guys have any tips on re-working a finished laminate stock?

Also, I'm not familiar with the flush cups you mentioned. Can you share some info on these?

ATT

 

[Buffalobob]

The advantage of flush cups is you do not have a bump protruding from the rifle to snag your front or rear bag. The drawback is that they are not as "positively" locked as a regular swivel.


flush cups