Rem 700 Action source?

I have gotten two of them. They were definitely "$300" guns.
An 18" R700 BDL, gloss wood stock, blued barrel, looked like it fell out of the truck on the way home from a hunt. But the action was fine. Which is all I used.

A 22" .260 BDL that was surface rusted, and barrel was pitted. Plastic stock scratched to hell, blued finish. Again, just kept the action.

But after spending money on them to get them even kind of close to the features I wanted, it makes no sense.

Square bolt face, true action and lugs, recut threads, extractor, flute the bolt, replace firin pin and springs, swap the bolt shroud, cut a side bolt release, tac knob, Nitride, and you have now spent more than about half the custom actions out there.

I won't do it again.

If you don't do all the "extras", you can be into an R700 for $500-600 with just truing/squaring one up.
THIS !!!!! If you want a tack driving-trued up action this is the affordable easy button. DEFIANCE TENACITY or similar.
 
I have done the math on this dozens of times and it just doesn't make sense to do the work to a Rem 700 receiver. As a few have stated, you will spend more to true up and add extras to it than a comparable custom action. I think a much more viable route would be a Defiance Tenacity, Bighorn Origin or the Gunwerks GRB. All can be had for under $900.
 
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I like custom actions, well,,, most of 'um anyway. That said, many don't take into account that some want a basic build. The RR serial numbered 700s are straighter than ever before. That said, primary extraction camming is usually non-existent. I wonder how many 700s are in the publics' hands with no primary extraction and the owner has no problem with it? A side bolt release is nice, but not necessary. So, a guy looking for a 'basic' spends $525 or so on a 700 action. If the difference is $375 to $4oo between a 700 and a custom action, that's a premium barrel blank. It is his choice to buy a custom or a 700. The price of a 700 may be all that he wants to spend and all that he needs . True, a custom action retains its value for resale. Some have absolutely no intention of ever selling. This thread, like every thread that asks about Remington 700s for a build has gone sideways! The OP asked "where is the best buy for a 700 action?". NOT a word in his post said anything about a custom action. Yet there are 7 out of 19 posts telling him he should get a custom. If you prefer a custom action, and that's all you'll buy, good for you! But if a guy just wants a 700 to build on, that should be fine, too! We still have a choice, here in the US. Maybe some should respect that others may not make the same choices as you would!
 
Walmart. Every so often they go on sale. Take the barrel, trigger, and stock; and sell them on GunBroker To reduce the actual cost of the action.
 
BTW, I am not saying that a Remington 700, even at the best price possible, is better than a custom action. Moneywise, I suspect you are still better off buying a custom action.
 
Walmart. Every so often they go on sale. Take the barrel, trigger, and stock; and sell them on GunBroker To reduce the actual cost of the action.
I haven't seen a Remington firearm in a Walmart since the 'old' Remington filed for bankruptcy. Walmart sold out what they had in inventory, and then there were no more. I hope that the 'new' Remington doesn't find themselves needing to sell to these big box discount retailers. Whatever hits the shelves in the sporting goods dept of those stores seems to suffer in quality. I did get to closely examine a 'new' 870 recently and what I saw was very encouraging. It was reminded me of the Wingmasters or the past. Here's to hoping the 'new' Remington returns to the quality the name was once known for. As for the newer higher prices, no one is going to escape the inflation we are now experiencing. A dollar ain't a dollar anymore, and it's gonna' show in everything we might want to buy.
 
I have gotten two of them. They were definitely "$300" guns.
An 18" R700 BDL, gloss wood stock, blued barrel, looked like it fell out of the truck on the way home from a hunt. But the action was fine. Which is all I used.

A 22" .260 BDL that was surface rusted, and barrel was pitted. Plastic stock scratched to hell, blued finish. Again, just kept the action.

But after spending money on them to get them even kind of close to the features I wanted, it makes no sense.

Square bolt face, true action and lugs, recut threads, extractor, flute the bolt, replace firin pin and springs, swap the bolt shroud, cut a side bolt release, tac knob, Nitride, and you have now spent more than about half the custom actions out there.

I won't do it again.

If you don't do all the "extras", you can be into an R700 for $500-600 with just truing/squaring one up.
So true! I do think were I building just a hunting rifle (moa rifle) I would buy a Savage short action/long action depending on cartridge length. It has much to offer such as interchangeable bolt faces and floating bolt head. I am partial to the barrel nut convenience of barrel change ease.
Accuracy wise Shilen and Criterion both offer hand lapped tubes in a large variety of chamberings. Both are capable of shooting groups in the .3 arena with hand loads with optimized powder choices and premium bullets. I have seen this repeatedly and did I mention the ease of caliber changes?
 
Sportsman"s warehouse has some of the new Remy rifles on stock. $519. I found a 243 sitting on shelve in wall mart last summer . Put a new lilja barrel on it chambered in 6 Creedmoor , did nothing to the action, put trigger tech on it and it shoots extremely well.
 
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