Rifle Selection

[Boom]

Good friend of mine is interested in purchasing a custom rifle and I'm trying to give him some help. Here is what I've heard from him:
1) Wants a custom build. He's owns several nice factory rifles (Sako, Tikka, etc.) but really wants to go with a custom build, it will be his first.
2) Utilize factory ammo only--he is not interested in reloading. I've offered to help on this but he really wants to shoot factory ammo for a variety of reasons so lets assume he will only shoot quality factory loads.
3) Use for hunting 100-800 yards and target work out to at least 1200. Game would be whitetail at distance, mule deer and elk.
4) Heavy enough to be easy to target shoot but not a 20lb gun either.
5) He is willing to spend good money to get it right, cry once buy once thought process.

Looking for:
1) What gunsmith/shop would be a good fit given no reloading
2) Thoughts on calibers given factory ammo only constraint

Thanks for your input!

 

[comfisherman]

Anybody can build a rifle for factory ammo, as long as they have a saami reamer your golden. Clearly define the feature set desired and go from that point looking for smith's. Most smiths can do most guns but if one has a decade long relationship with the action you want and the reamer you want listed in his reamer stash that goes a long way to a less painful experience.

Cartridges would probably be in the 6.5 to 30 cal range, what he wants at 800 would dictate which side of that range to go on.

Honestly I'd pull up ammo listing from grafs, midway, midsouth etc. And look at factory options with bullets he wants to shoot. Seems like lately that's been the prc lines, love them or hate them it generates enough buzz to get some decent options. The wsm and now some of the saums have some semi custom ammo options with premium bullets i.e. double tap. As a non loader he's gonna be at the whim of the market on ammo selection so start there.

Everybody and their brother makes a carbon stock these days. So less weight hides in the stock than years ago, not likely to end up with a sniper fill mcmillan that's 6 pounds, most being in the 30 oz and change range. Actions do have a weight variability, but it's less than barrel and stock, if weight is a concern pick one of the lightened variations from one of a dozen makers. Barrels are where weight hides, 3b is a good gap between sporter and sendero. Honest reflection of use would dicate contour. I'm under a bartleind 3b for pure hunting and closer to a sendero if range sessions push past a box a week.

After that just don't put a chunk scope on it and your gonna be way under 20 pounds.

 

[Kmccord]

I would ask, what will he be hunting 80+ percent of the time? If elk once a 10 yrs or every year, that would sort of determine the cartridges. If he wants factory ammo, if Whitetail Hunting 90% of the time I would choose a 6.5 PRC.

 

[Kmccord]

Something else I would suggest, I would suggest a Long Action for whatever Cartridge he picks, the 6.5 PRC is on the edge for a Short Action it would work great in a LA.

 

[Roughrice]

For using factory ammo... perhaps, as mentioned, the 6.5 PRC, 7 PRC or 300 PRC is what has grabbed the most attention in recent years.
I don't have any but these should best meet your wants with having the range capability and having factory ammo available.

 

[Phil Rizzo]

.284 covers a lot of scenarios, thoroughly.
Most useful bullet weights are from 140-180 with the appropriate twist rate.

 

[Roughrice]

.284 covers a lot of scenarios, thoroughly.
Most useful bullet weights are from 140-180 with the appropriate twist rate.

I agree!
I have 284 Win, 7 SAUM and 280 AI rifles and reload for all.
I think with his needs/wants, having long range capability with factory ammo, … I thought of the PRC cartridges.

 

[huntinghuasna]

7mm PRC

 

[Old Rooster]

.284 covers a lot of scenarios, thoroughly.
Most useful bullet weights are from 140-180 with the appropriate twist rate.

Yep but,they top out at 180 grs.Some company had made some 189 gr 7mm bullets but I never found any.Got rid of all 7mm rifles due to limited weight range compared to 30 cal.
180 is a starting point for 30 caliber rifles.
Just my opinion

 

[Sockeye66]

RBros Apex Hunter 7mm PRC

 

[FEENIX]

Good friend of mine is interested in purchasing a custom rifle and I'm trying to give him some help. Here is what I've heard from him:
1) Wants a custom build. He's owns several nice factory rifles (Sako, Tikka, etc.) but really wants to go with a custom build, it will be his first.
2) Utilize factory ammo only--he is not interested in reloading. I've offered to help on this but he really wants to shoot factory ammo for a variety of reasons so lets assume he will only shoot quality factory loads.
3) Use for hunting 100-800 yards and target work out to at least 1200. Game would be whitetail at distance, mule deer and elk.
4) Heavy enough to be easy to target shoot but not a 20lb gun either.
5) He is willing to spend good money to get it right, cry once buy once thought process.

Looking for:
1) What gunsmith/shop would be a good fit given no reloading
2) Thoughts on calibers given factory ammo only constraint

Thanks for your input!

Because elk is on the mix, from 100-800Y, and working towards at least 1200Y, "my" choice is .33 cal - .338 RUM/Lapua/Norma Mag, etc. - a chambering that delivers enough velocity and energy with the right bullet to harvest an elk humanely. Shot placement and the NUT behind the trigger remain the most significant factors. If he stays under 800Y, there are more options.

Berger sells .338 LM with 250/300 EH, and 300 OTM, HSM sells 250/300 ORM for .338 RUM/LM for the 1200Y elk poke.

Berger's ammo loaded with 300 OTM shows an MV of 2725 FPS. At my altitude at 1200Y, it has a 1701 FPS and 1927 FT-LBS.

As far as gunsmith, contact @Alex Wheeler.

 

[osok-1k]

If you can find them, buy as many cases of your chosen ammo as you can find and of the same lot if possible. As the world at war escalates, ammo will become more difficult to find and exponentially more expensive. That said you should verify that it shoots well in your rifle when you get it. No point in having a bunch of ammo that doesn't shoot well in you rifle.

 

[osok-1k]

One more thought, since you already own rifles of the three lug design, I would strongly consider Terminus actions. They're as good as anything out there and better than many. I also agree with whoever stated that a long action would be a wise choice even for a short action round if you so choose. Sometimes we change and if you decide at some point in the future that you want or need to reload your ammo, you have more flexibility on loading options.

 

[Mark37082]

I didn't see a budget listed in the requirements. If budget is not a consideration, tell him to call Gunwerks and lay out his requirements. In my opinion GW is significantly overpriced, but they produce fine rifles. If this is dual purpose rifle (hunting and LR target), I would ask him what is the most important. I personally don't think any rifle over 10 lbs ready to hunt makes for a great all round hunting rifle. However, I'm not driving around looking for game and walking a couple hundred yards to set up for a shot. The PRC's are probably the easy button. Caliber depends on game and recoil sensitivity.