Which long range target rifle to buy

[roninflag]

i have one of best in the world install my barresl. no need to true. were you going to true the vanguard? why? get a stack the fits the contour barrel you want.

 

[catorres1]

i have one of best in the world install my barresl. no need to true. were you going to true the vanguard? why? get a stack the fits the contour barrel you want.

As for truing, I honestly don't know what is necessary or not.

If I could just have the barrel screwed in and the thing tumped into the stock I want, that would be great and the most economical way to go.

Who does your work?

BTW, went to LGS today, they had a predator hunter....stock does not fit at all in several ways, but otherwise, I liked the rifle. Crisp trigger, though not a fan of the little blade, looked well finished. Nice barrel. Pretty nice rifle.

They also had the Weatherby RC varmint I am looking at, but in 223. First one I have actually handled. I don't like the shorter barrel so much (22"), but man, the stock just fits. Probably no need to lengthen it or anything because it 'comes to my cheek' and I don't have to lean so far forward that my thumb punches me in the face like on most stocks. The savage was also bad in the way the pistol grip is designed in relation to the bolt handle. It will rap my knuckles every time.

Basically, I went there looking for an LRP (they did not have one) and to try the Predator Hunter to see if I could live with it. I found no LRP to look at, but did find I cannot live with the predator hunter stock, and really liked the Vanguard Varmint's.

But I did get the name of a local custom builder to check into. Gonna see what they can do for me.

 

[catorres1]

So talked to two builders today. One was far above me, most of his rifles have hand made wood stocks and start at 5k. His 'cheap' option was somewhere north of 2k.

The second was right around 1800 - 2k, assuming he buys an action with bdl bottom metal from Brownells as the start point.

Basically
$660 for the action
$600 for barrel and install
$250 for Stock
$150 for coating
$150 for bedding etc.
Then there would be tax an other unforseens.

So figure 2k in the end. Too rich for my blood.

 

[MudRunner2005]

So talked to two builders today. One was far above me, most of his rifles have hand made wood stocks and start at 5k. His 'cheap' option was somewhere north of 2k.

The second was right around 1800 - 2k, assuming he buys an action with bdl bottom metal from Brownells as the start point.

Basically
$660 for the action
$600 for barrel and install
$250 for Stock
$150 for coating
$150 for bedding etc.
Then there would be tax an other unforseens.

So figure 2k in the end. Too rich for my blood.

Seems very steep on the action, and a little steep on the barrel and labor, especially not to include bedding the action. JMO.

I mean, I'm sure that's nothing compared to what the big name smiths get for their guns that cost $4,500+, but still seems high to me. I certainly can't afford something like that...And can't forsee being able to in the future. LOL

You can go buy a Rem 700 Long Range in whatever caliber you want ($699-$799), then have it trued, and a new barrel installed ($315-350 for the blank), and get the action bedded for less than $1,500. There's $500 towards your scope, rings, and base, compared to the $2,000 rifle the smith quoted you. And it will be just as good as his rifle.

 

[snowpro440]

Why not buy a factory gun and when you can spend the money make it a switch barrel gun and customize as you go ? The .308 Savage would be the perfect choice, cheap ammo and many bullet weight choices available ,as you can buy pre fit barrels and change the bolt heads.....lightbulb shoot what you can afford even if its a .22 long rifle, then upgrade but your gonna need really good glass.

 

[roninflag]

I have a bunch with krieger barrels. none are trued. 300 for the blank , 150 to 175 installation. shop for action usually 300-400. you buy the 700 sps, sell the 17$ barrel for 25, sell the stock for 25.

 

[WildRose]

Yeah, I know all about the accuracy issues! Had a rifle that I put a lot of time and money and hope in this year, ended up being just a ho hum shooter. Not bad, just not what I needed.

Weatherby guarantees every Vanguard will shot 3 into an inch. My son's does .5. But that's a kinda scare guarantee because you are in the place of figuring out with 'what'? You can call the custom shop and they will tell you what they test with, but the onus is still on you to prove it does or it does not.

That's why I am leaning towards their RC guns. Yes, they are a bit more expensive. But with all the money I wasted this year chasing shadows, RC is a bargain. Having them not only promise, but do the testing, supply proof and tell you what they used to do it is valuable to me. It's not just a 'we're pretty sure it will' guarantee, it's now a 'tested to make sure it does' guarantee, and I like that.

It does take a good company to make that useful, however. They could always just lie. But from what I know about the company, and in my experience with them, it's worth a risk for me.

In addition, in this case, the Vanguard option I am looking at is cheaper than my other two options, so it's a pretty good situation. Again, if it were available in a 260 or 7mm, I would not be putting this post up. The price is right, the configuration is perfect, it fits nicely. It's just not in a the caliber that seems best.

I could just shoot it for a while and then plan a rebarrel down the road to 260/6.5, but that makes it expensive.

Another thought about the remington, though, it comes with an M40 stock. B&C also make the Weatherby stock on the 300 for long action remingtons. So I wonder if there would be a market to sell the M40 right off before even using it and use that money to finance the other stock for the Remington. That would be a good setup, I think.

Still, it comes down to whether the 7mm or the 308 would be a better trainer when paired with a 300 for 1k shooting...all things considered. That really might be the crux of things. If the answer is strongly for the 7mm, then maybe I need to take a risk on the Remington.

The M40 is definitely a popular stock. You would not have a hard time selling it. Look what they sell for on Stocky's and mark yours dow -25-50 bucks with you covering the shipping, advertise it in the classifieds here, Sniper's Hide, and/or Ebay and it will sell pretty fast.

 

[WildRose]

So talked to two builders today. One was far above me, most of his rifles have hand made wood stocks and start at 5k. His 'cheap' option was somewhere north of 2k.

The second was right around 1800 - 2k, assuming he buys an action with bdl bottom metal from Brownells as the start point.

Basically
$660 for the action
$600 for barrel and install
$250 for Stock
$150 for coating
$150 for bedding etc.
Then there would be tax an other unforseens.

So figure 2k in the end. Too rich for my blood.

Benchmark and Krieger will square your action, sell you a barrel and install it for about 800.00.

 

[catorres1]

Yeah, my local smith will do the same, but for 600, including barrel and coating. I don't know, but have a feeling that is about as good as it's going to get, price wise.

He suggested starting with a rem BDL action, so it has the better bottom metal. That runs 660 from Brownells, he said. Then another 250 for the B&C stock I want. And he will charge for a trigger job if it needs, it, not sure how much. So for action and stock, it's 910.

But honestly, even if I were to use him. I could buy a Vanguard with the stock I want, trigger I want for under 700 right now. So even just using it for action and stock, I start out 210 to the good by using that particular vanguard as my base. And I know what their triggers are like, and I like them well. So it's a better starting point. In a way, I'd be getting the action and bottom metal for $450.

The only downside I can think of is the amazing availability of parts for the Remmy, but other than that, it seems a better starting point for me. Part of the reason for this is that I found a really unusual deal on the Vanguard. If I were to pay regular price, it's more like 900 or 1k, I think.

 

[RMulhern]

Be sure to get one that shoots a case about the size of a thermos bottle because the general trend is those are the ones required for shooting to infinity!!lightbulb

 

[7magcreedmoor]

If you are looking to keep the price down, I just built a Savage in a Boyd's Tacticool, which they made with a custom length of pull and installed a Limbsaver pad for me for under 160. I did the bedding.

 

[catorres1]

So how does that work, I understand getting a stock for a Savage can be a little tricky due to top bolt release, vs bottom bolt release. And then there is screw spacing and centerfeed vs staggered etc.

I was looking at the 10 max predator hunter vs the 11 trophy predator hunter. Other than the fluting and the accustock on the max, which I would get rid of, what is the difference?

 

[7magcreedmoor]

So how does that work, I understand getting a stock for a Savage can be a little tricky due to top bolt release, vs bottom bolt release. And then there is screw spacing and centerfeed vs staggered etc.

I was looking at the 10 max predator hunter vs the 11 trophy predator hunter. Other than the fluting and the accustock on the max, which I would get rid of, what is the difference?

My rifle is built from a 111 with detachable box magazine. The original plastic (super cheap Tupperware type, not the accustock) stock had steel sleeves in the screw holes, which I used for my pillars to keep the spacing right from top to bottom. This is necessary with the newer centerfeed mag, as it is attached to the bottom metal not the receiver. I readily admit being nervous, as I had never bedded a rifle before and was a little paranoid about the prospect of gluing the **** thing together forever. Once I gathered my nerve, it wasn't too bad though. Mr. Dremel made opening up the inletting and barrel channel of the stock (the Tacticool is laminated wood with a painted exterior) fairly easy, and once I had the room for the bedding compound in the appropriate areas, the clay dams to keep overspill under control, and all other surfaces taped off to prevent unwanted messes from attaching to the final product, I used JB Weld. The savage rear action screw is the main challenge, as the sear wraps around it and cannot be impeded in its movement for the rifle to cock and fire properly. I put a clay dam in the space the sear moves in, and had completely removed the trigger assembly and sear from the receiver to do the bedding job. All metal surfaces were coated several times with Johnson's floor wax as release agent, which worked very well for me. I taped the very bottom edge and front face of the recoil lug, filled the notches of the barrel nut with clay then taped around it so the nut and barrel are totally free floating. This may sound like a lot of detail work, but it wasn't really that hard to do, and it all worked as expected. The rifle shoots great, I've been to 1045 yards with it so far, and was successful in engaging targets about 1 moa in size that day. I chose the savage so I could do all the work myself without having to own a machine shop, and installed and headspaced the barrel, which is a PacNor pre-fit 280 AI. All in all it was fun to build, and very fun to shoot. The satisfaction of having "done it myself" cannot be adequately expressed.

 

[catorres1]

Wow, that is a cool build! If I was at all handy, that would be very satisfying. I think I would just build them and sell them for fun!

Fortunately, my buddy is not on this board or he would chime in here and tell everyone to in no way let me near any power tools, for everyone's sake, but especially his. He is tired of having to fix the things that I 'fixed'.