Building a Remington 700P in .308, any suggestions?

[FATCAT]

Well ... I'll have my gun smith in town build it. I have a lot of good semi-autos (M1A, M1, etc. . ), but I'd like a good bolt action . 308, but I can't spend over $2000 for it.



Now they come with the HS Precision composit stock with aluminum bedding, but it would be nice to have an adjustable cheek and sholder piece ... McMillan stock?



The Harris bipod is a given, but the scope mount and rings I'm not to sure who to go with? Badger Ordenance makes some nice stuff. I have the 6 screw Badger rings on my AR50 BMG rifle and they hold up quite well.



Now for a scope I know you guys will be saying Leupold or NightForce, but DANG ... they cost more than the rifle by 150%!!! As cheese as you guys might think, I have a SuperSniper on my AR50 and it works very well! I was thinking of one of these to keep the cost down.



Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated (barrel prep, bolt work, oversize bolt handle, etc... . ).

 

[JoshPeters]

Shoot Duluth Diesel a PM. He's gone through this in his head a few times. He has a 300 Ultra Mag that I'm sure he would trick out quite similar to what your doing.



Josh

 

[FATCAT]

Shoot Duluth Diesel a PM. He's gone through this in his head a few times. He has a 300 Ultra Mag that I'm sure he would trick out quite similar to what your doing.



Josh

Will do, thanks.

 

[Bloomy]

Couple of things off the top of my head:



Sako extractor and a Jewell trigger. Any 700 I have ever had I put the Sako extractor in. The Jewell BR competition trigger is absolutely awesome for bench shooting and can be easily adjusted for non-bench shooting or hunting.



Scopes come down to a lot of personal preference. There are a lot of very good brands out there. I do not like Leupold. Had one Nightforce. I have always liked Burris scopes. They are a bit less money than the Leupold, but are just as good. (opinion)



Barrel work. Are you keeping the factory barrel or considering a match barrel?



Thomas

 

[KBennett]

That sounds like a really cool project.



HS has fully adjustable stocks in their tactical series:

http://www.hsprecision.com/new_tactical_stocks.htm



I bought my first Nightforce 12-42X56 about 8 years ago and they have gone way up since then. I am very happy with it but would like the smaller tactical model:5.5-22X50



Here is my Nightforce on my Rem700 VLS in 6mm:

#ad

 

[FATCAT]

... Sako extractor and ... Jewell BR competition trigger is absolutely awesome for bench shooting and can be easily adjusted for non-bench shooting or hunting.

... Barrel work. Are you keeping the factory barrel or considering a match barrel?

Thomas

Now what is this Sako extractor ... I didn't know you could replace just the extractor on the bolt? I'll make a not of that.



I think I will keep the factory barrel for at least 5000 rounds ... I mean the rifle came with it so why not use it. I'm sure the rifle as is will shoot better than I ever could. But down the road I would replace the barrel (in about 3 - 3 1/2 years)



KBennett: the NightForce scope are very nice, but at $1300+ they are just way outside my price range. This rifle will be a work in progress over some time (kind of like truck upgrades). The HS Precision or the McMillan A3 would be he stocks I will look at.



Believe it or not with this rifle I will have to break down and start reloading. I mainly buy surplus 7. 62 X 51, 5. 56, 8mm ... but this rifle will not be feed surplus . 308 ... so this should be fun since I have never reloaded before.



Also what have you guys hears about lapping the barrel? I see that some places (like Midway) sell these bullets with abrasive compounds in ever finer grits that you make rounds out of and use to lap your barrel to remove the tooling marks and smoth things out for better accuracy and easier cleaning. Any thoughts on this or is this just a gimmic?

 

[rubberneck]

Krieger or Shilen barrel in 1 in 10 twist will shoot 168 grbt's real nice. I second the jewel trigger, and I know you said its out of price, but Leupold all the way. I dont know about lapping the barrel. I know a lot of barrel makers recomend breaking in a barrel, there are several different ways to do it. I clean mine thouroughly after every shot for the first 10 rounds then every 5 rounds for the next 50, then as normal. I don't remember who recomended that to me, but I have been doing it for quite a while. I dont know if it helps, but it seems somebody important told me that once. The last custom i put together, the barrel maker talked me into molycoating my bullets. Probably so he could sell me the moly coating kit. LOL I dont know if it is worth it or not. The weapon cleans very very well, but in my experience any good barrel will clean up a lot quicker than a stocker. PHil



PS. I like to bed the receiver, but make sure the barrel floats.

 

[KBennett]

I don't know about the McMillan but the HS has a bedding block built in... no need to bed. The Sako extractor is overrated in my opinion. I have never had a failure to extract in any Rem700 rifle. My Sako rifle with their extractor has had problems but to be fair I think the previous owner had a gunsmith mess with it.



If this is going to be a single-shot rifle, some guys remove or decrease the ejector spring so it does not press on the case. They claim better accuracy this way but the bolt won't eject the case.



There have been a few guys that I shoot with that like the abrasive bullet polishing kit. I follow the standard barrel break-in procedures and get good accuracy that way.



As far as reloading I use Hornady V-Max's for varmints. There was some raving about their A-Max product a few years back and I have had really good success with Sierra HPBT (Hollow Point Boat Tail) bullets.

 

[FATCAT]

Its starting to sound like all I need is to buy Remington receiver and everything else is non-Remington. Can you just buy a receiver?



I know of the Kreiger barrels (I have a spare Kreiger for my NM M1A sitting in my gun safe).

 

[FATCAT]

... As far as reloading I use Hornady V-Max's for varmints. There was some raving about their A-Max product a few years back and I have had really good success with Sierra HPBT (Hollow Point Boat Tail) bullets.

Well since I have never reloaded before (it kind of scares me thinking of all the mistakes you can make), I'll have to get one of my budies to show me the steps, then go get the stuff to do it (Dillon RL550B - love their catalogs and all the babes on the cover ). That is where the majority of my "Scope" money would go so I will have to go inexpensive on a scope at first, then maybe in a year or so I can get a Leupold.

 

[gonehuntingagain]

You can buy just a receiver, or for what you want to do to your rifle you can get a Rem 700 ADL dirt cheap at a pawn shop and start from there. Have the gunsmith true the receiver & threads and install a match grade barrel and get the McMillan stock.



If you go the 700P route, then keep the HS Precision stock and skim bed the receiver - from the factory they do not give a 100% contact area on the aluminum blocks and lug. Skim bedding the rifle will fill in the areas that are not getting good contact. The barrel should already be free floating from the factory.

Badger bases/rings are good, but expensive - but VERY strong. If you go this route get the 20MOA base. I have heard good things about the Super Sniper series of scopes so going that route wouldn't be a bad thing.

Break in the barrel, then see how well it shoots before going on and having it customized. If you get a good one, it should shoot 1/2 MOA easily.

Until you reload, pick up a box of Black Hills match ammo or Federal match ammo. 168 - 175gr bullets in these loadings should shoot superbly.



You may not even need a cheek piece, and there are aftermarket ones that can be installed on the stock fairly easily.

 

[KBennett]

I have two RL550B's. Very good press for reloading rifle ammo.



If you have a good teacher and pay attention you won't have any problems. Most reloading mistakes come from being distracted. The ABC's of reloading is good reading for the reloading beginner.



Bloomy recommended the Jewell trigger. Awesome trigger but VERY light. My buddy has one and I can't shoot it unless it's on a bench, just too touchy.

If you just want to purchase a receiver check out the classifieds here:

http://www.varminthunters.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/classifieds. cgi

 

[scootergmc]

Don't know if you've been here... but try



www.snipershide.com and their forum:

http://www.snipershide.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi



I'm a total long range newbie and there's a lot of info there, you'll have to search and wade through yourself.

 

[Bloomy]

Now what is this Sako extractor ... I didn't know you could replace just the extractor on the bolt?

Here are some pictures of the Sako extractor:



KBennett: Most of the Sako extractors we have installed have been a result of feeding/ejection problems and not an automatic replacement upon purchase of a 700. There are plenty of 700's that don't need them, but I still think this is an upgrade. The bolt pictures are from a 7mm STW bench rifle I built 9 years ago. The way I built this rifle the factory ejector would not work due to OL and the single shot.



Thomas

 

[Bloomy]

One more picture: I know the McMillan and HS are nice stocks and such, but I like to make my own. Takes longer, costs me more, but is a lot of fun (aggravation sometimes). The barrel is a Hart stainless match bead blasted since I don't like anything shiny. Receiver came from a $300 700 7 mag ADL. Trigger is of course a Jewel BR set at 2 oz. Stock started as a black and silver laminate blank that ended as what you see. Aluminum pillar bedded single shot. Muzzle brake more for crown protection, since the rifle weight decreases the recoil enough. Harris bipod with removable studs for bench shooting. The scope is a Burris 8-32x target knob. Lots of fun to shoot.



FATCAT: I know this is early since you aren't reloading yet, but if you want to shoot paper the Sierra HPBT are very good. The AMAX is a little better, but neither of them are good for any type of game shooting. Too hard, will travel straight through most of the big game.



Enjoy!!



Thomas

 

[KBennett]

Nice guns Bloomy. Do you see the need for the extractor on the larger calibers - 7mm, 30-06, etc?



I have had good luck with the . 22 cal. 60 grain HPBT on varmints.

 

[Bloomy]

Nice guns Bloomy. Do you see the need for the extractor on the larger calibers - 7mm, 30-06, etc?



I have had good luck with the . 22 cal. 60 grain HPBT on varmints.

We have used them on all calibers. The most recent was actually a . 223. Two brothers bought identical heavy barreled very nice (still factory) 700's in . 223. The brother that is a friend of mine has had nothing but problems with loads, trigger and feeding/ejection. The other brother's weapon shoots like a dream with no problems at all. The Sako fixed his feeding and ejection.



It really seems like it is something that happens in the manufacturing. Most of the rem extractors will not have any problems. I doesn't necessarily follow cartridge size. I can't explain it real well, most work and some will have problems. The other factor is I have been out of the factory rifle market for many years and don't know if Remmington changed the 700 design at all.



I used the . 22 HPBT for paper punching with a . 222 rem mag but never tried them on varmints. 168gr 7mm are very hard along with the AMAX's. I made the mistake once on a long shot. A a lot of tracking with very little blood. Thankfully there was snow on the ground.



The 700 is still my first choice for a bench/match rifle.



Thomas

 

[The patriot]

I have two old rem 700's. One in 25-06 other in 22-250.

Both feed fine.

If I were building a large cal gun (that may be used on large dangerous game) I'd get the Sako upgraded extractor.

Being mine are fine as is, and the'll most likley just punch paper, I'm keeping mine as is.

Bell & Carlson makes a nice stock I think I'll end up putting on my Savage 10FPXPLE. I think it's called Medallion. It's full length aluminum bedded. The stock Savage plastic stock really sux!!! :{ It's the ONLY thing I dont like about the rifle.

The Remingtons have Leupold scopes, the Savage has a Burris.

Theyre all fine optics.



Edit: The stock is a B&C Medalist

 

[The patriot]

The Bushnell Elite scopes are supposed to be pretty good. Dont laugh.....

The 3200 10X Mil-dot is about $150~ish.

The one I want for my M1A is the 4200 6. 5-24X40 Mil-dot. This one's about $350~ish.

Eric

 

[daveshoe]

Know what you want the rifle to do

I am really confused as to what you want to build a custom rifle for when your first post really only describes the stock and possibly an adjustable buttpad. I think that at the very least,we need to know what it will be used for--target,varmint,hunting,or a variation of the three. If I were to spend that kind of money on a rig,I would certainly have an expectation of accuracy that may be difficult to achieve with the mix of components [stock,barrel,receiver,and scope]that you have described. Be honest with us here--What is your best 5 shot group,or what group do you expect your rifle to be able to shoot? How much do you want your rifle to weigh? What do you intend to shoot/hunt with it? What bullet weight do you intend to shoot?

Take a deep breath and relax a little bit. A guy wanting to shoot a deer at long range across a beanfield will certainly build a different rig than a varmint hunter or a high altitude sheep hunter. Varmint hunters will build different rifles to shoot from a table than to shoot by stalking.

For 2 grand,you should be able to take a good Remington 700 and have a gunsmith blueprint the thing. He will take many of the manufacturing variables out of the rifle,and he could mount a top quality scope,lap the rings to perfection,square up the barrel to the receiver,check the crown and bedding,and safely rework the trigger. .

When you reload brass that has been fired in your rifle,you should also be able to increase the accuracy of the firearm. My experience is a 30 percent improvement.

I once spoke to a notable gunsmith about my Remington,and what he could do for it, When he found out that it would shoot under an inch at 200 yards[if I did my part] ,he said that for a prairie dog rifle,the wind and mirage would affect the accuracy much more than any ''magic'' he could come up with. Gunsmiths do like to work with Remington,as it is a lathe-friendly gun.