Long Range Rifle On A Budget, by Jerry Teo

[straightshooter]

Great article. You talked me into going this route for a practice rig in a 308. As I will have to build a bit at a time I was wondering if you could give some more in-depth info on how to firm up and work the original stock.

[Mysticplayer]

If you want to keep the exterior orig, cut the ribs in the forend and epoxy in arrow shafts. Try and insert one end into the solid area next to the action screw pillar, under the recoil lug.

Second is to epoxy on pieces of plywood or lumber on the exterior. Start from at least 1" behind the action screw hole.

Shape and refinish. You can widen the forend to work better on a pedestal rest.

Either method does a great job of turning that floppy stock into something very useable.

The material in the stock will take epoxy very well so you can cut and paste wood onto the stock to change it into any shape you want.

Good luck and post pics.
Jerry

[crankin]

I have just purchased a B&C Duramaxx stock for my build and was wondering what needed to be done in the way of bedding the action into the stock. Wanting to get the most out of the rifle right off the bench. The Action is a 110, barrel is a 26" shilens varmit and the trigger is a sharp shooter, also installing a new HD recoil lug. This is my first build so I hope I am heading in the right direction. 25-06 rem was my choice for the build. need all the help and info you have to make this come off right. I did order the go/nogo gauges. Thank you for your time

[Mysticplayer]

There are plenty of articles on the net to help you with bedding. The key is ensuring the action is not stressed/bent during the bedding process. It should lie flat and even as close to the alum bed as possible (should make contact at a few spots) but not be bent to get there.

I have used Devcon epoxy steel but there are other brands. Any quality epoxy with a high steel content will do.

If you have concerns about doing this, any quality smith can do the work. Pay close attention that the recoil lug is fully bedded on all sides. It must be an interference fit to work at its best.

yes, this means harder to take apart but better functioning after. I like the factory recoil lug as the angles make removal a cinch. The straighter/vertical profile of Rem lug makes this more problematic.

When done properly, you will only need firm hand pressure to tighten the action screws which will stay tight during use. If someone says, you need to use a torque wrench and lot of force, run. Properly bedded actions are a glove fit so you just need to turn the screw tight enough so it doesn't rattle loose.

Holding a rifle together using action screw force is a clear sign of bad bedding.

To check if the bedding has been done right, put the action into the stock until it bottoms. Now try and move the action in any direction using very firm force. The action should not move forward or back nor roll. It should not tip or rock. The action should bottom in the stock with a 'clunk' and that is that. Should feel so solid that you wonder if you should bother with the action screws at all.

If there is a hint of wiggle don't worry, the action screws will take up the slack but you get the idea of what it should feel like.

I also like to bed under the barrel nut and maybe the first 1/2" of barrel. This eliminates any load on the action.

Make sure that the forend has lots of clearance around the barrel. These must not touch.

From here, just follow my reloading post and work up a load. I am partial to the SST's as they have shot very well for me over the years. Ballistic tips are also very accurate.

Once you know your rig can shoot and how well, you have a baseline to compare any other bullet more suited to your game or hunting style.

good luck with your project and post pics.

Jerry

PS for all those with alum chassis or fancy dollar stock, take this simple test. Remove the action screws and try to move the action in the stock. I bet you get alot of movement if you haven't bedded the action.

The worse I have worked on was a big name stock where you could move the stock fore/aft 1/8" and rotate it about 15degs. It simply rattled inside the stock.

Worse, when the action screws were tightened you could see and feel the action being bent into the stock. The bedding needed to be almost 1/8" thick at the low spot to level the action.

How's that for stressing an action?

[Freebore]

Jerry,
Wonderful article!
Now how would you go about building a LH 7STW using Stevens/Savage action? Looking to build a long range deer/elk carry rifle (10-11#) and I like the 7STW. Your thoughts and comments (even for a different cartridge) would be appreciated. What about that new 6500 Elite scope, I see it does not come with the turrets like the 4200 does (6-24-50mm).

[zefireman]

Originally Posted by Len Backus

This is a thread for discussion of the article, Long Range Rifle On A Budget, by Jerry Teo. Here you can ask questions or make comments about the article.

The author will have this thread automatically notify him of posts so that he can join the discussion.

Can a tc encore be used for a long range hunting rifle by ordering a bullberry barrel say in 300 win mag w muzzle brake and a trigger job .. then top it with a nightforce..???

[Mysticplayer]

Freebore, I am not LH so don't keep up on the models Savage offers. Try and find a RUM or Wby length action or you will have to modify a standard magnum action to fit the longer mag box. Contact Savage and see if they are still offering the longer magnum box.

Might not be possible. Single feeding is always a possibility and any LH long action will work.

I have used a 7RM and love that case. Inside 1000yds, it will do all that I want using 162gr Amax and SST's. I looked at the STW a while ago but found it wasn't the most docile of cases to work with and velocity increase was not that much more over the 7RM in standard length barrels.

My 7RM is a factory Savage and this pipe loves to go fast. With Re25 and 162gr Amax, I am going a bit over 3100fps. Very hot load and brass life is short but it is within STW speeds. Accuracy has also been great with sub MOA/MOA out to 900yds. More then enough for my type of hunting.

Unless you plan on a pipe longer then 26", I really don't know how much more velocity the STW will give you?

I have yet to see an Elite 6500. from the reports I have read, the optics are indeed very good with most comparing these to be superior to their Leupold VXIII's. I haven't seen a mechanical test yet.

What some have said, and I assume to be a factory error, the turrents do not have horizontal hash marks on their inner scale. There is a vertical line and there are marks on the turrent knobs, but none to help you know how many revolutions you have done.

If this is standard fair, these turrents are useless. No word from Bushnell.

Also, the elevation range for these scopes has been dramatically reduced especially in the 30X variable. Now only 50mins, it is not much better then their less expensive models.

Yes, you can get more mag and clearer glass, but if the turrents are not properly marked, you don't get much use out of them anyways. Bushnell has dropped the ball again with respects to LR and match shooters.

I have used the Elite 4200 tactical model and the mechanicals were superb. The optics were pretty decent like the VXIII. You did loose just a smidge of resolution at 24X, just like the Leupolds. Nice bright glass with a reticle that is sized properly too. I like this scope but compete with the older 6X24AO mil dot scope. These have much better optics.

I expect that the 6500 glass will likely take from this AO model. That would be a positive but I really hope that the turrent and elevation issue can be resolved.

I hope to get my hands on a Sightron SIII LR 6X24 model shortly. This is supposed to have both good glass and lots of elev/windage. We shall see.

zefireman, I have zero experience with the Encores so can't say anything about this platform. Sorry...

Jerry