So I am a newbie to the long range game. Grew up hunting in southwest Wyoming and have taken several animals at longish range given the nature of the terrain. I took a hiatus from hunting and shooting while I went to college and medical school due to the demands of my schedule. However this past year I had the chance to get out and hunt with my dad in the canyons of SW Wyoming. He took an impressive 4x4 at just under 400yrds and during the final hours of the hunt I put some meat in the freezer with a 3x3. I had such an enjoyable time both hunting and preparing for the hunt that I decided to rethink my techniques and tactics in order to become a more proficient marksman and hunter. I decided that that one area I could greatly improve would be accuracy. Especially accuracy at longer ranges. I read stories and saw pics of gongs and deer being hit at 1000+ yards. While impressive, I decided that this is not where I should start. I wanted to learn the essentials with the tool that has taught 1000's of military men and law enforcement the basics of the long range game. The .308! Being just out of school and living with a family of three on a resident salary I sold a couple of older guns that I had with a plan to purchase and "accurize" a factory rifle. After reading Jerry Teo's article "Long Range Rifle on an Budget" I purchased a Savage .308 with accutrigger and lightweight varmint barrel. As I had limited funds to work with, the photo's below detail the project.
First I bedded the action using Devcon Plastic Steel. This was my first bedding job and I used the instructions on www.6mmbr.com/pillarbedding.html
After bedding the action I built up the stock forend using 2x4 lumber and 5min Epoxy I also converted the grip to more of a "pistol" grip. Additional shaping of the wood was done with files and an electric hand sander.
I then used Bondo from the auto parts store as filler to further build up the stock. The cost of the stock build was around $30 for the Bondo, Epoxy and Paint! The Bondo was easily shaped with files and a sander to get the shape I wanted from the stock.
Now she is ready for some paint!
For paint I used Krylon outdoor matte finish spray paint in OD green, black and tan. I applied two coats of black as a base followed by two coats of green. I then used a stencil made of cardboard to break up the pattern. I used some straw with short bursts of paint to create additional texture.
Here is a pic of the finished stock before I dropped the action back in. Not as fancy as a high end after market stock. She may not win any beauty contests but the added functionality is just what I needed without spending much $$$! The forend is now much stiffer, its steady on the bags and I love the feel of the pistol grip!
Here is the finished rifle! Saved a lot of $ and I had a blast doing it. When I have some spare money my next rig will be a ground up build! Even though the rifle came with the "accustock" the bedding made an improvement in accuracy. Of the shelf with my best handload it was shooting 0.75" to 1" at 100yrds. After bedding and stiffening the stock I am reliably getting 0.5" groups at the same distance.
See you in the field! - James
First I bedded the action using Devcon Plastic Steel. This was my first bedding job and I used the instructions on www.6mmbr.com/pillarbedding.html
After bedding the action I built up the stock forend using 2x4 lumber and 5min Epoxy I also converted the grip to more of a "pistol" grip. Additional shaping of the wood was done with files and an electric hand sander.
I then used Bondo from the auto parts store as filler to further build up the stock. The cost of the stock build was around $30 for the Bondo, Epoxy and Paint! The Bondo was easily shaped with files and a sander to get the shape I wanted from the stock.
Now she is ready for some paint!
For paint I used Krylon outdoor matte finish spray paint in OD green, black and tan. I applied two coats of black as a base followed by two coats of green. I then used a stencil made of cardboard to break up the pattern. I used some straw with short bursts of paint to create additional texture.
Here is a pic of the finished stock before I dropped the action back in. Not as fancy as a high end after market stock. She may not win any beauty contests but the added functionality is just what I needed without spending much $$$! The forend is now much stiffer, its steady on the bags and I love the feel of the pistol grip!
Here is the finished rifle! Saved a lot of $ and I had a blast doing it. When I have some spare money my next rig will be a ground up build! Even though the rifle came with the "accustock" the bedding made an improvement in accuracy. Of the shelf with my best handload it was shooting 0.75" to 1" at 100yrds. After bedding and stiffening the stock I am reliably getting 0.5" groups at the same distance.
See you in the field! - James
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