New .243 Carry Rifle

[SteveBurton]

I wanted a light weight carry rifle that would be good out to 300-400 yards and be a suitable platform for a custom build in a few years. It also couldn't break the bank. I settled on a Remington 700 SA for the foundation. My custom will probably be another 243 Win or I'm kicking around the idea of a 6.5x47 Lapua.


I found the rifle on Gunbroker, brand new, from a place called William Henrys. They still have several 700 SPS' left in .243, .270 and 300 Win Mag. If you are interested, give Clint a call at 417-358-5700. He was a great guy to deal with.
Rem 700 SPS .243 Win - $475 + $25 shipping + $30 FFL = $530

I have purchased an SPS before and knew that the stock was pretty cheap so I bought the B&C Alaskan II from Stocky's Stocks. Always great service there. This stock is light weight, has good lines and a full aluminum block.
B&C Alaskan II - $253

This rifle fell under the trigger recall. I called Remington customer support and talked to a woman there. She told me the turn around time would be 12+ weeks. First of all, that is ridiculous. Second, I asked her what trigger they would be installing on the rifle. She informed me that all they do is remove the original X-Mark trigger, give it a "deep cleaning", and then re-install it. This is to remove the excess adhesive inside the trigger. This is also ridiculous so I picked up a Timney on eBay. Sure, I could have bought it local for around the same price but it was free shipping to my door. Call me lazy. I thought about a Jewel but couldn't justify the extra $100 for a carry rifle. I will install a Jewel when this turns into a custom.
Timney 501 Trigger - $135

Since this is a .243, I picked up a 1 piece, 0 MOA base. The 1 piece base gives me options to change the scope and/or rings later. I don't plan on shooting at anything past 400 yards with it and even that is stretching it for the PA woods. I have always had good luck with EGW bases and Weaver Tactical rings. Not the most expensive but they work well on a light recoiling rifle.
EGW 1-Piece Picatinny Base 0 MOA - $45
Weaver Tactical 4-Hole Picatinny Rings - $40

The Nikon Monarch 3-12x42 has been around for a few years on different rifles. It's good glass out to 500 yards, light weight and I didn't have to buy a new scope.
Nikon Monarch 3-12x42 - $0

I forgot I had a Holland bubble level. Went into the drawer for a torque driver and saw it. Nice little addition.
Holland's Bubble Level - $0

Total - $1003

I don't think that is too bad for a complete rifle. I just finished putting it together last night so I haven't had a chance to take it to the range yet but will update later on. Here are some pics on the build.

 

[SteveBurton]

The stock had some flash over the pillars so I removed that. That was quickly done with a razor blade. Sorry, I removed it before taking a photo.

When I installed the bottom metal, there was some contact on a web under the bedding block. This caused it to see-saw from front to back. I didn't want to induce any torque on it so I removed some material with sand paper for proper clearance.

I also removed the pressure pad at the front of the fore-end to free float the barrel. I went a little crazy with the Dremel tool and then cleaned it up with some sand paper. Then I put a coat of black paint on it to seal it up.

There are some voids in the stock material that you can see in a couple of pics.

 

[SteveBurton]

Overall fit and finish of the stock is very acceptable to me. The back of the bottom metal could be a little more flush with the stock but it doesn't bother me when I hold the rifle.

 

[SteveBurton]

Trigger installed.

 

[SteveBurton]

There she is in all of her glory! Not a bad looking rifle if I do say so myself. Weighs in at 8.5 lbs.
Now to find some time to get to the range.