First build

catamountsierra

catamountsierra

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2014
Messages
289
Location
Nampa, ID
I have been thinking about how to build the Remington 700SA ADL that I bought a number of years back. It is currently a 7mm-08, and I used it to take a deer and my first elk so far. This is going to be my first build, so I am kind of guessing as to how this works.

Anyway, I finally ended up making a decision, and started ordering parts and other such stuff. I found a bunch of 284 Winchester brass (150 of them), dies, a Krieger 1 in 8.5" #5.5 that will be 26" long, Wyatt's box, BDL bottom metal, recoil lug, and a stock that I like. I am thinking about getting a new bolt for it, but I don't know if I should just order it now or wait. I will also need to find a smith for the work, preferably in the Boise, Idaho, area.

First off, am I missing anything?

Second, how do I find and get set up with a smith?

Third, I do want the action trued up, which is part of why I am unsure about ordering the bolt at this time. Any advice on that would also be appreciated.
 
Order the bolt you want before you send off your parts. Go ahead and buy every part you want on the finished product. It will cost you more up-front for the extra bolt, but less in the end, because the smith is only headspacing the rifle and lapping and truing the 1 new bolt when he blueprints your action, not the original, then paying him to do it all again with the new bolt down the road.

You're missing bullets, powder, and primers... But that's kind of a given. :D

There's lots of smiths in Idaho, probably a couple on here. Go to the Gunsmithing section of the forum, and start a thread asking for suggestions of who is reputable and who to go to. I'm sure there's a few folks from Idaho on here that will be glad to help you out on a recommendation.
 
MCM Firearms built my 7 RM off a Remington. Proof barrel, Stockys CF stock, Trigger Tech, shoots awesome and turned out exactly as I wanted.
https://mcmfirearms.com/

upload_2018-10-20_16-31-38.jpeg
 
My last couple rifles were built by GA Precision in Kansas city. It may not be close, but the work is a step above. They build the best competition rifles and that translates when they build hunting rifles. They made my 338 rum and 300wm. Both are excellent rifles and fit and finish are excellent. Give them a call, they'll guide you through everything you need and lots of what you dont.
 
MudRunner2005 said:
Order the bolt you want before you send off your parts. Go ahead and buy every part you want on the finished product. It will cost you more up-front for the extra bolt, but less in the end, because the smith is only headspacing the rifle and lapping and truing the 1 new bolt when he blueprints your action, not the original, then paying him to do it all again with the new bolt down the road.

You're missing bullets, powder, and primers... But that's kind of a given. :D

There's lots of smiths in Idaho, probably a couple on here. Go to the Gunsmithing section of the forum, and start a thread asking for suggestions of who is reputable and who to go to. I'm sure there's a few folks from Idaho on here that will be glad to help you out on a recommendation.
Click to expand...

That answers my question about the bolt, so I will get that ordered. I am hoping to get things started after my deer season at the beginning of November, assuming that I get everything in by then.

Bullets, powders, etc... I'm currently looking at 168 gr ABLRs or 162 gr ELD-Xs, either of which I believe will work with the extended magazine box. I have H4350 that I have had good luck with in the current 7mm-08 pushing 150 gr ABLRs at 2750 fps; that load put my elk down nicely. I am leaning towards H4350 or H4831SC for powders.
 
I would make sure the bullets your gonna use will fit in your mag box. You dont want a lot of the bearing surface stuffed in the case or taking up case capacity.
There is 2 things I will not let hinder a build and that is brass and mag. box length.
I think your better off to pick the correct action to the cartridge and not try to make the cartridge fit the action if that makes sense.
Just my 2 cents
 
This was the action that I had, and I like the way it works. I didn't feel like buying a new receiver, though my brother had been pushing me that direction. I've wanted to work from this rifle and turn it into a rifle that should work for all of my big game needs. I think I can do that with my proposed setup. I wanted a bit more power than the 7mm-08 really provides, but honestly it would probably have suited my needs and saved me money on getting set up for a new cartridge. I toyed around with the idea of a 7 SAUM or 7 SS, but when it comes down to it, I think those might have been harder to work with. The 284 Win seems to me about the ideal compromise, providing you have the slightly longer than standard magazine to handle bullets with a decent B.C. Right now, I am running a load that measures 2.825" reliably from a mag box measuring 2.300". The Wyatt is listed as 2.995" internal dimensions, which means that, assuming I only need the same magazine clearance to get the slightly fatter cartridge to feed, allows me up to 2.990". If I run 2.985" for C.O.A.L, that leaves 0.010" clearance in the magazine, double what I am currently running. That also gives me 0.418" of bullet intrusion below the neck running the 168 gr ABLR or 0.379" if I use the 162 gr ELDX; I think I can live with that and still get good performance. Looking at the Hodgdon data, I should be able to at least approach 2800fps, and given that I would be loading longer, and potentially have slightly higher remaining case volume, I might even be able to exceed 2800. Given that I am currently launching a 150 gr ABLR at 2750, either bullet in the 284 represents a significant step up. I think I may limit myself to these bullets in order to retain magazine function; I think the heavier bullets might work well in a long action build, but this is what I have. I think for my needs, this will work quite well. For target shooting, where I would be more comfortable with single loading, I could try some of the heavier bullets since it is an 8.5" twist barrel.
 
I'd double check those bullets in the short action I really don't think they'll fit in the box. I'd do a little homework on reamers too, most 284 reamers of late are made for long or xm length actions. If your local Smith doesn't work out check out longrifles inc. there's a ton of good smiths out there that do amazing things but as far as a 700 action goes Hes THE guy in my experience.
 
Smokepoles said:
Unless your bolt is trashed it can be fancied up for less than the cost of a replacement as well. Good luck and have fun with it the 284 is a great round
Click to expand...

I've been getting cratered primers with every load I've shot from this rifle, even factory ammo, but only when I have been past the book max loads have I ever seen any flattening of the primer. It does seem to have a lot of space around the firing pin, though I haven't really measured to see if the fault lies with the firing pin being undersized or the hole being oversized. I just know it craters every primer it hits, even ones in cases with just some TP stuffed in the end and no powder...
 
Hmm. I've had a handful that always cratered, never really paid it much mind as there wasn't any other pressure. Unless headspace was too tight I wouldn't see it as a real issue but there are people more knowledgeable than me in that department. I've never tried just popping a primed case to see if it still happened.
 
Smokepoles said:
I'd double check those bullets in the short action I really don't think they'll fit in the box. I'd do a little homework on reamers too, most 284 reamers of late are made for long or xm length actions. If your local Smith doesn't work out check out longrifles inc. there's a ton of good smiths out there that do amazing things but as far as a 700 action goes Hes THE guy in my experience.
Click to expand...

I did a bunch of measuring on both the bullets and the brass. That isn't as good as measuring loaded rounds, but does give me fair numbers. From those measurements, setting the ogive at the case mouth gives me a C.O.A.L. of 2.846" with the ELDX and 2.844" with the ABLR; those should fit in the Wyatt mag box and I think represent my worst-case scenario. Checking out the reamers was something I hadn't thought about; I had been thinking of making up a couple dummy rounds and getting the smith's advice on the reamer and throat specs.
 
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