BLUEPRINTED 700 vs. CUSTOM ACTION

I have rifles built on Stiller, Borden and Defiance actions. Also have customs built on older Sako and Mark V actions. To be honest they shoot about the same. The Sako and Weatherby actions werent blue printed as most builders dont know how to do it.

My guess is that a R700 will shoot about the same. But less resale value...

Tag

I think I saw that the $500 action that he is offering is a single shot. Does anyone know if a repeater is available at that price?

Garycrow said:

I've got a few built on blueprinted M700's and several customs. Any more I'll just buy a custom. Blueprinting means many different things to different people, but to really blueprint a remington M700 and bring it up to the standards of a good custom it'll cost more than just buying the custom in the first place. What passes for blueprinting for a lot of gunsmiths is squaring the face of the action and lapping the lugs. Real blueprinting means cutting the receiver threads oversized, squaring the bolt face and lugs, bushing the firing pin hole, plus a host of other things too numerous to mention.
I don't use remington triggers so the trigger included with a M700 action is worthless to me.

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I too have many blueprinted 700 refs. My smith does everything you listed above along with Sako extractor spiral flute cuts bolt. The guns all shoot between .250 to .450 depending on the nut behind the wheel. Realistically by the time and money spent blue printing the action to this degree you might as well buy a stiller, defiance or pierce action.

Bang4theBuck said:

I think I saw that the $500 action that he is offering is a single shot. Does anyone know if a repeater is available at that price?

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I think these are only repeaters . he says they are true to 0.0001, fluted bolt , send in your trigger and he will time it to the action for no charge . look at reply 11 in the lonk below

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/classic-hunter-actions.3929369/

I have 5-6 trued Remington actions. Rebarreled of course. They all shoot phenomenal. I do want a custom action though......

I struggled with this decision as well and started with two Rem 700 stainless actions. I actually ended up trading the original actions for my rifles as payment for the smithing and bought a Borden Timberline and Surgeon 1186LA and haven't looked back. I'm not saying I'd never build off a Rem 700, but I'd probably stay with custom actions moving forward.

Will a NASCAR Chevy out run your Camaro???
There it is...

mtp29464 said:

I have decided to build a new deer rifle. I'm not going to use this rifle for competitions, just for hunting. Are the custom actions worth the extra expense compared to a Remington 700 that has been trued by a good gunsmith? Everything else being equal, trigger, barrel, and stock. The only real difference I see is the bolt release, and possibly the extractor.

Thanks for your comments.

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While I own and like the custom actions, IMO a trued 700 doesn't leave much if anything to be desired in terms of accuracy or reliability. If on a limited budget, one can put the investment into glass, trigger, stock, etc. I had an older 70's vintage Remington 700BDL that I decided to get trued and Bartlein(Rem Varmint/Sendaro) barreled in 6.5x284 Norma. It was built for LR hunting but it will stand with the best of my competition, custom actioned rifles. As for the bolt release and extractor, I haven't experienced a failure with either in 40+ years.....with some pretty rough usage.
This rifle is a solid <.5MOA shooter at 1000 yards.

I have done both......at this point I will always go with a custom.

I bought a used R700 in 7mm-08 it shot okay, but I wanted to improved my accuracy. I took it to a gunsmith I trusted and had him install a Timney trigger, a match grade barrel and told him to true the action only if it needed it. He did not true the action. It shoots sub-MOA all day long and to date I have taken two mule deer and a 6X6 bull elk with it. I don't consider myself an outstanding shot (I really have to work at it), but I took my bull this past fall at 105 yards offhand. He went 25 feet and piled up.

I have had several Remington Model 700 and 40x actions done by the Remington Custom Shop 15/20 years ago when working in the industry. All were sub 1/2 rifles. I have several rifles on the older Neisika Bay actions using Schneider barrels and several will shoot sub 3/8 this groups. I also have several H. S. Precision rifles and everyone has been excellent. I think it boils down to the person behind the rifle. You got to ask yourself if you can shoot to the potential of the rifle. A truly blueprinted 700 action and good barrel,trigger and stock will have more accuracy potential than most can wring out of it. I have spent a fortune on rifles and glass over the last 35 years,the rifle I shoot most often is a blueprinted model 7 action,Schneider 28" barrel 22-250 Ackley good enough for prairie dogs to 800

I own a blueprinted Remington 700 with a Krieger 26" 1-9 twist varmint contour, bedded in a B&C stock, Jewell trigger, in 7mm Rem Mag. It shoots sub .5 MOA consistently. I didn't have the funds for a custom action or expensive stock. I had an old hand me down, Rem700 rifle from my grandpa. So I did what I could afford with what I had. I took it to a local well known college with a Gunsmithing program. They built me an outstanding rifle. I wouldn't do anything differently. That said I have shot several custom rifles and the actions are smoother. I shot the customs about the same size groups as my Remington. (not the best or most experienced shooter on this forum by a long shot) Build the rifle you want and can afford. If a custom action is in your budget I would get one! If not the Rem700 still shoots just as well for me. Good luck with your decision.