Using Factory Actions for Builds...?'s...

Garycrow said:

All I would have done to a Remington action is have the action face squared & the lugs lapped. Most smiths will do that for $50. Anything more is lipstick on a pig.

Click to expand...

Gary, I had my action squared, lugs lapped, and 8x40 holes done. Reading your post has me wondering what you are referring to when you say that you wouldn't do anything else to it...what else can be done besides the above to a M700 action?

The Nucleus can take Savage small shank prefits.

It really depends on your expectations. Shoot as good or a little better than factory or very impressive. To me if you're going in for the barrel cost you may as well true the action at a minimum.
You can true a Remington for just a little or blue print for about half of what a custom cost.
I personally wouldn't use a sendero as a doner action. It's too valuable. If you don't want it or need the money for a build then sell it for cash.
If you have an older 700 or can find a beater for around $4-500 you can come out okay. An older BDL will give you bottom metal, a magazine and follower. The trigger can be tuned to equal a timney and a BDL stock will bring $50-150 depending on style and condition. Many times these older rifles have an older steel scope with will bring similar to the stock further reducing the price of the doner action.

Once trued or blue printed you really have something to work with. Not quite a full custom action but if you're on a budget it's darn close.

Something to keep in mind, most custom actions go for right around $1k and up for just the bare action. So if you have to buy a doner action then true it and rework or replace the trigger you can decide for yourself at which point it economically makes sense to do a custom.

Or if you want to Cadillac it, buy one of the top customs trigger, barrel and stock.

I have done 6 semi-customs on factory actions. All but one have been on a Savage action, they all shoot very well and **** off people who spent far more. With that said I will tell you building on a non Rem 700 action blueprint can suck in the aftermarket department. Using the savage keeps the price low and the accuracy outstanding but stock and trigger choices are limited. The non Savage I mentioned was a Remage. My struggle with it was that to really get it to shoot well it needed fully gone through by a gunsmith. At that point I wished I would have just done a custom action. My next action is a Big Horn Arms SR3. They take Savage prefits, allow me to swap my barrels and give me all the aftermarket choices.

Ingwe said:

Gary, I had my action squared, lugs lapped, and 8x40 holes done. Reading your post has me wondering what you are referring to when you say that you wouldn't do anything else to it...what else can be done besides the above to a M700 action?

Click to expand...

The sky's the limit. That's why when someone says "blueprint" you have to find out what they include in that. To some it's face the action & lap the lugs. To others it's that plus recut the action threads, recut the lug seats and lugs, square the bolt face, bush the firing pin hole, ream the bolt raceway oversize and bush the bolt, retime the bolt handle or replace the bolt with a whole new one. That's just some things off the top of my head I can think of that some gunsmiths do to Remington's, I'm sure there's a lot more.

It can get kind of crazy (and expensive) to the point where it would have been cheaper to start out with a good custom action.

I've built a couple of Smokeless muzzle loaders of Savage Target actions...very accurate
I'm using one of those actions for a Bartlien 6.5 CM barrel now.
I just started shooting it yesterday.
And for a factory action, with the target trigger and the Bartlien barrel it's pretty accurate.

As for the Gunwerks action, if it had standard Remington threads I think I'd try it...but it doesn't.
Why'd they do that?

If you are building for a short action cartridge and want to use a factory action, recommend taking a look at the Tikka. Generally true from the factory, has a nice trigger, very smooth to operate, and you can usually find one for a reasonable price; some of the aftermarket stock builders now have excellent options for tikka rifles. I have custom builds on the 700, M70, savage, weatherby and Tikka. The 6.5 PRC built off a Tikka 300 WM T3 is a true pleasure to shoot rivaled only by the weatherby mark v, of the factory actions mentioned.

R700 action face from the factory....

You will want to have something like that cleaned up for sure.

I have 6 builds off R700 actions that have been squared up and trued. All shoot rediculously accurate. .25-06AI, 6.5 SLR, 6.5 SS, .280AI, 7RM, .300RUM.

If you already have the action, clean it up and use it. If you are going to buy a new action, go custom. My build that is ready to go is using a Lone Peak Fusion TI SA. They are butter smooth actions.

I always thought those tool marks from sending that dull insert across the face at 4000 SFPM just helped hold the recoil lug in place

Earnhardt said:

ATH...1/3 MOA?
That's what you gain by truing an action?

Click to expand...

I'm not sure where you got that, considering I said I'd never trued an action.

Any rifle I build Remage/Savage style and bed in a quality stock will shoot ~1/3MOA with tailored loads. This is why I said with my normal use, if truing gives you .1 MOA (total random guess), I would have trouble knowing. Perhaps 10 shot groups at 300+ yards would show the difference which would be irrelevant for all but exactly 2 of my rifles.

Last weekend I shot the first ladder with my latest build, a Remage in 6X45 built on a cheap Remington I bought during the Gander going out of business sale. McGowan barrel. Worst group was .75 MOA and best was .25MOA, 3 shots. So I figure after more development 5 shots groups will again be in the neighborhood of 1/3ish MOA with this lighteweight carry hunting rifle.

Just curious. Has anyone ever had a rifle that did not shoot in which the took the barrel off, trued the action and reinstalled the same barrel. Then documented the results to show that the variable affecting accuracy was the untrue action? Talked to a Sgt at Quantico and hey had a barrel blank that the bore was 0.030" off center from the OD of the barrel blank. He chambered it and it still shot under 1 MOA with M118. Not that this example is definative. But I do wonder how much it matters if the action is trued etc. Im sure if the action is drastically off center it could have some affect. I have no doubt that truing your action cannot hurt. But, also not sure how much it helps. I tend to think that the how true the chamber is to the axis of the bore is the most important machining step except maybe the bore itself. my 2 cents.

Usually, when cleaning up the action, you square the face, open and clean up the threads, lap the lugs, etc. A barrel that was taken off might not fit going back on if you open up the threads to clean them up, and squaring the face can set the barrel back a few thousandths.

So, no, I never have.

I had an R700 action (old .30-06) that I paid a Smith to true, install aftermarkey recoil lug, and had a 28" #4 Shilen Match barrel put on and chambered to .25-06AI. It was a solid .5MOA rifle after years of load work up, with 3 different bullets, 100SMK, 100TTSX, 115HVLD. After 14 years and a lot of rounds, I rebuilt it last year to .280AI. When the new smith took it apart, the above photo was what he found. Action still had out of square face, factory threads, factory recoil lug. He trued it up, installed new .250" recoil lug, new 26" Proof Sendero Light barrel and chambered it to. 280AI. It is now a solid .3MOA rifle. With 3 different bullets. 145LRX, 160TMK, 175 Elite Hunter. Not sure if the truing helped, better barrel, or just better smith practices, but it is a shooter for sure.

If the center line through the action and down the center of the barrel is straight
the OD should not really affect it's shooting? Indicate the bore real close.. chase the threads and face to match the bore not the OD...It should work fine..

tankgijohn72 said:

Just curious. Has anyone ever had a rifle that did not shoot in which the took the barrel off, trued the action and reinstalled the same barrel. Then documented the results to show that the variable affecting accuracy was the untrue action? Talked to a Sgt at Quantico and hey had a barrel blank that the bore was 0.030" off center from the OD of the barrel blank. He chambered it and it still shot under 1 MOA with M118. Not that this example is definative. But I do wonder how much it matters if the action is trued etc. Im sure if the action is drastically off center it could have some affect. I have no doubt that truing your action cannot hurt. But, also not sure how much it helps. I tend to think that the how true the chamber is to the axis of the bore is the most important machining step except maybe the bore itself. my 2 cents.

Click to expand...