30/06 to 300WM, 300RUM, 308NM, or...

[hawk4974]

I just wish they would change the point system so that everyone has equal opportunity. I've heard stories about guys getting a tag every 2-4 years yet I've heard of guys that have put in for 16 years on have had only one tag to show for it. Surely there's a better system. I would agree though they the DG&F has done a great job with heard management.

If you're afraid of wolves, wait 'till the hawk4974 gets to 'em!!!! gun)

 

[mtmuley]

Look at the rifle Jud96 spoke of. I have one .300 RUM, a BDL SS, but that rifle is interesting. Especially for the price. And .300 RUMs work great on wolves in Montana. Should work where you are. mtmuley

 

[elkaholic]

I have an old (1950's 1960's) Remington 700 in 30/06 that I want to covert to something different. The problem with the rifle is I can't get a load to shoot even halfway decent out of it. It's got a short barrel (20"?) on it with a metal butt plate. It doesn't even have a magazine plate on it, you have to empty the gun by working the action. It looks just like the picture I'm attaching.

I know that most custom builders use the Remington action so I'm sure there are plenty of options out there. I have no clue where to go, how to start, or if I should just take the action somewhere and pay someone. Here are my questions:

1. I know you can easily convert a 30/06 to a 308 Norma Magnum but is it a good round? Everything I've read about them seems positive except for the brass.

2. Can it be converted to a 300 RUM or a 338WM? I've seen threads about converting to 300 WM but not the RUM or .338WM. I figure if I'm going to change the whole thing why not look at my options.

3. If it possible to do this stuff, where do I start? I worked at a gun shop/shooting range all through high school and some college and I am no gunsmith by any means! I'd like to do as much as I can myself but I will definitely take it elsewhere to get the important things worked on. BTW, I'm in Mesa, AZ if anyone is a custom builder out there that is willing to help me out!

It looks like what you have is what they called a mtn. rifle. I admit that I have not read thru the thread so you can ignore this if you have already covered it! You could EASILY convert it to 300 Sherman with out altering the boltface or anything. In fact, you could simply run the Sherman reamer thru the chamber and get 300 WSM performance. Since it doesn't shoot well now, you may not want to do that though as it could be the barrel. I don't know if you are into wildcats or not, and of course this is a wildcat. If you did want to open the boltface, I have a couple of 30/375 S.I.'s that shoot very well. It is also a wildcat that has the 375 Ruger as a parent case so has no belt. I can reach 3100' with the 215 Bergers in a 28" barrel. I have the reamers and can get good custom dies for either. The other options are of course endless, and you have probably already heard a lot of them.......Rich
p.s. They started making the 700 in 1962 and the mtn rifle was several years later. I suspect that yours is a mid to late 80's model since they didn't start making them until '86? They did make a custom deluxe 700 BDL with a 20" barrel back in the 60's (I have one) but yours is an ADL.........Rich

 

[gaps]

I agree with MontanaRifleman with the 300 rum and Azsugarbear with Phoenix custom rifles. I had them build me a rum last year and love it! Here is a link to some shooting I did last month with it. If you don't want to watch the whole video skip to 5:20 to see the specs and shooting of the rum.

[ame]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9kAknB_mZ0s[/ame]

 

[hawk4974]

It's neat to see the difference in the disturbance trail between the 260 and the 300! The 300 appears WAY flatter. May just be camera angle though.

If you don't mind me asking, what was the final cost of the Phoenix 300?

 

[hawk4974]

What about a Sako vs Remingtom Sendero?

 

[hawk4974]

You could sell your rifle you have now and buy a Remington 700 Long Range. They run around $650-700 and are chambered in .25-06, 7mm Remington Mag, .30-06, .300 WIN Mag, and .300 RUM. They come from the factory with B&C stocks and a 26" varmint contour barrel. I know its not a custom, but a great place to start into long range hunting.

Okay, so I've been burned by Remington in the last 3 rifles I have purchased (2 BDL's and a 700 LSS). All three of them had quality control issues with the chambers. My own fully resized, trimed, rubbed, rolled, oiled, massaged, pampered cases wouldn't even fit back in the chamber. I've seen issues before where one rifle won't accept another rifle's cases but not the same gun! The only thing I could think was that the chamber was ovaled. So again I ask, what makes the Sendero so special? I love the way a Rem feels in my hand but I'm not about to drop $1300 on something I can't reload with.

Would the "Long Range" have the same quality control issues? The problem I've got is that it's not something you can just return if you don't like it.

 

[Hookturnr]

I'm a Remington guy...from an action standpoint anyways. My LR guns are built on 700's and a 721 because I already had the actions but that's about all that is left factory on them.

I wouldn't hesitate to go with the LR Remmy though. They have had a few problem children make their way out of the factory but so has everyone else. I think it's simple math and they sell more rifles than anyone else in the US but the problem percentage has got to be extremely small when compared to total sales volume.
You can't build the solid reputation that they have by continually putting out crap.

The vast majority of Remington rifles will shoot around 3/4MOA out of the box with good handloading workup...some much better, some a little worse. The aftermarket support is great, which means tons of options when you decide to tinker with it later.

 

[elkaholic]

I've been shooting 700's since 1970 and there is no doubt that they are having a little more trouble now than with the earlier models. That said, they are still one of the best actions out there as can be seen on the competition circuit. I've not heard of too many senderos that won't shoot, and I would definitely use the 700 action for a custom........Rich

 

[Jud96]

+1 Rich and Hook. My experience with Remington has been nothing but excellent and will continue using the Model 700s in the future as factory rifles and for customs. I've also had great success with other Remingtons like their .22s and shotguns.

 

[hawk4974]

I was talking everything over with my dad about the 30/06 and I think we may just put a new barrel and stock on it and see what happens. Can anyone recommend a fairly affordable stock and barrel? The '06 will do everything I need it to do. I may actually put a break on it to watch the target.

Plus, I may sell my x-bolt 300 wsm and get a Sendero next year. I love the way the Remington feels (palm, trigger shoe, cheek, etc) I've just been really upset with the QC. I'm surprised at the lack of aftermarket parts for the x-bolt. Why is that?

I know I just said a lot in this last statement and there's about 3 different threads I could do here.

 

[elkaholic]

I was talking everything over with my dad about the 30/06 and I think we may just put a new barrel and stock on it and see what happens. Can anyone recommend a fairly affordable stock and barrel? The '06 will do everything I need it to do. I may actually put a break on it to watch the target.

Plus, I may sell my x-bolt 300 wsm and get a Sendero next year. I love the way the Remington feels (palm, trigger shoe, cheek, etc) I've just been really upset with the QC. I'm surprised at the lack of aftermarket parts for the x-bolt. Why is that?

I know I just said a lot in this last statement and there's about 3 different threads I could do here.

The quality barrels are all going to run about the same ($340+-) the difference being time to get one. Benchmark you can get in a couple months and most other quality barrels may take 6 mo. or more. Sometimes you can find inventory barrels in a Krieger in a couple different places. Boyd makes a pretty good inexpensive stock.......Rich

 

[MudRunner2005]

I was talking everything over with my dad about the 30/06 and I think we may just put a new barrel and stock on it and see what happens. Can anyone recommend a fairly affordable stock and barrel? The '06 will do everything I need it to do. I may actually put a break on it to watch the target.

Plus, I may sell my x-bolt 300 wsm and get a Sendero next year. I love the way the Remington feels (palm, trigger shoe, cheek, etc) I've just been really upset with the QC. I'm surprised at the lack of aftermarket parts for the x-bolt. Why is that?

I know I just said a lot in this last statement and there's about 3 different threads I could do here.

B&C Medalist stocks are awesome for the money. However, just like any stock you will need to have it bedded.

And as for barrels, Bartlein, Rock Creek, Brux, Mueller, Benchmark, Krieger, or any of those guys will make an excellent barrel.

 

[hawk4974]

How hard is it to remove the barrel and put the new one on yourself? I'll more than likely pay someone to do it but it would be neat to do it yourself. I've bedded a stock before so that shouldn't be an issue. Should I float it as well? I've heard from others that when it's bedded, floating is not necessary.