Danny, My smith was Dale Storey from Casper, WY. I only purchased the action from PGW.
I looked at all the other actions, BAT, Nesika, etc. but I wanted a hunting rifle stock not a tactical stock so I was limited with regards to the action. The M18 is the same as the remington 700 so I was able to use the Mcmillian Remington Hunter stock. I heard good things from members of this forum regarding the PGW actions. I also considered the Mcbros action and the Ed Brown action, but Mcbros needed an attitude adjustment and I was concerned that the Ed Brown wasn't suitable for a 338 lapua. I went with the M18 with the magazine, but they also make it in single shot. I also went with SS in stead of titanium. I wanted they extra weight because I won't use a brake.
The gun is 10 3/4 lbs without a scope, bases, or rings. Should be around 12.5 lbs scoped. I've never had a problem with recoil, but I did listen to too much loud music in my youth. The only thing I would suggest is to tell Ross you don't want a trigger and buy a Jewell. I'll also tell you that you will wait for this action, but it worth it. By the way, you need two front bases instead of 1 front and 1 rear. This is because of the way the action is made.
Good Luck!