Custom Gun

[lefty15]

My buddy wants to build himself a custom rifle. Right now he has Tikka left hand .300 win mag. Once he has shot this gun out he wants to build a 30-378 weatherby mag with his Tikka receiver.
What kind of barrel, stock and other component do you fella's recommend that he use to build his custom gun?

 

[critter]

What purpose is the custom gun for. That may make a big difference in what would be recomended.
-Tactical
-Benchrest
-Hunting
-Competition

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I really doubt that the Tikka action can safely accomodate the massive 378Wby case but I'd be interested to see what the smiths have to say.

How about a nice 300 Tomohawk?

 

[lefty15]

My buddy wants to use the gun for hunting, but I will definately be telling him that you fella's don't think that the Tikka action could handle the 378 Weatherby.
Tell me more about the .300 Tomahawk.

 

[hvy barrel]

I too have a buddy that wants to build a 30-378. We have been doing some research & the 378 Weatherby case head is close to the 416 Rigby in diameter I believe. I would look for an action that could handle the 416 Rigby case & I think you would be safe.

 

[lefty15]

What kind of receiver would you suggest? My buddy is lefthanded. Also barrel and stock, what do you guys think?

 

[Buffalobob]

Any action that wil handle the 338 Lapua will handle the 378Wby case or 416 case. Basically you are looking at a 0.590++ boltface. I believe Kirby is using Rem 700 magnum actions and opening up the bolt face on them for the 7AM.


If I was you I would just buy one of the new custom machined "hunting actions".

I would also decide up front what my style of hunting was going to be with the gun and design a gun to fit that style.

 

[Wild_Bill]

Hi whay doesnt he use the Ultra MAg case it will fit in his existing action. The cases are a lot cheeper and also he already has the platform. I would not go with a WBY as the cases are made from Norma and are relatively soft so you can not reload them to many times i would look at a 300 Ultra or 338-300 Ultra and use his existing action but is if he has his hart set on the big WBY case he will need to find another action to make it on. Yes he can use a Rem action but would be better off with a custom left hand action.

Cheers Bill
Australia

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Some smiths will open up Rem 700 bolts to fit the 338 Lapua case (or 378 WBY) while others warn against this practice. It's a bit iffy for me and I would much rather play it safe by using a larger diameter action which was built for this size case. Just my opinion though.

The 300 Tomohawk is basically the 300 RUM in an improved configuration, less body taper and a shoulder angle change, resulting in more case capacity. Similar to other "AI" cases.

Personally, I feel that the RUM case is already beyond the normal practical limit in case capacity for the .308 bore. Larger cases use considerably more powder for nominally smaller gains in velocity. You can probably burn the throat out of 30-378Wby barrel by the time you find a good load. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[rotorhead]

I too like the tikka rifles. If he wants something more I think the 300wby is the ticket make sure the smith keeps the free bore diamenter down. I wouldn't suggest the 30-378 type rounds unless you want to rebarrel every 800-1000 or so. I used to have a 30-378 and it was fast and mean and nasty and **** fun to shoot but for a small improvement in velocity it take a lot of powder and it is very hard on barrels. The 300wby isn't nearly as hard on barrels and gives you more than the 300WM which I think is a fine artridge itself. I have considered this one reasently and I have decided to go with the 300wby on my next build. The problem that I am courious about is the Tikka has a drop mag. I'm not sure a longer case will fit. you might want to check this issue out as well.


RH