First rifle build

[WyoHunter1]

Once again the original question goes off track. It was what barrel, stock, scope and caliber. Never had a 280AI but it sounds like a good choice/compromise. plenty of power from prairie dogs thru elk and Moose.
Get a barrel chambered for your favorite choice, many good barrel makers so pick your poison. Get a quality stock and have it bedded to your action. Get a quality trigger. I personally love my Jewell and Trigger tech. Then have the action trued and blue printed. As far as a scope goes. use what you have or start experimenting.

 

[35 Whelen]

Well have a couple options I'd look at. First off I like both the .270Win. and the 30-06. So I would conceder these two options: #1, rebarrel the .270 to 30-06 with a heavy 26" barrel, with faster twist and set it up just for long range shooting/hunting. This way it could be a little more economical as the same ammo good be used in both rifles if needed and if keeping cost down is a concern. #2, rebarrel the 30-06 with a mid weight barrel 24" long with a faster twist(keep in 30-06) and keep the weight down to were it would be comfortable for you to care all day as well. This way you could still keep both cartridges and have one better suited for long rang. Of course you could do the same thing but with the .270 (witch is what I'd do just too be different from most). The only little down side is there is more long rang bullets in 30cal. than .27, but there getting better and with a faster twist you have more than with a stander twist. There are lots of good barrels, I'd go with a Shilen or E.R. Shaw. Stocks I'd have to look at a lot of them and find on I liked the fit feel and look of, I'd probably start by looking at Boyds, scopes most likely Leuplod but maybe Vortex, no more then 12x as my eyes don't like any more than that.

 

[Will Gray]

I read about all the blueprint steps to make an action perfect. In my own experience with four Savage 110's a couple of Remington 700 and one Ruger American action, I find that putting the barrel on and setting the headspace using a barrel nut leaves the gun as accurate with any one of the several barrels I have. Regarding the "three rings of steel," it is a nice sales pitch but if you grossly over pressurize, the brass it will come out around the bolt and into the area of the lugs. The Mausingfield, the Savages 110s and the Ruger American, plus many others have no such setup. I barreled a Remington 700 and did not recess the chamber into the barrel (just like the Savage and Ruger). I like to simplify. If the bolt-barrel interface works on Savage, Ruger and Mausingfield actions it should and does work on a Remington 700. Using a barrel nut does not require the high torque used on a conventional shouldered barrel-action installation. Regarding extractors, the M-98 Mauser extractor appears to be the strongest, followed by the M-16 and the Sako. The Remington 700 extractor works fine but it looks weak: does not engage much of the rim of the case. If you had a stuck case it would likely break off the rim. I always carry a bronze rod in case there is a stuck case: pull on the bolt and tap with the rod in the bore. If you are hunting dangerous game the more reliable the extractor the better. Mausingfield has my vote. with the M-16 being a strong second: good enough for the SEALs... but then I am retired Navy so there may be some bias.

Based on this thread, I went and had a look at the Remington 700 action and the Savage 110 Action. When the bolt is closed on the Remington there is a clear path on the right side of the bolt where you can see the butt of the barrel. The left side is blocked by the structure of the action and the rear fixture on the bolt, but the right side. A failure of the brass might well blow brass out the right side into your face. I do no believe "the three rings of steel" is anywhere as significant as having those tracks blocked by steel as in the Savage. On the Savage 110 those tracks are blocked by the portion of the bolt that does not rotate when the action is closed: no clear path to your face: cannot see the butt of the barrel. Mausingfield having a Remington style has a similar problem though the Mauser extractor does tend to block that right side path. I would say that the Remington 700 design is the least safe (blowing brass) of the Savage, Mausingfield or Ruger actions. Of course the answer is to reload carefully, only have one kind of powder on the table at a time and beside of your load. I look in every case with flashlight after powdering to be sure that I am not loading a primer only round or a double charge.

 

[Don A Parsons]

My Remmy BDL 700 30/06 wood stock is getting a new 6.5/06 barrel @ 24" in Medium couture 3 Chrome Molly,,, just a fraction heavier then the factory barrel...

My Smith will true the action, bed the stock,,, I've all ready added a Trigger Tech,,, and a worn out Vortex 3x15 EBR-2 reticle,,, it will come in at 11 ish lbs total when it's done... The Remmy wood stock are awesome... Solid platform and easy to free float... Don't cheap out on the bedding,,, zero stressing the action has been a added bouns at keeping the shot to shot consistanty going in my builds,,, that and quality after market triggers,,, Jewel target triggers are my favs,,, pricey yes,,, but there worth every penny... Don't get me wrong I like my TT,,, but it ain't no where close to a $400 Cnd funds unit...

It will be a copy cat take off as a M40-A1 to go along side of my fake M40-A3 rifle...

Kinda of nice to keep the weight in check on this build... More So fir general long range plinking and a bit of big game hunting.

 

[sven556]

I am liking the idea of the 280 ai. Will have to take a look at the 280 Sherman as well. Will the Sherman just require running a reamer in a 280 chambered barrel?

For stocks, I am eyeing Boyds Pro varmint model laminate. Seems like people have good luck with them after pillar bedding.

 

[elkaholic]

I am liking the idea of the 280 ai. Will have to take a look at the 280 Sherman as well. Will the Sherman just require running a reamer in a 280 chambered barrel?

For stocks, I am eyeing Boyds Pro varmint model laminate. Seems like people have good luck with them after pillar bedding.

Yes, the Sherman reamer would clean up an A.I. chamber. You might have to set it back 1 thread.

 

[J E Custom]

280 is one that I keep looking at. "280 AI chambered properly" can you explain the differences? Or better yet, provide a link. I'm sure it's been explained before, I just haven't seen it yet.

What I consider properly Is the way PO Ackley recommended.
This requires that you head space with the 280 go gauge minus .004 thousandths for slight compression of factory 280 loads, not the new SAMMI spec. If this is done, You will be able to use all 280 ammo.

If you use the SAMMI spec. head space gauge you will only be able to use loaded 280 AI ammo and the initial accuracy suffers.

With the compressed 280 ammo accuracy is very good, so you can hunt with 280 ammo and fire form at the same time, then when you load the AI cases velocity and accuracy will be much better. Plus If you get caught somewhere with enough ammo you can save the hunt buy simply buying 280 ammo from almost any store.

Nothing wrong with the "New" SAMMI 280 AI, except you are limited with what brand ammo you have to use.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Frog4aday]

<SNIPPED STUFF> For stocks, I am eyeing Boyd's Pro varmint model laminate. Seems like people have good luck with them after pillar bedding.

I think this is a good choice. I like laminated stocks. They are very stable but still 'feel' like wood, which is a plus for me. They take to bedding well and, if you put in pillars, it will be just that much more stable (fewer things to negatively affect accuracy.)

.280 AI will be a good choice. Saw an article just today showing it is within 90fps of the 7mm Mag with average weight hunting bullets, but with less recoil due to less powder charge being needed as the AI is 'efficient'. And we all know how great the 7mm RM is, so you would have all the 'pros' of that round with less kick. Nice choice.

 

[Frog4aday]

More on the strength and safety of the Remington 700 design (from https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2...p320-entry-remington-700-still-best-bolt-gun/):
Safety
The 700 also offers more safety features than most other rifles on the market. This is particularly important with the continued growth of reloading and experimentation in the mainstream firearms community. Where many other rifles have sought to strengthen their firing pin stop to mitigate the blow back from a case failure, Remington instead created the three rings of steel. The 700 has a very deep counter-bored bold head, nearly encompassing the entirety of a case head. From there the bolt goes into a counter-bored lock ring, adding another layer of steel around the case. This lock ring is in turn set in a recess in the barrel, adding a third layer of steel between the shooter and a blown case. While other rifles try to reduce the risk of injury to shooters from a blown case, the 700 eliminates it.

It could be said that the clearances around the lugs allowing greater resistance to binding reduce this effect, however, the bolt head on a 700 is specifically engineered to expand in the event of failure and completely seal off the breech. This eliminates the need for a secondary firing pin stops employed by other actions.

 

[jd5521]

280ai

 

[GTN]

Another 280ai vote a McMillan game warden