Help for a New Guy!

[hillhunt]

Hi guys, have been reading on the site on and off for a while. Finally got the nerve up to purchase a new rifle (wife says I'm a tightwad) and want your advice first.

I'm new to long range shooting, the farthest I have taken a deer is around 350 w my trusty old stock Ruger M77 in 7mm Rem Mag. This rifle has been good to me for the last 20 years, it was handed down from my dad and not really interested in modifying it much since it has sentimental value as is.

I want to stay with the 7mm Rem mag or possibly a 280 AI just to be different. I like the 7mm rounds because the majority of the shots on game will be on whitetail, but also want to stay large enough to maybe one day go on an elk or mule deer hunt and not need a larger caliber.

I want the benefits of having a custom rifle from an accuracy standpoint and have access to loading equipment to reload, what I don't have right now is 1) a knowledge base on what loads to use in reloading to find the right loads, 2) a lot of time on my hands.

My question, is it worth it to let someone do all the leg work in building a rifle, breaking in barrel, working up a load, maybe even outfitting w a scope and custom turrets or am I wasting money going that route. I don't have a problem going to my range and practicing, but my time is often very limited from February to October year in year out, so I would rather have my time spent practicing w a proven load learning wind, and distance calculations rather than wondering if I'm shooting the right bullet. I don't feel like I would be interested in taking anything over 1000 yards but who knows. I do want to be able to take an animal at 6-800 regularly though, with plenty of practice.

Sorry for the long post but wanted to give all the info possible. Any advice is welcome guys, if I'm being an idiot let me know haha.

 

[trebark]

hillhunt, here are my initial thoughts on your project...

First, decide on the role the rifle will play. You've already said you want to be able to kill deer/elk size game out to 800 and maybe farther. If it were me, I would want a rifle built mainly to shoot from a prone position like this...

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f53/my-300rum-mcr-70809/

Alternatively, you could go with a configuration like this...

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f53/nephews-transformed-rifle-53634/

The prone rifle is a full custom. My nephew's rifle is a semi-custom in that in its early stages virtually everything was worked over but the barrel was not replaced (as you read the thread, you will see that the barrel does get replaced)

Both are good examples of different routes you can take in terms of custom vs. semi-custom.

Regardless if you go full custom or semi-custom....

Action - whatever you build, go with a Rem700 or custom action that is a Rem700 clone. Everyone makes aftermarket parts for them and all gunsmiths will work on them.

Stock - this is the bedrock of the rifle. choose a good quality stock in the configuration you want. Be sure to have it bedded if it does not have a chassis system in it.

Optics - the old adage of 'buy once, cry once' applies here. Everyone will tell you, buy the best you can afford and if you can hold out, save your money a little longer and get the next step up. Given that you want to shoot 800+ get a magnification range that goes up to at least 15x. If it is a dedicated longrange rig, I like the top end of magnification closer to 25x.

Barrel - if you go semi-custom, you're going to be stuck with the factory barrel. If you go custom, go with a contour that fits the style of hunting you want. A wise man once said that the only advantage of light rifle has is weight. All other advantage convey to the heavy rifle. In terms of custom barrels, many ask "which barrel maker should I choose?" The answer is any of them. there are quite a few barrel makers and all of them can show you the championships that have been won with their barrels. Barrels can take some time to get if you want a custom contour. If you're willing to go with a 'standard' type contour, check out bugholes.com as they carry quality barrels by different makers and different contours all ready to ship.

Cartridge Choice - many will offer you good advice on which cartridge to choose. From my perspective, consider the bullet first. Ask yourself, what bullet is capable of killing an elk at 800 yards. Then consider what cartridge will be required to drive the bullet fast enough so that it has sufficient energy remaining to kill that elk at 800.

Since you're a 7mm fan, I'd look at the Berger 180grain hybrid. And to kill an elk at 800 you're going to need a magnum of some variety to drive it fast enough.

Reloading - learn about it and do it! I realize you don't have much time but loading your own ammo ensures quality ammo customized to your rig.

Getting someone else to do the leg work - some gunsmith may do this for you. Just ask them. There are several excellent gunsmiths on this forum.

Hope this helps.

 

[rtabor]

Sounds like a good, honest question.

If you want to squeeze all the accuracy you can out of your rifle, you will almost always need to reload. And if you are planning a new rifle build, choosing the best cartridge for your needs is one of the most important decisions you will make. You will want to choose a cartridge that not only performs well, but is also easy to reload, and has good quality brass available. So even if you don't end up doing the reloading yourself, you need to understand the process. If you let someone reload your ammo for you, you are trusting them with your safety.

If you have a quality, hand lapped barrel, I don't think you need to do a break-in period, but I may be in the minority.

You can outfit a rifle with a scope yourself in a few minutes, and it's worth your time to learn to do it correctly. I would recommend the DVDs by Accuracy1st titled "Long Range Made Easy". It goes through scope mounting and setup, as well as what scopes they recommend.

Custom turrets are good if you are shooting in the same environment, with the same handload all the time. But if you make a change, they may not be accurate any more. I would suggest getting a ballistic calculator like a kestrel with the Applied Ballistics software on it.

But back to your question. If there is someone you trust with your life that is good at reloading, I don't see any problem with having them work up a load for you. After that, I think you would be best served doing it on your own. Then, as you are practicing shooting at long range, you will have a better understanding of your equipment.

 

[FearNoWind]

IMO, if you're going to build a rifle - YOU build it. YOU break it in (whatever that means - not something I've ever needed to do). YOU work up the load.
The benefit, outside of becoming intimately acquainted with your rifle, is the value of the trigger time you'll accumulate. Picking up the rifle once or twice a year and then expecting to become a good hunter when hunting season rolls around is a fallacy.

 

[HARPERC]

Ive seen a couple of folks do well with, a rifle that came set up. Reliable builders exist, that send a turn key product. The information they develop is yours and transfers well if you decide to reload.

If you don't enjoy reloading, enjoy shooting, and have the resources for custom ammo why not? Reloading from an expenses part can save a bit, but if your time matters the returns diminish.

 

[dok7mm]

The posts above give you some excellent points. A 7mm Rem Mag with a 1 in 9 twist, #3 or 3B Bartlein 26" barrel throated for 180 Berger Hybrids and sitting in a Manners or McMillan stock is very capable of doing what you want. I shoot this rig with a Jewell trigger. To be as accurate as possible, only reloading will wring the very best from it. That said, the 7 mag has a ton of factory loads available for it and I'm sure you will find more than one load your new custom rifle will shoot very well. Be prepared to spend some bucks to try out a lot of different ammo brands, bullet weights, etc. Most really good smiths have a good idea about a factory round or two that shoot well with the reamers they employ in chambering your rifle. Most will mount your scope and rings for a reasonable amount and some will zero your rifle. You can go this route and depending on your skill level, it will take you a good bit of shooting to advance to the level the rifle is capable of. There are no short cuts at this stage. You have to be willing to practice and practice some more. As you advance, you should learn the mechanics of reloading, external ballistics, wind reading and ever other skill necessary to long range hunting. In the end, you will get no more out of your rifle than you are willing to put into learning how to properly use it. Good luck and welcome to LRH.

 

[hillhunt]

I don't have a problem with the practicing part, but during certain times of the year I just don't have much extra time. I can shoot regularly at least twice a week starting in October, but after February I basically have no daylight time to go shoot. I want to best maximize my time if I can. Also I was planning on doing the reloading eventually, but wasn't sure if it would be best to have someone else figure up the load since I'm new to it.

Also, I'm from MS and the majority of the hunting here is done from either a tree stand w shooting rails or shooting houses. Sometimes stalking, so not sure I want an overly heavy rifle.