New to LRH and planning a build

[Lead farmer]

Hello all, I've read several threads on different builds some of you have done and this seems like the place for me to be for great advice for my upcoming build. I'm at the very beginning of my planning, I've been looking at actions, barrels, stocks, and calibers, but haven't nailed it down. I'm looking to find out which caliber will give me the best ballistics with manageable recoil (which isn't a real concern), and available ness of brass. I am leaning towards the .338 edge cartridge. Mainly due to the fact that I can use a donor action with a standard magnum bolt face. I also like the .338lm cartridge, but the donor actions out there are limited and usually just as expensive as buying a new surgeon, stiller, or defiance actions. Does anyone have a line on getting one of these actions at a decent price, or if they sell wholesale to FFLs? I'm looking at mine. Like I said, I'm new to this forum and the long range shooting sport. I have shot and handled forearms since I could talk, so I'm not new to shooting sports all together. Any info on books or sites that would aid me in gaining the skills or equipment that I will need would be greatly appreciated.

An armed society is a polite society!

 

[trebark]

338edge and 338LM are both excellent cartridges. Do you need that kind of horsepower? Some time ago I dealt with this same issue and ultimately settled on 300RUM. I went this route because the 30cal was sufficient to kill anything I would shoot and loaded with the right bullet, its ballistics were better than the 338's (in terms of trajectory and wind drift) out to about 1200 yards. (Beyond 1200 the BC of the 338's takes over). Also, the RUM was preferable because it used a standard mag bolt face and didn't have to be fireformed (most 338edge brass is fireformed by necking the 300rum up to 338).

As for your other items.....

Barrels - virtually all the custom barrel makers do a great job (Brux, Krieger, Bartlein etc). My only recommendation is to go with cut-rifling. This seems to be the consensus of most that if you want an accurate barrel, cut-rifling is best.

Stocks - the kind of shooting you are doing will dictate the type of stock you choose. If you're building a dedicated longrange rig, then one of the vertical grip stocks will work nicely. If it's a carry-rifle then you will likely want a more traditional style of stock. As for materials, I prefer the synthetics as they are more water resistant and less prone to warping. A good case can be made for laminates too.

Actions - if you ever intend to sell the rifle, custom actions are best as they retain their value very well. You can true/blueprint a Rem700 action and it might be a bit cheaper than a custom action but you will not realize the same increase in value as it cost you to blueprint it.

You left optics off your list. Here the old adage of 'buy once, cry once' really applies. Buy the best optics you can afford. Good companies to consider, Nightforce, Leupold, Sightron etc.

If what you want to build is a dedicated longrange rig, here's a good example....

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

 

[FearNoWind]

In addition to this forum, you might want to visit AccurateShooter.com
Most of it's members are competitive target shooters but there's a lot of discussion there about various builds. You can bring what you learn there back to this forum and, with a few adjustments, apply what you learn to long range hunting.
A "build" is a very personal engagement. I've done it using accurized factory actions but I've concluded that by the time I have all the accurizing work done I may as well have ordered a custom action like Sturgeon or Stiller.
My barrels are Bartlein R5 - without exception. Stocks are McMillan; type/style depending on type of use. Triggers are Timney (Jewell are probably OK for bench rest and some varmint rifles but I don't really like them) and bottom metal PTG with either a Leupold, Zeiss, or Nightforce scope on a 20 MOA rail.

 

[Lead farmer]

I appreciate all the info you guys have given me. I just picked up a sako m995 in .338 win mag. I think this will suit me for a bit and be a great action to build off of. The bolt face is the same as 300RUM so it's prime to build into a 338 edge down the road. Looking to use a krieger or bartlein barrel with 5r rifling in a sendero profile, fluted with a suppressor adapter installed, and 32" finished length. Thinking a manners carbon fiber stock with ai bottom metal to hopefully keep weight down some. The jury is still out on optics for now. I need to look through some glass with different reticles. Any suggestions as to what you guys prefer, mil dot, mrad, or the reticle huskemaw has?

 

[trebark]

I appreciate all the info you guys have given me. I just picked up a sako m995 in .338 win mag. I think this will suit me for a bit and be a great action to build off of. The bolt face is the same as 300RUM so it's prime to build into a 338 edge down the road. Looking to use a krieger or bartlein barrel with 5r rifling in a sendero profile, fluted with a suppressor adapter installed, and 32" finished length. Thinking a manners carbon fiber stock with ai bottom metal to hopefully keep weight down some. The jury is still out on optics for now. I need to look through some glass with different reticles. Any suggestions as to what you guys prefer, mil dot, mrad, or the reticle huskemaw has?

The reticle you choose will be dictated by the type of shooting. Most of my shooting these days is tactical competition so my optics are mil/mil (reticle and turret adjustment). My main suggestion when it comes to optics is have your reticle and your turrets 'match' meaning if your turrets adjust in MOA then your reticle should be in MOA. Likewise, if your turrets adjust in MILs then our reticle should be in in MILs. My favorite reticle is the Leupold TMR. It only comes in MILs though.

 

[Lead farmer]

Very good sound advice, thank you. I'll have to do some more investigating into the reticles out there and choose what seems best for my application. I want to be able to hunt with it, but also reach out really far on the range. Anyone had experience with the KEG whiskey 3 or x-Ray chassis? They say that it'll work with the sako m995 I have on other forums, but their site barely says anything. It does list the m995 but once you go to check fitment, the option is not there.

 

[Lead farmer]

Sorry, it should say KRG not KEG for the chassis brand.

 

[FEENIX]

Very good sound advice, thank you. I'll have to do some more investigating into the reticles out there and choose what seems best for my application. I want to be able to hunt with it, but also reach out really far on the range. Anyone had experience with the KEG whiskey 3 or x-Ray chassis? They say that it'll work with the sako m995 I have on other forums, but their site barely says anything. It does list the m995 but once you go to check fitment, the option is not there.

The SAKO M995 is an awesome action, I have one in .300 Win Mag. Some of the guys I know are getting better performance modding a better recoil lug system.

Good luck on your project and keep us posted.

 

[REEDUSMC]

The RUM is a solid round for sure, but consider this - a .300 WM loaded with 230 bergers rivals the ballistic performance of a .338 LM as well, but can also be loaded down suitably for anything smaller than possible the largest brown bears. I think the .300 WM is one of the most versatile calibers on the planet. I am currently having one spun up from Tim Cronin at Elkhorn Precision (he was one of the Blackops/UGSW builders). When going magnum try to avoid the rem 700 action as the flaws in that action are magnified under magnum pressures, and you can dump a bunch of money overcoming those flaws and end up at about the price for a custom action.
Stiller makes a solid action, its not as smooth as defiance/Bat/Surgeon, its the 'blue collar' custom action - works hard and isn't overly pretty. It can also be had fairly cheap.
This is a fun process - enjoy it.