Recommended factory action

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What are your goals for this rifle? Do you want something that shoots .01" groups? Do you want something that is hunting accurate and functions and is a combination of the parts you like? Are you just wanting your first "custom" rifle? Or are you wanting to show pictures on the internet and look cool because of how much money you poured into your set up? Whatever you decide is fine, but This needs to be decided before you start spending money. Custom rifles is a rabbit hole with more and more options every year. When I first got hooked there were three options for the hunter Remington Savage and Stiller you don't ever hear about Stiller anymore there are so many companies making custom actions.

If you are on a budget Don't listen to all the people saying just buy a custom action. People on a budget are not trying to compete in benchrest, prs, or fclass. Those games are not for budget minded people.

There are lots of factory guns from savage, Remington and tikka that will honestly shoot half MOA with factory ammo. That's the same performance guarantee you will get from custom rifle builders. There is no reason to build a custom rifle if all you want is something affordable to shoot and hunt with.

I like building customs to get the mix of parts that I like in a gun. I want a stock that fits me and my style of hunting/ shooting, I want a barrel that is optimized for the bullet that I want to shoot. Sometimes I want a wildcat cartridge because it is something cool that most people haven't heard of. I'm not building custom guns to compete at a high level in any sport, if i was I would do things differently. There are compromises that must be made in everything, weight is one of those things. The most accurate rifles are the heaviest but I don't want to lug a 22lb rifle around so I need to compromise some accuracy potential to save weight. On the flip side the lightest rifles are not the most accurate so I compromise a little more weight for a little more accuracy.

There is a moment where you reach the point of diminishing returns on your dollars. That point Depends on your goals. Do you need a $1800 Bat action to shoot deer and steel out to 1,000 yds no! The lower your budget the sooner you hit the point of diminishing returns. It costs a lot of money to go from a 1/2 MOA rifle to a 1/4 MOA rifle. But to go from a 1.5 moa to a 1 MOA is very affordable and to go from a 1 MOA to a 3/4 MOA isn't bad either once start getting below a desired 1/2 moa it will cost you!

If your goal is 1/2 moa pick the cartridge you want to shoot and the bullet you think best fits your application. Then get a factory action from Savage, Remington or Tikka. Savage being the cheapest Tikka the most expensive. The cartridge will determine what action is best because Tikka actions do not work well with long action cartridge like the 300 win mag. And Remington short actions do not work well with WSM or SAUM cartridges. There is no need to blueprint a factory action; the added cost surpasses the point of diminishing returns. There is not a large enough impact on the accuracy to justify the cost. If you can afford to blueprint it then you can afford to buy a custom. (Unless you find a used custom that has had the work already done or unless you already have the action) btw I advise buying everything used except the barrel. Then pick the best barrel from the best barrel maker that fits your needs (caliber, cartridge, bullet and rifle weight) If you are going full budget and decide on a barrel nut set up it negates the work done to blueprint the action anyway. If you ate having a Smith do the work he may not guarantee the accuracy without blueprinting the action.
Then pick a stock that fits you and your style of hunting/ shooting. The stock is the interface between flesh and machine and it should be a hybrid of sorts. Something that creates a seamless flow from your body to the steel of the rifle. I can't stand rifle Chassis because there just another piece of metal that is boxy and doesn't blend well from my body to the rifle. Lots of guys like them but I have tried and can't get used to them.
Sorry for rambling, good luck going down the rabbit hole!
I can see a rabbit hole in the making here for sure!! Like you I want a rifle that fits and feels good to me. And yes I am trying to build a rifle that will shoot 1/2" m.o.a out to 600 yds. or more I have a lot of decisions to make just as you pointed out. I know it can be done I just need to decide how I want too get there. Thanks Tribb
 
Screw a bartlein on a 700 in 6 or 7 mill with the twist rate for the bullet you want to shoot and watch the magic happen I shoot with people that spend money on top of money but one hole at 200 yards is very possible with a good barrel and good hand loads and a stock 700 action and buy good rings and a good mount mid range stock and atlas bipod and good trigger. Just my opinion from lots of shooting
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@tribb We have a few factory offerings available, christensen, tikka, savage & remington to name a few. If we can help let us know!

Thank you sir I'm still wrestling with how I want to go about all this it's very almost new for me. I only have one nonfactory rifle it's an older Christensen arms in 7 rem mag built back when John mogle was still with them . Has Shilen barrel 700 action h.s. precision stock. Tribb
 
Tikkas are my favorite factory actions. They are very smooth out of the box and the triggers are dang near as good as a triggertech with a $7 lightweight spring. I bought my donor rifle for $575 and when you figure not having to buy a trigger for $200+, it's a really good deal. LRI will flute the bolt for $40 I think. Plus they already have a side bolt release and 70* bolt lift. They're also lightweight, I got mine down to 26 oz with bolt fluting and a titanium bolt handle. The negatives are that you need a whole new bolt if you want to change bolt faces, which are quite expensive. As others have said, they're not ideal for long actions that need more than 3.4" coal. It's really an ideal medium action. I did a 6.5x55 improved on mine which maxes at 3.2" coal. Also the factory barrels are pretty difficult to get off, and because of that, I would recommend looking on JA Outdoors for a stripped action with trigger if they have what you're looking for in stock. If not a donor rifle is no problem just don't expect to salvage the factory barrel unless you have the exact barrel bushings and a proper action wrench. I had to put a relief cut in mine to remove it. Overall though I don't feel I gave up much compared to my Shilen DGR custom action with a triggertech, for a fair amount less money.
 
Remington......remage barrel from a good Smith with a rep for proper chamber work, and talk about something else. I really must be ignorant to the finer attributes of truing an action and the benefits it offers. I do a remage style barrel setup, pull the barrel back on a proper dummy case and lap the lugs in the gun till I get solid contact on both sides, install a good aftermarket trigger, and slide the barreled action into a solid , unbinding stock with good bedding and nice squared pillars. I've yet to put one together that shoots anything less than spectacular. Butter smooth too, after simple lug lapping and deburring. No black magic here that I've been able to put my finger on.
 
Remington......remage barrel from a good Smith with a rep for proper chamber work, and talk about something else. I really must be ignorant to the finer attributes of truing an action and the benefits it offers. I do a remage style barrel setup, pull the barrel back on a proper dummy case and lap the lugs in the gun till I get solid contact on both sides, install a good aftermarket trigger, and slide the barreled action into a solid , unbinding stock with good bedding and nice squared pillars. I've yet to put one together that shoots anything less than spectacular. Butter smooth too, after simple lug lapping and deburring. No black magic here that I've been able to put my finger on.
The guns I have put together myself shoot as good as the one I waited 11 months for and spent a lot of money on I am not buying into the trued action stuff I think a good barrel and a good chambering job is all it takes to have a gun that shoots and work from there
 
The guns I have put together myself shoot as good as the one I waited 11 months for and spent a lot of money on I am not buying into the trued action stuff I think a good barrel and a good chambering job is all it takes to have a gun that shoots and work from there
I can agree with the trued action stuff also as you mention and I would add a better quality barrel lug if I was building off a 700 action. However, the newer Remington actions have serious "primary extraction" issues and this is well known and documented. The issue shows itself terribly when building WSM and Magnum cartridges. Actions with RR serial number prefixes are the worst. This is why LRI and many others spend so much time fixing PE and adding M16 style extractors to the bolts. I know as I've been down the PE rabbit hole. LRI prices, fix timing of PE $115, add extractor $175, refinish bolt $40-75. The cost of fixing PE and adding a extractor takes you over the cost of some of the clone actions.
 
I can agree with the trued action stuff also as you mention and I would add a better quality barrel lug if I was building off a 700 action. However, the newer Remington actions have serious "primary extraction" issues and this is well known and documented. The issue shows itself terribly when building WSM and Magnum cartridges. Actions with RR serial number prefixes are the worst. This is why LRI and many others spend so much time fixing PE and adding M16 style extractors to the bolts. I know as I've been down the PE rabbit hole. LRI prices, fix timing of PE $115, add extractor $175, refinish bolt $40-75. The cost of fixing PE and adding a extractor takes you over the cost of some of the clone actions.
Yes I have a 338 rum trued action ptg bolt sako extractor lija barrel hs bedded stock but I have had good luck with rest of them I guess it helps to know what to look for when you buy your donor rifle the last 700 was a youth 243 now it has a m24 bartlein and a good trigger no problems at all with the action
 
Yes I have a 338 rum trued action ptg bolt sako extractor lija barrel hs bedded stock but I have had good luck with rest of them I guess it helps to know what to look for when you buy your donor rifle the last 700 was a youth 243 now it has a m24 bartlein and a good trigger no problems at all with the action
Brand new 700 action last year under 400 dollars 6mmgt shoots amazing no problem with the action at all this one a friend built and he keeps sending his groups and they look damm good
 

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Brand new 700 action last year under 400 dollars 6mmgt shoots amazing no problem with the action at all this one a friend built and he keeps sending his groups and they look damm good
Yup looks nice. PE doesn't usually appear until you step into the magnum and WSM/SAUM cartridges. The new 700 actions have a terrible time with it.
 
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