Rifle building questions.

[The Trinity Kid]

Good day all.

I was going to make all of this one thread, but my computer crashed, so I'm having to use my kindle. So if I'm a little brief with my verbiage, that's why.

Now we begin!

I'm wanting to build a new rifle, but have a problem. I only make minimum wage, and I don't work but 4-12 hours a week. That basically mean I'm broke. So here's what I want the rifle to do. I want to be able to hunt standard Montana game (deer, elk, coyote etc.) Out to about 500yds. I also want to be able to kick the college rifle club's butt at 800.
I don't have a lot of tools right now, or the ability to reload while at college, so that's a bit of a problem.

So here are the first questions.

What action should I start from? I'm thinking Savage, or Remington, though H&R might be interesting.

Barreled action, or not?

Barrel type (bull, standard, fluted. Steel, carbon etc.)

Standard style stock, or a chassis?

And finally, caliber. My top choices right now are 260Rem, 308win, 6.5 creedmore, 7mm rem mag, and 300win mag.

We'll start with that for now.

--TK

 

[lilharcher]

The starving college kid......been there, done that. I'd probably go with the 6.5 Creedmoor given ballistics (flat shooting), cheap factor Match ammo (Hornady 140 gr Amax for $25), compatibility in a short action. Given your resources, I'd probably try to find a factory Remington 700, and pay for a good bedding job ($150) and upgrade to a timney trigger ($100). This should help you beat your club mates at 800, and is sufficient for all game listed inside 500.

 

[The Trinity Kid]

I've been researching today, but remington doesn't list a 6.5 creedmore on their website. And I also read that creedmore rifles only have a barrel life of 2000-3000 rounds. Anyone able to confirm?

--TK

 

[shortgrass]

When you're "broke" is no time to start a custom rifle (or anything!) project. Think about it. Grow-up, get a job that will provide the necessities of life (you know,,, food , shelter, clothing, reliable transportation,) without depending on someone else to do it for you. 4-12 hrs of work per week is nothing. When and IF you end up with expendable income (key word here, "expendable", meaning; "not needed for the necessities of living" ) consider spending on some of those "extras" that can make life more enjoyable. I know, not what you wanted to hear! Ya,,,,, I'm old, white, male and Republican!

 

[Dosh]

When you're "broke" is no time to start a custom rifle (or anything!) project. Think about it. Grow-up, get a job that will provide the necessities of life (you know,,, food , shelter, clothing, reliable transportation,) without depending on someone else to do it for you. 4-12 hrs of work per week is nothing. When and IF you end up with expendable income (key word here, "expendable", meaning; "not needed for the necessities of living" ) consider spending on some of those "extras" that can make life more enjoyable. I know, not what you wanted to hear! Ya,,,,, I'm old, white, male and Republican!

Trinity, this is wisdom to live by. Perhaps you feel graduation is an eternity away, but time will quickly pass and means become available. Who knows, you may become an old, white, male Republican like many of us. The reality is, what you want is far more expensive than can be accomplished on 4-12 hrs min wage. I was a college student in Montana in the late 60's, so I have experienced the tight budget constraints. Good luck and get that diploma.

 

[The Trinity Kid]

Normally I don't buy things like this. The only reason I am right now is because I work at a gunshop and a rifle was part of the deal when I started last year. But that is why I want cheap ammo, so I can afford to practice, and also kill some dinner (even if it's 500 yards away) that I don't have to pay taxes on. and since I have a place to store it, killing an elk seems a viable form of eating.

But I don't want to have to change my barrel every 3000 rounds,either... Really, I'm deciding between 308 and 260...

--TK

 

[FEENIX]

When you're "broke" is no time to start a custom rifle (or anything!) project. Think about it. Grow-up, get a job that will provide the necessities of life (you know,,, food , shelter, clothing, reliable transportation,) without depending on someone else to do it for you. 4-12 hrs of work per week is nothing. When and IF you end up with expendable income (key word here, "expendable", meaning; "not needed for the necessities of living" ) consider spending on some of those "extras" that can make life more enjoyable. I know, not what you wanted to hear! Ya,,,,, I'm old, white, male and Republican!

Trinity, this is wisdom to live by. Perhaps you feel graduation is an eternity away, but time will quickly pass and means become available. Who knows, you may become an old, white, male Republican like many of us. The reality is, what you want is far more expensive than can be accomplished on 4-12 hrs min wage. I was a college student in Montana in the late 60's, so I have experienced the tight budget constraints. Good luck and get that diploma.

+1! School first. My wife and I did full time work and full time school while raising 2 kids. It's not easy but it can be done.

 

[BountyHunter]

Go find a used Savage in 30-06, 270 or 7mm mag. You can find one for $300-350 many times.

You can find cheap ammo in Walmart and other stores and more than likely will shoot MOA or better.

Buy a used Nikon scope with BDC reticle and hunt for the years you are in school.

That setup will work to 400-500 quite easy.

 

[Alaska2006]

Go pick up a new Roger RPR in 6.5 and you shoot better than most and for about $1,150 put another 2K in glass on top and you'll have about as good as it gets. My 2 cents. I have a safe full of rifles, some custom most production and from what I have seen the RPRs do in the 6.5 is nothing short of outstanding.

 

[engineer40]

I agree with everything that everyone else has said. You'll be an old white republican male before you know it.

Centerfire rifles are real expensive to target shoot and practice with if you don't reload. If you work in a gun shop do they have an extra foot of bench space you could mount a single stage? If not, I would probably stick with 308 just because it is cheapest to shoot for full power centerfire rifle cartridges. The magnums get real expensive real fast if you don't reload.

3000 rounds is a lot in a hunting rifle. That will probably last you longer than you think. And if you get a Savage, barrel changes are not a big deal. Heck, you can even convert a Remington to the barrel nut system through places like NSS. I wouldn't let 3000 rounds scare you if everything else makes sense.

I'm not a fan of BDC reticles myself. I know many are though. But if you enjoy rifles and have the wide open spaces in Montana to shoot, you would probably be best served starting right away with a Mil/Mil scope. Make sure the reticle and turrets are both milliradian. Or they could both be MOA. Either way just make sure the reticle matches the turrets.

I can't tell by your wording if the gun shop is providing the rifle for you since you work there? Or if you are coming out of pocket for it?

If you are paying for it yourself and are doing this on the cheap, you can get some H&R rifles that shoot really well. In fact for 10 years the only 2 firearms I owned were a H&R shotgun and H&R rifle. And combined I can tell you there are a lot fewer animals alive because of them. Now-a-days I have what some would consider a small arsenal of firearms. The H&R's still get shot fairly often though. I have really enjoyed the hell out of those firearms for a long time. No, they are not perfect. I've been thinking recently about putting one of my SWFA scopes on the H&R rifle though and stretching it out further than I have in the past. Just for S&G's...

 

[The Trinity Kid]

Answering a few questions here:

My boss owes me a rifle.

The gunshop is in California, which is my current state of residence. I don't leave for college until August.

--TK

 

[FEENIX]

Answering a few questions here:

My boss owes me a rifle.

The gunshop is in California, which is my current state of residence. I don't leave for college until August.

--TK

He owes you a rifle or $$$ towards a rifle purchase? That makes a huge difference, i.e Remington 783 vs Remington SFII or better, etc .... gun)

 

[The Trinity Kid]

He owes you a rifle or $$$ towards a rifle purchase? That makes a huge difference, i.e Remington 783 vs Remington SFII or better, etc


that one is really up to me. I could choose to take the money, and add my own to buy something gun-related, but I can't afford that. So I'm just going to take a rifle instead. Basically, anything in the $700-$800 range is fair game. I was sort of wanting to go cheaper, but the Remington 700 Sps tactical is looking pretty neat right now. And we have this scope in the shop right now from Hawke, with illuminated mildots, as well as separate hold over hashes specifically for 308 out to 600 yards. And it has inter changeable turrets. I think it's first focal, too. 3-9x40. Not ideal long range magnification, but liveable.

--TK

 

[JOHNNIE WALKER]

The nice thing about a M700 or a Savage, is that the rifle can very easily be modified and upgraded later on. Buying a common caliber is nice. Having plenty of factory ammo to choose from is a plus if you don't reload. But save all your brass. 308 win is a good rifle. Very little recoil, easy to get addicted to. Plus later, if you want, you can have it rebarelled to 260 or any members of the 308 case family. But if possible, I would get a bigger scope than a 3x9. It's easier to pin point a hit when you can see exactly what part of the target your aiming at.