Trued Rem 700 or Go Custom?

[waspocrew]

I'm looking to build my first rifle and would like to do it right the first time. I don't have an action to start with as a donor, so I'd be looking to buy either way.

My first thought was to find the cheapest 700 I could and just use the action. However, I've heard a few guys mention that once you add on costs of truing and adding a few other features to the action, you may be getting close to the cost of a Stiller action.

Just curious to hear people's thoughts!

My wallet definitely likes the idea of going cheaper and buying a Rem 700, but dang, the Stiller Predator looks slick!

 

[BountyHunter]

Go custom all the way. You can get cheaper but never as good or better especially when you look at the Remington riveted extractor for the magnums.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

I have both.
If starting from scratch id buy a stiller.

The stiller is so much nicer to operate, tougher, and the QPQ finish holds up better than whatever coating ( i think black phosphate ) rem uses on their actions. Not to mention the rail fit is really precise and secure.

As far as accuracy i cant tell the difference.

The only negative is that i cant find a 40moa rail for the stiller.

 

[MudRunner2005]

My smith charges me such good prices, I can afford to build customs off cheap (under $400) Rem 700's. Which is why I use them.

 

[ramrod79]

Rem actions when trued are good but the cost is still substantial to get a Rem action done with all the extras , and while Stiller is good for the price , I would personally go Defiance. I have shot rifles with Stiller ,and with Defiance I would pay the extra few bucks ,and buy Defiance far better in my opinion silky smooth very tight . I have had numerous Rem actions done just because they were easier to come by, and not wait time to purchase one but never again I would rather wait ! But thats just my opinion, and I am sure some will disagree !!!!

 

[Canadian Bushman]

If your gonna go stiller then just go defiance,
If your gonna go defiance just go surgeon,
If your gonna go surgeon just go bat

Its a slippery slope

 

[highridge1]

Either way will work just fine ,depending on what you want. A good smith/Machinist can true up a rem 700 action and it be as good as a custom for alot less money. I have seen guys with custom actions even Defiance have to have them trued up . So a custom action isn't the end all answer.

 

[brentc]

Although truing a Rem 700 is the standard practice, alot of guys don't even mess with truing their Rem 700s. They screw a premium barrel into them and go about shooting bugholes.

 

[Barrelnut]

Although truing a Rem 700 is the standard practice, alot of guys don't even mess with truing their Rem 700s. They screw a premium barrel into them and go about shooting bugholes.

Or Savage....

 

[AZShooter]

I have never had any actions trued. I figure with CNC machining they are good enough for hunting. Now if you intend to do the 1000 BR thing I wouldn't bother with Rem or other factory action, go directly to an action like a BATT with a premium barrel.

I have worked up loads for custom hunting rifles that cost $8000 to $30,000 and have made loads for factory rifles over the past 30 plus years. I have never been able to tell the difference in accuracy between those customs that were trued and the factory actions. Sure you can find the occasional bad rifle. If the rifle was sound with good bedding, a decent trigger and crown it shot under 1/2 MOA.

Chamberings I have owned that were in Rem, Win, Ruger, and Mark X actions:

22-250-4
6mm rem-4
243 win-2
6mm-284-3
25-284-1
25-05 –2
257 Weatherby-2
6.5-284-1
264 win mag-2
270 win-2
270 Weatherby mag-1
7-08-2
7 x 57-1
284-5
280-1
7 rem mag-6
7mm/375 Ruger -3
7 STW-2
7 RUM-3
30 BR-2
308-3
30-06-4
30-06 AI-1
30-338-2
300 win mag-3
300 RUM-2
338-06-1
338 RCM-2
338 win mag-2
357 mag-1
358 win-1
375 taylor-2
375 H and H-1

 

[dkhunt14]

Although truing a Rem 700 is the standard practice, alot of guys don't even mess with truing their Rem 700s. They screw a premium barrel into them and go about shooting bugholes.

If this was the case the 1000 yard Br guys would do it. Almost all the actions are custom even the heavy guns where the barrel is glued in a block and not supported by an action. The bolt opening and closing is a lot better with most customs. Not to mention they don't have the big opening cut into the top of them so they have a lot more support to hang a barrel on. Matt

 

[Frank in the Laurels]

It's simple...how much cash do you want to part with...it's all money and nothing more.. I've seen some 700 action that were cleaned up that shot awesome. It all depends what your going to do with the action, competition benchrest or hunting and shooting...there's a big big difference between the two.. $1500.00 vs $300 or you probably have sitting in your gun cabinet already that you paid far less than that 20 years ago..

 

[dkhunt14]

It's simple...how much cash do you want to part with...it's all money and nothing more.. I've seen some 700 action that were cleaned up that shot awesome. It all depends what your going to do with the action, competition benchrest or hunting and shooting...there's a big big difference between the two.. $1500.00 vs $300 or you probably have sitting in your gun cabinet already that you paid far less than that 20 years ago..

First if you have to buy an action it's 450 plus now. Add another couple hundred to true the bolt face, receiver face and single Point the threads. Another 80.00 or so for a sako extractor. When your done you still have a REM. with the big cutout over the top weakening an action. Bolt slop and all the other things associated. Go to sell and you only get 450 sae as you paid for action. You can buy a custom for 900.00 or so. So 700 to 800 Rem or 900 to 1000 custom. Matt

 

[MudRunner2005]

First if you have to buy an action it's 450 plus now. Add another couple hundred to true the bolt face, receiver face and single Point the threads. Another 80.00 or so for a sako extractor. When your done you still have a REM. with the big cutout over the top weakening an action. Bolt slop and all the other things associated. Go to sell and you only get 450 sae as you paid for action. You can buy a custom for 900.00 or so. So 700 to 800 Rem or 900 to 1000 custom. Matt

First off, this is not necessary. NONE of my 700's or Model 7's have ever had any extractor issues. Second, if someone is charging you more than $500 total labor to true and assemble, float, and bed an entire rifle, then you're getting ripped. Just my $0.02... But what do I know, I've only built 5 custom rifles since January... And 4 of those were on 700 actions, the other is an A-Bolt II. Third-most, who sells guns? Why? Why not just buy more and park the others? Seems wasteful to sell a gun or action...So, unless you're a dealer, who cares about resale value?

I don't know about yall, but I can buy a nice used ADL for about $350 at just about any pawn shop around here. Then $80 for a bottom metal/mag assembly. And a nice used H&S Sendero stock or a B&C Medalist for $250-300. Re-work a factory heavy barrel picked up for $100 or so. And have a 1/2" MOA gun with handloads, and be in it with labor for around $1,200, which is only about $200 more than what just that custom action costs you. 1/2 MOA is still stout. I do prefer 1/4 MOA groups, but a 1/2" gun @ 100 yards is still better than what your average person is capable of shooting.