Ok, so when I get stressed I build things, and considering that life kicked me square in the ba**'s at least a half a dozen times this week I thought I'd start working on a new rifle to get my mind off of things. It'll spend most of it's life sitting in a tree stand/blind chasing whitetail, black bear and hogs, but never pass up an opportunity at a stray coyote or bobcat. Occasionally it might go after mule deer and pronghorn but never elk or moose. So what should it be, a 6.5 creedmore? 308? Chassis or stock? What action, Tikka, Bergara? What trigger? What glass, Night Force? Vortex? Mark 5? Point me in the right direction. Budget with glass is around $4k.
What rifle to build
- Thread starter Blacklab1
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GoosePilot
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6 cm
Are you planning to reload or shoot factory ammo? That is part of making a good call on caliber, especially today considering availability of ammo and components.
snox801
Well-Known Member
Hey sounds like you hunt like I do.
I would say 6.5 grendel or creedmore. I used my creed forever , but the last two years I've only used my grendel with 99gr hammers and now the 97gr at just over 2900fps. Taken deer, lots of hogs, audad. And some other random things. Plus it may help that they perform well with a shorter barrel. I'm getting just over 2900fps from my new 18" ar so that should speed up some. And 2980fps out of my 16" bolt gun.
I would say 6.5 grendel or creedmore. I used my creed forever , but the last two years I've only used my grendel with 99gr hammers and now the 97gr at just over 2900fps. Taken deer, lots of hogs, audad. And some other random things. Plus it may help that they perform well with a shorter barrel. I'm getting just over 2900fps from my new 18" ar so that should speed up some. And 2980fps out of my 16" bolt gun.
I'll be using factory ammo.
Many laugh at the Creedmoor/man bun caliber or whatever you want to call it - but there seems to be lots of relatively inexpensive rifles that shoot really well with factory ammo. With the budget you have a high grade Bergara, Cooper, Christensen or Browning new or numerous used customs and a scope of your choice are within reach. Good luck with your decision!
DoneNOut
Well-Known Member
7mm-08 120gr Hunter Hammer
Rick Richard
Well-Known Member
Second most accurate factory rifle I have ever owned was a Savage chambered in 6.5 Creed…just saying.
snox801
Well-Known Member
Keep in mind you can get premium bullets loaded. It's definitely more than factory but also well worth it in my opinion.
May be twice the cost but still the cheapest part and probably the most important part of the equation. Several companies load hammers and Berger. Keep in mind they are hand loaded just to factory specs by someone. They are very good and usually only about double the price.
megastink
Well-Known Member
I'm a chef by trade. The best dishes are often inspired by whatever ingredients are available. This is also true of my rifle builds. I have minimal skill and tools, so all of my rifle builds are off of Savage actions. For example: I always wanted a 7 Rem Mag. One day, I saw fantastic deal on a McMillan stock inletted for a Long Action Centerfeed savage. I bought it, and boom, had my first piece of that rifle. Now, I just had to source the other parts, which took all of about a week. Another example was that I had a spare centerfeed short action laying around and decided that I wanted to build my son his first rifle. Originally, I wanted to do a 6x45, but after not being able to find a barrel in stock, I stumbled upon a 16" CarbonSix barrel in 6mm Creedmoor on clearance with a muzzle brake installed. It was more than I wanted to spend, but it was a better option for a beginner rifle. That rifle has taken shape nicely.
So, browse around and look for a good deal on one piece at a time, then let the other pieces fall into place. For me, It adds another layer of fun to the build. I kind of like not knowing what the finished product will look like. Plus, it also leaves me more margin for compromise.
Bon Appetit.
So, browse around and look for a good deal on one piece at a time, then let the other pieces fall into place. For me, It adds another layer of fun to the build. I kind of like not knowing what the finished product will look like. Plus, it also leaves me more margin for compromise.
Bon Appetit.
SamuelBerryhill308
Well-Known Member
I'd build a 308 on a stiller predator action with hart brux or criterion #5 finshed at 24 inches with mcmillan game scout with trigger tech primary hawkins three port seamless brake top with leupold vx 5 HD or nightforce nxs with cap windage turret hawkins 25moa rings with level made into top ring cap with wyatts extended box mag and hawkins bottom metal. Least that's my dream rifle lol
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SamuelBerryhill308
Well-Known Member
Same here my savage model 11 vt is neck and neck with my remington 700 sps tactical they both shoot very nice little clovers or right at one holes
If you are shooting factory with nothing bigger than a deer, I'd vote 6.5 CM. It's not going away. If you reload I'd go 6.5 PRC/ 6.5x284 or one of the other fancy 6.5's that get a little more behind em.
Mark 5 is a fantastic scope, I just bought a NX8 but jury is still out but it seems nice. Gotta hit the range before I give some opinions.
Mark 5 is a fantastic scope, I just bought a NX8 but jury is still out but it seems nice. Gotta hit the range before I give some opinions.
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