[Hot Sauce NARC]

say i was curious to research a build on a custom remington 700 in 308 or possibly 300 win mag, where would i go to find a good 700 action? I have looked around the interweb and i cannot seem to find many places that have 700 actions all by themselvs. I really like the surgeon rifle's 700 action but cannot afford the 1200 dollar price tag. So where would you guys suggest i start looking to find a good quality, somewhat affordable 700 action?

gotta spent that overtime check somehow!!!!!!

[Dillinger]

Originally Posted by Hot Sauce NARC

where would i go to find a good 700 action?

You see, that's the problem, there are no GOOD 700 Rifle Actions.

Seriously. Go to a gun show and look for a beat up rifle. One that has been dropped, one that has been in the dad's closet forever and a day. An estate sale. Something like that. Buy the gun for the action only. No glass, no special ammo and carrying case, all you want is the action. The worse condition the gun is in, the better for you.

That's the prescription for a good build action. That is what I did when I bought my Model 70. Found an old, beat up gun a guy had for like 30 years. It didn't look like much, and that is what I was looking for, an action I could build on.

Good luck and let me know how the shopping goes...

JD

[Hot Sauce NARC]

well im not specifically set on a 700 im tempted to spend more money and a long range tack driver seems like a good way to do it. Ive had about a 3 day lecture from a state trooper friend about how savage rifles are THE best lower end rifle to start with and it looks like the actions are somewhat available and cheap. Im somewhat certian i could also get ahold of a winchester model 70 elcheapo pencil barrell plastic stock in 270 for 200 bucks but i have no idea what can be built out of that

I do like the idea of buying a P.O.S 700 and going from there but if u wanted to go in another direction to get to the goal of a long range tack driver what other suugestions would you give for a starting point?

thanks J.D. and anyone else that wishes to contribute

[Dillinger]

I like to trash the 700 action because it always gets the guys fired up.

Buying an old beat up 700, or a pre-'64 Winchester if you can find them, is THE way to go in rifle builds. People have these old rifles, that have been abused, haven't taken care of, belonged to a family member and have no idea what the gun even is used for, and they want to sell them off. You can find them for less than $300, usually though that hasn't been as easy lately, and you buy just the gun.

That is all you want. The worse the stock is, the better for you. Hell, if you could find one that is cracked, or broke, so much the better. A former rifle that is now a hunting pistol because someone dropped it is EXACTLY what you are looking for.

There are newer models that would be a good choice too, but that isn't building your own platform. That is more like adapting one to meet your needs. if you want the REAL journey, you need to hunt down and source a real, used action, strip it down to just the action, and start ordering parts from there. THAT is where the real fun is.

[Hot Sauce NARC]

sounds like a plan ill hit up a guy on the way home today.....his shop is full of junk guns he may know where to start

i also know a guy with a ooooooold rem 700 in .222 it has a cracked stock but will that action handle the longer .30 cal rounds (308, 300 win mag) ?

[skullcrusher]

Originally Posted by Dillinger

I like to trash the 700 action because it always gets the guys fired up.

I did not even get the chance to jump on you for the anti-Remmy deal.

[Dillinger]

Originally Posted by Hot Sauce NARC

sounds like a plan ill hit up a guy on the way home today.....his shop is full of junk guns he may know where to start

i also know a guy with a ooooooold rem 700 in .222 it has a cracked stock but will that action handle the longer .30 cal rounds (308, 300 win mag) ?

I don't think the .222 will handle the 300 Win Mag, but I believe the action itself will handle a .308.

The Magnum calibers are Long Actions. The short actions handle the smaller calibers and I am pretty sure the .308 is a short action build.

I should know this, but I don't and I haven't been in the shop in a bit because Brett is off killing groundhogs.

[matt g]

Like JD, I'm a huge fan of the Winchester Model 70. You want one that was made before 1964. Look long and look hard. The pre-'64 Model 70 is the shooter's action.

[Hot Sauce NARC]

everyone i asked about pre 64 Winchesters gave me a look like i was wearing a tinfoil hat. central Illinois sucks when it comes to finding what you want gun wise

[Dillinger]

Originally Posted by Hot Sauce NARC

everyone i asked about pre 64 Winchesters gave me a look like i was wearing a tinfoil hat. central Illinois sucks when it comes to finding what you want gun wise

The pre-'64's are pretty rare - and a lot of gunsmiths won't take a pre-'64 project because the steel is VERY hard on tooling. We generally have one to three actions done with the tooling before it needs to be sent out again, or flat out repurchased.

The pre-'64 is a beefy, beefy action, with a huge footprint for bedding into the stock. It's a monster to hang a big bull barrel off of and not have to worry about it's counter weight.

If you can find one, it's going to be either one of two categories: 1) The person has no idea what they have, and just have an old hunting rifle they want to sell. 2) Someone who knows EXACTLY what they have and will have just the action for sale for someone looking for a build, just like you.

I woudl suggest looking for "old Winchester hunting rifles" and see what you find in the local papers and shops. Don't ask about the pre-'64 specifically, but see what you can find and work backwards from there if that is what you are really looking for....

Best of luck!

JD