New Rifle Project

JustBen

JustBen

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Ungovernable Alberta
Hey guys, I'm looking to build a new rifle over the next year.
I'm looking to go fairly light weight, but I can't decide whether I should buy a factory rifle and tweak it or build something from the ground up.

Either way, I'm looking at a .280 Ackley, and I'd like to have a fluted barrel and a fluted bolt (very similar to the Rem 700 Ti). Probably scoped with a Zeiss or a similar scope, this rifle would be the ultimate rifle for mule deer, moose, and elk. It needs to be light enough to pack in, but still smooth enough to be a very pleasant gun to shoot. A conversation piece too.

My initial thoughts are to start with a weatherby ultra lightweight in .280 and take it to the 'smith for a good old reaming.

I guess my request to you other gun nuts is: What have you done to make a similar rifle? And can I see some pics to get me started?!:D
 
I got one...

I bought mine here on the EE:D
Rem 700 mtn in 280, reamed to 280 AI. Bolt is fluted, dropped the whole thing into a Ti stock, so that's ADL style (no bottom metal).
I've never weight it, but it's light. Right around 6lb I'd say (before scope), definatly lighter then my T3
 
Hmmm.... Kimber started chambering the .280Ai and then they quit. That would've been the cats meow. They're such nice lightweight rifles. I don't think you should get too hung up on all the fluting. It looks nice but it's expensive and alot of barrel makers will try to talk you out of it, they don't seem to like it much. Thats what happened to me anyhow. The rem TI might be the ticket for you but I still prefer steel.

A kimber montana in .270wsm would be an option if you would stray from the .280ai, there is 1 or 2 on the EE right now.
 
Probably heavier than you want,but a Cooper Excalibur meets the other requirements,and comes in 280AI.Prophet River usually has them in stock.The one that I had would easily shoot 1/2" groups at 100 yards.
 
kimberman said:
A kimber montana in .270wsm would be an option if you would stray from the .280ai, there is 1 or 2 on the EE right now.
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I'm pretty stuck on the .280 AI.

As for the fluting, I can live without it, but I do enjoy the asthetics of it. I like the black matte finish on a fluted barrel as opposed to stainless. Can you coat stainless to make it like that, or would that be exceedingly expensive?
 
I have seen Rem mod 7 in 7mmSAUM in EE couple of days ago, they are very light but they are still enjoyable to shoot, performance wise there is no difference with the 280AI but they are much, much cheaper. Also I suspect the 7mmSAUM would be much more accurate b/c the round is all the rage now with 1000yds shooting crowd. I canot imagine better cartridge for mountain hunting. If you think that 6oz from fluting barrel and bolt makes that much difference then couple of gym outings is in order. My 2 cents.
 
I'd have to argue that 7mm SAUM isn't cheaper than .280 AI

For the handloads, no real difference in price.
For the factory ammo, I can still shoot .280 rem shells, which are about 5-10 dollars per box less than the SAUM. Even fireforming, I should expect about 1 MOA give or take. And I'm stuck on using this calibre.

As for the barrel fluting, its not meant to reduce weight. If you take a look at the moment of interia for a fluted barrel vs. a standard barrel of the same weight, you will find that the rigidity of the fluted barrel is greater (provided you have used an odd number of flutes). If you take an even number of flutes, it is mostly for weight and for looks.
 
Srsly, for the bux you're spending, consider an aftermarket barrel. Sure you can _sometimes_ get a factory tube that is a real hummer; but a Gaillard, Smith, Krieger or Shilen will almost always get you better performance. Plus you can have the chamber and throat cut exactly how you want it, no worries about any remnants of factory jobs coming bacl to haunt you.
 
I would start of with something like this.....

M52_Classic_with_4b9099f7d9389.jpg
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From Prophet River
 
JustBen said:
I'm pretty stuck on the .280 AI.

As for the fluting, I can live without it, but I do enjoy the asthetics of it. I like the black matte finish on a fluted barrel as opposed to stainless. Can you coat stainless to make it like that, or would that be exceedingly expensive?
Click to expand...


You can coat the stainless. I'm not sure of cost but there are some different coatings available, cerakote is one. I don't think you can parkerize stainless. Check with a competant gunsmith for ideas on coatings.

I once had a weatherby mk5 light weight in .280rem. 24" Fluted, blackened stainless steel, bell and carlson stock and weighs 5 3/4 lbs. That might be a good one for you, a simple rechamber to make it an ackley. Mine was an o.k. shooter but if i wanted accuracy I could've got an accumark instead of a light weight. They're pricey though and I'm not sure about availabilty.

As mentioned above, the cooper is a great rifle that is already chambered in .280 AI however the classic is 7.75lbs, and the excaliber is 7.5lbs. The excaliber does have the fluted bolt and barrel like you wanted. Customer service from Prophet River is fantastic, Clay will have you set up faster than you can say EMT! It may even be cheaper than the weatherby.

Nosler also chambers .280AI in their rifles. They have a few dillerent models but they're also around 7.5 lbs and between 2 and 3 grand!

For a custom remmy, I follow my own rule of the 5's. $500 for an action, $500 for a barrel, $500 for a stock, and $500 for smithing and misc. Of course you may spend more or less but give or take that's pretty close for a decent outfit. This way you get what you want and how you want... as long as you want a remmy! the Ti will be more though.
 
I would go with the action of your choice, a custom barrel with the proper chambering, and put it in a McMillan EDGE lightweight stock. Then you get it exactly the way you want it.

I know which actions I would use...:)
 
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