I just came into a savage 111 in 300WM and I've been thinking about building a longrange persision rig. I was going to go with .308 but now that I have a 300WM thought I might build it on that caliber. Anyone have any subjestions on what rifle I should use as a base for it. Looking to put about 3000$ into it, so give me your best picks. Was thinking Savage or Remington. Give me some scope ideas too.
300 Win Mag Rig.
- Thread starter rat-7
- Start date
Hello,
PEI ROB, you just forgot the gunsmith work, minimum 500.00$ and probably more...
For scope, i use S&B, actually on my sendero .300win mag is 3-12x50 and comming in is S&B 5-25x56 for my sako, i never had a hic-up with this brand of scope but i think they are excellent scope from what i can read...
Sendero
PEI ROB, you just forgot the gunsmith work, minimum 500.00$ and probably more...
For scope, i use S&B, actually on my sendero .300win mag is 3-12x50 and comming in is S&B 5-25x56 for my sako, i never had a hic-up with this brand of scope but i think they are excellent scope from what i can read...
Sendero
For the scope I'm leaning towards an ATN 10x65z daytime. What custom action would you subjest?
For barrel I'm told one of the best barrel makers is here in Sask. so gonna check that out, and looking at a macmillan stock with the built in recoil reducers.
For barrel I'm told one of the best barrel makers is here in Sask. so gonna check that out, and looking at a macmillan stock with the built in recoil reducers.
I agree that if you are spending those kinds of dollars, you should go with a SERIOUS action. Something like a Barnard, Nesika, Stolle or RPA. You decide whether you want a magazine or not.
The Remington and Savage are excellent actions which can be made into world-class rifles, but they don't have the stiffness of the true premium actions, and they generally take a bit of work. Pretty well every world-class competitor these days uses one of the premium actions. Personally, I am very interested in the Barnard action from New Zealand. A number of the top shooters these days are switching to that action because it can be acquired brand-new for a little over $1000, and the machining on it is supposed to be absolutely perfect. The Barnard apparently requires no truing of any kind (which cannot be said of the RPA, I'm told). It has the feel of strength and precision when you work it, and I've seen shooters use it to win matches (notably Gerry Fraser). When I can afford one, the Barnard is the next action I'm going to get.
Your choice of a Gaillard barrel for the project would be outstanding. Saskatchewan can be rightly proud of him. Other barrel makers in the same league are: McLennan (Ontario), Smith (Alberta), and McPhee (B.C.).
The Remington and Savage are excellent actions which can be made into world-class rifles, but they don't have the stiffness of the true premium actions, and they generally take a bit of work. Pretty well every world-class competitor these days uses one of the premium actions. Personally, I am very interested in the Barnard action from New Zealand. A number of the top shooters these days are switching to that action because it can be acquired brand-new for a little over $1000, and the machining on it is supposed to be absolutely perfect. The Barnard apparently requires no truing of any kind (which cannot be said of the RPA, I'm told). It has the feel of strength and precision when you work it, and I've seen shooters use it to win matches (notably Gerry Fraser). When I can afford one, the Barnard is the next action I'm going to get.
Your choice of a Gaillard barrel for the project would be outstanding. Saskatchewan can be rightly proud of him. Other barrel makers in the same league are: McLennan (Ontario), Smith (Alberta), and McPhee (B.C.).
rat-7 said:
I'd research these scopes a little....I know their ads sound good but.....
They used to do a bunch of bragging about their scopes for 50BMG use, but all the match shooters avoid them like the plague.
Although, many were bought for the adjustable base and the scope sold off.
I don't have much personal experience, just passing on what I hear, most of it from the FCSA forums.
Only my opinion, but better to doubt now than be disappointed later.
J
JoeP's old business account
Guest
If you have the money, a custom action would be my first choice.
Gaulin or Armtech produces a cdn made action (several) as does PGW.
Accuracy differences between them are likely 0. Features, customer service and supply will likely determine which you purchase. We are still waiting on the Surgeon actions to arrive.
You can still have your Savage rifle rebuilt but often times recovering your money from such an investment is difficult and doing so (heading that way)would likely result in a loss of $$ on resale.
Gaulin or Armtech produces a cdn made action (several) as does PGW.
Accuracy differences between them are likely 0. Features, customer service and supply will likely determine which you purchase. We are still waiting on the Surgeon actions to arrive.
You can still have your Savage rifle rebuilt but often times recovering your money from such an investment is difficult and doing so (heading that way)would likely result in a loss of $$ on resale.
No offense to any gunsmiths out there intended 
The action should require no work so $600 should be close to the cost of an installed barrel.
$600 should be close to a fitted stock. I doubt the fancy extras are needed in this build, besides the adjustable cheekpiece. If I had the cash, I would phone Robertson Composites and get it a stock to my liking and have it installed. Maybe $750 but you would need to ask him. BTW, I have never met or even spoke to Ian Robertson so no bias here but its hard not to notice his reputation.
A Weaver can be had for well under $600.
Quick post, close enough for sighting in
The action should require no work so $600 should be close to the cost of an installed barrel.
$600 should be close to a fitted stock. I doubt the fancy extras are needed in this build, besides the adjustable cheekpiece. If I had the cash, I would phone Robertson Composites and get it a stock to my liking and have it installed. Maybe $750 but you would need to ask him. BTW, I have never met or even spoke to Ian Robertson so no bias here but its hard not to notice his reputation.
A Weaver can be had for well under $600.
Quick post, close enough for sighting in
For $3,000 you have a ton of choices. As mentioned, I'd avoid the Savage based on re-sale consideration alone. However, it'll be tough getting your money back out of custom firearms for the most part so choose whatever floats your boat.
From your comments it doesn't sound like you've put a great deal of consideration into caliber choice. There's a huge difference between the .308 Win. and .300 Win. Mag. on just about every level. Here are just a few things to consider.
Choice of actions (short vs. long)? Long actions are marginally more expensive but basically moot point over the over-all life of the rifle. Biggest consideration here may be weight. Especially, if this project will be used for hunting.
Recoil. If you don't have much experience in this area, a .300 Mag. is gonna' beat you up big time. How long are your range sessions going to be before fatigue or flinch sets in? Maybe 30-40 rds.? To help negate the recoil expect to buy a muzzle break, an exceptional recoil pad, and a stock that has a heavy fill.
For extended range sessions where more than 50 rds. will be fired at a setting, a .308 Win. will be far more forgiving in the recoil department.
Component costs. .300 WM brass is more $$$ than .308 Win. and match type brass is comparably harder to find here in Canada. Brass life will be considerably shorter as well, especially when you're loading hot.
Bullets. Basically, if you plan on shooting a .300 Win., you'll likely be shooting a heavier match grade bullet that'll be slightly more expensive than 155-175 gr. match bullets. Not a big expense but availability will be a bigger concern.
Powder. You'll be using a lot more with a .300 Win. with approximately 80 grs. of powder to a .308 Win's of around 45 grs. Powder expense will be almost 2x with the .300 Mag.
Primers. Magnum primers are slightly more expensive but not by a big margin. Availability may be the big issue. Buy them by the 1,000 when the opportunity arrises.
Barrel life. A .300 Mag. will have an accurate barrel life around 1,500-2,000 rds. compared to a .308 Win. of approximately 4,500-5,000. How much shooting do you plan on doing? Replacing barrels is not exactly a cheap endeavour.
Shooting distances. If you routinely shoot or hunt at ranges less than 600 yds. does it make a great deal of sense to go to all the added aggrivation of a .300 Mag. when a .308 Win. will do the job more efficiently far less cost?
Hell, if you just want a big boomer to play with, then go for it! However, if it's a regular shooter, you may want to give caliber selection some greater thought first. Personally, if I wanted something that hits harder and has greater range than a .308 Win. without being hard on barrels I would select a match grade .30-06 Springfield with a 28"-30" barrel shooting 185-220 gr. bullets.
From your comments it doesn't sound like you've put a great deal of consideration into caliber choice. There's a huge difference between the .308 Win. and .300 Win. Mag. on just about every level. Here are just a few things to consider.
Choice of actions (short vs. long)? Long actions are marginally more expensive but basically moot point over the over-all life of the rifle. Biggest consideration here may be weight. Especially, if this project will be used for hunting.
Recoil. If you don't have much experience in this area, a .300 Mag. is gonna' beat you up big time. How long are your range sessions going to be before fatigue or flinch sets in? Maybe 30-40 rds.? To help negate the recoil expect to buy a muzzle break, an exceptional recoil pad, and a stock that has a heavy fill.
For extended range sessions where more than 50 rds. will be fired at a setting, a .308 Win. will be far more forgiving in the recoil department.
Component costs. .300 WM brass is more $$$ than .308 Win. and match type brass is comparably harder to find here in Canada. Brass life will be considerably shorter as well, especially when you're loading hot.
Bullets. Basically, if you plan on shooting a .300 Win., you'll likely be shooting a heavier match grade bullet that'll be slightly more expensive than 155-175 gr. match bullets. Not a big expense but availability will be a bigger concern.
Powder. You'll be using a lot more with a .300 Win. with approximately 80 grs. of powder to a .308 Win's of around 45 grs. Powder expense will be almost 2x with the .300 Mag.
Primers. Magnum primers are slightly more expensive but not by a big margin. Availability may be the big issue. Buy them by the 1,000 when the opportunity arrises.
Barrel life. A .300 Mag. will have an accurate barrel life around 1,500-2,000 rds. compared to a .308 Win. of approximately 4,500-5,000. How much shooting do you plan on doing? Replacing barrels is not exactly a cheap endeavour.
Shooting distances. If you routinely shoot or hunt at ranges less than 600 yds. does it make a great deal of sense to go to all the added aggrivation of a .300 Mag. when a .308 Win. will do the job more efficiently far less cost?
Hell, if you just want a big boomer to play with, then go for it! However, if it's a regular shooter, you may want to give caliber selection some greater thought first. Personally, if I wanted something that hits harder and has greater range than a .308 Win. without being hard on barrels I would select a match grade .30-06 Springfield with a 28"-30" barrel shooting 185-220 gr. bullets.
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You have alot of good advice here. I will jump in and say do not use a factory action like a M700 if you are spending $3000 on your project. The action is the heart of you system and it should be the best you can afford, it will make all the difference in the end. Although I don't have one myself I would be looking at one of the Canadian Actions like the Gaulin or PGW or if you want to go across the border look at the Stiller Predator, barrels are shure to take up alot of your time but most are good products with alot of loyal followings, certainly the Canadian barrels are as good as any, stocks from McMillan or if you want to stay Canadian try Robertson stocks. Actually you can build an all Canadian rifle and be right up there with the best of them! At the end the availability of the components will win out on the choices you make unless you have alot of time and not in a rush to finish your project.
bigbull
bigbull
Mystic Precision
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If the goal is the build a heavy barrel for LR plinking with the Savage action, you don't need to spend anywhere near $3000. Personally, I prefer the 7RM as the bullets are so much better given the case capacity.
The least expensive way to go and leave you the BEST cost recovery in the future is to get a 110BVSS in a 7RM. Spin on a muzzle brake and you will have a rig that is capable of 1/2moa, maybe better, and that will recoil about the same as an SKS. Effective range will exceed the 300WM by quite a bit. All up cost, around $900.
The new Accutriggers can go down to at least 1.5lbs. The new gens down under 1 lb. Just have the stock/action properly bedded and load up some ammo using 162gr Amax and 180gr Bergers.
If you can wait, Savage will be bringing out new F class rigs. They will be offered with a no taper 30" barrel on the new single shot actions, light pull Accutrigger and an 'odd' lam stock. 308 and 6.5-284 are the only options at this time. Street pricing in the US should be under $1000 so expect a little over $1000 Cdn.
These actions have proven to be every bit as good as most customs and there is little issue with their rigidity. I really don't think there will be many for sale in Canada for a while as the demand in the US will keep things backed up for a bit. I really hope that their stock design changes before production starts.
Click on the link in my signature to see my 6.5 Mystic project rifle details. Shows you what can be done with the Savage/Stevens action. Will not cost anywhere near your budget and will shoot equal to the big dollar rigs.
You have a great platform to build from. Just decide what you really want to do with it. All your questions have been answered many times over in the body of this forum.
Jerry
The least expensive way to go and leave you the BEST cost recovery in the future is to get a 110BVSS in a 7RM. Spin on a muzzle brake and you will have a rig that is capable of 1/2moa, maybe better, and that will recoil about the same as an SKS. Effective range will exceed the 300WM by quite a bit. All up cost, around $900.
The new Accutriggers can go down to at least 1.5lbs. The new gens down under 1 lb. Just have the stock/action properly bedded and load up some ammo using 162gr Amax and 180gr Bergers.
If you can wait, Savage will be bringing out new F class rigs. They will be offered with a no taper 30" barrel on the new single shot actions, light pull Accutrigger and an 'odd' lam stock. 308 and 6.5-284 are the only options at this time. Street pricing in the US should be under $1000 so expect a little over $1000 Cdn.
These actions have proven to be every bit as good as most customs and there is little issue with their rigidity. I really don't think there will be many for sale in Canada for a while as the demand in the US will keep things backed up for a bit. I really hope that their stock design changes before production starts.
Click on the link in my signature to see my 6.5 Mystic project rifle details. Shows you what can be done with the Savage/Stevens action. Will not cost anywhere near your budget and will shoot equal to the big dollar rigs.
You have a great platform to build from. Just decide what you really want to do with it. All your questions have been answered many times over in the body of this forum.
Jerry
