Building a BR rifle on a 788 action
- Thread starter guninhand
- Start date
rnbra-shooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Brunswick
When you say a "bench rest rifle", do you mean a rifle that you plan on shooting from a bench, for your own satisfaction and fun? Or do you mean a rifle to use in formal benchrest competitions (e.g. IBS, NBRSA)?
If the former (just a good accurate fun rifle), you can do a fair bit with a 788.
If the latter, a 788 would be completely inappropriate. It would be far cheaper, in time and money, to buy a $1000-$1500 custom action, and have built for you a $3000-$4500 custom BR rifle. If you're looking for a cost-effective way to get a competitive BR rifle, accurizing a hunting rifle isn't it. If you're a stubborn gunsmith who is determined to prove your abilities and show that you are able to make a hunting rifle action shoot as well as a custom action, I suppose this is as good a windmill to tilt at as any.
Remember that if you are getting a good custom rifle built, the action is only one part of the overall cost. A good barrel will cost you $X, whether it is mounted on a "free" 788 action that you have, or if it is mounted on a $1200 custom action. A good stock will cost you $Y, regardless of what barreled action you install in it. A good scope will cost you $Z, regardless of what you mount it on. A good benchrest and bag will cost you $Q, regardless of what you shoot on it. Your reloading gear setup will cost you $R, regardless of of your rifle.
There is one difference though. Your gunsmithing on a custom action will cost you a very small fraction of what it will cost to get a factory hunting rifle action (e.g. Rem 788, Rem 700 etc) tuned and accurized to BR levels of accuracy. It _can_ be done, most of the time, if the factory action isn't too badly flawed, but it is rarely cost effective. It will almost certainly be the case that a "free" factory action plus the required accurizing, will end up costing more dollars than a brand new $1500 purpose-built action.
If the former (just a good accurate fun rifle), you can do a fair bit with a 788.
If the latter, a 788 would be completely inappropriate. It would be far cheaper, in time and money, to buy a $1000-$1500 custom action, and have built for you a $3000-$4500 custom BR rifle. If you're looking for a cost-effective way to get a competitive BR rifle, accurizing a hunting rifle isn't it. If you're a stubborn gunsmith who is determined to prove your abilities and show that you are able to make a hunting rifle action shoot as well as a custom action, I suppose this is as good a windmill to tilt at as any.
Remember that if you are getting a good custom rifle built, the action is only one part of the overall cost. A good barrel will cost you $X, whether it is mounted on a "free" 788 action that you have, or if it is mounted on a $1200 custom action. A good stock will cost you $Y, regardless of what barreled action you install in it. A good scope will cost you $Z, regardless of what you mount it on. A good benchrest and bag will cost you $Q, regardless of what you shoot on it. Your reloading gear setup will cost you $R, regardless of of your rifle.
There is one difference though. Your gunsmithing on a custom action will cost you a very small fraction of what it will cost to get a factory hunting rifle action (e.g. Rem 788, Rem 700 etc) tuned and accurized to BR levels of accuracy. It _can_ be done, most of the time, if the factory action isn't too badly flawed, but it is rarely cost effective. It will almost certainly be the case that a "free" factory action plus the required accurizing, will end up costing more dollars than a brand new $1500 purpose-built action.
I see your points. It is for my own satisfaction and fun. I was wondering how the 788 would compare to a 700 action or 70 action, i.e. if it had any advantages or disadvantages compared to the usual actions people use. I know it has a fast lock time and round body.
Upside: Stiff receiver, fast lock time, multiple lug lock up. Usually pretty accurate right out of the box. Clip fed. Downside: not a lot of aftermarket parts available, rear lock up won't stand up well to over pressure loads. When you're done you won't sell it for big money, but they are great fun. I have 5 or 6 of them, all good shooters, some semi customs among them. - dan
rnbra-shooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Brunswick
Dan Belisle pretty much has all the bases covered.
I built a Light Varmint rifle on one about 30 years ago just to see what it would do. I was able to get the factory trigger to about 10 ounces but that was about it.
The rifle, a 6PPC, would shoot in the low threes. It shot better at 200 than 100. At 100 it always had a bit of vertical would only occasionally stay under .2. Usually the vertical gave me groups of about .340 or so.
It was a fun project which would not have happened had I not got the rifle (with broken stock) really cheaply.
Today, I don't think I would bother. Even the Savages are better! Regards, Bill.
The rifle, a 6PPC, would shoot in the low threes. It shot better at 200 than 100. At 100 it always had a bit of vertical would only occasionally stay under .2. Usually the vertical gave me groups of about .340 or so.
It was a fun project which would not have happened had I not got the rifle (with broken stock) really cheaply.
Today, I don't think I would bother. Even the Savages are better! Regards, Bill.
