Building a hunting rifle

[boomer2]

I have been looking around for a new rifle lately in 338-06 or .35 Whelen but can’t seem to find what I want. I already own a 30-06 Sako and a Win 70 in 6.5x55. I am not interested in any magnum...unless maybe a .350 Rem Mag would fill the bill.
Some people have suggested building my own and I thought I would look into it. I can find some Rem 700 actions...but prices are quite out of this world in my opinion. I could buy a brand new rifle for the asking price of these actions. Lately, I ran across some of the following for about half the price of the above:

Swedish Stiga rifle in 30-06
Carl Gustafs M96 Rifle in 30-06
BSA Model CF2 in 30-06

What would be the pros/cons of any of the above starter rifles for making a custom rifle? I would like to end up with a 20-22” barrel, scope, drop floor plate, good safety, and probably would like some sort of synthetic stock. This would be my hunting gun and not a safe queen, used mainly for moose and elk.

I should mention that I have no tools etc and at this point am planning to have a gunsmith do all the work.
Am I out in left field or someone with money burning a hole in his pants or what? Your ideas and opinions greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[lejarretnoir]

If you're going all the way, my suggestion is a Rem 700 action accurized, custom barrel and any stock you prefer. I took me awhile to figure out what I wanted, but in the end I have exactly what I think is the perfect rifle for me.

Rem 700 SA [bolt and action squared, lugs lapped]
Douglas Match Grade Stainless varmint barrel chambered in .260 Rem [with short throat so bullets touch lands with magazine loaded length]
H-S Precision mag conversion
Rem Laminated Hunting stock [came off another rifle I had]
Stainless Steel pillar bedded & free floated
Leupold VX-III 4.5x14 LR scope

This gun will shoot .5 MOA or better with Sierra SP 140gr bullets with a max load and hit exactly where I point it. Couldn't be happier for moose or deer at any range I like.

 

[Ishootguns]

Take a look in the Rifle EE, back about three or four days maybe. There was a Mauser action in 338-06 for what I thought was a reasonable price. Take a look.
Dave

Edit: Hunting Rifles EE 01-02-2007 338-06 custom mauser brass dies $675 or trade.

 

[Mauser98]

Building a new rifle can be a lot of fun but a lot of planning, etc is needed. I recently had one built on a Brazilian Mauser action in 9.3X62. It turned out great but if I do another one, it will be done differently.

For one thing, I won't use a military action. They cost a lot to convert to a sporter. Next time I will use a older commerercial Mauser rifle(FN, Whitworth, JC Higgins). If a person is patient, they can be had at a very reasonable cost(for example, Epps has a Whitworth in 7X57 for $379.00). A simple barrel swap to the caliber of your choice and you're done. If you decided a new stock is needed, there are a lot to choose from.

Personally, I wouldn't use the Stiga or the 96 for the 338-06 or the .35 Whelen. They are a small ring Mauser that are better suited for lower pressure cartridges. The fact that they are already in .30-06 does not reassure me.

 

[rem338win]

Hello,

First off I would go with the 338-06 for the bullet selection, but that is an opinion. I would grab the carl gustav, send it to Bill Leper, have a Gaillard #2 barrel strapped on and either do a laminate (cheaper, but heavier), or Mcmillan stock. 22" would give the rifle a nice balance, but if all you hunt is thick stuff, 20" won't ballistically hinder what this caliber is meant for (any animal inside of 300yds). Forget the fluting or anything fancy, but you might want to think about powdercoating for a metal finish. It looks good, and is totally oblivious to the environment. Have a good trigger (timney comes to mind) installed. Crisp, with no creep. Mount yourself a good light scope (leupold 3-9x33 compact?) in Talley one-piece rings. Load up some Hornady 225gr SP's @2575fps and let'er eat. this setup w/ the Mcmillan stock would probably weight 7 1/2lbs with 4 rounds in it, so it'll be easy to carry, but nice to handle. Ohhhh, if you have this made I'll be soooo jealous.
Remingtons are easier for the smith to work with and PF actions will usually feed just about anything, but the mausers when done correctly feed like butter and never stutter. Probably has something to do with the germaneering. The drop-plate thing could be the only problem, and to fix it would probably be more than the difference between a Gustav action and a Remington.
Again, this is all opinion, but I guarantee you'd be happy with either one.