custom, factory or build??

MaxKW

MaxKW

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I just sold a rifle and have about 1350$ in the gun fund, my big game rifles are a Sako in 8mm mag with Mcmillan stock and 22" bbl, a Rem KS mountain rifle in 375 H&H with Mcmillan stock and a guide gun, i'm thinking I would like to replace the 8mm with something in the same class of calibers, my question is should I sell the 8mm and get something built from scratch and if so any suggestions or ideas of what you would do or would you just rebarrel and "customize" the current 8mm or would you buy a factory rifle, The Rem AWR in a magnum cal in the 30 to 338 cal range or the Weatherby Accumark in 340 Weatherby are about what i'd be looking to buy or build something similar.

The 1350$ plus whatever cash I get from selling the rifle that the new one would replace (ballpark between 2000$ and 2500$) is all I can spend, any suggestions?
 
I would skip the AWR and Weatherby. They do not, IMO, give you your money's worth. Why not rebarrel your Sako with a very high quality barrel, an expertly cut chamber in whatever caliber you want and maybe refinish/paint your stock? The money left over could go to fine tuning your action or whatever.
 
You got the big stuff covered with the 375, as mentioned the Sako action is a great one, I would go with a high quality barrel , not too heavy , but it must fit in the stock , and the cal would be 7mm rem mag , and 24 inches long.:D This would make an excellent long range hunting rifle. Topped with a great scope, your set.:) Could even go the extra mile with a high end walnut stock if your into fancy stuff, and have the option of just going with a mag sporter profile. Some fine checkering , and all would envy your new toy:D
Frank
 
Thanks guys, you both basically said what what I thought would be the best route, now picking the caliber could be tricky, I've never hunted with anything smaller than 30 cal and even that was an ultra mag so I may have a hard time going down to a 7mm mag, the Sako action should take pretty well any caliber I would want so I just need to decide which one.
 
How about maybe keeping your rifles as they are and adding a smaller one to the mix. Like a Rem mod 7 in say 7-08. Keeps things fresh and when you see your critter drop without using a 3 digit powder charge it just might turn a crank you never knew you had. Check out todbartells Ti,that's a nice one too.:cool:
 
I'd probably keep the 8mm and get a new rifle in a lazer beam type calibre. And in that department I decided to do the same a while back and bought a custom 270 weatherby :D
 
MaxKW said:
I've never hunted with anything smaller than 30 cal and even that was an ultra mag so I may have a hard time going down to a 7mm mag, the Sako action should take pretty well any caliber I would want so I just need to decide which one.
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Well first, you have a magnum bolt face, so you need to go with a mgnum, and there are not many choices below the 7mm RM. There is the .264 WM, the .270 Weatherby, the 6.5mm RM, and the .257 Wby. You live in Ontario, so I don't see why you would even need anything bigger than a 7mm RM, but that's just me.

You could go with a .300 H&H and that would compliment your .375 H&H nicely.
 
MaxKW said:
I don't need anything bigger than 7mm but "I LIKE" big calibers.
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You could go with a .470 Capstick on that Sako action, that would be as big as you could do with the bolt face/magazine length you have now. Montana rifleman makes barrels in that bore diameter.:D
 
I like the stock thats on there and I think I've decide to just rebarrel, I just need to pick a caliber, I don't want to step down in power from the current 8mm mag.
 
MaxKW said:
I like the stock thats on there and I think I've decide to just rebarrel, I just need to pick a caliber, I don't want to step down in power from the current 8mm mag.
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If youdon't wan tto step down in power, you are pretty much lookign at the 300's, the 338 Magnums, the 358 Magnums, unless you wan tot go over your 375 H&H in power.

Rebarrleing to 8mm isn't a bad idea, too;)
 
if you're stuck on 'upgrading in power' from the 8mm Mag area, then you could take a look at the 338 Ultra Mag

you're gaining downrange performance over the 8mmMag, and pounding the $hit out of your head at the same time. perfect for ontario deer and moose :)

250 gr. @ 3100 fps with a 26" tube, packs 2000 ft-lbs out to 650 yards. Recoil energy is high too, up around 50 ft-lbs in a 9 lb rifle

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Personally I would likely buidl a custom but I like punishment. Your most economical route is probably just ot go buy a Ruger RSM in .375 or .416 and be done with it - they are a very nice gun too.
 
Ooops! re-read your post and see what you're getting at. Maybe a nice Argentine Mauser build or a pre-64 Winchester restore/rebarrel is in order to an 8mm round? Have you looked at the 8mm-06?
 
You've got a pretty ideal combo there already. If you are set on changeing I'd say if you use it for mostly deer a such, rebarrel to 300 WBY-24", if you want a little more go 340-24". No matter what others say both of these acheive excellent speeds in 24". I'd probably keep those and add a big boomer on top.
 
I rechambered my own 8mmremmag to 338x8mmremmag which offers nice ballistics and a good selection of bullets.If you are interested,I still have the chamber reamer.
 
It's not that I don't like the 8mm mag it's that I don't like the 22" tube.

338-8mm mag might just be what i'm looking for, should basically be a 340 Weatherby but without the radiused shoulder, right? PM coming Stubblejumper!!

I have never done anything like this before so what would be the best way to do this? order a barrel and reamer and get it done in Ontario or send the rifle somewhere and get them to work there magic? I'm leaning towards sending it out so I can get it powder coated at the same time. If I should send it out WHERE would be my next question.
 
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