Custom precision on a ($1500) budget

thebigslide

thebigslide

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Hi All,

Long time reader first time poster.

I'm interesting in building myself a custom long range rifle for use out to 800 or maybe 1000 yards. My selection of actions are fairly diverse. I have a Stevens and a 700 I wouldn't mind sacrificing for the experience. Both already have decent triggers.

I want to shoot mostly prone with some bench work.

Including optics, I want to spend less than $1500. What (available) stock, bbl and optics should I be looking for. I can do the smithing work myself, I'm pretty sure and I don't want to include tooling costs or reloading equipment in the $1500.

I'm wanting a 6.5mm caliber. Probably a 6.5-284 but possibly a 264 win mag depending on which side the coin drops when it comes time to buy tooling.

I'm willing to compromise some accuracy in the name of sticking to budget, but I'd like to hear from the voices of experience where the best compromises are to be made.
 
You can get a Kreiger barrel from Obtunded, or a Shilen from Mysticplayer.
Or, you could order a barrel from Ted Gaillard, Ron Smith or Rob McLennan. Any of these would be a good choice.
Watch out for a take-off HS Precision stock. You could even look for a Choate Ultimate Varmint or Sniper.
There are a variety of mid-range brand name scopes that would keep you inside your budget limit.
6.5x55 is an outstanding cartridge, and will easily hold its own to 1000. Barrel will last longer than with either .264WM or 6.5-.284.
If you do all your own 'smithing, you can easily stay under $1500.
 
I'd go .260 if you want to stay in a short action or 6.5x55 in a long. I just saw a new 6.5-284 takeoff from a savage for about 250$. If you are interested I will try and find it again. Depending on which action you want to build on.

Rem
Stock - HS Precision take off 400$
Scope - Busnell 4200 or Sightron SII or Falcon 500 $
Shilen Bbl 500$

1400$


Stevens

Stock - HS Precison Takeoff (I just bought one with a DM, wasn't cheap!!) or Savage F or F/TR takekoff 300 -500$
Scope - Busnell 4200 or Sightron SII or Falcon 500$
Shilen Bbl 500$

1300-1500$

Cheers
 
If you only want to spend $1500 DON'T go 6.5-284. My last barrel went at about 800 rounds. 260 is good, 6BR is another great choice, so is 6.5X47 lapua.

If you are doing the chambering, you have many choices in terms of barrels. The Swede really works better on a long action but is also a good choice. If your budget is only 1500, you will be cutting corners on something. I would say go with a good barrel and spend the rest on a scope. You can make the esisting stock work, and you can inlet for the gun if you upgrade it later.

We have 6.5 1:8 5R's due in about 4-5 weeks.
 
Shilen or McGowen CM blued prefit barrel is $350 in a multitude of chamberings. For the 6.5, My fave is the 260AI/6.5 Mystic. the 260Rem and Swede are excellent options too.

SS can range from $400 to $440.

These barrels are completely machined with match quality chambers and crowns. Just headspace to either a Stevens, or Rem for a few dollars more, and have at it. The Stevens can be used as is but the Rem may need a few tweaks depending on the condition of the action now.

With the Stevens, getting a rig to shoot in the 2's and 3's is simply a function of proper handloading. If you spend a bit more and get the SS Select match, being in the high 1's to mid 2's is what I am doing with my F class rifles.

Boyds stock is approx $150 delivered. The final finishing is straightforward. If you do the bedding yourself, material cost is around $7 and mold release. you can also modify the orig stock for a few dollars and use the extra funds towards your optics.

Of course, the EE usually has very nice options from time to time but these will cost more.

Farrell Scope base is $100. burris Sig rings are $45 to 70. If you just want to go with conventional 2 pc bases, these can run from $10 to 28 per pair. other base options are of course available.

So right now, you investment is somewhere around $800 leaving a very nice chuck of change to buy a quality scope. Good used ones can range from $400 to your full budget.

If you want new, the sightron SII Big Sky variables are some of the nicest combo of optics and tracking with lots of elevation in their price range. Price is right in line with your remaining budget. If you can spare a few more $, the SIII LR would get my nod.

so building exactly what you want can easily be done for your $1500 budget INCLUDING optics.

If you haven't, please visit my website and you can see more projects that I have done that will shoot great without breaking the bank.

Jerry
 
mysticplayer said:
...Boyds stock is approx $150 delivered. The final finishing is straightforward. If you do the bedding yourself, material cost is around $7 and mold release. you can also modify the orig stock for a few dollars and use the extra funds towards your optics...
Jerry
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Speaking of Boyds, I wonder why the no longer list their Warner Varminter. This would be a great option for a project like this.

Incidentally, following the suggestions in this thread would produce an excellent, accurate, shootable rifle. And I do like the fact that there are no uberkewl bells, whistles or gimcracks involved.
 
tiriaq said:
6.5x55 is an outstanding cartridge, and will easily hold its own to 1000. Barrel will last longer than with either .264WM or 6.5-.284.
Click to expand...

Are you saying the 6.5x55 will be accurate to 1000m or that the bbl will hold up for 1000 rounds.

I hope I get more than 1000 rounds out of this rig since I like to get off at least 50 per trip to the range. I don't get out very often, so when I do, I'm rather GUNg-ho.

Sorry... Bad pun.cp:
 
To 1000y.
For a short action, .260 Remington would be a fine choice. 6.5x55 would be better in a long action. Loaded rounds would likely not extract easily in a short.
 
That's nice.
Have you changed any of the factory parts on the rifle?
What barrel is on your 700P? The factory one?
A 700P has a standard 700 action.
The factory stock is a HS.
You do not need $450 worth of rings and bases to get accuracy.
A plus $2000 scope is great. But it is not necessary to use a scope in that price range to get accuracy.
It is possible to spend a lot of money and get a rifle that shoots like a dream.
It is also not necessary.
 
tiriaq said:
Speaking of Boyds, I wonder why the no longer list their Warner Varminter. This would be a great option for a project like this.

Incidentally, following the suggestions in this thread would produce an excellent, accurate, shootable rifle. And I do like the fact that there are no uberkewl bells, whistles or gimcracks involved.
Click to expand...

That is one of the big mysteries of life. So good, let's stop producing it. It is not even being used as a proprietory stock. Strange.

I have heard but not seen any, Boyds is coming up with a new bench type stock. I hope to see one later in Aug. It is a prototype geared towards the new Savage bolt spacing and mag box - I guess manf are happy that Savage isn't going to change their platform again in a few weeks.

Maybe we will have a new toy next year????

thebigslide, the Swede is one of the most accurate and useable LR cartridges that has been invented. Sized very nicely for the heavy VLD's we prefer to shoot.

F class accurate barrel life should be in the 1500rds range when run at typical F class levels of performance. If sub MOA is all you want, then 2000 to 2500rds should be achievable depending on the quirks of the barrel.

You can of course tone down the loads which will increase barrel life substantially. All up to you and what you want out of the rig. Run a 140 at 2700fps instead of 2900fps and I would suggest you get bored of the barrel before it dies.

In a Savage, you will have no issue feeding and extracting this case using the SA. With a mag length of almost 3", it is longer then ANY SA on the market today. I think single feeding you can extract a cartridge around 3 1/4" without issue.

My stuff is 2.9something" and I have tons of room.

If you go swede in your Stevens, you may have to do a bit of grinding on the extractor to make it work with the larger rim. Not a big job. The bolt face should be large enough to accomodate.

We typically do standard 308 bolt head cases cause it is so much easier to set up. Here the 260AI or 6.5 Mystic offers a similar case volume and top end performance.

A 6.5-7X57 Mauser would be very interesting indeed.

If you are going Rem and the much shorter mag, consider the 6.5 Creedmore. The case design is very nice and uses standard features common to wildcats used in match shooting. The shorter case does allow the heavier 6.5s to still feed from a short mag. The case volume is such that you can reach 260Rem performance without issue but the Swede/260improved/Mystic can go faster.

These cases can be made from 22/250 or you can get Hrn factory brass. Very similar in shape to a 6.5-6XC.

The 6.5X47L hasn't really taken off which I am guessing is due in part to the smaller case volume. Very accurate, ubber strong case but all the above will push the heavies tangibly faster. Still a very nice option with off the shelf stuff.

Enjoy your build....

Jerry
 
gushulak said:
$1500 max, I think the scope alone on my Rem 700P is over 2K. Add rings and a base ($450), and a rifle that is capable of MOA accuracy. My rig is well over 5K and shoots like a dream. I couldn't even recommend parts to build a precision rifle for $1500.
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While I'm sure you have a fine precision rifle, you can spend far less and get similar results.
Its your money, just sayin' :rolleyes:
 
If your rifle is going to be a range rifle only I would stay with a medium size, or smaller, case along the lines of a 260/260 AI. If you are not planning to shoot the rifle more than a few hundred rounds a year, and it needs to be dual purpose (range and hunting), you could even look at a 6.5wsm. Since you mentioned the 264 win mag I assume that one of your actions has a magnum bolt face. I would just go to the wsm case as the brass is very strong, and it is something different that not many guys have. Dies are available, reamers easy to get, or Shilen and I believe Pac-nor do a pre-chambered barrel in 6.5wsm.
 
I had a Ruger Mini 14 target and it would shoot just under 1 inch groups at 100 yards with Fiochi factory loads. I am sure it would shoot better with reloads. That was with a cheap Simmons Master series scope and Ruger rings. I sold it because I felt it was too heavy for me.

I didn't even smooth out the gas port and other stuff.

I also have a Norinco JW-105 with a more expensive scope and very good rings on it. Rifle is $275, scope and rings are almost $500 MSRP. It was shooting under .5 inch groups at 50 yards last week, haven't been able to shoot 100 yards yet but I am sure it will be under 1 inch. The Norinco has a very nice barrel if you ever see one, the trigger is adjustable.

Even if you take the Norinco JW-105 for $275, add around $100 for rings and $100 for the scope, it WILL shoot under 1 inch groups at 100 yards.

I am looking at another bolt action in .223 or .308 and so far I am disappointed from what I have been reading about accuracy, everything seems to come down to reloading.

I just picked up a Leupold Mark 4 with rings on the EE at a smoking deal and I really don't want to waste it on a cheap rig but so far I haven't been able to find anything which fits my taste.

A Remington 700 VTR is on right now for $699 minus $100 factory rebate but when you read the reviews, it only shoots 1 inch groups, a Police 700 is over $1,100 and I don't want to spend that much.

I keep looking.


:D
 
gushulak said:
$1500 max, I think the scope alone on my Rem 700P is over 2K. Add rings and a base ($450), and a rifle that is capable of MOA accuracy. My rig is well over 5K and shoots like a dream. I couldn't even recommend parts to build a precision rifle for $1500.
Click to expand...

I have put togther guns that shoot in 1's and 2's for under 1300
 
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