Precision Rifle Actions(bolt gun): Is there any better than the Remington 700 action?

[USSR]

Custom built rifle with optics $5100.00/$5600.00 plus tax and destination charges.

A guy with patience and foresight, can do it for much less than that. I had two custom-built rifles built by a couple of the best smiths in the business by using this method: buy a used rifle with the action you want (I used the Winchester M70); strip the rifle down and sell everything you don't want; pick up the high quality parts you want over time from individuals online (I picked up a slightly used McMillan Prone stock for $300); send all the parts to your gunsmith. Doing this, you can get a top quality stick (sans scope) for somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,000. Of course, what you give up is some of your time in exchange for saving $$$. But for guys who don't have deep pockets, this is a trade off we are willing to make.

Don

 

[coug]

wow touchy people in here. LOL, for good reasons though. I think some maybe letting their opinions over ride the facts. the Remington 700 action is truely a great action for almost any application and for only a few hundred bucks can be turned into precision wonder. and some of them are like this from the box. but if you want something to brag about and probably out do it 9 out of ten times than go with the realy cool stuff but make no mistake any tuned up Remington action paired up with good components can shoot beond 98% of our abilities very accurately. I just thought it sounded like this guy wants something once in a lifetime.

 

[Skylerbone]

Bat Action $1200
Hart barrel $400
Heavy bedded stock, fully adjustable $600
Adjustable trigger $400
Scope $$$$$ 8-(

Or find a custom builder with a classified page for his previous customers. Often people build for the chase then arrive to note the next vista. Again, if history of the rifle is given, it may save you $500 or more and be a great turnkey opportunity.

Or were you dreaming of a Baer or McMillan "custom"? We're letting imagination run wild in the dark. My dream involves a Prairie Gun Works and $8000. Then in a separate dream I have another $4000 for a Hensoldt to put on it. Dream 3 involves me being granted enough skill to realize most of it's potential.

 

[taliv]

skylerbone's dreaming is not far from my own

coug, I don't think anyone's saying rem700 aren't "great" in the sense that yes, they made lots of accurate guns and sold millions of them. but they also, especially recently made a lot of inaccurate ones. And the fact remains, if you go to just about any gunsmith that builds precision rifles, they will tell you it will cost you more in labor to fix the shoddy modern rem700 than it would to buy a quality action. further, dreaming about owning a 700 is about like dreaming of owning a toyota camry.

 

[eastbank]

coug, not touchy at all.the rem. can be made to shoot very well with minor work you can do your self, adj. trigger,bedding work,lap lugs and break the barrel in, good glass and reloads.would i shoot for money against the 5000.00 rigs,no. (there are rifles in the unlimited class that do not shoot 5 inchs at 600yds, my remington will do that if i read the wind and mirage right) but i do shoot against the production class rifles for chenchey plastic awards. eastbank.

 

[Owen]

yep. But the 700 remington and M-1500 Howa actions make some of the best sniper rifles. so do savage. and, maybe winchester.
But A true benchrest action will be more accurate, often a single shot, and too heavy, also very finnicky.

The military uses the 700 action for one reason...inertia. There are a dozen actions out there that are better made and better suited for a precision rifle, a lightweight hunting rifle etc. That entire niche market barely existed in the 50's and 60's when the military started using purpose ddeveloped sniper rifles, which were evolved from commercial hunting rifles.

 

[Hangingrock]

I’m not quite prepared to throw out the baby (AKA-Remington action) with the bath water. The custom actions share certain aspects with the Remington action such as custom action XYZ accepts trigger groups intended for use with Remington or XYZ action fits stocks intended for Remington etcetera, etcetera. As for the floating bolt head and gas baffles are more or less Savage design being copied.

Most manufactures, manufacture with the technology that they have to produce a product. Also needs to be said that manufactures declares their methodology to be the best there is. Economics of the manufacturing process dictates the process. CAD/CNC has allowed the little guy a share in the market place.

 

[Walkalong]

Not saying it isn't a good action, it is. What it isn't is world class without a lot of work, which means if you want world class, you should go ahead and buy a world class action. That semi custom action will also hold value better than a blueprinted Remington action.

Lots of good choices out there these days. Many more choices than 20 to 30 years ago when Stolle, Hall, and a few blueprinted Remingtons 40X actions ruled Benchrest.

 

[Maverick223]

Need to know what it will be used for...if benchrest competition (sounds like you are) I am of little help, but if it will be used for LR "practical shooting" a GAP, AI, Sako TRG, or DTA-SRS wouldn't be a bad start at all. Just make sure and dump a small fortune ($2-4k) into your scope as well.

 

[MCMXI]

Need to know what it will be used for...

This comes up a lot and for good reason. One thing about "precision" actions is that the tolerances are usually a lot closer ... big surprise there! This is good if you take your rifle out if it's case, set it up on the bench, shoot a match then put the rifle back in its case. However, there are many situations where a precision action might work against you. For instance, hunting, practical shooting matches or a military application where you're hanging around in a dust storm or other inclement conditions. Zak has a video showing some malfunctions in conditions that to my eyes aren't all that severe. If you want reliability, you may have to give up a little accuracy or precision. It's a balancing act.

 

[Maverick223]

Zak has a video showing some malfunctions in conditions that to my eyes aren't all that severe.

It is an interesting and informative video. Dare I say that many, if not most were built on the famed Remington 700 action...I also recall a few Winchester M-70 push feed rifles thrown in as well (that is, if I am thinking of the same video). That isn't to say that either are bad...just not up to the abuse an AI (amongst others) can withstand.

If you want reliability, you may have to give up a little accuracy or precision. It's a balancing act.

Yep, sure is. That isn't to say that a reliable rifle can't be accurate (look at sniper rifles and practical shooting rifles for inspiration)...just that it isn't likely to be the most accurate rifle available (which is to say that it is probably not going to win any benchrest shooting events).

 

[Hangingrock]

Maverick223: Need to know what it will be used for...if benchrest competition (sounds like you are) I am of little help, but if it will be used for LR "practical shooting" a GAP, AI, Sako TRG, or DTA-SRS wouldn't be a bad start at all. Just make sure and dump a small fortune ($2-4k) into your scope as well.

Do you have hands on experience with all the items or even half of what you talk of? If you do then you’d have to be an extremely wealthy individual and no time for your day job. Me I don’t have the time or money!

 

[Maverick223]

Do you have hands on experience with all the items or even half of what you talk of?

Yes, I have been privileged to have some experience behind all of those mentioned, but I only own one of them (a DTA-SRS). That said, they are all fine rifles, and I plan to purchase another (either the AI or a GAP) sometime in the future. I don't consider myself wealthy (not in material wealth anyway), as the expense of the first one took quite a bit of saving and I ended up selling a few others from the collection, the same is likely to be true if and when I purchase another.

 

[Slamfire]

You need a Barnard Action. http://www.mtguns.com/prod01.htm

A shooting bud of mine, who has won F Class Tactical and Grand Senior F Class Open at the Nationals, bought one of these. I think that is a good recommendation.

The action is precisely machined, thick, stiff, and it is not cheap.

 

[Skylerbone]

To the OP, if you're interested in a solid, well machined, uglier than sin rifle that can shoot lights out these guys have gotten a flurry of business from my dad lately and I can verify the accuracy of their barrels. http://www.eabco.com/Brown97DRifle.htm

For a "poorman's" rifle I would wager it out shooting whatever can be had at the local gs off the rack for it's modest $999 asking price. At 11.3 lbs. it would not be too miserable for flat ground hunts. Not my "dream rig" but a measure of practical restraint that may turn a few heads at the range once the targets are in.

If you're still reading this, give us a heads up on what you'd like to do with this rifle.

 

[Zak Smith]

Zak has a video showing some malfunctions in conditions that to my eyes aren't all that severe.
It is an interesting and informative video. Dare I say that many, if not most were built on the famed Remington 700 action...I also recall a few Winchester M-70 push feed rifles thrown in as we

Actually none of the actions shown malfunctioning in that video were straight Remington actions. There was a Tubb 2000, a Winchester, and a Surgeon.

There are plenty of actions out there that are superior to the Remington, and which one is "best" for you depends on your application.

I submit for field-worthiness crossed with accuracy, the AI is hard to beat. For accuracy alone, there are a lot of options.

 

[Offfhand]

This has been a fun thread to watch. The opinions of KNTTKN's are always entertaining. Short of a dedicated bench action, about the best money that can be spent for a refined action is the Atlas, being made by the same company that makes the well proven Stolle bench action. They start at $700. which is not much more than might be invested in buying a 700 action and getting it fine tuned. Attached photo is one I'll be using on a varmint rig. With spiral fluted bolt and pinned recoil lug total price came to $795.

 

[Zak Smith]

The Atlas action is a Remington 700 clone action made to benchrest standards.

http://www.kelbly.com/actions.html

 

[rodensouth]

Great thread, I'm learning a lot. Are the GAP actions also good for adverse conditions?