Blanchard used to be reasonable..................
Except for the pure purist, dealing with military actions as a basis for a rifle today is a case of the juice just not being worth the squeeze...............if you just gotta have a '98 based rifle, either find a decent commercial action or be prepared to dump a lot of money into something of no real value to anyone else, & that's even if you do the heavy lifting yourself.
YMMV
MM
Fug that! People buy all sorts of modern rifles then dump a sheet ton of money into them. They don't get it back when they sell. you don't build a custom to sell, you build it to use and enjoy. There are those that prioritize utility over all else, then there are those that want utility and good looks. There's room for both.
That said, if you want to shoot "modern" or high pressure loads and don't want to heat treat, you are correct that one would be wise to select one of several later model milsurp actions or a good commercial action to start with.
