Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Want to start a new project what caliber

I have a mod 700 long action and am gonna build a new rifle I was talking to my Riflesmith and we went back and forth for a while I was really wanting a .280 ackley but the more me and him talked I think a .257 bob ai would be better for several reasons but the most important one is that my wife can shoot it and with the .257 bob in the long action I can seat the bullet a lot longer I was thinking a Shilen number 3 would work we also talked about a 25-06 but I think a .257 bob ai with a nosler accubond would be pure whitetail death also with the barrel being a little heavier than the factory it will be a little steadier out of the shooting houses I am open to any and all opinions for other calibers let me know what you guys think

If you're looking for opinions, you came to the right place.

If this is strictly a deer rifle, there are no flies on the 257ai or the Accubond. Me? I'd go standard 25.06 and fling 100gr TTSX.

Me too.

6.5-06 is on my list

I'd role a 25/06 to if 25 caliber is what I wanted to do with a long action.

What do u mean by no flies

6.5-280 AI would be sweet.

A .257 bob ai will do the exact same as a 25-06 I already have 2 .270 I don't think I would be gaining anything getting the 25-06 but with the bob it kicks like a 7-08 which is what my wife shoots now

Except that brass can be a real PIA to get for the Roberts. But it appears you have answered your own question, so carry on.

Here's a picture of my 6.5-06. Sports a Remington 700 XCR action and #3 shilen select match 1-8" 24" barrel. It's a nail driver. This is a great caliber, as is the 25-06 or 280ai.

6.5 X55

6-06 or 6.5-06 is where I'd be.

Yeah, a 6/06 would be a fun way to fly

Just buy a bread and butter big game rifle in a big game cartridge. If you spend that kind of change on a rifle, you might as well make a rifle you can shoot thousands of rounds through and really get some use out of it. That would be a short action in a 222 mag and you are set to go with a hunting rifle and a rifle you can shoot for a week at a time and not break the bank or your shoulder...

Has .222 mag brass become really plentiful and cheap all of a sudden?

Geez Shrap, the guy has a 700 LA and a dream. Beats the he11 out of another rebel flag thread...

I think I'm gonna go with the Roberts improved I may just start buying box ammo until I get enough brass and after its fire formed I will be good to go I already have the dies for it so all I need is brass I have so much other brass I'm sure someone on the fire will trade thanks guys for all your input I'll post pics when she is built
It's going to be a 700 la Shilen number 3 stainless Sitting in a Alaskan stick with a vx-3 2.5-10x40

You got that right. I can't believe how a whole area of this country is generations removed from the Civil War and its implications, and still fighting it in one way or another.

These guys got over it, its about time the rest of them do...

You already have that "deer hunting" area covered so well with the rifles you already have, that I think building a new rifle would be a waste of money. That money could be much better spent on better glass, such as binoculars or scopes or a spotting scope, etc. Buy your wife a new pair of Swarovski EL Ranges if you want to do something nice for her!!!!

Yep.

I have a 257 AI which was my first custom rifle and I LOVE LOVE it.

BUT if I were starting w/ a long 700 I'd do a .25-06 AI. You can load it w/ faster powders and it'll be a .257 Roberts. With slower it's nearly a .257 Weatherby.

Bob brass is REALLY tough to find right now.

Ps- .257 AI & 100 Interlocks is instant death on white tails, pronghorn, etc; 90 gr GMXs too, and 110 NAB is goin west w/ me this October... Tough to go wrong w/ quarterbores...

What happened to the love for the 25-284....years ago everyone on here was building them....

Sit down and talk to your wife ask Her opinion I agree you have it all covered already with 2-270s n 1-708 ,you could always trade your long action for a short one something to think on.either go bigger or smaller 338/06 ,35 whelen or a 22-250 , remember her also and install an adjustable length of pull recoil pad system on your rifle .

I've been in your shoes.

Bullets and brass all pointed me to the 260 or 6.5x55 throated to use all case capacity.

Adam

Load the 7mm-08 with some 120 ballistic tips and rock on. Or buy a 243 factory rig.

6.5x55 or a .284 win

I'd go with your original thought (280 Ackley) as you can always load it with a good 120 gr slug to keep the recoil down or as someone else mentioned, a 6-06 using 105 slugs.

Scrap the whole idea and buy a 223 and/or a 243.

You said all opinions are welcome and that my honest opinion!

I had a std 257Roberts done on a 700 LA several years ago. Thought was to have it done to AI later down the road. Never did do it, never will. The std 257 is just about perfect for deer as is.

I know many do have very good reason for a 257R in a SA. I will not contest those reasons, but here are mine for using a LA.

SA OAL vs LA OAL

6.5-284

8" 6mm/06.

Easy brass. Fast 'n flat. Low recoil.

A while ago, there was a thread on the .240 Wby, (same thing except for the price of the brass),and the boys seemed to really like it.

Take your wife for prong goats.

Since you're building on a 700 long action, were it me, if I was dead set on a quarter bore, I'd be going 25-06 or AI. If I weren't emotionally tied to a .25 cal, I'd go 6mm/06 or 6.5/06 or AI version of same. I wouldn't do the AI on a 6mm/06 as it's pretty overbore as it is.

John

6mm-06 or a 22-250 Fast Twist (if you trade to a SA).

Jerry

284

The 7X57 AI would be super Uber. Your wife would have a nice easy recoiling rifle with a 120 ballistic tip and mild loads.

Or you could load up some real serious medicine and hunt anything on the planet.

Shod

Fast twist 6mm-06. Would really trump anything at all the bob could ever offer....


W

.30/06

6.5 x284 +3.

Just finished this one.

Love my 257R, but if I were in your shoes, with those rifles already in the house, I'd look at a fast twist 6mm Rem. Bullet weights from 105grn-55grn. Could be a bit more versatile than the Roberts with high velocity screamers or slick long range projectiles.

I have always liked the 25 Souper. It might just be my next build.

I finished my 25 Souper in time for last years deer season. It is a tack driver and very pleasant to shoot.

Go ahead and just build a regular 25-06 and get you some 7828 w/Nosler 115 or 120gr Partitions and let your wife declare war on all manner of wildlife from pronghorn to elk. powdr

If its going to be a .257 I'd also go 25-06. A 257 AI isn't gonna keep up with a vanilla 25-06.

Twist ?

25's are limited in bullet selection. Me, I'd go 7-08(maybe even a 7-08AI) to shoot the long bullets. Have your wife shoot the 120BT (a solid bullet) Also, the 6.5-06 has a lot of appeal. I'd also still have 280AI on the list. Tough call.

What, no love for the .270 Win.

Great round.

Why waste your time and money on a big game cartridge you would shoot only 1 or 2 times a year? Why not a varmint cartridge you could shoot 200-400 rounds/day and not wreck your shoulder.

Forget the fast twist stuff and just get a 222 mag and shoot 40 grain bullets at almost 4000 fps and enjoy the best of economy in shooting and satisfaction with a gun and cartridge that will last until you shoot it out, then screw in another barrel and do it all over.

I guarantee you more fun shooting light cartridges than big game sized cartridges...

Personally I would trip the action,forget the build, and buy a factory rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor.

300 WSM set up for the long action, throated for the 212 gr ELD-X bullets for zero impact on powder capacity , that's what I'm building for my gal for the 2016 season, she has been hunting with a factory Tikka T3 in 300 WSM since they first came out years ago, time for a cool custom rifle for her ..... here's her 2015 moose ...

Nice video, thanks. And, congratulations on a great moose. Looks like big grins to me.

Cool video! Great bull!

My three picks for a custom build would be .257 Roberts, .280AI and .35 Whelen. I have experience with these rounds but have never had any in a true custom built rifle.

The 700's are at the bottom of my action barrel for hunting. Trade it off for a better design.

Yes, Don, everybody knows that you hate the entire Remington 700 family because of that deer that you lost in the 1950s while shooting a 722 in 222. It is clear from the number of time that you have repeated your mantra, damning the Remington 700 series, that it was a traumatizing event in your life that you'll never recover from. But, nobody really cares that your blown shot a half century or more ago has made your distorted opinion on the Remington 700 series fall toward the "hate" end of the normal distribution of like/dislike. A majority of rifle loonies seem to like the Remington 700 series actions to build on for a variety of reasons and the majority of custom actions are improvements on the Remington design. You are arguing with success and losing badly.

Or so it seems to me.

You have to admit he is consistent and persistent...

John

Agreed on all counts. Most homemade videos suck, that was pretty darn good! Super cool seeing the O2 mist coming out of the side holes... that's called "dead standing."

Being a competitive rifeman as well I made a battery of target rifles that included Remington's.

My centerfire 200 yd target rifle is a 40X with a thumbhole stock with a hook butt plate etc. along with a leather shooting coat. My 22 LR gallery gun is a 40X with a similar stock where I use a Unertl Ultra Varmint.

For schuetzen my original favorite is my Hepburn 38-55.

So, now you're saying that the Remington 700 series is OK if they are roll stamped as a 40X rather than a 78/700/721/722/725?

Can't have it both ways Don, no waffling allowed.

I favored those 40X's for target shooting. For hunting I preferred the M70.

I ordered a new M70 in 1957 while working a summer job. It was a M70 Varmint 243. The sporter stock and 26" heavy barrel did double work as a target rifle and LR chuck gun.

Sounds like you need a toy, not a hunting rifle. Do both. 22TTH or fast twist 6-06AI.

If not light, 35 Whelen or 9.3X62.

Matt from Virginia once called it aggressive, persistent ignorance. Seems fitting. The 700 is so schitty that there are probably a dozen or more custom action makers that started with the 700 design, and for the most part, have just tightened up the factory tolerances. One, that I know of, even offers their's with the same crappy extractor in fact, but most use either a M-16 or Sako design. But dear ol Don knows much more than they do.

And spend the money on a great binocular .......

Exactly. Very nicely done video. Dead moose and they knew it. It was also puking a good bit of blood if you caught that.

Thanks for sharing.