Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Is a Stiller Predator action....?

Worth building on over a 700 action for $400 more?

Local gunsmith builds (advertises anyways) those two actions. Is the Stiller Predator action worth paying $400 over a worked over Remington 700? I have several 700's and have never been let down in the least....

BTW, both actions come with a 1/2 MOA guarantee so accuracy is of no consequence

I have a Stiller Predator that came my way by trade and I like it but I doubt there is much difference between it and a true blue 700, at least for hunting.

If nothing else it will bring a lot more and be a lot easier to sell later with the Predator.

I'll say yes as long as the bolt cycling has been adressed and I keep hearing it has, a 1 pc bolt and handle can be a good thing, base screws holes can be straighter it's already trued, action body is probably straighter, some clones come with tighter tolerance fireing pin to hole fit,bolt timing should be better than a Rem that's been trued, and the resale is better, One thing I really like about Jim Bordens actions is the time he has put into his fire control system that can add alot to the accuracy equation!

It probably comes up in the custom topics all the time.
Is a custom action worth the $$$ vs a trued Remington?

I'll say first I have no idea what a full blueprinted Remington action would cost to do. I know it would vary one gunsmith to the next.

Stiller advertised that if someone was going to do a build on a Remington 700 they maybe money ahead buying one of their actions. This was back when group buys had them for $685 if I remember correctly. I'm pretty sure that all of the custom 700 clones were not that low in price back then, and certainly not currently. The only thing that bugged me about the Predator I got was the coating they put on it, and the shallow bolt flutes can't be redone to the deep ti pattern. Other than that it is slick, light, and seemed to be a good value.

For me, I don't think I would shell out a $1000 for another action to build upon.

I agree with Ackleyfan.
Kallen, The gunsmith's prices vary because some do a partial job. As I posted before, Gre Tan charges $560 to do what I call close to equivalent to a custom.

Having done it both ways, and having both done by one of the best 'smiths in the industry, the Predator is absolutely worth it. On my latest build, when I ran the numbers on truing a 700 to get it to predator specs (included oversized PT&G bolt and having 700 reamed to fit it to close tolerances), the bill came within $50 of a Predator. Was a no brainer for me to pay the extra $50 for far better retained value. Even had I gone with the 700 route again, the scope mounting holes may or may not have been to my satisfaction. I had one 700 action that I had to use Burris signature rings and .030" worth of offset inserts to get the scope close to aligned. On the Stiller, that was not necessary, as the scope base holes were properly aligned. Stiller also puts alignment pin holes on their action to be used in conjunction with their piccatiny rails, and it works VERY well. I like the looks on the Stiller and love the way it feels when cycled. You can FEEL that it has got tighter tolerances than a 700. That said, to get the same tolerances on a 700, you have to either have the bolt sleeved and firing pin hole bushed or go with an aftermarket bolt. Neither of those procedures is included in a typical $200 blueprinting of a 700 action and having it done drives the total cost of the 700 MUCH closer to a predator.

All of the above would apply to most custom actions, not just the Stiller.

John

there are also alot of other choices out there, I like the machined in rails of BAT or surgeon actions, it makes the actions really stiff which I think helps.

My long range 7 mag is built on a BAT HR action. My smith says they are the best out there. Mine has a 20 MOA rail machined in.
I don't know if it's the best, but I do know the rifle built on it seems to hold half-MOA beyond 1000 yards just fine if I read the wind right.
I'm happy with it for it's use on a heavy rifle, just as I am with my Predator for it's use on a light rifle