Thinking of a rifle build, probably in 280 Remington and possibly another rifle in 260 Remington.

Use for hunting and some recreational steel shooting at distance.

What's your choice and why?

Zastava M70


Remington 700


EDIT:

I'm leaning towards the Mauser because it's so much cheaper than the Remington. $450 for the Mauser vs $650 for the Remington

But I'm not sure about the 'smithing/accuracy potential of the Mauser over the Remington.

You can get a used Rem M700 for a lot less than $650.

+1 on what the elk/coyote hunter said...

The Zasty is a classic, but only comes in long 30-06 length. So I would for he Zasty for the 280 and the 700 for your 260.

I have both a blued and a stainless Zastavas. Both moa out of the box with the cheap plastic stock, fore-end pressure point and all.

Here's my Zastava blued in 270 Winnie. I near-as-dammit got the 7x64 version but lack of brass availability steered me towards the 270.

Likely even a new if it is the one in your photo.

Agreed!

The Zastava is a better overall quality rifle than the Remington. It's accuracy potential as a basis for a custom build is excellent. As noted, it's a long action.

d.

Why not get a Winchester Model 70, and be done with it?

I've been looking on Gunbroker, but haven't seen any short action .473 calibers at that price.



Really? K-var has 'em in 308, which is a short action caliber. Did they shove a short action cartridge in a long action receiver a'la the M24?



Hard to find in left hand at an affordable price.

If you are going to get two rifles built, use the same model of action for both. Familiarity breeds perfection. After a couple of years of lugging around M700s, I opted to use my Ruger 77 a bit for deer hunting. I missed an opportunity at a nice buck in thick cover as I fumbled with the now-unfamiliar safety. Of the two, I'd opt for the M700. Everyone works on M700s, and everyone makes parts for them. And any smith worthy of that title can accurize one.

Just my opinions.....

Kaiser Norton

Both will work fine -- the Zastava would be my personal choice

The 243 Zastava M70 I saw was long action with a magazine block. Pretty sure they're all long actions.

My .243 Zastava is a long action.

I am thinking of adding another Zasty to the collection, this time a blued 375 H+H.

You see, you need a 375H for pigs and fallow deer.

I have a blued Zastava in 375 H&H, left handed. It shot .730 out of the box. I love it.

Many Remington smiths will not work on a Mauser action. Like a Chevy mechanic and a BMW mechanic. If you are truly going to build and not just swap the stock and barrel, talk to your smith.

Anybody have a manlicher stocked Zastava? I was wondering how the accuracy is with one of those.

Didnt Zastava make RIFLES for Rem> Then Rem Would Stamp Rem on Zastava Rifles!?!!!????> look into it if you do not believe me Enjoy.

Sure, the Rem 798 was the large ring and the 799 was the Mini.

I think Charles Daly did the same. My current rifle:

Some Parker Hales were also Zastavas I think.

Interarms Mark X, Chuck Daly, and Rem 798 are all the same Zastava rifle. The only difference was who was importing them at the time.

As much as I prefer the zastava over the Remington, I've gotta admit that if you're going to go swapping parts you'll make your life a lot easier by starting with the remingtons. Everybody can work on a Remington and make it shoot unless they're completely incompetent. Just about any gunsmith can stick a barrel on the zastava, but there are precious few who really understand how to set it up properly and make a precision rifle out of it.

Here's a link to a Black Friday ad, Dicks sporting goods will have Remington 700's on sale the day after thanksgiving. That would be a good time to pick up a couple of project rifles at a good price. Scroll to the bottom of the first page.

http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/BlackFridayScans/Dicks

I bought a SS m700 at Dicks a few years ago that Redneck turned into a .280 Rem. I paid $429. You can't get better than that for a SS rifle.

I see a lot of used Rem M700s at gun shows and other places, many in excellent condition. You can get an ADL new for less, too.

Patience is a virtue when looking for used firearms. If you don't have the time just pony up and pay what you need to to get what you want.

The overall quality of the Zastava is superior to the Remington(Cerberus).

I put a Bell&Carlson Carbolite on my Zastava 270....bedded the action and floated the barrel....adjusted the 4 screw trigger to 2 1/4 lbs. To top it off I put on a Leupold FX3.

The rifle has pulled off quite a number of 1/2 inch 3 shot groups at 200 yds with the 150 gr Partition. I also prefer that most Zastavas come with a faster barrel twist than the Remington which really doesn't matter if you are screwing on a new tube.

All I can say is if you want to change barrels don't shoot the Zastava first because you might be sadly disappointed when your custom job doesn't shoot any better.

Shod

we have one here that is in 30-06 we tested only up to 100 meters and i didnt see any differences in term of accuracy if we compare with the two ones we have in 30-06 with longer barrel.

maybe the barrel is warming up a little faster but those days with -25 celcius this is not a big problem ...

all the best.

Phil

If it were a new Remington from at least ten years ago it would be a tough choice for me. Today it would be a Zastava.

Phil,or anyone else who has shouldered one, is the buttstock low enough on the full stock model to use the iron sights without jamming your face into the comb?

It looks as though it may be too high to do so, in any of the pictures I have seen of it.

http://www.zastava-arms.rs/sites/default/files/styles/topimage/public/m70-manlicher-stand.png


Thanks,
Ted

Ted,

I answered on the other thread you posted.

Phil

I'd go with the Zavasta. My Charles Daly needed a little adjusting here and there but I'm also dealing with a tupperware stock. I'm very impressed with the Zavasta trigger once it's been properly adjusted.

Dan

http://stevespages.com/pdf/interarms_mkx.pdf

pages 10 and 11 all the infos on the trigger adjustment if needed.

Phil

Very different rifles. The Zastava weighs a ton due to the vanadium steel barrel and beefy mauser action. Remington's are still one of the lightest actions on the market. Can you guys pick up just the Zastava action alone? That would be a reasonable place to start for a custom build. You will probably just end up binning the barrel and stock anyway - no point paying for something you won't use.