Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Wrapping up my first custom bolt gun

I’m about ready to wrap up my first bolt action build. Decided to go with a 6.5 Creedmoor for cost, barrel life and ease of shooting.

BAT VRD melonited action
Rock Creek #3 barrel (leaning towards 23” finished)
McMillan Classic edge @ 14.25”
Badger DBM
Geissele trigger
Hawkins long range hybrid rings

As it sits with the barrel at 27” it is 7.54lbs. Goal weight is 8.5-9lbs finished so I should be dandy

I’m leaning towards a fixed power scope, tempted to try out a SWFA 10x and then upgrade if I feel the need or go to a variable power. It will be for hunting inside 500 and steel to 1000. And I think I will go black cerakote on the barrel to try and match the action color. But open to options/thoughts on optics/cerakote.

(First time trying to post pictures this way)
https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/galleries/14685199#Post14685199

Looks great!

Nightforce 2.5-10x42. Good looking rifle.

I actually looked pretty hard at that. Would you go that one over the 2.5-20? Few oz weight penalty

those are some nice parts for your first build

Very nice!

WELL DONE !!

A+ parts that will make for a very nice rifle......looking forward to some target pics!

I wasn’t even planning on building one, and then I stumbled onto the Bat action locally for a fairly decent deal... then the rest is history. Ordered the stock January 2nd and it just showed up this week

Lots to like there. Should be a dandy....what twist?

1-8” 5r

Nice build. I would go Birdsongs Black T over any other coating.

I was or am looking at the Nightforce 2.5-10x42 for my 6 Creedmoor build in the works now. Was reading up and found the Tangent Theta 3-15X50 TT315M that has my interest as well now.

Pretty good start right out of the gate.....encores are gonna be tough.....

Gosh I like "Build Lists".

It will be a while haha. Budgeting in this one took a while and the scope is still in the works. I’m having Rbros do the build itself here shortly

Yep for sure. Yep I used this on a rifle with CM action & SS barrel and you can’t tell the difference at all.

Metalife chrome plating is another. I’ve used them both, those Metalife only on CM/CM pieces.

Black T is obviously black and has a very nice look not unlike a well executed caustic blue. Metalife is darker gray than brushed stainless steel.


Plating is different from coating in that it molecularly bonds with the steel rather than simply sitting on top, so it’s vastly more durable.

Using the two one could put together a pretty cool, and Uber durable, two-tone rifle.

@efw what do you mean by CM?

Chrome moly...."blued".

Thank you! Yeah I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet for the barrel.

Yeah chrome moly steel can be blued vs stainless which cannot.

My Mexican Mauser (CM) has a Rock Creek 1-in-9” twisted SS tube and the finish came out beautifully:



The problem with coatings is they scratch terribly.