Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats .308 Custom - a whole pile of questions...

I'll start this off with the fact that I want a .308. I'll mostly shoot it off the bench casually and maybe deer hunt with it once per year. I have a few Remington's already and really like two particularly well. I have a VS in .223 and a Sendero in .300WM.

My two choices are...Purchase a like new VSF for $700 or build a custom rifle. For now, let's work on the custom rifle part.


I have a Remington action w/ appropriate bolt face and a take off VS stock.

1. Who's barrel? I'm somehow drawn to Krieger, though I Shilen's website makes their product look good too. I have no practical experience with any aftermarket barrel maker. Who else should I consider?

2. What contour will fit my VS stock?

3. What twist rate? I see that VSF's and LTR's use a 1 in 10 and that 700 P's use a 1 in 12. I'd normally be shooting 150 - 169grain bullets 100 - 300 yards, mostly at paper.

If I pick Krieger, should I let them do the barrel job? Looks like they charge $280 for the barrel and $270 to install, crown, ream, etc.

What else should I be considering?

Thanks,
Adrian

Take a step back and figure out what configuration do you want. I.e. is this mostly a bench gun that will be used for hunting from a rest, or is it a walk about hunting rifle? I would have completely different designs for each rifle. What is your budget? It is very important that you be honest with your budget, and that you don't try and cheap out to go 1/2 way with the project. If you do that, you won't be happy with the final results, and you'll loose money when you sell it to get exactly what you want. As for barrel twist, I'd go 1-10 or 1-11.

I'd tend towards a heavier bench friendly gun, as it seems like a better fit for your application. A 10-12# tactical .308 will be worlds friendlier than a 7-8 pound sporter.

Krieger will do a great job for you..so will Bill Wiseman in Bryan, Tx for about the same $$...I suggest 1-10 twist...and let's not forget a Jewell trigger..should be a tack driver...

Does Bill in Bryan work for someone or is he by himself?

Just curious as I just moved from there and have never heard of him....

As far as configuration, I really like my Sendero, except that the barrel is too long when tramping through the woods. I live in Georgia and only hunt whitetail a few times per year, the rest of my shooting is done for fun with friends.

I've already purchase the scope, rings and bases. The scope is a Leupold VariX-III 6.5-20 w/ 30mm tube. I don't yet own the action or stock, but am going to check them out Thursday. After purchasing the action and stock, I'd like to stay somewhere around $600 - $800 tops for the re-barreling and any action work that might be required. I've always done my own Remington triggers and am confident that I'll be happy with this one.

I'm thinking a barrel length of 20" - 22" would be perfect for my needs. I don't care for custom bolt handles, flutes, paint jobs or bipods.

Selling it in the future isn't an issue, I rarely sell a rifle if it shoots well.

-Adrian

Adrian,

I had my gunsmith put a Krieger barrel on my .308. I had previously used Hart, and Douglas, and the Krieger is the best shooting of the bunch by a substantial amount. If you are absolutely sure you are never going to want to shoot heavier than 168s, I would go with a 1 in 12" twist. I thought there was an outside chance that I may want to shoot some 180s, so at Krieger's recommendation, went with a 1 in 11" twist. It still shoots 150s very well, and shoots 178s very well also.

I believe the barrel contour on the Remington VS is roughly a 5.5 contour, but not sure on that. Most barrel makers will duplicate a factory contour for you, so you could just tell them you want the same contour as a 700 VS.

John

Hondo, is your 308 the red gun? That thing is sweet.

Most of the reputable bbl makers can reproduce the "remington varmint contour", which is what comes standard on the VS, VSSF, VLS, PSS, and Sendero rifles... it IS pretty much a 5.5 contour, but since every bbl makers contours are slightly different, just ask the bbl maker if they can match the remmy varmint contour so that you're sure you're getting what you want ... well, that is if you want that same contour, but with a custom bbl and twist rate.

also, as Hondo said, the 1:11 is a great twist for a .308 ... will allow you to shoot everything from 130's to 180's w/out ever worrying about it ...

and as for the bbls ... PacNor, Hart, Krieger, Douglas, Shilen, Rock, etc... they are all top notch... I would simply ask the smith you're using which one he prefers, and let him use that brand ... it just works out nicer because if you force the smith to go with a brand they don't recommend, you could end up with issues if the rifle doesn't shoot as well as it should because the smith can (and probably will) say that if you'd used the bbl he recommended to you, the rifle would be shooting better...

Yeah, mine is the red one. It just seems to get better and better. Last range session while doing load development, out of five different powder charges, four of the groups were less than .5", and two of those were in the .2"s.

John

A 1-12 twisted Krieger should stabilize everything up to and including 175gr SMK's......

I have a custom 308 on the way, but it has a #7 5R cut-rifled barrel from Cooper Precision(Accuracy Int'l) in an A-5 with sniper fill. Check out their barrels too, they are exactly like a Rock 5R with the exact same thread protector and all(if you want/need one)........
http://www.ketmer.com/ai/cpm/index.htm

It will come in at about 13.5lbs. scoped.......

I didn't know, so I asked Krieger. They suggested a 1-11, and that's what I went with. It has worked out well for me.

John

I was recently educated about why NOT to go with Rem Varmint contour. Not only is the funky looking contour ugly, it puts a lot of the barrel weight towards the action and balance can be awkward if you're not careful. I decided on a straight contour with the following specs:

Shank diameter: 1.20�
Shank length: 3.00�
Diameter at 26�: .75�
Diameter at 22�: .83�
Weight at 22�: 4.68 lbs

What kind of stock did you use on that straight contour barrel? What does your rifle weigh when complete? I'm trying to use the VS stock because it's almost free to me.

Where is Browns Cross Roads, AL? I'm about 20 miles from the AL state line, directly west of Atlanta.

-Adran

That would be question #2 in your original post. Missed it the first go around. The long shank I refer to would eat into your barrel channel pretty good. If I had to use that stock, I'd probably opt the factory contour too.

But to answer your question regarding weight with the mentioned barrel, the bare rifle without scope and mounts, would be right at 9lbs, definitely less than 9 1/2 lbs.

Browns Cross Roads is in the Southeast corner of AL, almost due south of you.

Roads, with 3" of shank won't you have quite a bit of weight rearward also? I just never liked that much shank although on that contour it isn't so bad. Just wondering....

If you need a barrel,I've got 1 for sale in the classifieds,It's a Rock Creek barrel by Mike Rock,Remington Sendero 5.5 contour,29in.,fluted by Rock Creek,brand new .308 11.25 twist.I was going to build a 300 RUM and changed my mind,or you can email me at shotgunbetyahoo.com Thanks.

Now that I got Photbucket working for me again, wanted to show how the lighter bullets are working for me with the 11" twist. Looks like Krieger gives sound advice...

John

Looks like she's shootin' well. Looks like you've chosen your powder wisely also. 4895 may be the best there is, accuracy wise, in the 308.....

The basic idea on barrel twist, and you may get some different opinions from others here, (even though they will be wrong ones....grin), is to go with the slowest twist that will still stabilize the bullet weight you plan on using........

Get some 168gr A-maxes or MK's, and we'll share some recipes. Hopefully Karl will have my rig back to me soon. I'm chompin' at the bit......

The only thing I've tried in the 168 range is 165gr SSTs and 165gr Interlocks. While they did ok, neither did as well as the 150gr Gamekings, 178gr Amaxes, or 175gr Matckings.

John

I would think the 1-11 twist would do well with the latter 2 heavier boolits.......