Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Which action for a custom

I know many use a remington action for a custom gun but what is also suitable.

I found a couple of donor rifles made by Ruger or should I be on the lookout for other makes. I perfer a 2 position safety but will do with a Winchester type 3 position if needed.

Thanks

I'd have to say it's all a matter of personal preference and the intended use of the rifle. For a lightweight - a Rem is tough to beat. For those that prefer CRF, Ruger and Winny (and of course Mausers) are great. There are a number of good actions to build from as long as it meets your needs and you work with a builder who is good with that action. I know some guys have old tang safety Rugers and they love them. Others like Howa, etc. Given quality components and a good craftsman, a nice custom is possible with a number of different actions.

Hard to go wrong if you know what YOU want up front and work with a GOOD smith who knows his way around the action you select. My advice would be to clearly define what you want and go from there - otherwise you just end up with what someone else things is a great rifle.

Might consider an MRC action as well, though I haven't heard much about them in recent months.

What are you willing to spend? If $$$ isn't an issue, I'd look at a Satterlee, Granite Mountain, or Hein. The CZ-550 is also an excellent choice.

You gotta give us some more context if you want our comments to be on target. If we use the Remington as the default, then you could go the BR style clones (e.g. Predator) if you want max accuracy. If you won't accept a 3 position safety, then the Winchester and MRC are out. The classic Mauser is hard to beat. A lot of accuracy potential in Savages, but they are not. The Rurger is a solid journeyman action that lacks the mystique of the Winchester and Mauser or the accurizing/aftermarket aspects of the Remington.

Decide what you want in terms of trigger, safety, extraction, weight and cartridge size and that will determine your action choice.

As stated, it is mostly about personal preference. Excluding the full customs--which are always my first choice--at this point in my life I like:

Kimber or Remmy for lightweights

Remmy for high accuracy applications

M-70 Classic for all-around big game hunting

CZ 550 Safari for DG rifles in long chamberings

To that end, I have:

223, 7mm Rem Mag, 30-06 on mostly stock 700s

338 Winny on a highly modified custom 700. I'd like to replace this rifle with a similar SS Classic M-70, but my custom 700 is exceedingly reliable and durable.

300 Winny and 375 H&H in M-70 SS Classics in McMillan stocks.

416 Remmy on a CZ 550 Safari with a highly modified wooden stock.

Only the 30-06--a home assembled and headspaced rifle--is sorted out. The 338 Win--in defiance of the "Remmys shoot better than Winnys" paradigm, isn't accurate at normal 338 Winny velocities. Then again, initial testing with the 300 Winny M-70 produced 3", two-shot groups at 100 yds with factory ammo and the 338 is MUCH better than that. Still, I'd rather have the 338 on the M-70 and the 300 on the 700, and I may do that some day.

I'd also rather have a Kimber 30-06 than my home-made Remmy, but I just can't get rid of a rifle that weighs 8 lbs w/scope and shoots 168 grain Barnes TSXs in sub 3/4" groups at 2980 fps day in and day out.

Each action choice has strengths and weaknesses. I'd post them here but there are folks that will take exception to whatever I'd say negatively about their favorite action so I'll pass on that................

Remington. There are a gazillion after market goodies for them.

I built one off a Ruger. It was a great shooter, and nice gun, but hard to find components for when I was building it.

If I'm having a custom built and spending that kind of dough, it's going to be on a custom action that's milled square out of the box. With that said, Borden, Surgeon, Bat, Lawton, and some others come to mind.

Utah708,
Here are more specifics. First off I didn't pick up a bolt gun until I was in my early 30's(anout 6-8 yrs ago)..Before then it was lever guns and pumps. I currently shoot a Weatherby MarkV ulwt in 338-06 and like the short bolt lift, weight and balance. So with that being said:

More then likely a 6.5-06, hell its a custom and why not a wildcat round
7-7.5 pds with scope mounted, could be a little more if rifle balances
Crisp, adjustible trigger
Accurate, so if I miss its definately my fault
Coyotes to Black Bear for game being taken
McM Mcswirrly stock because I like how they look

Now I know I can do a semi-custom by buying a donor rifle, having a competent gunsmith do some work to it and be happy, but what is the best rifle to do this with?

I can probably do it all with what I have in the Weatherby but what fun is it to have one gun

When you put it THAT way ...

I'd go:

Rem 700 ADL style LA trued (I like CM but some prefer SS)
Pac-Nor or Schneider barrel about 24" of appropriate contour for the desired weight (fluted if you just like it that way)
Metal finish of your choice
Personally (and that's all this is) I'd go EDGE and skip the swirly - put the paint of your choice on it - that should move the balance point out front a bit
Talley LW's
Leupold in the power range of your choosing
I'd look pretty hard at Kampfeld Custom for this one - haven't used him yet but the work looks great and he has many satisfied customers here. While he had it, I'd also do a Campfire knob and flute the bolt just to look cool.

But again - that's just me - your tastes may vary.

Whatever you do, have fun with it and post the results here. I hope it turns out exactly how you want it.

Chip--
Thanks for the additional background.

Go buy the 6.5-06 that is for sale right now in the classifieds; sounds very much like what you have in mind, for about 70% the cost of building it yourself.

Another approach would be to get a matching Weatherby in 257 Roy, since you already like that action.

Stanimal's blueprint is about a perfect version of the campfire preferences. Given that you want light weight and accuracy, Remington actions are the place to start, IMHO.

I didn't see the 6.5-06 in the classifieds. I'm with utah708.
Go buy the one in the classifieds!!! Had I not succumbed to the evil temptations of two rifles already this week, () that'd be coming to Titletown.

Skane / utah708- +1 - that looks like a good deal and a great rifle by a great builder. Hadn't seen that one either. It's pretty sure to be less than you will have in one that you do yourself.

I happen to have a 1917 Enfield, with much work already done - bolt handle, floorplate, trigger, ears milled off and scope bases installed, 1960's Fajen stock, etc. that I am looking to have made into a .375 H&H...

+1 on the contacting Kampfeld Customs, mine just came back, work is incredible and Karl is great to deal with.

Well,

i actually weighed my Weatherby today. It sits at 6.8 pds with leupold 2 piece bases and ring with the a Leupold Compact 3x9.

This is the rifle which actually converted me to bolt guns and I bought it at a great price and did so because the 338-06 sounded interesting. To date the rifle has taken deer and caribou.

The reason for a custom or another rifle is that I load this pretty hot and you take a lickin' after awhile. Accuracy is good but not great and to by another at close to $1500, it seems as though accuracy for that kind of money can be better.

It depends on what you want to do. If you are wanting to do a safari type rifle I'd use a Granite Mountain, or Saterlee. If I wanted to do a syn stocked type rifle a remington or a predator would be fine.

I personally would not use a Hein, because of the wait time. I have had one action on order for almost a year with no due date in sight. Just my worthless 2 cents.

Ed

fwiw,
Hard to like a Weatherby action from the standpoint of getting all the lugs to lap in evenly. In short you won't and they don't... You have six on your .338-06 and would have 9 on a .257 Weatherby...

Hard not to like Remingtons from a simple standpoint. All things being equal I would GREATLY prefer it if Winchester 70 Classic Actions were timed properly and would shoot with a 700. Unfortunately the number of smiths who know what needs to be timed, much less how, are very few and their time is at a premium. Some to greater extents than others.

With that in mind it awful hard not to like a Remington...

Regards, Matt.

I bought a Nesika Bay for my .300 WSM. I had problems with the factory, and the action was shipped with too light a spring and not enough firing pin protrusion. I was misfiring 1 in 3 cartridges. They told me it was impossible, but I sent them the $100 bill from my gunsmith to fix it. Opinion was they were set up to touch off softer benchrest primers not magnum rifle primers with harder caps. I thought it was garbage after $1200 and a year wait after I was told two months by the salesman on the phone. No great shakes that one is.

After that, I went with Rem 700 actions and 1 40xb. A rem 700 is round, easy to true up, and pretty much all gunsmiths learn their trade on them. They cost about $400. You can buy an ADL and chuck the rest... Blueprinting and a first class trigger job will run you about $300. A Sako extractor which I like maybe another fifty. For seven fifty, it's as good a platform as any to build a rifle on. I like the Stainless DBM actions. You'll also get an impressive selection of stocks for the popular action.

I also have a gunsmith that doesn't like building customs on Ruger actions. I don't know why, maybe because their cast not milled, and don't clean up as well. I don't know.

After reading posts, I checked out Satterlee's web sight. $4000 for a Titanium action. I feel faint.

get a used ss 700 and retube and stock. $1500 done to your door...

or, buy a 260 TI and rechamber to 6.5x284 (same ballistics as your 06')and put the boot in the scope...... or flop the stock and get the swirly when you feel like it....

7.5# will be easy and you dont need the TI to do it.. you could easily restock a 260 mountain ss and keep the factory tube (rechambered in 6.5x284) till it wears out and save some more coin.....

woofer