Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Montana rifle action vs modified Rem 700

So my last few rifles have been Remington 700s that were blueprinted and received a custom barrel (Hart or Lilja). But when I look at the price of the Montana rifle action I wonder if would be almost the same cost to start with one of their actions. How good is this action - is it so good that bluprinting is not needed? Also if you bought a Montana action would you get their barrel too or buy the action only and add your favorite custom barrel? What do you think - looking for suggestions. Thanks

I saw two of the Montana actions at the gun-smiths shop. From what my gunsmith told me they could do a better job of makeing them.

The rifle action should match the use.The Montana is a heavy simple action,great for that some day 358Norma,a poor choice for a 260 blacktail rifle.When I told my gunsmith I had picked up a Charles Daly(a poor choice,too heavy) for a 6.5x55 project,he said they were much less work to fix than a Montana.

I have heard mixed results.. some say great, some say not so great. Some say they come straighter then any Win 70 they have seen before, some say they need a bit of polishing. In my case, I want a working, safe rifle, wich the MRC is!!

When I get enough money, I will order two (maybe 3) to make a 30-06 and 375 H&H, ( the third would be a 416 Rem), as my hunting rifles, wich should cover all the game in the world. I like the looks, and the detalis of it, and combines some of the best from the win 70 and mauser 98 actions.

I really dont belive those who only have negative things to say about them, beacuse of what I have read from pepole who have hunted more game than I have, and gunsmiths with way more experiance then me, who say they are god actions for the money. In any case, I will get a smith to do the work for me, and inform him I want a nice specemin, and if any problems with it ( wich I doubt ), return it, and get new one. That way you get your moneys worth. Look at rugers actions.. any problems with their quality? Its casted by ruger.

The pepole at MRC can square the action, and lap the lugs. It costs 65$, and I belive they can polish the race ways to slick it up. Great company from what I hear, and if any problems, they will help you out.

Oh, and its maybe 5oz heavier then a Win 70 action. So, its not the heavy montster pepole try to make it out to be.

This begs the question: If it can be done for that amount, why not just make it square in the first place?

Really, I dont know. But from what I have heard, they have been very straight to begin with. It probably takes them more time to do it, and therefor additional money. But anyway, an ordinary MRC action is a fine base for a hunting rifle, and with a god barrel, shoot MOA or less. If you want the best from it, have them lap the rings, and square it up, just like any other action..

Should maybe try to send them a e-mail and ask?

Yeah, I wasn't trying to be hard on them more than any other manufacturer. It just seems like in today's CNC world a production process could be developed to cut threads true to center, face actions and cut lug recesses perpendicular to the centerline, et cetera. I'm not a production or machinery engineer, so maybe I'm way off.

I had Montana make me a LH 358 using their barrel. I could not be happier with the results.
Serengeti stocked it, they are excellent also.
I'm an owner and user, not a hearsay poster.

This is one case where I would prefer a modified and blueprinted Remington 700. I'm a die-hard Model 70 fan, but I've also owned a slew of Remington 700s over the last 34 years, and in my opinion the basic Model 700 is a well-made, well-machined action that's built from very good steel, and it's also very well heat-treated. Properly reworked, it provides a very solid foundation for a well-built hunting rifle. If the controversial Model 700 trigger system bothers you, it may be replaced altogether with a Timney or Canjar for a modest price, removing that possible concern right off the top.

In my opinion, the Montana Rifle Company folks are too pre-occupied with turning out an action that'll sell for sort of a low-ball price. I'd rather see them put more time and quality into them and sell them for maybe another $100-$200, or even more if necessary. And the very perceptive question that's been asked as to why they charge an additional $65 to square the action, rather than do it right from the beginning and simply charge more, is very telling.

In general, I prefer standard factory actions such as the Model 70 or Model 700 over small-production outfits, that is unless the small companies go all-out to turn out the best product possible, and without compromise (such as Granite Mountain) and then the price goes way up.............

AD

Couldn't agree more.

Chuck

I have examined a number of Montana actions and they don't appeal to me, but, I don't doubt that they can be made into good rifles by 'smiths who know and care what they are doing.

The real problem is that most hunters/shooters cannot or do not want to pay for top quality and that is reflected in most outdoor equipment on today's market. I would rather have a pair of really fine rifles than a dozen "o.k" ones and extend this philosophy to all my gear, but, not having kids to feed/educate makes it all a bit easier for me than many others.

Quite a few guys I know are buying Montana actions and seem happy with the results, "horses for courses", I guess.

Interesting, I was in Bill Leepers shop again about a month ago and he will buy no more of the 99's.

Chuck

I had a M1999 RH SS SA Mag. made up into a 26" tubed .224" magnum wildcat. It had a Bansner stock on it.

The first action was so rough and full of damage that it was sent back and replaced. At that point I cancelled the second one on order as I could see that they were very heavy and the second action on order was a SA SS 308 size.

The second action was checked over by my smith and it was true and square as it came and needed no 'blueprinting'. The only real thing that it needed was $250 worth of slicking work to finish it so it looked ok. The action was rougher than a wood stove.

I would only consider a M1999 if I wanted a left handed action and was aware of its weight and rough finish. I would go thru Serengeti like JBMI did. I like those guys.

While in the middle of this M1999 craze I discovered Kimber rifles. Thats the path of least resistance.

To each his own.

Somehow pictures of actions just make them look good. You would have to hold this one in your hands and look it over to find that it needs lots of work to get it past the stove bolt catagory.

All that shows in this picture thats wrong is the trigger guard bow. Look close at it and see that its sides are cast sharp and square and not even rounded off a little. Such shaping must be done right. The M70 Classics are rounded off some and ok but crude as compared to a Pre 64 M70 trigger guard.

There are lots of things that need lots of work on that casting.

Here is my first M99 action, this one is from early in the sponsorship run, and is a standard chrome-moly with magnum bolt face and .375 H&H magazine box (it became a .458 Lott).

MR designed and developed this action to sell to the custom gunsmith customer. Mine is well-polished above the wood line and the internals. I talked about it at leangth with three gunsmiths who have used it for projects, and the actions built at the time mine was are suitable for their uses. The idea was to keep the cost down to a dull roar, not to compete with Wff Hein. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Folks the excellent is the enemy of the good.

jim

I have three of their actions, a .35 Whelen, a 338-06 and a 6.5 Swede. None of them have had anything done to them except reducing the trigger pull. The 6.5 will shoot in the .200's and .300's with several different loads. The other two are 1/2 to 3/4" rifles.

Jim, in my opinion the concept of "CUSTOM" is all about excellence, not 'mediocre' or even 'good'..............

AD

Allen: you have higher standards than others regarding your firearms. And I respect that! Would even like to see some of them, after reciving e-mails from Darcy Echols(sp) with picture of his work.

The MRC actions are god, and if milled from steel instead of cast, it would surpass the win 70 action in gas handeling, and equal it in every other area.

But, if one dont like the casted parts under the stock line, you could buy it from serengetti, fully polished, cleaned up, trued etc etc, for $800. That is still cheaper than a custom milled reciver, and not lacking in any way, except for not beeing forged.

I would not put any merrit in forged actions being better then cast, and if so, not by a huge margin. I have not heard about any critical failurs with Ruger actions, and as we know, they are cast as well.


I would rather have the MRC in a hunting rifle, and the remington in a target/varmint rifle.

It's amusing that the same guy will prefer a "modified, trued-up, blueprinted" Model 700 action and yet blast MRC for charging $65 to do the same thing. If it's "only" $65, the original must have been pretty good. (How much does the slicked up Model 700 cost?) Why doesn't every manaufacturer true-up and blueprint their factory actions? Because most gun buyers won;t pay extra for it, and tehy have to compete with Howa, Savage, etc.

I have a MRC in .358, bedded and stocked by Serengeti. The MRC barrel came handlapped, and the gun has shot 1/4-inch groups frequently with several different handloads.





I do have to admit that the action is heavier than a Model 700, though.

40oz for the short action, 44oz for the long.