Morning all, first time poster long time follower! Was hoping to get a few ideas and questions answered about a rifle I am wanting to build. I have recently gotten into the long range game and want to up my equipment and abilities. I am still new to custom guns and long range so go easy on me!

Couple things I am looking for: Left handed. I want to be able to shoot at least a 200gr bullet (I prefer Berger) at decent speeds ~2900+. And I want somewhat lightweight, but not ultra light. Looking to be in the 10lb - 11lb range with glass.

I am having a tough time deciding on caliber to start. I currently have a 300wsm ( love short action) that I can get the 200.2X Berger bullets to shoot very well at 2950fps but I am really flirting with too much pressure for this rifle. Some brass isn't lasting as long as it should. I would continue with this gun, but it is very finicky and inst holding up to normal hunting conditions. Would I be better off looking at a 300win, 30 nosler, something else...?

Components that I have been looking hard at are: Defiance actions, carbon barrel (cant decide which brand) also can't decide 100% if carbon is the way to go or not, Debating on contour, twist rate, barrel length etc. and I really am having a hard time deciding on a stock brand and model.

Any helpful ideas, comments, recommendations would be greatly appreciated! I like the idea of getting more opinions from lots of people vs just getting the opinion of a single gun smith that I might call and chat with. Anyways thanks for any help!

Buy a Winchester and go hunting.

Mauser Model 12's are underappreciated. Very strong action, excellent 2 pound trigger and smooth safety, 60 degree bolt lift, scary fast on chambering and flawless feeding.
Don't underestimate that .30-'06 caliber. Lots of room in the cartridge for powder. Note: Barrel is not threaded. Here's the max.

https://www.mauser.com/en/m12/m12-max.html

You need to define long range and hunting purposes for starters.

It's like stating "I want to buy a truck"........

I had typed up that information originally but then decided to take it out as I didn’t want to hear the lectures about how far someone should shoot at game. It is a valid question though. I’m looking to be able to kill elk at around 800-900 yards.

300 Win
26" Fluted R.E.M. varmint contour 9 Twist
Manners EH1 or a McMillan Edge
Wyatts Extended Box
Hawkins BDL
Action of your choice
Reamer print you want is on Long Range Only

Will shoot 2900 or faster with a 215 Berger and H1000

Or Faster with RL26.

There is nothing wrong with the tried and true 300 win. That being said personally I like the 30 Nosler over the 28 especially if you plan on shooting it a lot, my only complaint is the brass from Nosler if and when you can get it. It will push a 210-215 bullet at the 3100fps mark with the correct reamer but primer pockets on the Nosler brass will suffer. Supposedly ADG is coming out with Brass for the Nosler's and that could be a game changer.
Pick your cartridge you wanna shoot and then your components to fit that cartridge dont let mag. box length or brass hinder your build.
Pick your reamer wisely I'm not a fan of saami reamers using heavy bullets for a lot of calibers they tend to have to short of freebore and overwork brass necks.

Thinking I would look at a 338 Lapua.

dave

Thanks for all the advise so far! Greatly appreciate it.

Good stuff thank you. That was the problem with the setup I am running right now. I can't run nosler brass because it doesn't hold up. Primer pockets got too loose way too soon. I have gained a little life by using Norma brass. But nosler being the only one making Nosler 30 cal brass had me hesitant. Good to know there is some better quality stuff coming. Thanks for the comments!

If you wanna step up to one of the top performers in the 30 cal world and shoot the 215-230 grainers the 300 norma comes to mind.

Only a suggestion to step the other way and build a 7mm (perhaps 7mm Rem Ultra Mag using Norma Brass), 195 Berger Elite Hunter bullet, 1-8 twist, 26" - 0.685/#3 contour for portability in elk country. The seven will be slightly harder on a barrel, but for hunting use and longevity not much difference than a big thirty. Performance will be astounding out to 1,000 yards, typically besting thirties. Looking at ballistics (Estimate approx. 3K fps MV) that setup will carry approximately 3K ft-lbs at 300 yards, 2.4K ft-lbs at 600 yards, 2K ft-lbs at 800 yards and 1.7K-ft-lbs at 1,000 yards. Max drop is approx. 190", max WD is approximately 41". You'd be hard pressed to build something more portable (maybe 9.0 lbs total weight depending on scope weight) for chasing elk in high country, plus it will be a bit kinder on the shoulder as well. I would throw my money into a quality match grade barrel, high end stock with premier glass. Having either new or donor action would be less important to me as long as it was a strong forged receiver of decent quality that was a lapped and trued. Good luck.

For above info using wind at 90 degree and 10 mph.

I have a build in 300 WM on the board right now(if you want to see the specs). It is not left handed. It shoots both the 190 and 210 Bergers well. The 210’s with Retumbo average 2978 velocity and groups .5 or better. Standard deviation at 5. With the 190’s and IMR 4350 it produced 3032 average velocity and SD of 4. Again sub .5 groups. The twist is 1-11. This is my second 300WM build along with a 300 RUM. All of the builds produced good velocity and exceptional accuracy. If I were to do another long range build I would probably stay with a 30 caliber only because they have performed well for me. What the 300 Ultra gives you is 150 to 200 more FPS coming out the tube. Beyond a 1000 it gives me a little edge. I had an affair with a 338 Lapua but she left me. She could do the trick especially beyond a 1000 but those days are gone for me. The 300’s seem to be the sweet spot for me. Hope this helps.

Oh, the rifle withe Nightforce comes in a little below 11 lbs.

This is the custom gun forum and the guy wants to build a rifle... great contribution to the thread though...

I would choose a .300 Wby in whatever action you want.

What 22 WRF said ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Save a lot of time and money and just buy a Winchester.

Always funny to see some a$$hats completely disregard the OP's desires.

Lots of cartridges match the criteria but the first thing I would always ask is "what is your budget"? That can determine pretty quickly if you are going to have a local gunsmith rebarrel an existing rifle to your cartridge of choice for $650 (including barrel), or have Darcy Echols build you one of his famous rifles for $10K-$12K... and lots of options in between.

My preference is not to push your rifle to max everytime you shoot it to achieve your goals. Hard on parts, hard on brass and components, and hard on the shooter IMO. Find a cartridge that achieves your goal with a bit of room to spare. A 300 Weatherby, 30 Nosler, and 300 UltraMag and several others would fit your criteria without too much trouble and judicious hand loading.
Then, find an action that will fit the cartridge you decide on- including mag box length, ejection capability, etc....
Your weight will depend greatly on the barrel contour you choose as actions, for the most part, are pretty set in weight, depending on what you choose.

If your budget is in the $2500 range (just as a for instance) , I would contact Redneck on this site or one of a couple other good smiths who frequent here and discuss with them what you want. My preferences wouldn't be the same as yours probably, but a place to start would be-
Pre 64 Winchester or Classic Winchester action- Stainless on the Classic if you hunt in inclement weather a lot like I do.
Bartleing, Shilen, Rock, or other barrel in the contour you prefer. Barrels come up often in the Classifieds on this site. Prices aren't much below manufacturers' prices, but it will save you the 6-9 month wait ordering direct.
Timney trigger, set to around 2 1/2-3 lbs.
Good bottom metal but this gets to be an issue lately. Most of the best bottom metal any more is on backorder just about anywhere and can/will hold up the build in some cases. If you start with an action with good bottom metal to start with like a good Mauser or Pre 64 action, you avoid this hassle. You can always add different bottom metal later if you choose.
Glass is going to be personal choice and IMO, don't ask on this site what to use. You will get answers all over the board and still won't know what to use. Decide on what type of hunting you will be doing most, what range of scope you may need, and other considerations and go from there. You can always change glass later if you're not happy with your choice. You will lose a little bit on selling the glass, but it will be worth it once you get to the right scope. Keep in mind that expensive glass doesn't necessarily make it better or worse for your situation. Use the glass that works for you, your hunting situation, and your budget. As long as you stay with the big names you can't really go wrong.

Stock is personal choice. I really like the Mcmillan I have on my 338 WM, but most of my rifles have wood stocks and I have had no problems with them. Budget may determine your choices here- Mcmillan or Manners or other glass stocks will be in the $500-600 range or more.

Lots of other choices to make and you can substitute for any of these items to suit budget, personal choices, aesthetics, or weight. Ignore nonsense responses that don't meet your requirements or wishes.

Bob

The 300 wm is a superb cartridge, Just don't build it too heavy. The recoil is not that bad. I would aim for around 8 lbs, to mitigate recoil. The 30-06 is such a versatile round but the 300WM trumps it by 100 yards and for larger game. If I had to reduce all of my firearms to three it would be: 243, 300WM, 375H&H. This even though a major fan of the 7RM and 280AI.

Being that I'm left handed also I'll just add this: Be sure to get it right ! Once you have it built it's yours forever!

Your finicky problem could be in the brass brand. I have shot my beloved Norma brass in every cartridge I could get it in, including my 300 WSM’s. Enter my first custom rifle I ever ordered & it would over-pressure with every load attempt with Norma brass. Switched to Remington brass & all pressure troubles went away as did its finicky ways.

Was away for a little bit and just getting back to reading your comments. Thanks everyone for the comments and input! Found some great deals so I have ended up with a Stiller action and a Proof Research barrel so far. Getting excited to get this build going.

What action did you get, and what chambering have you settled on? What are the specs on the barrel?

Edit to add what dbm/mag system and stock are you planning on using?

Went with a Stiller Predator long action. Going to be chambered in 300 win mag. Barrel is a 26" proof carbon 1:9" twist, Sendero light contour. Leaning towards a McMillan game hunter stock (haven't made up my mind 100% yet). Not sure on what mag system yet... I like dbm systems just don't know which one to go with yet. Trigger tech special trigger.

Good to know on the brass. Never would have thought about that since I've always felt that Norma brass has been my favorite as well. Thanks for the tip!

The one thing you cannot learn on the internet is about stocks and what you like. People can love a stock...you might think it's fine...and then you find another one that is perfect. So that is sort of going to be a crapshoot no matter what unless you can handle and shoot some different stocks.