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Old October 24, 2012, 01:18 AM   #1
ripnbst
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 24, 2010
Location: Spring, TX
Posts: 1,552
Building Bolt 700 vs buying and modding

I am looking into building my first bolt rifle. I recently built my first AR (in the last 24 months) and am in the process of building another. The first was a more serious build, this second one is more of a plinker for the wife and/or a loaner for a friend to come shooting carbine matches with. I now want to build a bolt rifle.

Anyway, I am looking at building a Rem 700 .308 WIN. The Short Actions are available for purchase right now from a certain vendor online and they don't always have them, so I am thinking to strike while the iron is hot. I am thinking about buying an action(only) now, sending it off for a HART barrel immediately which also includes some smithing on truing action, getting some bottom metal, Timney trigger, etc etc over time. If I go this route I will build it over the course of the next year (2013, possibly into 2014) with hopes of having it completed by winter of 2013/2014 to hunt coyote.

The other option is to buy a Rem 700 SPS in .308 WIN really soon, hope to pick up a deal around Thanksgiving or Christmas, and then buy a scope base and rings/mounts as well and get shooting. This gives me a rifle that will be usable, though not as good a rifle as option 1 but I will have something functional sooner. Which means more shooting while saving for the aftermarket stock, bottom metal, more accurate barrel and action work, etc etc but it will inevitably mean that it will be longer until I have completed the rifle that I ultimately want.

I bought a .270 WIN and shot it at the range but that caliber totally beat the hell out of me. I sold it after about 2 years of ownership because I want something that I can both hunt (up to elk)with and shoot at the range comfortably. The .270 WIN while great for hunting was a brutal target cartridge. Live and learn, so now I am all hot and bothered by the .308 WIN round. I am even thinking about going the .260 REM route(.308 bolt, .260 barrel) for target cartridge though that takes Elk off the TABLE. At least, it does in my book. The chance I will ever be able to hunt Elk is slim, but I want the .30 CAL bullet just in case my name gets drawn.

I am asking TFL, do you think it would be the better choice to buy the 700 SPS on sale around the holidays and have a functional gun right away and then tweak as time and budget allows? ORRRRR...should I slowly build and once complete it will be exactly what I want? I do have an AR-15 in 5.56 to target shoot with until the build were complete if I went that route, so it's not like I will have no rifle until the .308 is completed one way or the other.

Thanks in advance for any input.
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