build, or buy

[farmer1911]

I have been looking into building a target/plinking rifle for a while now. Basically, I am stuck between three options. I want a 308 caliber mainly for various array of reloading supplies and their non bs target quality. The options I have been pondering on have been to either purchase a Remington 700 or a Savage Model 10. Both of which would be the bull barrel or law enforcement types. Or, I have been thinking of buying an action, and building my own rifle. My cousin has built several rifles of various calibers, and could help me out with my choices, but I would like to know what you guys think? I have a budget of around $1000 for the rifle and scope. Can one be built for my price range, or should I not even think about it?

[Sierra280]

All depends on what you want. The last new gun I bought (last year) was a 700 sps-v (26" varmint barrel, SA 308) it cost me $675 OTD; just the barreled action and Tupperware stock with junk trigger. I made the decision my next rifle would be a build: pawn shop model 70 action (~$300, post-64) plus (~$700 from pac-nor) for a heavy super match grade barrel, rechambering, and action truing, still with factory trigger, lousy beat up, cheap pawn shop grade stock for a total of around $1000.

Is it worth the extra 300 bones?, no doubt. I'd do it again in a minute.

But keep in mind, this is without a decent trigger (although the 70 trigger isn't a Rube Goldberg machine like the 700s), good quality stock, or optics and bases or rings.

[farmer1911]

Well, I was really looking into the Savage model 10 fcp-k withe the fluted barrel. I like the looks of it, and the online reviews seem to all be positive. I know the Remington 700 has an outstanding action and ooodles of aftermarket parts, but I would like to have one that stands out from the rest.

[farmer1911]

Also, the main distances I would be shooting is between 100-600 yards with the occasional 1000 yard if I was feeling good.

[farmer1911]

So I found a decent rifle for a "build". It is a Remington 700 chambered in 30-06. It has a cheap stock, and the barrel has iron sights. Mainly, I would use the action and trigger group. So if I could rechber it to 308, and add a good stock, it should leave money for a good optic.
The rifle is for $369. Is it worth picking up, or find a different one?
The barrel is stamped DSDF-------. So, I went to remington site and found it is built in 1937? And then it was repaired in 1925? Or vise versa?

[Ibmikey]

Remington did not build mod 700's in 1925 or 1937, they were released about 1962.

[emcon5]

My guess is it was made in Sep 1985 (DF), and repaired in Sep 1998 (DS)

http://www.remingtonsociety.com/rsa/...ns/barrelcodes

[nc-oldfart]

Buy a savage stevens 200 , upgrade the trigger and stock . Buy scope base ring and spend whats left on the best scope the rest of a 1000 dollars will cover A 1000 dollars today is the average scoped hunting rifle.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Can one be built for my price range, or should I not even think about it?

The answers are about the same as they were in your other thread.

You can buy a Savage for about $350 new, maybe $450, or the action for about $550. The barrel is going to run between $275 and $400, depending on your options. The stock, if you go Boyds, is $100. You can get a nearly identical one from EABCo with pillars for $169.

I spent almost $400 on my barrel, from McGowen. I traded for the gun in it's original form but could have bought a new one for $400. That's $800 right there. $100 for the stock, you're at $900. Not much left for a decent optic and you'd be hard pressed do it much cheaper, new.

You could find a used gun for probably $300, you can get the barrel for $275 and still $100 for the stock, so now you're left with $325 for the scope. Still not enough for a really great one but plenty enough for a decent one.

You still need to buy or rent wrenches and go gauges.

Also, on your idea that you're going to do the .308 because of availability... go right ahead and do the .308 if you like but when you're a handloader "availability" is hardly ever a relevant criteria. Unless you're getting REALLY esoteric, like wildcats and one-off cartridge, they're pretty much all "available".

[RHoovDawg]

You may be able to build a rifle for $1000 if you don't have to pay for any labor.

I'm curious about your standards for this rifle. If you want to ring a 12" piece of steel at 500yds, you can probably find a factory rifle and scope set up that will fit the bill.

If you want to ring or, rather, "ding" a 3" piece of steel at 500yds a custom job is probably in order.

Fortunately, it can be done in stages. Get a good action and have it barreled. and put it back in the original stock; properly torqued. Then add the trigger, new stock and/or bedding job, custom ammo, etc. as time goes by. If you're a project person you can do a lot of the work yourself!

[nc-oldfart]

This was with optics . Theres the problem.

[mxsailor803]

Custom built bolt gun for under $1000? Really pushing your luck. If you build yourself, do it over time and the bill won't hit so hard. My next bolt build will be based off a trade-in 700 in .308win. Just the barrel I want Mcgowen will be expensive alone. I figured I could build this myself over time for 1700-2000 with optics and if it takes 2 or 3 years, not a big deal. The beauty of doing it yourself is if unexpected expenses pop up, you can hold off a while.