I'm going to build a .303 and have purchased the cheapest sporterized No. 4 MLE, I could find...$290. Unfortunately,...or not...it is a really well done sporter from a time gone by and I really hate to use it as a donor. So the Bren version moves to the back of the line. I am however, building a 7.62x39 version using a Howa 1500..."Sub-MOA Guaranteed". So says the cheap ass sticker applied to a third of the barrel. I'm actually well along on this one. It is turning out to be far harder than i thought. I've had to modify every part of the gun...barrel, action, bolt, magazine, etc.
I present to you...the HowaKov 7.62x39. Howa 1500 7.62x39 bolt action rifle in an AKS-74U chassis. Video is shooting clay targets at 100 yds. Shooting Wolf steel case ammo. Novus red dot with 3x magnifier.
It's shooting better than I expected. Wolf steel case is not exactly precision ammo....it's more in the category of "as long as it goes bang". I had to turn the barrel diameter down, always an accuracy killer. Plus, the barrel has the handguard, rear sight block, front sight, forend cap, cleaning rod, gas tube, and suppressor all attached to it. Hitting those clay pigeons at 100 yds with a red dot and steel case plinking ammo was an impressive feat in my book. The red dot completely covered the pigeon and I had to use the spotting scope to even see if I hit the pigeon.
I will say this as a public service announcement. I messed up the cocking piece in the bolt and called Legacy Sports International, the Howa distributor, to get a new one. They refused to sell me the part. They wanted to know if I was a "Licensed Gunsmith". Well things only deteriorated from there when I asked "licensed by who"? So I will never buy another product from Legacy Sports International, distributors for Howa, Citadel, Puma, Pointer, and Nikko Sterling.