$1000 to upgrade rifle

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BradleyH

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Mar 15, 2013
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Casey, Illinois
#1
Well I have decided to upgrade my sps tactical, but I have decided to limit myself to $1,000 on the upgrades.

I would like to true action, new barrel, new lug, etc.

At the moment, i'm leaning toward Short Action Customs's package. Even though it is not a new barrel, I have heard awesome things about SAC:cool:. Can anyone chime in on this?

I guess for the final "look" i'm going for is,
-18.5 inch barrel
- some sort of brake
- Badger EFR

As far as the EFR goes, I am currently using a Choate stock so I imagine I would have to change that down to road to use the EFR?

Any input on builders or packages would be appreciated

Thanks!

Heath
 
#3
You are putting the cart before the horse. Buy a new barrel and send it to someone to the action recut. Buying anything for a look, will probably result in shitty performance. I think a new Hart barrel installed with action truing is about $950. Shop around, Chad Dixon is using a CNC machine and has good prices.
 
#7
Find out if any of these companies "single point" the receiver to true the threads. Or if the use a Mason "receiver truing" set. If you can find someone who single points and then also uses a GTR fixture to true the receiver, your getting the most for your money in truing. Then you have to see what kind of barrel is used....cut or button rifling, so on and so forth.
 
#8
Get your choice barrel and send it to APA.... functionality over looks bud, that's why I love Glocks....


or

Ditch that stock and upgrade to a manners mini chassis
 
#9
Chad at LRI just did my rifle. I went with a Bartlein M24 5R 11.25 blank for about $340. Chad did the truing, barrel work, pinned lug, 8/40 mount holes and cerakote for around $800. There really is no GOOD way to true an action and leave the stock barrel. Do it right the first time and keep saving your money. On your other question in regards to the EFR. It depends on how much meat you have on your stock. I probably wouldn't get one installed on the Choate stock unless your going to keep it. I just ordered one and a new T5A to do a install thread in the DIY section.
 
#10
Muskox said:
You are putting the cart before the horse. Buy a new barrel and send it to someone to the action recut. Buying anything for a look, will probably result in shitty performance.
Click to expand...

K_4c said:
Ditch that stock and upgrade to a manners mini chassis
Click to expand...

Agree and agree.

Putting a grand in a rifle and still having a factory barrel and a crappy stock is a pretty dumb move. Getting an EFR installed if you don't have a clip on NV is even worse.

$350 will get you labor for action trueing and a barrel install at several smiths who don't overprice their services. Another $350 will get you any of the top brand barrels. That leaves you $300 to put towards a better stock plus whatever you can get out of that choate abortion.

You will get much better use out of a good barrel and stock than you will an EFR that you will never use, and a brake.

What kind of glass are you using?
 
#12
redneckbmxer24 said:
Agree and agree.

Putting a grand in a rifle and still having a factory barrel and a crappy stock is a pretty dumb move. Getting an EFR installed if you don't have a clip on NV is even worse.

$350 will get you labor for action trueing and a barrel install at several smiths who don't overprice their services. Another $350 will get you any of the top brand barrels. That leaves you $300 to put towards a better stock plus whatever you can get out of that choate abortion.

You will get much better use out of a good barrel and stock than you will an EFR that you will never use, and a brake.

What kind of glass are you using?
Click to expand...

I am own a PS22 though I do not plan on running it with this setup, it would be nice to have the ability to. This is a rifle I bought in the past and have slowly been dumping money on it. Actually more like wasting money one. Which is why I couldn't agree more with the choate abortion lol. I guess I am looking for a fix for it, and thought the barrel would be a good start. but maybe the stock should be more of a concern?
as far as the glass is concerned, I am running Leopold mark IV LR/T 4.5-14
 
#13
I spent about $1k recently to upgrade a SPS-V. I actually had the work completed yesterday.

receiver trued and the following installed:
obermeyer m24 1:10" barrel
ptg bolt body
ptg bolt handle
remington extractor
holland recoil lug
egw bolt knob
some trigger work

randall rausch did the work.
 
#14
I'd spend the money on a stock before I worried too much about the barrel. My SPS tactical sits on a Manners T5A and shoots extremely well since ditching the hogue it came with. Within your budget too. My $.02
 
#15
BradleyH said:
I am own a PS22 though I do not plan on running it with this setup, it would be nice to have the ability to. This is a rifle I bought in the past and have slowly been dumping money on it. Actually more like wasting money one. Which is why I couldn't agree more with the choate abortion lol. I guess I am looking for a fix for it, and thought the barrel would be a good start. but maybe the stock should be more of a concern?
as far as the glass is concerned, I am running Leopold mark IV LR/T 4.5-14
Click to expand...

You have good glass so there's no reason to spend money there.

If I was in your shoes my only "concern" would be the stock, and the next upgrade would be barrel. The barrel job is going to cost $700 total. That only leaves $300 plus whatever you get from the choate.

You can get a lot of stock for the money, but you can also pay a lot for features. You could simply get a HS Precision takeoff for about $250 and run the factory bottom metal then upgrade later, or you can go nuts now. I personally like DBM's on my rifles and it's something I'd think about. You can do it to an HS later ($350-$400 including inletting) or you can do it with the stock upgrade. The best bang for the buck for an all in one system is an AICS or a Manners with mini chassis. They are both in the $800-$900 range and are 100% drop in with mag system and all. It would eat up all of your current budget but you wouldn't have to worry about doing anything else to the stock later.

If you think you'll be happy with an HS stock at least until you can upgrade it, then go with the barrel. If you want the DBM system now and a nicer stock then I'd invest in a manners mini chassis or AICS and use the rest of the money on ammo or a trigger.
 
#17
I would also recommend putting the money into a good stock. I have a SPS tactical AAC-SD in an AICS 2.0 and it shoots better than I do. Get a good stock and practice. Once you can shoot better than the rifle, then look into re-barrelling and action truing. . . just my .02
 
#20
Your budget= $1000
sell your action=$400
new budget=$1400

Stiller Tac action=$950
new barrel= $300
Chamber barrel for Tac action=$200

This blows your budget by a whopping $50 but is well worth it in resale value alone. The brake and rail aren't worth sacrificing a new premium match barrel for IMO.
 
#21
This would still leave him with a shitty stock so this really doesn't help him. Also if he has to have the stiller action trued this blows his budget even more. Just because it's a custom action doesn't mean it won't have to be trued. I would spend the money on a good stock, take your pick of manufacturer. For his budget he could get into a manners stock with mini chassis, this way he really won't have to spend the money on getting his stock bedded. Buy some good match ammo to test for groups. I'm pretty sure Mark at short action customs doesn't even do the sps package unless its shooting worse than moa. Also he hasn't said how it actually groups so his barrel is probably fine.
 
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#22
I would buy an XLR chassis, magazine and rail to mount NV in the future.
I wouldn't worry about the barrel right now.

After you get the chassis, you can start saving up for a rebarrel.
 
#23
Putting a custom barrel on a stock remmy action is like putting a vw engine In a formula 1 car. That makes no sense to me at all. I have a good buddy who is a gunsmith and I watch this every week. All u need to do is 1 change trigger. 2 change stock. 3. Bed stock and true the action. That should get u to 1moa or less w a remmy sps and can be done for less than a grand. U don't need a bolt knob, and u don't need an 800 dollar stock. Then learn to shoot and shoot that barrel out. Then u will know exactly what u need for when it's time to build ur custom

Night eagle
 
#25
First of all, this ain't my first rodeo by a long stretch. I'm new to tactical rifles but have built world record holding bench guns and have finshed in the top 10 and 15 a couple of years in a row in br, myself.
Secondly, if I buy an action from Stiller that needs to be trued, my first call will be to Jerry Stiller. I have used several of his actions and have been very pleased with the quality. If one gets out that's not up to par, I feel certain that he'd make it right, but not after someone cuts on it.
Third...one thing I know is that an accurate rifle shortens the learning curve substantially. You simply can't learn how to shoot with a gun that you can't trust because you never know whether the miss was the gun or the shooter. How do you correct for that?
I can also say unequivocally that the barrel is the heart of the gun, and if I had to, by some strange chance, choose between a trued action with a factory barrel and an untrued action with a good custom, I'll take the good barrel each and every time.
Yes, I know this ain't br and the accuracy requirements are different. That does not change the fact that I can't learn from my mistakes if the gun can't be trusted. I do remember the op stating that a new stock would have to wait, so that wasn't a consideration when I made my post. I do think a good stock will be money well spent when he can fit it into the budget. You guys feel free to spend your money the way you want to but I'll take my chances with a killer barrel and lots of practice. I live about 45 minutes from Park Mammoth. I seem to remember the Sniper Challenges there having targets as small as 1/4 moa on the schedule. How, exactly does one hit .25 moa targets with a .5 moa rifle? Or for that matter, .5moa targets with a .5moa rifle. There is zero room for error.
 
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#27
Budget isn't a huge deal. I can spend more but, I would rather try to stay under $1,000.

I'm just spitballing here but, should I sell this rifle, and increase my budget to around $2,000. Then build on a long action I have laying around?
 
#28
I'm not telling him to true his action. I'm saying he hasn't even told how well it shoots with match ammo. If it shoots well why replace it. Like I said if it was me I would start with the stock. He possibly has a good shooter to begin with. A lot of people jump on here and see everyones custom guns and think hey I bet my gun would shoot light years better with a custom barrel. I have seen many factory remingtons shoot really well with match and hand loaded ammo. If he wants to change the barrel or get another action that's up to him. I'm just giving my insight which isn't much. Sorry you got butt hurt over someone saying your holy grail of actions could be out of spec sometimes.
 
#29
BradleyH said:
Budget isn't a huge deal. I can spend more but, I would rather try to stay under $1,000.

I'm just spitballing here but, should I sell this rifle, and increase my budget to around $2,000. Then build on a long action I have laying around?
Click to expand...

Check the resale values of trued Remingtons vs. custom before you decide. I true actions almost every day and it contributes to how I make a living. That said, custom is the way to go, IMO, even though it's cutting my own throat to say so, business wise.
 
#30
BradleyH said:
Budget isn't a huge deal. I can spend more but, I would rather try to stay under $1,000.

I'm just spitballing here but, should I sell this rifle, and increase my budget to around $2,000. Then build on a long action I have laying around?
Click to expand...

Just depends on what you really want to do with the rifle. Is this for just punching paper, competition, hunting? What do you plan on using it for?
 
#31
quiksilv81 said:
I'm not telling him to true his action. I'm saying he hasn't even told how well it shoots with match ammo. If it shoots well why replace it. Like I said if it was me I would start with the stock. He possibly has a good shooter to begin with. A lot of people jump on here and see everyones custom guns and think hey I bet my gun would shoot light years better with a custom barrel. I have seen many factory remingtons shoot really well with match and hand loaded ammo. If he wants to change the barrel or get another action that's up to him. I'm just giving my insight which isn't much. Sorry you got butt hurt over someone saying your holy grail of actions could be out of spec sometimes.
Click to expand...

I'm not butt hurt at all. I just have to wonder who'd cut on a custom before calling the builder. And in most every case I've ever seen, yes, a custom barrel outshoots a factory tube. FWIW.
 
#32
I have a remington 5r that shoots .5-.6 moa. For my intended purposes this rifle shoots great. I have no need to change my barrel now. So what i'm trying to figure out is how well the guys gun shoots to start with and what he wants to do with it. Sometimes money is better spent on ammo and practice then trying to fix a problem that's not there to start with. 80% of the time it ends up being the indian and not the arrow
 
#33
quiksilv81 said:
Just depends on what you really want to do with the rifle. Is this for just punching paper, competition, hunting? What do you plan on using it for?
Click to expand...

Honestly as is, the rifle shoots good enough ( around .6 to .7 with hand loads ) for anything I would need from it. But I'm just like every other guy on here who loves really accurate rifles. Kinda like a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or a Bugatti. Do I really honestly need one? No. But would I love to have one? Heck yea who wouldn't

The rifles use.. Well in reality probably punching paper and smacking steel. Would I hope to do more with it in the future? Yes by all means.
I know some people might say I should look at a 260 or 6.5 creed. Would would probably be better for what I need, but for some reason I am stuck on wanting a 308. Plus I just ordered a bunch of brass.
 
#35
BradleyH said:
Budget isn't a huge deal. I can spend more but, I would rather try to stay under $1,000.

I'm just spitballing here but, should I sell this rifle, and increase my budget to around $2,000. Then build on a long action I have laying around?
Click to expand...

Everyone has penis envy on what they think you should have.

Is it good finances to rebuild a Remington M700? That's up to you, if you choose the right smith they can make it work. If you choose the wrong one and get very unlucky you just shit $950 for a barrel job and action truing for nothing.

If you want a custom action buy it, if you are HONESTLY happy with a upgraded m700 that's fine too. It's YOUR rifle, not ours and you should be happy with it.

If you don't have any attachment to the rifle, sell it and see if you can get a custom action for under $1500. Defiance new 1913 railed action is wonderful looking. I'd spend my money there unless you want something else.

Then order a barrel, a trigger, a stock and send it to Chad Dixon to have him put it together. You are going to have $3000-4000 in it but it will be tops.
 
#36
MikeEzell said:
Your budget= $1000
sell your action=$400
new budget=$1400

Stiller Tac action=$950
new barrel= $300
Chamber barrel for Tac action=$200

This blows your budget by a whopping $50 but is well worth it in resale value alone. The brake and rail aren't worth sacrificing a new premium match barrel for IMO.
Click to expand...

So do they honestly need to be trued? Or good to go from the box?
 
#37
Honestly if you are getting ~.6 MOA outta the box you'd be well served with a quality stock. A good stock that you can bolt multiple barreled actions into (AICS/ mini chassis) is a great investment. When ~.5 moa (assuming the added rigidity and ergonomics gain you .1 or .2 moa with the upgrade) isn't good enough you can invest in a custom barreled action and drop it in the same stock. Get a used manners or AICS in the Exchange and save a few hundred that can go to a custom trigger or trigger job. Toss in another $100 or so and get a bolt job if you really want the looks and ergonomics. Plus when you upgrade you can switch to something that cheats the wind a bit better and the sps can go on trainer status to get more into the sport. Cheers
 
#38
BradleyH said:
So do they honestly need to be trued? Or good to go from the box?
Click to expand...

Anything made by man will never be perfect, but no, a good custom shouldn't need anything. If it does, call the action maker. Every custom action that I'm aware of is cnc machined. That doesn't mean they are perfect, but it does mean they should have a high level of consistency and quality.
 
#39
MikeEzell said:
Your budget= $1000
sell your action=$400
new budget=$1400

Stiller Tac action=$950
new barrel= $300
Chamber barrel for Tac action=$200

This blows your budget by a whopping $50 but is well worth it in resale value alone. The brake and rail aren't worth sacrificing a new premium match barrel for IMO.
Click to expand...

Whoa, thinking outside the box. This really might be worth considering. On a similar idea I just had a barreled action made by Shilen. It was based on their DGR, floating bolt head/barrel nut action, which is made by Stiller. Along with a new trigger the cost was $1700 to my door, higher than your estimate or the OPs budget after selling current action, but food for thought.

The DGR is a Rem 700 clone it would fit his stock with some opening up of the recoil lug space. It uses a thicker recoil lug than does the rem 700.

Custom actions are made square. No truing necessary.

Good luck on whatever you choose.
 
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#41
fdkay said:
Not a "true" statement.
Click to expand...
Technically, nothing is perfect...just add another zero till you find out. I have a lot of experience with actions of just about of shape and form, and have checked over most all of them for trueness and overall quality. As a rule, the better made, more reputable action makers do an EXCELLENT job. I wonder if your post is coming from the same experience or from what you've read. Mine comes from years spent in the tool and die industry and currently building custom rifles as a way of feeding my family and paying the bills for the last ten years. I agree, that there is no such thing as "true" and that all mfgs and smiths have tolerances that they consider to be "acceptable". My experience tells me that about 8 out of ten customs are better than most gunsmiths will hold. Have you ever heard the term "measuring with a micrometer and cutting with a hacksaw"? That's what working in tenths on a lathe equates to, particularly outside of a controlled environment and using standards to check measuring tools with regularly.
 
#42
I am certain that on rare occasions, actions that are out of spec for what the manufacturer wants DO make it out the door. The high end action makers like Defiance, Stiller, Surgeon, Bat,, and many others, have their stellar reputations based on consistently turning out extremely high quality work, and when there is an occasional glitch, they take care of the customer quickly, and properly. So I wouldn't even worry about ether I would get a bad action or not. The chances are MUCH higher that sending your action to a smith to be trued will result in issues.

Although the majority of smiths with well earned reputations will turn out great work, there are many imitators, who would have you believe that they have figured out a way to true an action using "magical, secret" shortcuts to save you money and/or time. Be very wary of them. You get what you pay for.
 
#44
BradleyH said:
Budget isn't a huge deal. I can spend more but, I would rather try to stay under $1,000.

I'm just spitballing here but, should I sell this rifle, and increase my budget to around $2,000. Then build on a long action I have laying around?
Click to expand...

If this is an option and you're patient you would be surprised what pops up here for sale. Just last week I picked up a custom 223AI built by one of the top builder on a trued remington 700 action with bolt knob done ($750ish), a rock barrel ($500ish installed), jewel trigger ($230), McMillan A3 stock that was pillar bedded ($800), and barreled action cerakoted ($150) all for $1750 shipped. It also included $200-300 worth of dies, bullets, and brass.

It may not be a bad idea to sit on your cash for now and see what pops up for sale. It will keep you shooting and if you find something else you can list yours for sale after and not be without a rifle.
 
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