Over the years I’ve often thought what would be MY do everything rifle. A rifle I would grab in most any situation and would Be my first choice if I could only keep one. I decided that for me the ultimate do everything rifle would be a bolt action for reliability, ease of maintenance, weight and accuracy with a short barrel for maneuverability and lighter weight. It would have to be mag fed.
It would have to be short action so I can keep my head on the stock while cycling the bolt. I debated for a long time between 308, 6.5 Creed and 223. These 3 are the most common, so in a SHTF situation (or a Joe Biden is POTUS situation) i might be able to more easily find ammo somewhere. Finally decided 6.5 Creed because it is superior to the other two in most every way. Thinking of building another rifle like this in 223 and my wife and daughters could shoot it.
I settled on a Rem 700 action mostly because of cost, aftermarket parts and all the Remage barrel options. It is blueprinted, has a Holland recoil lug, M16 extractor, PTG bottom metal for AICS mags. Bugholes made me a nice 20” Bartlein 6.5 Creedmoor barrel in a #3B contour which at 20” is 0.830“ diameter. Not too heavy, but just enough meat to provide more consistency than a sporter barrel.
I bought a used Rem LTR stock which is a compact police tactical stock designed for keeping the weight down and balancing well with a short 20” barrel. Even though it has an aluminum bedding block, you can’t always trust them to make 100% contact with receiver and lug surfaces so I lightly glass bedded it with Marine Tex. Put in a TriggerTech Primary set at 2.0#. Installed an adjustable cheek piece.
I painted the stock and barrel myself. Used painters tape on parchment paper to cut out shapes in the GAP Camo style and painted in 3 layers, adding more shapes in between each paint layer.
Topped it with a Trijicon Credo 2.5-15x scope on a 20MOA rail.
Did some initial load development and 10 shot groups under 3/4 MOA were common. Found a couple loads - two different bullets that averaged 0.5-0.6 MOA 10 shot groups.
I plan to get the barrel threaded 5/8-24 soon and add an attachment rail on the forend. If I had it to do over again, I’d probably use a Bighorn or American Rifle Co. action with controlled round feed. If I chose 223, I’d probably go down in barrel contour to a #3. I’d also consider a lightweight Manners stock with an integral adjustable cheek piece. These extras add a lot of cost over what I did though, so in a bang for buck comparison, I highly recommend doing what I did. Used stock, Rem700 action, Bugholes barrel, DIY.
It would have to be short action so I can keep my head on the stock while cycling the bolt. I debated for a long time between 308, 6.5 Creed and 223. These 3 are the most common, so in a SHTF situation (or a Joe Biden is POTUS situation) i might be able to more easily find ammo somewhere. Finally decided 6.5 Creed because it is superior to the other two in most every way. Thinking of building another rifle like this in 223 and my wife and daughters could shoot it.
I settled on a Rem 700 action mostly because of cost, aftermarket parts and all the Remage barrel options. It is blueprinted, has a Holland recoil lug, M16 extractor, PTG bottom metal for AICS mags. Bugholes made me a nice 20” Bartlein 6.5 Creedmoor barrel in a #3B contour which at 20” is 0.830“ diameter. Not too heavy, but just enough meat to provide more consistency than a sporter barrel.
I bought a used Rem LTR stock which is a compact police tactical stock designed for keeping the weight down and balancing well with a short 20” barrel. Even though it has an aluminum bedding block, you can’t always trust them to make 100% contact with receiver and lug surfaces so I lightly glass bedded it with Marine Tex. Put in a TriggerTech Primary set at 2.0#. Installed an adjustable cheek piece.
I painted the stock and barrel myself. Used painters tape on parchment paper to cut out shapes in the GAP Camo style and painted in 3 layers, adding more shapes in between each paint layer.
Topped it with a Trijicon Credo 2.5-15x scope on a 20MOA rail.
Did some initial load development and 10 shot groups under 3/4 MOA were common. Found a couple loads - two different bullets that averaged 0.5-0.6 MOA 10 shot groups.
I plan to get the barrel threaded 5/8-24 soon and add an attachment rail on the forend. If I had it to do over again, I’d probably use a Bighorn or American Rifle Co. action with controlled round feed. If I chose 223, I’d probably go down in barrel contour to a #3. I’d also consider a lightweight Manners stock with an integral adjustable cheek piece. These extras add a lot of cost over what I did though, so in a bang for buck comparison, I highly recommend doing what I did. Used stock, Rem700 action, Bugholes barrel, DIY.
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