need help designing my tactical rifle

[blue_ridge]

Hello, I'm a long time lurker and have decided I need some advice. I'd like to build a tactical rifle and don't intend to place an order for a $2500+ custom job. I have a High Power match rig, 26" Krieger bull barrel fluted in 308, Win 70 LONG action on a McMillan A2. I also have an F-class heavy rig in 284.

1) First I need to develop a specific idea of the ideal rifle for me. My first question is <span style="font-weight: bold">weight</span>. If you intend to use a rifle for everything from long range varminting out to approx. 800 yards, big game hunting/carrying all day and maybe the occasional competition, what is the maximum weight? initially I'm thinking <span style="font-weight: bold">10 lbs. including scope and rings</span>.

2) Next, what stock/barrel combo is best considering a 10 pound max weight and 800 yards accuracy. Could I use my McMillan A2 and Win 70 long action and re-barrel it for say 6.5x284? If so, will I be limited to sporter barrel sizes and lengths? Currently with the bull barrel fluted Krieger the rifle is about 10 pounds without a scope.

3) Is it better to go with a smaller contour without flutes or larger contour with flutes?

4) Are there DBM's that hold more than 5 rounds readily available for Remington, Winchester or Savage actions? Is it expensive/difficult to fit McMillan stocks for them?

I don't intend to go super expensive with this rig. So likely will use a Win 70 long or Rem 700 short that I already have. No Night Force scopes in my near future, so likely Leupold, Pentax, Burris etc. I may buy a stock if the McMillan A2 I have is a limiting factor. Any ideas or experiences related to this kind of thing is appreciated.

 

[ArcticFun]

Re: need help designing my tactical rifle

Look at the Remington Ti guns, the full size .300WM weighs just over 5lbs with no scope. It has a small fluted barrel that's 26" long. Any of the McMillian stocks with EDGE are super light and i'd personally use the HTG EDGE. You could chamber for the 7mm WSM and that'd take ya to 800 yards.

 

[DMann]

Re: need help designing my tactical rifle

Is that Winnie in .308 wearing irons or a scope? It sounds like a good starter set-up as is. A long action .308 will allow you to seat heavier bullets out further, as you probably already know.

I suggest you play with it some - changing an accessory here and there - until you develop a feel for what works for you.

It sounds like you have a couple of good rigs, either of which could form the basis of a good practical rifle. You might be better served to find other shooters around you with a variety of "tactical" rifles and shoot/handle other styles to see what you like. Until then, run what you got.

 

[garandman]

Re: need help designing my tactical rifle

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: blue_ridge</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

1) First I need to develop a specific idea of the ideal rifle for me. My first question is <span style="font-weight: bold">weight</span>. If you intend to use a rifle for everything from long range varminting out to approx. 800 yards, big game hunting/carrying all day and maybe the occasional competition, what is the maximum weight? initially I'm thinking <span style="font-weight: bold">10 lbs. including scope and rings</span>.

</div></div>

In my view, you got 2 different purposes that can't be served by one gun.

YOu got (1) a long range / competition gun, and (2) a hunting rifle.

Kitting out a long range competition gun is gonna make it WAAAAYY too heavy to hump out in the field as a hunting gun - especially if you gotta walk more than 100 yards from your truck to hunt, or will be in a tree stand.

My opinion - trying to make 1 gun that does everything gives you one gun that doesn't do anything very well.

Hammers are for pounding nails. They don't spread joint compound very well. Can ya use one for that? Sure....

 

[Walsh]

Re: need help designing my tactical rifle

Rem. 700 SA:
.308
Krieger #7 contour, 1-10 twist, finished at 18"-20"
McMillian HTG or A1-3 EDGE stock
Leupold Mk 4 of your choice

Options (if you don't need it, then don't yse it stuff):
Harris or Atlas bipod
Eagle Industries SSP (these are really handy to me)


I figure that this setup could work for you and still stay around you 10 pound limits.

 

[THUNDERBOLT68]

Re: need help designing my tactical rifle

I would go any of 6.5 's ( 6.5 x 47 lapua, 6.5 Creed, 260 )
I would sell all guns and parts.
take the money and build a 6.5
Keep rem short action for base
McMillan HTG
# 5 barrel
badger, seekins, etc..
then go shoot.
In the long run you will be happy no need to do it twice.

 

[blue_ridge]

Re: need help designing my tactical rifle

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DMann</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Is that Winnie in .308 wearing irons or a scope? It sounds like a good starter set-up as is. A long action .308 will allow you to seat heavier bullets out further, as you probably already know.

I suggest you play with it some - changing an accessory here and there - until you develop a feel for what works for you.

It sounds like you have a couple of good rigs, either of which could form the basis of a good practical rifle. </div></div>

Yeah I have RPA match sights for it and could easily mount a scope on it and shoot the 308 for now, but with scope it'll probably weigh 13 pounds. I'd like to build something under 10 lbs. The 284 is about 17 pounds but I think it might serve someone else better because I F-class is not my focus right now. I could sell whole gun or just the 284 bull barrel and heavy F-class stock and use the trued up Remington action OR rebarrel the Win 70 with a lighter barrel. I need to weigh the pros and cons of those platforms against the final goal and make a decision.

 

[blue_ridge]

Re: need help designing my tactical rifle

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Walsh</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Rem. 700 SA:
.308
Krieger #7 contour, 1-10 twist, finished at 18"-20"
McMillian HTG or A1-3 EDGE stock
Leupold Mk 4 of your choice

Options (if you don't need it, then don't yse it stuff):
Harris or Atlas bipod
Eagle Industries SSP (these are really handy to me)


I figure that this setup could work for you and still stay around you 10 pound limits. </div></div>

Thanks, I was thinking of something like this but wasn't sure of 1) the finsihed weight 2) the range of a short action (308, 260, 6.5x47) out of 18-20" barrel. Thanks again.

 

[blue_ridge]

Re: need help designing my tactical rifle

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: THUNDERBOLT68</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I would go any of 6.5 's ( 6.5 x 47 lapua, 6.5 Creed, 260 )
I would sell all guns and parts.
take the money and build a 6.5
Keep rem short action for base
McMillan HTG
# 5 barrel
badger, seekins, etc..
then go shoot.
In the long run you will be happy no need to do it twice.
</div></div>

Okay, good advice, similar to Walsh's advice. Wonder what the weight/performance difference is between a #7 contour fluted and a #5 non-fluted. Might look into the Ti actions and Edge stocks like Arcticfun said too.

 

[ArcticFun]

Re: need help designing my tactical rifle

I ment the Ti rifle for the barrel profile, not the action. The action however is very very nice and amazingly smooth for a stock action. I think the Remington Ti's come out of the Custom Shop. I would think that a Titanium action would be better than almost any other one because of the properties. It's extremely rigid and has no 'memory' i.e. You bend it and it will bend back to the orginal position. That's why most high end scopes use Ti springs. Btw the stock on th Ti's is a lot like the Sendero's.

 

[DMann]

Re: need help designing my tactical rifle

A couple more questions - is the Remington F-Class rifle a short action? What stock is it wearing?

That Kreiger barrel could be shortened from both ends some to get a 24' barrel which would shed some weight.

 

[blue_ridge]

Re: need help designing my tactical rifle

The F-Class is a Rem 700 long action, 284 Lilja bull barrel on a Richard Franklin #8 stock. His stocks are beautiful and well known in the F-class and 1000 yard community. It is pretty heavy though.

 

[Walsh]

Re: need help designing my tactical rifle

An 18"-20" barrel will get you to 1,000, I wouldn't hunt with it past 600 yards though.

The hunting part, that's just my opinion, your mileage may vary.