New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

[Twinsen]

I thought I didn't have many requirements for this build, but it turns out that I do. I don't really want to get into the reasons why I want these things, because I'm sure I'll anger somebody. I am looking to buy or assemble a bolt in 308 for as little money as possible, within reason. I'll probably end up with some $1,000 Leupold glass and a Liberty or AAC silencer on it.

~308 Win
~No Remington, unless I can find an old one
~Threaded bull barrel, 18-24"
~Detachable magazine setup
~Pistol grip or stock with a vertical grip on it like a McMillan

I hope to use the rifle to re-learn the 4 standard positions and I am not going to outshoot a stock action. There's no <span style="font-style: italic">need</span> for a custom action, expensive barrel, or action truing at this point. I want to stay 308 because it's what I reload and I don't want to complicate anything with a new flinch.

I am thinking a Savage 10 in a McRee Precision stock. But that means buying a $900 rifle and throwing away the $400 stock that comes with it just to put on a $600 chassis.

Also, I've never bedded an action.

 

[Jay5oh]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

If you can find one.....

Savage hog hunter 308, 20" threaded barrel.
Change the stock for dbm

That was the route I was going to take but couldn't find the savage, found a rem 700 aac instock and bought it.

 

[Twinsen]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

Good eye. I'll see what I can come up with. Looks like you guys have a good classifieds section that I can keep on eye on while I wait for a gun store in this country to get a single gun in stock.

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=3826493

I decided to buy that and scrolled down to see it was already sold.

There's a lot of people out there looking to sell used $700 rifles in $900 stocks for $2,000. This climate isn't fun.

 

[DCR]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

Savage stevens action, barrel of choice, stock of choice.

 

[mbrittan]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

Check out Jim Briggs from Northland Supply. Not sure what he has in stock currently, but he does sell actions, barrels, stocks, and some other parts. You could skip throwing out a stock that you never wanted by just getting your action and barrel there.

http://www.savageshooters.com/forumdisplay.php?43-Northland-Shooters-Supply

 

[Twinsen]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DCR</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Savage stevens action, barrel of choice, stock of choice. </div></div>

I'll start looking for Savage actions. Also holy crap, you're in my home town. I live off 163.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: mbrittan308</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Check out Jim Briggs from Northland Supply. Not sure what he has in stock currently, but he does sell actions, barrels, stocks, and some other parts. You could skip throwing out a stock that you never wanted by just getting your action and barrel there.

http://www.savageshooters.com/forumdisplay.php?43-Northland-Shooters-Supply

</div></div>

Thanks for the lead. He doesn't have anything right now. That's to be expected, there are no guns right now.

 

[HonkeyMcGee88]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

Twinsen you will not be dissapointed with a barrel from Jim. I just got mine after a 12 week wait and couldnt be happier with performance. I did not know anything when I bought my rifle and got the one in an HS Precision stock. If I was doing it again I would go the Stevens action route as others have said. This is mine I have been working on little by little over the last few years.

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthre...335#Post3841335

 

[fdkay]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

Savage 10 LE model, either in HS or McMillan stock.

No, the barrel isn't threaded, but you don't have a can yet either.
Even if you ordered the can today, it would be 6 months down the road, plenty of time to have the barrel threaded.

Comes with a good DBM, though not an AICS.

 

[Twinsen]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

Yeah, I could go with an unthreaded. My local SOT does all that stuff. And yeah, no big .30 can yet.

The $1,100 McMillan offering is pretty friggin' great sounding. I will spend some time finding out what kind of DBM setups work with the McMillan and Savage action. I don't know much about the offerings for bolt actions. I've read Badger is real popular.

FYI, I heard from the head of the NFA Branch that transfers are going to get a lot faster. I forget the exact numbers, but they have gotten $$ approval for nearly doubling the number of examiners and they start the hiring process soon. Victory. There's a huge backlog now though, boxes and boxes of forms sitting around.

 

[Janus4088]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

Not to hijack, but what is the difference between a Savage varmint action and the model 10 / model 11s?

 

[shibby575]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

Buy a FN SPR. Call it done.

 

[NorthernBorn]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Twinsen</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I don't really want to get into the reasons why I want these things, because I'm sure I'll anger somebody. </div></div>

 

[Ultraman550]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

"I don't really want to get into the reasons why I want these things, because I'm sure I'll anger somebody."

I'm very sorry you feel like that. It's a shame people new to this board go through this. My only advice about this is do your due diligence and research as much as possible before you ask a question. It's the people who don't take the time to read that ask basic questions like "which scope is better, NF or Schmidt and Bender" or "where do I find bullets" that piss people off. So with that being said here's a question I have for you bud,


Why would you have to throw away a $400 stock? Sell it here and use the money to purchase other things. I had an AAC-SD that came with a piece of shit Hogue stock but I sold it on Ebay for $100 and used that money to put towards an Atlas. Turn your $1000 glass into $1400 dollar glass. Theres some NF's around here going for only $100 to $150 more at $1500. Hell you could even use the extra money to true up the action. In regards to Savage don't forget to look at the AICS stocks as they're available for Savage actions now, that is if you're interested though. I recently got rid of mine for financial reasons but I really like it a lot. The weight of it really helped me learn to shoot .308 as it helped me keep the rifle more steady. I'm still a loooong way off from being good but its a great stock nonetheless. Not great to carry around but it's like putting a barrel and scope onto an ergonomic cinder block.....in a good way.

Note: I see you only have 4 posts which only means you need to have 100 to sell anything here. Post that stock up on E-Bay or Gun Broker Twinsen.

 

[Powermac]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

If i were you i'd just get a SPR for a fair price, or the Us palm rifle for a little less, get the barrel threaded and add a dbm from cdi.

The palm tacs are around 8-900, for a Spr action, factory trigger, spr barrel, mcm A3 stock, and somewhat of a bedding, for the price it's a bargain.
And the M70 action is truly superior to both savage and remington.

 

[Twinsen]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

I didn't mean anything by it. I just didn't want to get into a Rem v Savage fight or explain why I like pistol grips and detachable mags. I've shot with fudds that look at me like I'm the devil when I say I prefer Savage. I've been looked at like I was crazy when I said all 3 new 870s I've tried were less than 50% reliable (I gave them a fair amount of time and rounds to justofy giving up, and one came from Remington with painted over rust). I've lived in CA and CT, so I've ran into a lot of "those people" that would ask why I want reliable, proven detachable box magazines and pistol grips. I'm not crazy and I ain't a liar, so getting into arguments over that stuff is annoying.

I didn't realize it'd come off cryptic or cold. I can be pretty insensitive and oblivious to emotion, so that'll happen.

I was honestly sure that cheap stocks were unsellable. I must be wrong, because my expertise with bolt, bolt shooters, and bolt market are right about 0. I never would have figured that I could sell a stock.

As for the FN SPR, it looks a tad expensive. Maybe about a grand more than I was looking to spend. FN can have my babies though. I am in love with the FAL and Hi Power and trust the SPR must be godlike.

 

[Twinsen]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Arez</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If i were you i'd just get a SPR for a fair price, or the Us palm rifle for a little less, get the barrel threaded and add a dbm from cdi.

The palm tacs are around 8-900, for a Spr action, factory trigger, spr barrel, mcm A3 stock, and somewhat of a bedding, for the price it's a bargain.
And the M70 action is truly superior to both savage and remington. </div></div>

See? There's something else I'd never have known about. Thank you, sir. I'll look into that soon. You're talking my numbers.

Edit: Ok, if I go for one of these local Palm Rifles I need to check who made the barrel on the specific rifle I am buying, what magazines it uses (and if they're available), and how to improve that trigger. 4.5 pounds is going to give me that much ability to screw up the shot.

I'm going to go look up trigger info, because I'm sure that's around to find pretty easily. Checking the barrel requires one decent eyeball. But the magazines... I have no idea.

 

[Twinsen]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

Ok guys, I decided on the FN SPR. Looks like a good setup. I've had issues with bolt actions and extraction in the past and that seems like a good way to avoid that aggravation. Also, FN can have my babies.

I spent some time looking at the Win 70 pre 64 action and I like it. I figure the downsides to it aren't going to manifest in my quest to 800 yards. I'd be really proud to hit something out that far. Far enough to make me question the use of .308 is years away.

I looked up the trigger on the Win action and it looks like that's easy to adjust to something that'll suit me.

Now I am off to look at optics. It seems they are all about $500 more than I expected them to be and not nearly as many are FFP as I had assumed. I'm sure there's plenty of info on optics on this site and that's a huge can of worms. So you guys answered all my questions. Thanks!

FYI, the rifle will be this stuff:
FN SPR in 308 with a 24" inch barrel
McMillan A3 stock
Karsten cheek riser
Liberty Victory/Freedom silencer
Some FFP optic with all sorts of magnification

And I'm doing all this instead of getting an M11/9 which surely would have devolved my shooting to yank and flinch badness.

 

[dunes450r]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

as everyone else has said, savage action and barrel, your choice on the stock and DBM

 

[wnycollector]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

I would suggest checking out the EE over at AR-15.com. You can find some great deals on non-AR's. I picked up my very gently used Savage 10 FCP with HS Precision stock and Ken Farrell 20 MOA rail for $750 recently.

 

[downlow]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

Tikka.

 

[digitalshooter]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

You might try finding just the action and barrel. That way you can put it in the stock of your choice.

Either that, or like suggested and sell the old stock. People will buy anything off of ebay.

 

[Spock]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

Savage FCP-K, XLR stock, Vortex PST glass, Badger rail and rings= awesome shooter at a reasonable price. Bolt together and go shoot.

Then you just have to find FGMM 168's good luck right now.........

 

[Twinsen]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

I was looking at the Vortex Viper PST 6-24 FFP after looking around for a few days. It is the front runner. I am keeping an eye out on this forum for used optics of higher quality (or just higher price because I'm not well informed yet). I'll check over on ARFcom. I've gotten stuff there for cheap before.

The FN SPR is already on order. I appreciate the advice to get a Savage. It is easily a close 2nd, but the FN action is cheaper at the moment. I'm sure I'd be happy with either.

I looked at the Sako/Tikka, they look neat for a lighter rifle.

I'll hunt down CDI DBM eventually.

Thanks again, guys. Every post was helpful and gave me a lead to learn something about the bolt market. And I'm glad it didn't turn into a flame war over my 700 dislike.

 

[rifledoc]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

I have that exact vortex scope, i love it. I had it at a match last month and people with leopold, nikon, NF or Zeiss scopes liked my scope better. I highly recommend it for what its worth.

 

[Twinsen]

Re: New guy looking for cheap 308 build advice

I can see liking a decent FFP more than an amazing SFP.