Best Action

[schromf]

I have an itch to get another custom rifle made and I am looking to put together a varmiter/benchrest shooter. I haven't decided on caliber yet but a .22-.25 caliber is the roadmap. I don't want to get beat to death when doing a lot of shooting so minimum recoil is a requirement. I have a custom 30-338 that covers that end of the spectrum. Just as a starting point a Win .243, 220 Swift, 257 Roberts improved, and 6mm PPC are all under consideration.

My question is in a readily available action what is the straightest, truest action of the many choices available? I know about Hall actions and have another rifle built on one of these but I don't want to drop that kind of money into this. What I am looking for is a rifle I buy complete and strip out the action and sell the rest of the parts I don't like new. Actions I am aware of include: Remington 700, Browning A-Bolt, Model 70 Winchester, CZ-550, Savage 110, Tikka T3, Sako. I know I missed some but that is my drift: Bolt Action, best basis for a custom rifle, accuracy is paramount.

Any suggestions?

 

[JShirley]

So: you're looking for the best action under (?) $ to build a high-accuracy rifle. How much is your budget?

 

[schromf]

Base rifle $500-$650. That doesn't mean I wouldn't look at the Sako but it would need to warrant the additional cost. As a comparision a Hall medium action is $900.00 which is more than I want to spend on just the action.

I don't know enough about these actions to comment one way or the other but this is what I would consider my high end if the quality was there:

http://www.montanarifleman.com/longaction.htm

 

[Black Snowman]

I honestly know next to nothing about custom rifles and actions, but I do see some very attractive prices on used ones. For a salvaged action you might try looking at a used custom rifle to rebuild. It seems around here used custom rifles have a tendancy to sell far below their component prices.

My personal experiance with actions, and for your purposes, I'd skip the custom route and get a Weatherby MK V Super Varmit Master in .220 Swift or 7mm-08 from CDNN. Only $800. But that's just me and you're needs may not be met by this gun. Particularly the need for another custom rifle

If I were going to start from a scratch, salvaged action, particularly on a budget, I was EXTREMELY impressed by the design and machining on my Father's Steyr. These guns can be had at reasnable prices right now and are extremely accurate even in factory trim and the actions are incredibly well designed and over-built.

That's all I have to contribute. I look foreward to seeing the gun when it's finished. I bet it will be a beut

 

[schromf]

I will look at the Steyrs thats a place I hadn't looked. I have several customs done over the years and I have dumped a lot of money into straightening out old actions ( usually Mausers ) and by the time I get them done right I could have started with a new quality action and been dollars ahead. It isn't to say they weren't worth it to me just that is was a expensive route that didn't warrant the cost per engineering benifit.

 

[BigG]

There is a Cooper rifle, which is a single shot bolt that looks akin to a Win Model 70, IIRC. They have typically one-hole groups at 100 yds and cost around $1,000 out the door, again IIRC. I would invest in one of those unless I really wanted to build something.

 

[schromf]

Building something isn't a must, I do like Lilja barrels though. Is this the Cooper site you are suggesting?

http://www.cooperfirearms.com/varminter.html

If so I like what I preliminarly see

 

[P95Carry]

There is a Cooper rifle,

Hmmm .. that could be the ''Accuracy International'' perhaps? The company Malcolm Cooper formed? That guy sadly died ever so young and was from my recollection the most phenomenal .22 match shooter ... who could suppress his heart rate.

The Accuracy rifles are it seems built to extremely high standards.

Just musing!

 

[JohnBT]

"Dan Cooper and two other former employees of Kimber of Oregon founded Cooper Firearms, Inc. in 1990."

I think I have the site memorized...I just bought a .22lr Custom Classic. Unfortunately, I gave it to my dad and it's been too cold and wet where he lives to go shoot it.

John

 

[BigG]

Schrompf: I believe that is the rifle. I am no expert on the brand but I handled them at gunshows and they are way better than any factory model I am aware of.

 

[BigG]

PS. Each Cooper comes with a test target signed by the shooter. A .22 centerfire like a .223 or .22/.250 has about a .25 hole in the paper. By my crude mathematics .25 - .22 = 0.03" group. YMMV, but I think it is potentially a great Target/Varmint/informal benchrest shootin machine. The workmanship is impeccable.

 

[rws]

Being a benchrest shooter, this subject always comes up. Whether to blueprint a Rem or go custom action. Once you buy a Rem (which is the choice of accuracy gunsmiths) and then pay to have it trued up, you have about as much as a custom action tied up. Why not look into buying a used bench gun, and reballet it to whatever you want?

 

[schromf]

Cooper Rifles

Does anyone own one of these? I would like to hear some feedback on these rifles. I have looked over the website closely and I must admit it looks good,, but I would like to hear a shooters tale.

 

[Sharpshooter223]

Cooper rifles are damned good rifles and worth every bit of the money they cost. If you do decide to go custom I'd go with the Remington or Sako action. The .257 roberts is a good choice you had. I have a .257 roberts with a sako action XXX French maple stock and a heavy gauge douglas barrel and it's a very sweet shooting rifle with little recoil and amazing accuracy. The remington 700 actions are strong just not as smooth and nice as the sako's. I have a custom .222 with a remington 722 action and from what I've heard it's basically like the 700 except more trued but they would be hard to find. That may be another caliber you may consider is the .222. The one I have has a Fajen stock 722 action and very heavy Hart barrel. It's a very nice shooter under 1/4" every time @100 easy.

 

[rws]

Custom

Being new to this board, I see the word "custom" used often when talking about Remingtons, Sakos, Cooper, etc. If you are refering to ordering a Rem. from their custom shop, I hope you realize you won't really get anything special when it's done. It's still a mass-produced action that is fitted to a mass-produced barrel, and chambered the same way. Coopers are made closer to a "custom" status than any. And they are very good.

When I refer to custom, I speak of Stolle, Hall, Stiller, Nesika, BAT and even Wichita and Hart. These are truely custom made to tolerances that are far and away closer than any production run action. Same goes for barrels. If you think a factory barrel anything will shoot as well as a Shilen, Hart, Krieger, and many more, you are mistaken.

So if you are willing to fork over $1K or more for a "custom" rifle, I think you should consider more options. There is a whole world out there that is beyond what these production guns can give. The accuracy can be amazing.