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I’ve been hoping to purchase a rifle in 6mm Remington. I wanted to find a good quality firearm with a regular contour/weight, 26” barrel and a twist rate of 1 in 12. I’m not looking to shoot bullets heavier than 90gr, so stabilization won’t be a problem at the slow twist rate. I want the rifle to shoot fast and flat; hence the 26” barrel. I load my own ammo.
After looking around, the only options I see for a new rifle in 6mm Rem are two: a Remington VLS or a Ruger MKII. Neither is even close to what I’m looking for. The Remington is a heavy barreled rifle that weighs over 9 pounds. It’s got a twist rate of 1 in 9. The Ruger has a standard contour barrel but it’s 22” long with a 1 in 9 twist.
This brings me to my question. Would it be practical to build a custom rifle with stock parts? I have no experience building rifles. I’ve taken them apart and put them back together as most people probably have. Discussions I’ve read say that a novice could build a rifle with standard parts built on a Remington 700 action. I’ve priced some components at Brownell’s to find that just the action, and trigger guard / magazine kit would cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $525. Add in about $200 for a barrel and another $150 for a modest stock and I’m looking at $875. Then there are supplies like sling swivels and a bedding kit which will bring the price up to about $900 or so. (A new Remington VLS can easily be had for about $580, the Ruger is about $90 or $100 less than that.
For the sake of argument, let’s say I have the cash and I’m able to put this rifle together. I spend the time to fit the stock and bed the barreled action properly (to the best of my limited abilities). I adjust the trigger the way I want it. I put mounts, rings and some good glass on top. Am I going to end up with a rifle that shoots sub-MOA groups or one that shoot 5-inch groups at 100 yards? Obviously, there are no guarantees on this “custom” rifle. The stock rifles both purportedly shoot MOA groups right out of the box.
I’m sure others have been at the same point I am now. Maybe hiring a gunsmith to build the rifle would be the way to go. Then, what would the finished cost be? Do they guarantee reasonable accuracy? I’d appreciate hearing of anyone’s experiences and/or recommendations for such a project. Thanks!
After looking around, the only options I see for a new rifle in 6mm Rem are two: a Remington VLS or a Ruger MKII. Neither is even close to what I’m looking for. The Remington is a heavy barreled rifle that weighs over 9 pounds. It’s got a twist rate of 1 in 9. The Ruger has a standard contour barrel but it’s 22” long with a 1 in 9 twist.
This brings me to my question. Would it be practical to build a custom rifle with stock parts? I have no experience building rifles. I’ve taken them apart and put them back together as most people probably have. Discussions I’ve read say that a novice could build a rifle with standard parts built on a Remington 700 action. I’ve priced some components at Brownell’s to find that just the action, and trigger guard / magazine kit would cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $525. Add in about $200 for a barrel and another $150 for a modest stock and I’m looking at $875. Then there are supplies like sling swivels and a bedding kit which will bring the price up to about $900 or so. (A new Remington VLS can easily be had for about $580, the Ruger is about $90 or $100 less than that.
For the sake of argument, let’s say I have the cash and I’m able to put this rifle together. I spend the time to fit the stock and bed the barreled action properly (to the best of my limited abilities). I adjust the trigger the way I want it. I put mounts, rings and some good glass on top. Am I going to end up with a rifle that shoots sub-MOA groups or one that shoot 5-inch groups at 100 yards? Obviously, there are no guarantees on this “custom” rifle. The stock rifles both purportedly shoot MOA groups right out of the box.
I’m sure others have been at the same point I am now. Maybe hiring a gunsmith to build the rifle would be the way to go. Then, what would the finished cost be? Do they guarantee reasonable accuracy? I’d appreciate hearing of anyone’s experiences and/or recommendations for such a project. Thanks!