Build Thread 6.5 cm or .308 bolt rifle on a chassis

[Jcon268]

If you go with a modern rifle, like Tikka, Savage, Ruger, or Rem, they have all cut a few corners they deemed not needed to end with a quality product relative to a certain price point. These aren't GA precision or Montana rifles. They do however create a solid foundation to which someone can learn and build on.

I was in a gun shop at lunch today and saw several nice rifles from the makers listed above in the $350-$600 range that would do their part and more. Some new and some used but barely. They all needed optics and ammo but you plan on doing that anyway. Many used rifles rarely see more than a few hundred rounds through them before they are traded off for something different. I've done it here and there too. Walk into a few shops that have a variety of new and used rifles and see what you can find. Prices can be soft on the used market as well right now. Again, chances are your taste and needs will change over time and you will be back to looking at other things that catch your eye.

That's where I lost in my AR build. I changed my preferences and got stuck selling almost brand new parts for quite a bit less than I paid for them. I can't really afford to do that this time around. My attraction to the Rem 700 and Tikka T3 is in the aftermarket support. I'm set to start my membership at the DRRC this spring. I'm hoping to go at least twice per month, money allowing. So I expect not to put more than a 1,000 rounds down the pipe in a years time. When it comes time to upgrade or swap a barrel, I'm counting on that platform still being popular for purposes of tracking down parts. Any thoughts on the Tikka vs the Rem?

 

[P7M13]

Before you select a rifle, I'd answer the questions:

1. Are you going to DIY, or enlist the services of a good gunsmith? IMO, there's much more to a bolt gun than assembling an AR.
2. If DIY, do you have access to a machine shop, or machinists?
3. You said, $1K budget. How sexy do you want it, where do you want your quality, what accuracy are you going for?

If you are going to use a Gunsmith, are on a multi-year schedule, and are willing to stretch your budget since you're running over a few years, I suggest you go with Tikka, Sako, Bergara, RPR, or Savage Stealth. Why? The first three have phenomenally beautiful actions. Shoot one and you may say "to hell with a custom build", because, frankly, any of those three rifles are more accurate than 97/100 shooters. The last two rifles give what you want, out of the box.

I wrote all that above, because you asked about the ADL. Every new Remy I've held, I thought was a POS.

 

[Jcon268]

Before you select a rifle, I'd answer the questions:

1. Are you going to DIY, or enlist the services of a good gunsmith? IMO, there's much more to a bolt gun than assembling an AR.
2. If DIY, do you have access to a machine shop, or machinists?
3. You said, $1K budget. How sexy do you want it, where do you want your quality, what accuracy are you going for?

If you are going to use a Gunsmith, are on a multi-year schedule, and are willing to stretch your budget since you're running over a few years, I suggest you go with Tikka, Sako, Bergara, RPR, or Savage Stealth. Why? The first three have phenomenally beautiful actions. Shoot one and you may say "to hell with a custom build", because, frankly, any of those three rifles are more accurate than 97/100 shooters. The last two rifles give what you want, out of the box.

I wrote all that above, because you asked about the ADL. Every new Remy I've held, I thought was a POS.

Thanks. I plan to not DIY my bolt gun. ARs are practically plug and play. I spend my winters building and shooting more in the spring and fall.

Your information was very helpful. Any opinions on Howa? Are they a corner cutter or do they make legitimate offerings for someone starting up into longer range shooting?

 

[P7M13]

Thanks. I plan to not DIY my bolt gun. ARs are practically plug and play. I spend my winters building and shooting more in the spring and fall.

Your information was very helpful. Any opinions on Howa? Are they a corner cutter or do they make legitimate offerings for someone starting up into longer range shooting?

Howa's are fine rifles. Inexpensive, accurate, solid. Replacing a barrel on a Howa requires more effort than a Savage or Remy, I've read, since they employ much more torque.

There's an option: buy a Howa Barreled action for ~$575 (Midway / Brownells, etc), put it in a MDT chassis and be done with it. Problem is it's a sporter barrel, which are more sensitive to temperature if you are doing a lot of bench shooting.
IIRC, Howa's are guaranteed 1MOA or better, out of the box.

Is it that you like the cool look of a chassis rifle? Otherwise, I'd still recommend Tikka, Bergara, RPR or Savage Stealth. I've shot Tikkas, they're awesome. The Bergara seems even nicer. RPR = drool, and though I've not seen a Savage Stealth, if it's anything like my 110BA, it's a balls-out tack driver. I built my two rifles because I wanted calibers you couldn't find.

 

[slimmer13]

Another option which lends itself quite well to purchasing piece by piece, and since you seem to know ARs, is a big bore build.

 

[Jcon268]

Howa's are fine rifles. Inexpensive, accurate, solid. Replacing a barrel on a Howa requires more effort than a Savage or Remy, I've read, since they employ much more torque.

There's an option: buy a Howa Barreled action for ~$575 (Midway / Brownells, etc), put it in a MDT chassis and be done with it. Problem is it's a sporter barrel, which are more sensitive to temperature if you are doing a lot of bench shooting.
IIRC, Howa's are guaranteed 1MOA or better, out of the box.

Is it that you like the cool look of a chassis rifle? Otherwise, I'd still recommend Tikka, Bergara, RPR or Savage Stealth. I've shot Tikkas, they're awesome. The Bergara seems even nicer. RPR = drool, and though I've not seen a Savage Stealth, if it's anything like my 110BA, it's a balls-out tack driver. I built my two rifles because I wanted calibers you couldn't find.

Since I wouldn't be smithing this particular rifle, the barrel changing would be left in the hands of a local smith who I assume would have access to torque specs. 1 moa is all I could ask for a shooter of my minimal experience. I like the chassis look but I also like the adjustability and it seems closer to what I'm used to in an AR pistol grip etc.
I did also look at the Bergara.. these are all in my price range...I just want to make sure I'm not making a mistake but spending in this range. I do have a thing for triggers so it'd be nice to know I could upgrade my trigger at a later time

 

[Jcon268]

Another option which lends itself quite well to purchasing piece by piece, and since you seem to know ARs, is a big bore build.

I had plans for a big bore and will probably do that at a later time but want to stick to the bolt gun for now. I like learning and this serves to educate me about a different type of firearm also.

 

[P7M13]

Since I wouldn't be smithing this particular rifle, the barrel changing would be left in the hands of a local smith who I assume would have access to torque specs. 1 moa is all I could ask for a shooter of my minimal experience. I like the chassis look but I also like the adjustability and it seems closer to what I'm used to in an AR pistol grip etc.
I did also look at the Bergara.. these are all in my price range...I just want to make sure I'm not making a mistake but spending in this range. I do have a thing for triggers so it'd be nice to know I could upgrade my trigger at a later time

IIRC, the Bergara rifles include a Jewell trigger, might be a Timney...

 

[Dave9999]

I got interested in longer range, more accurate shooting last spring. Long range can get expensive depending on your goals and resources. You'll need or want AR500 steel targets/stands and spotting scope, range finder (if not on a known distance range), ballistics app (some free options available), and a club membership or access to a place to shoot. A few suggestions: google PRS production class rifles unless you are thinking about F class. buy used. Be patient for the right opportunity. Consider the new .224 Valkyrie round that has great ballistics. Savage has a $1400 AR in this new round. A little stretch to your budget but ammo might be cheaper. Athlon Ares is a nice scope for the money. I also have my first rifle for long range for sale if you are interested. It's a Savage Model 12 LRP 6.5 CM and Vortex PST 6x24 MOA SFP. Great accuracy out of the box with factory ammo. IM me if you'd like more info.

 

[Goosebrown]

Would something like this be a decent starting pointing? Assuming the scope is junk, is $459 a reasonable price to entry? Upgrade later?View attachment 428936

I'd say no because of the barrel. Too thin. Get varmint weight at least. I am a savage guy. Cabelas has a 12fv varmint at $469 with a varmint barrel. I bought one in 223 (they come in 308 and 6.5cm as well)

Mine after load work up shoots .2" at 100yards. Haven't taken it out farther. I'd say that is your best base for a 600-1000 yard gun on a budget

Have fun and good luck.

 

[Jcon268]

I'd say no because of the barrel. Too thin. Get varmint weight at least. I am a savage guy. Cabelas has a 12fv varmint at $469 with a varmint barrel. I bought one in 223 (they come in 308 and 6.5cm as well)

Mine after load work up shoots .2" at 100yards. Haven't taken it out farther. I'd say that is your best base for a 600-1000 yard gun on a budget

Have fun and good luck.

I always wondered what a "Varmint" barrel outside the context of actually shooting varmints..like not for medium or larger game? Honestly I'm not a hunter just a paper puncher hoping to put together a capable rifle that will stretch my game out farther. I'll look at your Savage suggestion thanks

 

[Jcon268]

Any suggestions about barrel length?

 

[Goosebrown]

Any suggestions about barrel length?

For long range target shooting? Depends. Longer the range the longer the barrel in general IF you hand load to take advantage of it with the correct powder and charge.

I thought I'd do 1000 yards when I got my 6mmbr barrel so I got 29". It turns out to be hard to get the powder charge (not impossible but hard) to get enough velocity to compete at 1000. Great at 600 but hard at 1000. I should have looked at a 6mm dasher or 6 brdx instead for range and barrel and bullet diameter.

For long range I have a 260AI 28" barrel.

So if you are doing to be anal and serious, longer barrel. Most varmint contour barrels seem to be 26-28 inches. For a little more money you can go 29 or 30.

What you want for tactical though might be less. A lot of tactical shooters go down to 20". You lose some long range potential accuracy to shave a pound or more off your barrel weight.

Varmint BTW is a standard barrel contour going from 1.220 inches diameter at the receiver to .890 inches at the muzzle.

Check out Shilen's page for reference. Welcome to Shilen Rifles, Inc.

 

[Goosebrown]

I'll look at your Savage suggestion thanks

You'll like what you find. Savages are really at the top of production rifles for a few reasons. They tend to shoot really well right out of the box and it's easy to swap calibers with a barrel swap.

They have some really great production rifles out of the box like the 12 benchrest, the 12 f/tr, and the 12 Palma if you want to go that route.

I have a 12fv, a cheap cabelas exclusive I got on Black Friday for $219 that shoots .2" at 100 so far. A 12 Benchrest in 6mmbr for 600 and closer. A 12 BVSS in 260AI which needs a new stock and trigger to compete at 1000. also a couple 22s and an 11 trophy hunter in 260 for my kid and me.

I started out with Remington 700s before when I was starting to get serious. They shoot too but much more work to make them accurate. I'll never go back to them after that frustration.

Also as you grow in your skill it is easy to change the barrels out on savages. Trivially easy. Want to shoot 308 Norma mag for 1500 yards? You can swap the barrel at the range in under 10 minutes (ASSUMING YOU KNOW HOW AND HAVE THE RECIEVER WRENCH, BARREL NUT WRENCH,AND GO/NO GO GAUGES).

For me that means at the end of this season I will retire my 6mmbr barrel and move to 6mm dasher to reach out a little further.

If you've got money there are lots of good custom receivers out there. BAT, Panda, Surgeon, etc. you will get what you pay for if EVERYTHING YOU DO OTHERWISE is perfect. Your technique and reloading need to be spot on but the expensive custom actions do pay off then.

Guy at our 600 group was hovering at 197-199 with a RPR in 6.5cm for a season. He had a custom rifle in 6mmbr built on a savage 12 target action and now he's making 199-200 every match.

If you really want to jump in with $ to get a competitive build check out Terry wright at Right Rifle. Terry Wright, po box 76 Shedd, OR 97377. (541) 491-1201. I think one of his rifles holds the 600yard benchrest NRA record at this time. I think the group was .78" at 600 yards. Not 100% on that but I think so.

 

[2A2Dend]

I'm walking down a similar path. Mind if I join in?

Doing a search for MDT Chassis brought me here to this thread. My interest was brought on after watching numerous videos over time of sniping varmints. The more I watched the eradication, the more lured in for a bolt gun in 223. I was wanting a factory rifle with 1 moa out of the box. Savage and Tikka were my final contenders. I settled on Tikka. The Super Varmint and Tac models narrowed my choices. After weighing the differences of the two, I bought the tactical w/20" heavy barrel (24's are hard to find). I then needed an optic capable of reaching out (seeing impact) and settled for a respectable good starter. I purchased the Vortex Viper PST-G2 3-15x44 (model 3155), and Seekins (MED) rings sitting on the factory 0-MOA base. I'm currently waiting for my low torque in-lb driver to arrive to finish mounting. Meanwhile during all else, the MDT Chassis caught my eye after seeing the Savage BA10 Stealth in them. I liked the look. I settled on the newly designed LSS-XL Gen 2 and placed my order. It's sitting here in the box waiting for a decision on what stock to get. I looked into the Magpul PRS, and considering the price is near the cost of the MDT v5 Skeleton buttstock, I've not decided. The more I look at the v5, the more I think this is what I want in my mind. My decision hold, is currently based around additional weight. I did some calculating just because.

Tikka T3 TAC 223/308 weight= 8.0 lb (+/- minimal differences)
Synthetic stock weight= 2 lb-7.5 oz
Total weight= 5 lb-8.5oz (action +barrel)

MDT LSS-XL G2 Chassis Weight= 1 lb-12.6 oz
MDT v5 Buttstock weight= 2 lb-10 oz (v5 just ordered)
Total combined weight= 4 lb-6.4 oz (+/-)

MDT Chassis (all) 4 lb-6.4 oz
Tikka barrel/receiver 5 lb-8.5oz
Total combined= 9 lb-14.9 oz
Total weight gain overall= 1.98 lb (+/-)

Vortex PST 3155= 1 lb-12 oz (*Defender caps & throw lever not calculated*)
Seekins Med Rings= 4.2 oz
Total finished weight= 11 lb-14.2 oz

*Atlas BT-10 and Monopod not calculated as of yet*
No idea why weight is bothering me. Maybe an AR thing. This rifle configuration will be used mainly in prone and bench shooting.