[Olsson]

Hi all,

I have just returned back to Sweden after been living in the UK for one year. I will now start my project to have a gunsmith put together a tactical sniper rifle. I will meet with the gunsmith in the beginning of January so that we could outline what I am looking for.

But I need help to decide on caliber. I have heard much positive about both the 300 WM and 7mm RM, but I can not really decide what to go for. I am looking for a kick ass round for long distance shooting on the range, and occassionally hunting deer....

I am aware that this is not my field of knowledge, but I am working hard to get up to speed and learn as much as I can. Especially as I enjoy shooting and the challenge of handloading and long range shooting.

I am going to base the gun on the new McMillan A-5 stock (ugly for some, but gorgeouse for others) and the Remington 700

Olsson

Ps, Mel I know that you are a fan of 6,5x55 (Swedish mauser) yesterday I was at range shooting and my best serie did 2,7centimetre from 200 metres...... :lol:

 

[mele]

Sweet! Very nice group. I do indeed like the 6.5x55.

Now on to your question.

A big thing to consider is availability of ammo for your type of shooting. If you will be handloading, and care nothing of factory ammo, then I might suggest the 7mm, as sierra has some new bullets that are amazing in that caliber (of course, still not as amazing as the 6.5's). But if you need factory loads, then I think you will be better off with the .300 Win Mag. Federal (which you might have a hard time finding over there) makes a great match load for .300 Win Mag (190gr Matchking at 2900 fps) that is fantastic for long range shooting. There are other .300 WM factory loads that work very well for long range also.

Personally, I like .300 Win Mag better, but thats a personal opinion.

MEL

 

[Olsson]

Sweet! Very nice group. I do indeed like the 6.5x55.

Thanks Mel, good to hear from you. I have spent some great time today trying to get an thourough understanding on the differences between the balistics between 7mm and the 300RM....I am definately leaning towards the 7mm when I do handload. But I am not sure whether this will put more pressure on the gunsmith working with the 7mm to perfection, I have heard that it is harder to get that caliber to work as you want to then any other caliber (?)

Mel, if I may ask, what issues would u discuss with the gunsmith when you want to start up a project like I will do - any help here is most appreciated?

Have a great weekend and talk to you all soon

Olsson

 

[spade]

What I think is one of the most important things to keep in mind when building any rifle, is what you ACTUALLY are going to use it for. If your going to punch paper and shoot deer, you may not need the $900 Hart or Lilja barrel with the integrated muzzle brake and flutes, cryogenically frozen (which i do reccomend though as it makes cleaning the barrel a freakin breeze). By understanding the actual uses of a rifle you can very easily cut the price of a rifle by $1000 or more by knocking out un-needed acessories.

 

[mele]

When talking to smiths, get an exact list of what he will do on the rifle. if he is going to glass bed, ask his processes, what material, and why he does things the way he does. Ask this about most everything, and why he picks those manufacturers, etc. This gives you a lot of insite into what he knows, etc. If you do it casually, he wont have a problem, just don't do it in a way that you are questioning his know how. Just see what he does and possibly why.

I've had a smiths do work and it end up being contrary to what my goal was....

MEL

 

[Stump]

just buy one from mel !!! will probably be cheaper in the long run
look at test target and see what his does
it looks great to me
though i still like my rem ultramag
will post pics of it later with test shots
for everyone to see, happy hunting

 

[mele]

I'd love to build one for him, but getting it to Sweden might be difficult. It would certainly be easier to have it built over there... saves a ton of hassle.

MEL

 

[madgunsmith]

Just make sure that your gunsmith laps the locking lugs.

I think that this is perhaps the most important contributor towards accuracy.

The locking lugs have to bear evenly and when this does not happen, the action actually twists during recoil.

An alarming number of factory rifles do not have uniform locking lugs. I would not worry so much about caliber, but about what action I would use.

Mad.

 

[mele]

Amazingly enough, NONE of the mass produced factory rifles have good lug mating surfaces. I lap all of them on the rifles I make... its easy to do when you have the action stripped. I go for at least 80% surface mating.

MEL

 

[Scatch Maroo]

Amazingly enough, NONE of the mass produced factory rifles have good lug mating surfaces. I lap all of them on the rifles I make... its easy to do when you have the action stripped. I go for at least 80% surface mating.

Could someone please elaborate as to what 'lapping' the lugs means?

Scatch Maroo

 

[spade]

its a process involving putting some sort of rubbing compound (i use flitz polish) on the bolt and lug surfaces and then working them back and fowarth so that they mate up squarely.

 

[muzzleblast]

I've read some sporting rifles have a 35% fit when they leave the factory!

No wonder Mel's rifles shoot like the devil.

 

[mele]

Well, just about every custom rifle maker out there lap's the lugs. About the best bang for the buck you can do on a rifle.

MEL

 

[Scatch Maroo]

I'm assuming it's something that can still be done to a factory rifle?

Scatch Maroo

 

[Jeff_850]

yes you can do this to factory rifles
im not sure of any designs that you woudlnt be able to dont see why there would ever be a problem