Hey Sholiz
Last year I bought a winchester 70 black shadow in 300 win mag, and thats an economy rifle. I didn't expect anything much out of it, but it suprised me. Mel pointed out to me here on the forum that quality of mass produced rifles can vary, but this one shot about 1.8 moa out of the box. Not too shabby.
I find the 70 to be a good strong action, and I bet it would be a great start to a custom rifle. For me, since I'm on abit of a budget too, I just build to it slowly, and enjoy it in the meanwhile. Start with the trigger job, as that will always be there. If you want to keep your stock, wait on it, and have it bedded. If not, a choate varmint stock was able to cut my group size in half. I know it would work better with a heavier barrel though.
As for the barrel, well, theres a lot of great makers out there and great prices too...If you don't have your heart set on any other rifles, just save up a lil at a time, and get to know shooting your rifle as it is for now. I know 7mm mag can be a little expensive, but not terribly, and the kick isn't all that severe either...Personally I don't find it different from 30-06 range...a little softer than my 300.
For the scope, there are some alternatives to a pricey Leupy...I find my Bushnell 3200 Elite 10X40 with mil dot is a great bargian...Bet its only $200 US, and its dependable. Mel has a review of it on his site, and I think he did a good job of writing it. If you don't mind a scope fixed on 10 power. Burris scopes have been mentioned here too, and one has a reticle that has marks on it to compensate for shooting from 100 to 500 M...They are affordable too.
I think you can do a lot with your rifle. Just figure out what you would like to keep, what it really needs, and hold off on things like the bigger bolt handle, and other things that aren't really essential. Hey, who knows, maybe after bedding the stock, tuning the trigger, and a little bit of truing, you'll be satisfied with the results, and not want to do anything else to it. As is, its a wonderful hunting rifle. Find out how much everything will cost. Decide if thats right for you. If not, then you can buy a tactical rifle without breaking the bank. 7mm Mag is a great long range round, and a very effective hunting round. I don't think anyone makes match ammo, but with premium ammo you will be pretty damn accurate anyway. I have to agree with Jeff_850 on the wolf stuff...If you like hitting the broad side of a barn, stay away from it.
Sounds to me like you have a great rifle.
Last year I bought a winchester 70 black shadow in 300 win mag, and thats an economy rifle. I didn't expect anything much out of it, but it suprised me. Mel pointed out to me here on the forum that quality of mass produced rifles can vary, but this one shot about 1.8 moa out of the box. Not too shabby.
I find the 70 to be a good strong action, and I bet it would be a great start to a custom rifle. For me, since I'm on abit of a budget too, I just build to it slowly, and enjoy it in the meanwhile. Start with the trigger job, as that will always be there. If you want to keep your stock, wait on it, and have it bedded. If not, a choate varmint stock was able to cut my group size in half. I know it would work better with a heavier barrel though.
As for the barrel, well, theres a lot of great makers out there and great prices too...If you don't have your heart set on any other rifles, just save up a lil at a time, and get to know shooting your rifle as it is for now. I know 7mm mag can be a little expensive, but not terribly, and the kick isn't all that severe either...Personally I don't find it different from 30-06 range...a little softer than my 300.
For the scope, there are some alternatives to a pricey Leupy...I find my Bushnell 3200 Elite 10X40 with mil dot is a great bargian...Bet its only $200 US, and its dependable. Mel has a review of it on his site, and I think he did a good job of writing it. If you don't mind a scope fixed on 10 power. Burris scopes have been mentioned here too, and one has a reticle that has marks on it to compensate for shooting from 100 to 500 M...They are affordable too.
I think you can do a lot with your rifle. Just figure out what you would like to keep, what it really needs, and hold off on things like the bigger bolt handle, and other things that aren't really essential. Hey, who knows, maybe after bedding the stock, tuning the trigger, and a little bit of truing, you'll be satisfied with the results, and not want to do anything else to it. As is, its a wonderful hunting rifle. Find out how much everything will cost. Decide if thats right for you. If not, then you can buy a tactical rifle without breaking the bank. 7mm Mag is a great long range round, and a very effective hunting round. I don't think anyone makes match ammo, but with premium ammo you will be pretty damn accurate anyway. I have to agree with Jeff_850 on the wolf stuff...If you like hitting the broad side of a barn, stay away from it.
Sounds to me like you have a great rifle.
