Custom rifle questions & terminology

[Squeaky 135]

Hey Guys:

 

I am interested in having a very accurate .300 Win Mag rifle with a straight bull barrel or target barrel. Are "bull barrel" and "target barrel" the same thing? Are they usually thicker in diameter than "heavy barrels" like Remington and Savage use. I know I've seen thicker barrels at the gun range.

 

What's an appropriate length and twist rate for .300 Win Mag target barrels? 26" and 1:10?

 

Is the part that holds the bolt also called a receiver? ( I ask because I am used to hearing the term "receiver" used in regards to AR upper & lower receivers.) If so, does anyone make .300 Win Mag receivers that are supposedly a step up or two from what you'd get from a factory rifle? If there is a rifle receiver aftermarket, hows does one ensure a proper match between your receiver and barrel? How are the two put together? What makes an aftermarket receiver better? Tighter tolerances?

 

Once this is taken care of, who makes stocks that would be appropriate for such a project? I assume you have to buy a certain stock for a barrel that might be at least 1.25" in diameter. Maybe 1.5" in diameter. Can you get a synthetic stock made to your length of pull? 

 

I do know special triggers are available too like Tymney and Jewel triggers.

 

I like bolt-action .300 Win Mag rifles like the Savage 10 FCP or the Savage 12. They are good rifles. Perhaps I should just get one of those. But I am interested in whether or not one could "build" a bolt-action rifle with aftermarket products much like one can build your own AR-!5.

 

I suspect there are companies who make bolt-action rifles whose .300 Win Mags are considered to be even better than Savage's. Who are they? Who else like Accuracy International are out there? If one cannot build your own bolt-action rifle like I'm proposing, then who makes "factory" .300 Win Mags that'd be considered top-of-the-line? I've gotten the impression there are companies out there whose rifles are better than what you typically get from "main stream" companies like Remington and Savage at Cabelas. Who are they?

 

My situation is like this: imagine thinking your whole life that a Mustang is the best sports car on the market. All the while you never knew about Porsches, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, or GT-40s.   

 

If one cannot do a bolt-action build in a similar manner to building your own AR, then what are my options aside from having a custom rifle built at a gun shop? ($$$ !!! )

 

I don't have that kind of money. Thus, my interest in doing a build with separate parts. However, if that gets too expensive, then I'm happy to get a Savage 10 FCP or something like that. I'm just intrigued by the possibility of building something more accurate with separate aftermarket components. But then again, I don't doubt there are other companies who make high quality bolt-action rifles that make a custom build unnecessary. So ... I ask who are the "Accuracy Internationals" out there in the bolt-action rifle world? Who are the "Tymneys" of barrels, bolt-action receivers, and stocks too?

 

I have a steep learning curve I am trying to conquer. 

 

Thank you for tolerating my ignorance for I don't doubt many of you think this is stuff "everybody knows" already.  I don't and I wish I was friends with an Army or Marine Corps armorer.

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

 

[IndyArms 10,186]

[Garys4598 1,065]

Hey Guys:

 

I am interested in having a very accurate .300 Win Mag rifle with a straight bull barrel or target barrel. Are "bull barrel" and "target barrel" the same thing?

 

What's an appropriate length and twist rate for .300 Win Mag target barrels? 26" and 1:10?

'Bull barrel' and 'target barrel' can have two separate meanings.  Usually, a bull barrel will indeed be 'construed' to provide the shooter target-level barrel accuracy, whereas a barrel identified (by whomever) as a target barrel may not have the inherit barrel diameter thickness of a bull barrel.  The thick, bull barrel design reportedly addresses barrel harmonics and barrel 'whipping'/flexing during firing.

 

Regarding the appropriate barrel rifling twist for your .300 Win Mag, its all about obtaining the best match with bullet weight and the rifling twist.  Providing memory serves me, generally speaking, heavier bullets do better with less twist.

[Doug Hartley 526]

The first you have to decide what are you planning to do with the rifle such as hunting, plinking, PRS etc. If you plan on shooting competition then visit the forums that cover your favorite format.  Building a bolt gun is different then building an AR and I wouldn't recommend it for a newbie.  Buying a stock Savage or Rem 700 and shooting the snot out of it will help you figure out what you want next.  Asking questions here is a good start but there is no substitute for putting lead down range.

 

Doug

[Garys4598 1,065]

Just for 'shit's n' giggles' (and because forum threads are always more interesting when photos are included), here are a few photos of my custom built Savage Arms dual-port bolt action BULL barreled .308 Win pistol (yes; that's correct... her serial number is declared and registered as a handgun). 

 

Ain't she a beute!  She's heavier than hades though .  She'll shoot a wombat between the eyes out at 300+ yards . 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 26, 2015 by Gary