The Gun Counter

I had posted back in the Ye Olde Rifle thread about an Aero M5 lower I picked up on sale recently. For those that don't know, Aero does a daily item of 10-15% off if you're on their mailing list, along with other specials. I'd figured on a long, slow build to a 6.5 Creedmoor using this method. I also wanted to do the 6.5C simply because they manufacture a 6.5C upper in house.

Then I started thinking.....

I have a Rem 700 LTR I purchased back around 1999-2000. This was well before the Cerberus buyout. It shoots better than I can. When I've locked it down into a sled it overlaps holes. It is, however, a heavy .308 with a short 20" barrel. I put a Leupold MK IV LR/T 10x on it, sitting in Valdada steel rings and a 20 moa inclined base. It's a good setup for 600 yards and under. The mildot reticle was the hotness at the time.

The thing is, this rifle isn't doing anything my FN SPR can't already do except taking up space in the safe.

I'm figuring the stock, trigger, buffer parts (wanted to go with JP Silent Springs on this one), and misc parts for the M5 would run $700 for the lower alone, along with another $700-800 for the upper, and another $1,200 for glass and mounts. $2,600 is quite a bit of scratch, not to mention the initial cost of the lower.

A new Rem 700 barrel, along with a truing of the receiver, would likely cost less by quite a bit. I don't shoot this rifle much at all, so several months at somewhere like GA precision getting a new barrel and trigger won't hurt me.

If I do that, the question I find myself asking is, why 6.5C? .260 Rem becomes a good option with some real advantages. Primarily, the conversion of .308 brass of which I have literally buckets of on hand. I can get a little more speed out of the .260 rem. I can afford to go with a barrel maker that produces high quality barrels by not spending wildly on the M5. I can switch the MK IV over to the FN and replace the Springfield Gov scope it came with and top the LTR with something more modern.

I'm not really seeing a downside. Any thoughts?

Steamforger wrote:I'm figuring the stock, trigger, buffer parts (wanted to go with JP Silent Springs on this one), and misc parts for the M5 would run $700 for the lower alone, along with another $700-800 for the upper, and another $1,200 for glass and mounts. $2,600 is quite a bit of scratch, not to mention the initial cost of the lower.

A new Rem 700 barrel, along with a truing of the receiver, would likely cost less by quite a bit.

Unless you can get a fantastic deal on a truing job, its going to cost damn near what a new custom third party action is going to cost case in point, a new custom bolt body(not even a complete bolt!) from PTG is 116 bucks for a rh action some of the 1pc bolts cpme close to 400 bucks. Then theres the barrel - PacNor charges 300 bucks over and above the barrel price to cut and thread a barrel to your action.. I know your thinking (but thats under 2 and a half grand), children, thats jist the start - that crappy injection molded stock is gonna have to go, as you cand really bed it all that well, and it certainly isnt rigid enough. Suitable replacements range from a coupla hundred bucks to stroke inducing. Then you have to get it pillar bedded. Then theres the trigger - the factory Remington trigger is garbage - expect to buy at least a rifle basix, or more likely a Jewell to replace it. Then youre gonna hafta buy dies(either redding competition or LE Wilson, $$$) decent brass(Norma, Lapua, Fed match, etc) and all the other stuff thats common with long range shooting that you wont find locally or cheap for that matter.

Why not just load up some Berger 185 grn juggernauts, throw a riflr basix trigger on there, and shoot it as is?

I'm not looking for an Unlimited Class Benchrest rifle here.

This is a stock Rem 700 variant of a PSS that I just wanted to make some upgrades to. I was fully expecting that this would come in around $1500-ish going by my research. We're coming into the end of long range season at my range out here and a summer project seemed like a nice thing to do.

That's an HS Precision PST086 block-bedded stock. I realize this is not exactly a McMillan A5, but it's not nearly as bad as you're thinking.

The barrel is a 1:12, so I don't think it will love the 185's, but I might give them a try just to see how they do. I suspect the Berger Hybrid 168 might be a better match. I do agree the Remington trigger is garbage.

Steamforger wrote:HS Precision

No.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2525

Get a remage type barrel and the headspace guage and rebarrel it yourself in 6.5 creedmoor. See if it shoots as well as you would like it to. If it does then look at a new stock or chassis, maybe the new magpul chassis?

But really you could get a new savage stealth for about 1k already in a chassis and with a trued blueprinted action from the factory. I dont have the skill to notice a difference from that gun to a full custom one, and wouldn’t untill I have had enough trigger time and practice on it to shoot out the barrel.

Steamforger wrote:I'm not looking for an Unlimited Class Benchrest rifle here.

When you start talking about shooting past 600 yards, EVERYTHING becomes a factor. The stock, the trigger, etc.

If you want a cheap stock, get a boyds, it will run you 200ish

I went with a stock .300 win mag Browning A bolt. I trimmed it to 2o inches and threaded it to accommodate a suppressor. I use it almost exclusively for hunting in Scotland to date. It's dropped 1 stag and at least 10 other red deer along with 3 or 4 Roe. Sub MOA and a Trijicon 50mm scope. Kim joined us one year, Doc and Mr Free Market have much higher end rigs, Doc Russia alone has 10g's in his. Mr. FM has maybe 3500 and I have at retail 2400 with work. It does the job just fine. Lot's of options out there. Doc has a CZ .375 H&H and took a buff with it, I am thinking that ought to work for me as well.