Building a "distance" gun, on a budget that doesn't cost a fortune to shoot.

[BR3W CITY]

I felt this title better than "budget sniper rifle" since I didn't feel like mall ninja commnents. Basically, after working with my bipod and scope on my AR I'm starting to think I should really build a "distance" gun. The AR in .223 is tons of fun and cheap to shoot, but with an 18" barrel isn't really setup for anything over 300yd I'm guessing, and my shooting ability won't be helping it :) Plus I kinda want another gun in the collection.
I was thinking something bolt action, but I hit a wall at WHAT? and in WHAT CALIBER? I've perused some threads on THR etc, and it seems like 7.62 and .308 are better choices in the 400-1000yd range (NO I don't claim to be able to hit a wall at a 1000yds, just a point of reference) I know 7.62 is usually a bit cheaper, but .308 is readily available anywhere. I don't want to go with some crazy wildcat or mystic round.

Then comes the gun itself. Savages and Mosin's have come highly recommended as a cheap starting point. I'd consider an AR conversion, but don't want to sacrifice the one I have, and I'd think the cost of a loaded AR conversion would be pricier than a dolled up...anything else.
What do you guys think?

[Reverend Cooper]

7.62 ammo i in abundace,.308 is not hard to get,myself i would go .308 jmo

[BR3W CITY]

what would you pick for a base gun to work with? Kinda would like to build something with a bit of a modern look, but I'm ok starting with a cheaper gun and upgrading the furniture/optics and all that.

[That_Guy]

get a mosin and get a stock kit. there are so many parts and they come crazy cheap.

http://www.boydsgunstocks.com/FT-MOSIN-NAGANT-MBC-PL-F-p/400-258.htm

[That_Guy]

http://www.akfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97932

[hotrod96z28]

+1 on the mosin
http://i934.photobucket.com/albums/ad190/hotrod96z28/1123090749.jpg

[UnderPSI]

Armailite AR-10 and done

[Reverend Cooper]

Uh ya a ar10 308 game set match

[fivonut]

AR-10 style rifle is nice. Your looking at $1000+ to get into one. The savage and mosin are a cheap way to get into a longer distance gun. The 7.62x54 the mosin shoots is not as common az 308WIN/7.62NATO

I do build AR-10s as well.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

[Reverend Cooper]

but the AR10 will take his attachments as well,you gotta be happy with the build in the long run and not look at it as i got it cuz it was cheap and now it was a waste of money you could have put towards the right weapon.

[BR3W CITY]

I like the ar10 but I'd like bolt action. I looked at a Savage Axis in 308, for about 319 at Cabelas. I know with an AR you can just the the reciever which qualifies as the "gun" and piece the rest togther...can you do that with a bolt action? Can you buy the bolt/reciever itself and kit a gun round it? It seems like I've seen that with rem 700's etc.

[BR3W CITY]

and I say "Cheap" for the base gun, I want to do a full custom job, since thats the fun part for me. I see they have some really cool stocks for the savage guns, everything from "Sport" to "sniper" styles. I had seen a Savage 110 for $185 used a year ago but wasn't looking for one at the time. I have a hard time paying $500 for something that I'm only using a tiny but of.
Example; looked at the Savage Axis for $319....but would have to get the accutrigger seperate....then the stock style I like....then the heavy barrell etc.
I was hoping armslist might have a used savage for under $250-275 to start.

[Reverend Cooper]

get the remington bolt action then

[Mudd Runner]

Mosin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2M1hC4c0tc

[Russ Jerome]

6.5mm bullets are the flattest shooting, no arguments there.
Savage accu trigger/stock bone stock. 6.5x284, 6.5 Creedmore are a couple 1000yrd out of the box rounds.

[BR3W CITY]

I've seen the ammo, but went to 3 gun stores this weekend and didn't see anything in 6.5 in the savage's

Again, is it even possible to just buy a reciever/action and build it "kit" style like you can with all the AR stuff? I can find the stocks, barrels, and trigger assemblies all day long.

[350-Z28]

Send it to Gunsmoke their work is the best rofl. Personally with regards to ammo go .308, you can get good match grade ammo for $17 a box. I use Prvi Partizan 168gr BTHP match $17/box at cabelas, cycles my AR-10 excellent, consistent hits. Only had a couple problems with it with a primer falling out after firing, only happened with one bullet out of the 300 I've shot. Good brass to reload too.

[Old Dog]

A Savage 116 is a nice gun for the money. Stainless action, synthetic stock, muzzle brake & accu-trigger. Armslist has them starting at $345.

[BR3W CITY]

Any link on that?
I;ve been looking through armslist alot the past few days, but everyone wants STUPID money for what they have. Sig .22 mosquito for $50 more than NEW, and treated lke shit? wtf

I think I've spent more time flagging things as overpriced than I have actually finding decent guns.

[Old Dog]

Here's one in Illinois. Not sure if this one has a muzzle brake, but many of the magnum calibers do.

http://www.armslist.com/posts/331651/bloomington-illinois-rifles-for-sale-trade--savage-116-30-06

[BR3W CITY]

Thats actually not bad. I didn't know how it would work out of state.

[fivonut]

Thats actually not bad. I didn't know how it would work out of state.

They would have to ship it to a dealer in WI who would then transfer it to you. FTF sales across state lines is illegal.

[350-Z28]

They would have to ship it to a dealer in WI who would then transfer it to you. FTF sales across state lines is illegal.

Hippie liberal crap lol. I understand it to some extent but still kinda lame

[fivonut]

Hippie liberal crap lol. I understand it to some extent but still kinda lame

I agree. You'd probably never even hear a word if you did go and pick it up, but all it would take is for you to be the unlucky one and you'd find yourself facing federal charges.

[BR3W CITY]

how can they prove it? or that any of my existing guns which were ftf sales didn't come across state lines?
I don't want to poke the bear, but that doesn't mean I agree with the bear.

[fivonut]

how can they prove it? or that any of my existing guns which were ftf sales didn't come across state lines?
I don't want to poke the bear, but that doesn't mean I agree with the bear.

In Illinois guns are registered (I believe, I'm not 100% familiar with IL laws). There's a paper trail of ownership there. All it would take is a crime trace showing that the last known owner was an IL resident. That resident would have to provide information of the new owner which means they should provide a WI dealers name. If there isn't a WI dealer with that firearm in their books, you're busted. I don't agree with the bear either, and I also don't think the bear is smart enough to actually prove anything, but I wouldn't want to start that fight with it!!

[BR3W CITY]

fair enough. I'm guessing that if they came here to ftf purchase, then they would be in ownership of an un-registered gun, which down there is a crime. Makes sense.

[Reverend Cooper]

they dont the Fed's do and its mandatory prison time there is no plea bargaining,its not worth it

[Russ Jerome]

I've seen the ammo, but went to 3 gun stores this weekend and didn't see anything in 6.5 in the savage's

Again, is it even possible to just buy a reciever/action and build it "kit" style like you can with all the AR stuff? .

Cabelas had a 6.5x284 in stock 2 weeks ago, higher end model at $798. Gun was fluted, machined and beutiful.
http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae286/maseh2os/IMG_0445.jpg
No you can not bolt together bolt action guns, special headspacing and other tools required and those are specific to make.
Almost forgot to mention the NEF/ Handi rifles, break action and accurate. I have write ups on the Handi forums on mods to those guns.

[BR3W CITY]

I was just out there, didn't see that beauty! damn thats pretty sweet.
I'm gonna hit the show in Madison this weekend to see if I can find a nice used piece to start from as a base. (Russ, thanks for answering the "kit build" issue)

Hoping I can find something out there, if I can't find what I want for the money...I might just pick up a mosin and work on my shooting while I look for a better base in the cal's I'm interested in.

[Rocket Power]

The new Shooting Illustrated has an article about building a bolt gun.

[Rocket Power]

I've perused some threads on THR etc, and it seems like 7.62 and .308 are better choices in the 400-1000yd range (NO I don't claim to be able to hit a wall at a 1000yds, just a point of reference) I know 7.62 is usually a bit cheaper, but .308 is readily available anywhere. Which 7.62? x39,x54r,x51?

[GTSLOW]

:rolf from the thread linked above:

http://beckerpc.net/obrez.jpg

[That_Guy]

:rolf from the thread linked above:

http://beckerpc.net/obrez.jpg

I saw that and laughed pretty hard

[BR3W CITY]

Which 7.62? x39,x54r,x51?

Initially I looked at 39 until i realized what I was doing, once I checked out 54r, the price difference I saw wasn't exactly what I thought.

[BR3W CITY]

w00t gun show ftw. I was about to be pissed after driving to madison, and seeing an entire building of only old 7mm and beat 30-06 guns, or new shit all of which was overpriced....and I couldn't find a used savage in .308...and on the way out the door there back the backside of a vendor rack I hadn't seen. The guys had it setup so you'd have to be behind the table to even see it; they just didn't care. Ended up being a pawn shop, but they had a Stevens Model 200 (i think its the "varmiteer" version with the blackout bolt handle, sling points and rails on the action). Anyway, with about 20 min left before closing I lowballed them and within $10 we set a deal. Gun looked a bit dirty in the barrel and had some scuff marks on the stock.
We get it home to find out that the gun looks to be...never fired. No wear on the bolt face, no wear or suit at all on the blind mag. The barrel was dirty from sitting upright in a pawn shop, and 1 pass with hoppes it was clean as new. Ends up being a centerfeed gun, and from what I can find out looks to be no more than about 4 years old. Not bad at all

I'll toss up some pics, but we'll be doing a new stock setup, and converting it to run the extended drop out mags. I was going to rebarrel because I wanted something longer, but since this one is so clean I'll be keeping it as is for now. Need to get my optics mounted up as well, and see if my existing bipod setup will work with it.

Fwiw, I ended up with a like new (if not actually "new") gun and a box of ammo for nearly $100 LESS than the cheapest Savage/stevens on armslist.

[SSDude]

nice score!

[Coops Brother]

I have a slightly used Remington 700 SPS in 30-06, looking for $550.00 out the door. I can email pics if anyone is interested.

We'll be in Waukesha April 20-22

[BR3W CITY]

Thanks but in my last post I bought a new gun. Appreciate the offer tho.
Already have it ripped apart and waiting for a m5 drop mag kit. We are starting some work on a fiberglass custom stock; probably going to be WAY more work than its worth, but should be fun.

[BR3W CITY]

Got around to those pics. Ignore the sharpie marks on the stock, its getting changed out for a custom one, but we needed to mark some things to measure.
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n161/twowheeljay/Guns/004-1.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n161/twowheeljay/Guns/002.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n161/twowheeljay/Guns/006.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n161/twowheeljay/Guns/008-2.jpg


Picked up an M5 drop mag kit with a new aluminum trigger guard. Ordering a Whidders v-block to bed in the custom stock we are working on .
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n161/twowheeljay/Guns/IMAG0072.jpg