Building my first bolt gun.

[promod1385]

I am torn between a new bolt gun in 6.5Creedmor or a 260 Remington...

This will be my new SD hunting rifle and I was looking at a 308 but I dont think its suited as well to the longer range shooting we can encounter here. 243 was an early contender as well but barrel life is of concern to me.

What is everyone's input between 6.5Creedmor and the 260 Remington? This will be my first scratch build bolt gun and I am looking at a Savage action, Shilen barrel, and a Stockade gunworks stock.

[BC98]

I honestly haven't looked much into the 6.5 CM but my next (and first) bolt gun will be a .260 Rem. Federal (I work there) just released a Gold Medal .260 load and ballistics are very similar to 300 WM out to 1000m. I have plenty of .308 brass that can be converted as well for handloading. I though AR's and FAL's were expensive until I started looking into precision guns.

Good luck on your build.

[rugersol]

if I was gonna build a 6.5 bolt gun, it'd be 6.5-284 ... #1 reason? ... no reason not to!

... only reason I'd go Creedmoor 'er Remington is fer an AR!

[goalie]

The 6.5CM is everything the .260 should have been. They both are good, damn good, but the CM is a little better.

Barrel life is a reason not to go with a long-action case with more powder. And recoil. And weight.

Edit: you got me thinking, so I did some looking on-line. You know how they say that the test of one's intelligence is how much they agree with you? The guy writing this is smart.....

http://demigodllc.com/articles/6.5-shoo ... creedmoor/

http://www.accurateshooter.com/tactical ... mpetition/

[promod1385]

Shillen Heavy varmint in stainless/threaded for a break and later for suppressed use is my plan, I like the prairie dog stock from Stockade (my buddy the body man will be laying down some paint on it for me). I am only left to decide if I want the savage single shot action with the target accutrigger or a regular magazine fed configuration. I am leaning toward the mag set up as this will be primarily a hunting rifle and its a lot less money (more for ammo and reloading gear/components)

I was looking at the Redding stuff today and while the bushing style neck sizing dies sound sweet the $34 extra per bushing really drives the price up! I am thinking a set of the Hornady competition dies will be more than enough for me with the addition of a 6.5mm neck sizer.

[engnerdan]

The November Guns magazine just had a write up on a savage 6.5 Creedmore based on the precision action.

[promod1385]

The November Guns magazine just had a write up on a savage 6.5 Creedmore based on the precision action.

I dont typically read gun magazines. I might have to head out to Barnes and Noble tomm and see if I can find a copy. Thanks Dano!

[engnerdan]

The November Guns magazine just had a write up on a savage 6.5 Creedmore based on the precision action.

I dont typically read gun magazines. I might have to head out to Barnes and Noble tomm and see if I can find a copy. Thanks Dano!

PM me your email address and you can save the trip.

[HeadHunter]

Ok, Precision/custom guns can get very expensive.

First remember that you want to use this for a HUNTING rifle, now with that in mind if for some unforseen reason you need to get more ammo...well the 260 wins easy since you can find it at most sport shops.
Second, pick your barrel contour very carefully, an expensive precision rifle isnt worth much if you hate hauling it through the woods because its heavy as hell, trust me, I do use my rifles for hunting too and it sucks lugging a 15 pound rifle around, but hey....its my choice.

Third, a brake on a rifle that isnt going to recoil much and be primarily used for hunting is just asking for punishment, trust me...Ive done this and you will only do it once.

Ok, Ill quit counting....Anyway, you will be much happier with the mag version, dont cripple yourself with the single shot. The savage trigger is actually not too bad, Ive had many after market triggers and I really dont mind the Accutrigger if adjusted right (Ive got a couple). Now onto dies, Ive never used the hornady dies but I do have multiple sets of Redding Type-S bushing Competition Micrometer die sets and absolutely love them. The Titanium Nitride bushings make life easier. Also remember that when reloading, 308 brass is very easy to get....

If you want to cut a little cost on a stock take a look at the Bell and Carlson stock line...I used to think they were junk but after handeling one I
was impressed, especially for $200 for their tactical version that looks VERY close to the one you want. They do have an aluminum bedding block. They arent a McMillan but your not paying their price either....dont get me wrong, they are great and I love mine but they arent cheap. If the Bell & Carlson isnt what you like, take a look at HS Precision, $100 more and twice the stock.

Or I could just save you the wait and you can buy my 6Br Tactical! $3,000 and its yours! LOL The precision game gets very expensive, the last precision rifle I sold I got $8,500 for.....

Hit me up anytime you want for info...remember, these are my opinions and are by no means "the way it is"....ask around, ask those that have some of these items what they think of them, maybe ask if you can handle a stock or rifle. Before you buy a set of dies, ask if someone has a set you can borrow for a few days....sorry, I dont have either of the calibers of your choice right now....but I do have some 308 brass you are welcome to try converting to 260 if thats your choice....once you are ready to learn how to do that just let me know.

[sgruenhagen44]

.260!!! Cuz if you're like me you can sometimes get lazy and buy factory ammo from sporting goods stores and then you have brass to reload with as well.

[sgruenhagen44]

Not a long distance rifle shooter. Can some one inform me on barrell life? I just shoot and shoot some more. Never have considered this...

[promod1385]

.260!!! Cuz if you're like me you can sometimes get lazy and buy factory ammo from sporting goods stores and then you have brass to reload with as well.

You can buy Hornaday branded 6.5 Creedmoor too! Which really means nothing to me, as you know i dont buy factory ammo and for a precision long range gun like this I will want to buy brass in large lots to get the most accuracy from the gun not have a mixed bag of different brass. Midway lists 5 choices for 6.5 Creedmoor and 23 for 260. A lot of the 260 stuff is higher end ammo (Nosler, Corbon, etc..) and its super expensive! I don't foresee myself buying any ammo for this gun. I will be rolling my own and if I choose to buy factory ammo the Hornady stuff is really a bargain compared to most of the 260 offerings.

Here is a good thread discussing different calibers. Lots of good intel on barrel life too: http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthr ... ost1877441

Looks like the 6.5 barrel should easily last 1/3 longer than a hot loaded .243 set up.

Headhunter thanks for the info. I am looking at a Stockage Gun works stock in the "money saver" configuration, they have lots of good reviews and I have a body man buddy who owes me a bunch of favors he will handle finishing and painting it for me. I am pretty much set on the 6.5 Creedmoor at this point, I got the go ahead from the misses last night to order up an action so I will be on the phone tomorrow looking for a Savage repeater action in stainless.

[shooter115]

Hey Newt, hows the Dakota life treating you?

For a mag fed hunting rifle I would go with a Savage or Remmy 700. Both are kind of like the small block chevy of actions.... everyone makes parts for them and they are cheap to work on. The Savage is a lot easier to work on for the hobby enthusiast with the floating bolt and the fact you can change barrels without any machining due to the barrel nut. All you need is a barrel vise, the nut wrench and the appropriate go gauge to change the barrel. You can even look for a cheap Stevens action and put a trigger in it. Personally I like the one from Sharp Shooters Supply.

Caliber wise between the 6.5 Creedmore and .260, I would go with the 6.5. It's just a better cartridge, designed with technology not available when the .260 was introduced. If you wanted to go 6mm the 6BR cartridge is a real sweetheart.

For a barrel, Shillen while good, can be hit or miss. If you want a sure hit I would suggest looking at Benchmark barrels. Contour wise if you are going to cover any ground with this rifle I would't go any heavier than what's called the Savage factory varmint contour, probably even lighter and if it was me would have it cut at 24".

I would never put a brake on a hunting rifle just due to the noise. Even if you are one of the few that wear hearing protection while hunting (not counting prairie dogs), most likely the buddy next to you wont be and he's gonna be pissed when you touch one off. Suppressors are a different story you lucky bastard

The Stock you are looking at is nice, but I would skip the nice paint job on anything less that a strictly competition gun. Rattle can that baby and laugh when it gets scratched or chipped. Or like Headhunter mentioned some of the new B&C stocks are pretty nice for the cabbage. The money saver stocks are pretty rough when you get them and don't come with sling studs or a recoil pad. So you will have $300 or more in it before you're done, just something to keep in mind.

Dies... I like the Redding bushing size dies and Forster Micrometer Benchrest seater dies. Stick with good brass (ie Lapua) and with a little research most likely you'll only have to buy one busing for the sizer.

You've got my number, feel free to hit me up if you have any questions.

[engnerdan]

One other barrel company to consider, as I have a couple friends using them and nothing but great things to say is Criterion barrels.

http://criterionbarrels.com/

Since others are weighing in on there likes

Brass - Lapua
Sizing Die - Forster Bench Rest FL Sizer - I get the lowest neck runouts from this, my Redding bushing die can only come close. I have had .0005 runouts with this die, typical .0015, redding typical is .0015-.002. Plus its only about $30 and no $25 bushings to stock up on
Body Die - Redding
Seating Die - Redding Comp Seater

[farmerj]

barrel life will also depend on how fast your rate of fire is. Too fast, you can burn a barrel out rather quickly. Nice thing about a bolt gun.

You can get stupid accurate with little money. I bought a Rem 788 in .243 and it sucked. I pulled the action, pillar bedded it and floated the barrel, it would hold a dime at 100 yards all day long. It cost me $175 for the rifle and about $40 for all the material to pillar bed it.

I have a Savage Model 10 in .243 and a Stevens 200 in .30-06 that are showing the same traits. Just some fine tuning from factory. New laminated stocks from Boyd cost me $90 each, pillar bedding and stuff are now about $30 for me. I learnted the first time around. I'd use either rifle out to 800 yards easily if I could do my part.