That’s a good action plus you can get prefit barrels for it
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Need advise on new bolt build.
- Thread starter greg vess
- Start date
They just redesigned it though.
I do too. I did the same thing with a 1,500 10 mm long siide. I didn't put that much into the Taurus. I paid a little over 300 for the gun and the spring kit was 26 bucks. The trigger job I did was nothing but time so all in I have maybe 350 in it. The long slide which was 1500 new I put about 400 in it. I had to hand fit every part with that one. Nothing was drop in about that gun. I bought it, took it home stripped it and then raided the Wison Combat and Ed Brown parts catalog. It has another 400 in that one. Actually that gun wouldn't even cycle when I bought it that's why I tore it down and redid it. Works perfectly now.
I think the Taurus lends itself the best for upgrades. It certainly beats a RIA 1911 on their best day. The Taurus has a lot more features on the gun to start with. Tisas aren't bad to do a job on but they cost more pre-owned for one with a good amount of features. I did a Tisas that turned out well but I gave it to my sister. It was in rough shape new. I had to smooth and polish every part of that gun before any parts went in. The cast parts were not refined at all.
I'm no expert but I've built 10 or so rifles for myself over the last 10 years & another 10 or so between my son. Not a gunsmith, just a joe with enough tools to be dangerous. That being said ever action I've ever built on ended up being more accurate than most factory rifles. Personally I attribute that to the better than factory barrels that go on the actions. Barrels like Brux, Black Hole, MGM / Preferred , McGowen, Criterion, Proof, BSF & Shilen to name a few. Some actions blueprinted, most not.
For the average to decent shooter a Savage action is nothing to rag on if you can live with the accu-trigger or the timney replacement trigger that goes with them. I started off building Savage nut guns and have a few that shoot in the .3s regularly (with handloads) The match trigger isn't to bad, but honestly once I shot a tuned Remington trigger and then a trigger tech I was never able to go back to shooting a Savage. Seriously consider what you like for a trigger but if you can put a trigger tech on it you'll be very happy you did.
You'll need to decide if you want to do the assembly yourself or not. If you want to do that then you have to decide if you can live with a barrel nut. That is usually the least expensive route because there are so many action options and It costs less than having a smith cut a barrel shoulder for you. On the flip side if you don't like a barrel nut then you can still get a prefit barrel for certain actions like Bighorn Orgin / Solus (and a few others) but then your action costs more. A shouldered prefit barrel is by far the easiest "home built" option but that limits your prefit barrel options. Plenty of barrel options out there, but do some research. The most common prefit that is head spaced is the Orgin/Solus that I know of right now. Actions like the Solus can take savage nut barrels or shouldered barrels. Make sure whatever action you pick, that you know what the thread pitch is! A remington, bergara, or weatherby action takes different barrel threads than a savage and a tikka is different yet. Also some actions come with an integrated lug and some do not. Read up on that especially if you want shouldered barrels.
Assembly for a prefit shouldered & headspaced barrel includes an action wrench and barrel vice.
Assembly for a variable shouldered / savage / remage barrel with a nut includes an action wrench and the nut wrench that fits the type of nut you put on it. There are several options but most look like the savage with the lines cut into the nut where the wench goes. Some look like a regular nut and assemble with a crowsfoot. Some are custom like the one that comes with a solus action.
Both types of assembly require a foot pounds torque wrench and go / no-go gauges to be safe.
I'm sure there are plenty of videos out there demonstrating assembly of different actions. Watch a few different ones from reputable places. I know Brownells, Ultimate Reloader and others have gunsmithing videos. Plenty of yahoos out there too, but be a little careful because messing it up can be dangerous.
Good luck, it is very rewarding to build your own gun. Be safe, maybe find someone who has done it and ask lots of questions before getting started.
For the average to decent shooter a Savage action is nothing to rag on if you can live with the accu-trigger or the timney replacement trigger that goes with them. I started off building Savage nut guns and have a few that shoot in the .3s regularly (with handloads) The match trigger isn't to bad, but honestly once I shot a tuned Remington trigger and then a trigger tech I was never able to go back to shooting a Savage. Seriously consider what you like for a trigger but if you can put a trigger tech on it you'll be very happy you did.
You'll need to decide if you want to do the assembly yourself or not. If you want to do that then you have to decide if you can live with a barrel nut. That is usually the least expensive route because there are so many action options and It costs less than having a smith cut a barrel shoulder for you. On the flip side if you don't like a barrel nut then you can still get a prefit barrel for certain actions like Bighorn Orgin / Solus (and a few others) but then your action costs more. A shouldered prefit barrel is by far the easiest "home built" option but that limits your prefit barrel options. Plenty of barrel options out there, but do some research. The most common prefit that is head spaced is the Orgin/Solus that I know of right now. Actions like the Solus can take savage nut barrels or shouldered barrels. Make sure whatever action you pick, that you know what the thread pitch is! A remington, bergara, or weatherby action takes different barrel threads than a savage and a tikka is different yet. Also some actions come with an integrated lug and some do not. Read up on that especially if you want shouldered barrels.
Assembly for a prefit shouldered & headspaced barrel includes an action wrench and barrel vice.
Assembly for a variable shouldered / savage / remage barrel with a nut includes an action wrench and the nut wrench that fits the type of nut you put on it. There are several options but most look like the savage with the lines cut into the nut where the wench goes. Some look like a regular nut and assemble with a crowsfoot. Some are custom like the one that comes with a solus action.
Both types of assembly require a foot pounds torque wrench and go / no-go gauges to be safe.
I'm sure there are plenty of videos out there demonstrating assembly of different actions. Watch a few different ones from reputable places. I know Brownells, Ultimate Reloader and others have gunsmithing videos. Plenty of yahoos out there too, but be a little careful because messing it up can be dangerous.
Good luck, it is very rewarding to build your own gun. Be safe, maybe find someone who has done it and ask lots of questions before getting started.
BTW: I've had pretty good luck ordering from: https://northlandshooterssupply.com/ They have savage, solus, & big horn actions. They also have a few barrel actions.
Here is a video from Ultimate Reloader that just came up in my feed today that shows a bunch of tools:
He shows some simple tools & some fancy pants tools. Keep in mind he's a gunsmith. Us DYI guys don't need anything more than the basics. Typically we will only do a few different types of actions at most. I've got stuff for Savage, Remington, & Solus.
Another options is get to know someone who has the gear & let them help you the first time or two before you buy the tools you need to do multiples.
Here is a video from Ultimate Reloader that just came up in my feed today that shows a bunch of tools:
Another options is get to know someone who has the gear & let them help you the first time or two before you buy the tools you need to do multiples.
I’d use the 700 action your father left you, can’t take it with you when you go. It’s still the gun your father left you, you will think of him when you use it. Good luck!
I know I have mixed emotions about that. But that 30-06 shoots so good I hate to mess with it. I have a guy up here that has a complete gun shop in his basement. He even has a five axis of CNC machine down there this guy's no joke he is the real deal when it comes to gunsmiths. He'll take a Remington 700 action true up the face of it and rethread it. He also welds the lugs onto the bolt and then turns it back down to regular spec. From what he said those lugs are just braised on there. I think he charges three or $400 to do that. But I do understand that converting that rifle to a different one would be a good way to come out on the cheaper end of the deal that's for sure. Cuz I want a 65 PRC in that long action is exactly what I need for it. That guy cut me a real good deal on trueing up the action and then I could spend a good bit of money on a barrel 700, 800 or 900 bucks on a good proof research Barrel. Maybe a Hart or Craddock Precision.
If you are going to go with a barrel nut (Remage / Variable shoulder) I'd personally skip the $400 to blueprint the action and just screw on a quality barrel, headspace it correctly, and start load development (or finding ammo it likes) My son & I have several factory 700 actions that shoot in the .5's (5 round groups or more on a regular basis, not just the one magical group most people show that was an anomaly) For any kind of hunting that is simply good enough out to reasonable distances. Nothing wrong with a gun being built to the highest standard possible, but good percentage of us will never actually benefit all that much or be able to tell the difference between a blueprinted action and a factory action sporting a high quality barrel, a decent trigger, and a solid stock from a blueprinted action.
If you're planning on doing bench rest shooting or other long range competition shooting by all means go all in if you want to. Guess I'm saying define your goals for the gun and make a decision based on that vs based on what could be. I'm not buying a lambo if a S2000 or a BRX will do the job.
Another consideration with blueprinting and recutting threads is that you'll need to order special threaded barrels and you probably could never put the original barrel back on. If you just build it with a Remage barrel, down the road you can put the rifle back to original if you want.
I've never heard that R700 lugs are brazed on, but I can say for certain that I've never had a problem even with hot 300PRC loads on a factory bolt & action.
