The "Jack" Rifle

[mjs408]

I am currently working on putting together a Jack of all Trades rifle. Currently it is only a Stevens 200 action from NSS. Plans are as follows.

Action: Stevens 200 from NSS with a EGW Base
Stock: Stockade Woodchuck or Manners MC-T3 both with CDI bottom metal.
Barrel: Something in the 22 or 24 inch range with a brake in either 6.5 Creedmor or 260 Remington (Haven't decided on what to do yet)

The purpose of the rifle is to do it all, From punching paper and steel to shooting all manner of critters from Prairie Dogs to Mule Deer.
As you can tell I am not very far into this build, but plan to do everything I can myself, bed,barrel. If I can find a spider or 4 jaw for the rear of the lathe, I plan to cut to length, crown and thread it for a brake.

I am currently looking for information on how to time and true an action myself.


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[stomp442]

Well for a do it all I think you got the caliber right. Wouldn't even mess with a break as both calibers have light recoil already.

[txbdyguard]

My 260's recoil is almost non existent. Brakes make allot of noise. And the Stevens 200 is a great action.

[mjs408]

The need for a brake is more of a want than a need. (cool factor) As far as caliber, I am leaning towards 260 rem. as I will always be able to neck down 308 if factory 260 becomes scarce someday.

[Txhillbilly]

While I don't find any "cool factor" in a muzzle brake,it's your rifle.
I have a DPMS LR-260,and really like the 260 Remington caliber. I make all my brass from 243 Winchester brass. I have a 6.5 Creedmoor barrel,brass,dies,but haven't put it on an action yet. My 7mm-08 barrel showed up first,so I put it together.
Either caliber will be great,but the 6.5 will alow you to shoot the longer Match bullets while remaining to stay magazine length.

[txbdyguard]

I have had both 7mm-08 and 260 and prefer my 260. Loading some Hornady 95 gr for pigs

[mjs408]

I am hoping to build a brake similar to a Badger FTE. Although I don't have to have one. I want to thread the muzzle and machine the brake to prove to myself I can do it. See at one point in my life bout 12 years ago I was enrolled in a machinists program at the local Community College while I was a Senior in High School. I scrubbed out mainly due to rectal-cranial inversion. So a lot of this is getting back into the swing of running a mill and lathe, something I enjoyed doing but was suffering from that terrible disease. If I dont like it, machining a thread protector on a lathe is rather simple.

[mjs408]

We dont have pigs in North Iowa yet. They are in Southern IA, but I dont know anywhere own there to hunt them. I would love to go on a pig/varmint hunt. Currently I have a bunch of 95gr Sierra Varmint bullets that have been hanging out in my grandmothers basement for 20 plus years. Plans are to have a 95gr bullet load and data and a 120-123 gr bullet load and data to cover most of my bases.

[BoilerUP]

22" light varmint contour in either caliber...

[mjs408]

22" light varmint contour in either caliber...


I plan on using a Criterion Barrel, which I notice in your sig that you have to of in varmint contour. I had planned on Varmint, why do you suggest light Varmint. Do you have a photo of your barrel in profile or in the stock.

[BoilerUP]

My 260 is a 26" varmint contour Criterion; my 223AI is a 22" light varmint Criterion.

My 260 is destined to become a multi-purpose rifle much like you are proposing, so I plan on either cutting the barrel back to 20-22" or selling it and rebarreling with a 22" light varmint barrel.

The 22" LV handles like a dream, weighing roughly 1.25lb less than a 26" varmint contour barrel while still being plenty stout.

Here are some pictures of the light varmint barrel in a McMillan A5 inletted for a bull contour barrel. I thought I'd need to bed the barrel channel, but I think it looks just fine.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c381/avboiler11/IMG_1363.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c381/avboiler11/IMG_1366.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c381/avboiler11/IMG_1367.jpg

[Txhillbilly]

BoilerUP,That's a **** good looking rig you have there.

[mjs408]

BoilerUP, That was the profile I was thinking of. I figured it as Varmint not Light Varmint, I guess Light Varmint is what I am looking for.

[BoilerUP]

BoilerUP, That was the profile I was thinking of. I figured it as Varmint not Light Varmint, I guess Light Varmint is what I am looking for.

This might help:

http://criterionbarrels.com/ProductPages/IMAGES/Savage%20Contours.pdf

[BoilerUP]

Also let me add that I shot the 223AI today, and when I got home I decided to clean it for the first time. I had 170 rounds down the bore, and absolutely no formal break-in.

It took 10 total patches to clean, and that includes two dry and one RemOil at the end...very little copper in the barrel.

[bootsmcguire]

mjs408, I can speak highly of the Criterion Barrels. Mine shot a .321" 5 shot goup within the 1st 25 shots down the tube and just like boiler's it holds no copper. I understand your need for a do-it-all rifle (being a Southern Iowa native myself) and I think you are on the right track. I opted for the 243AI over the 260 just because 55gr bullets over 4000fps are just cool, and I have yet to see a deer hit with a 80+gr 6mm bullet that when placed decent doesn't just fold up and fall over.

Being a machinist myself I understand the need for the brake. I have one on a 22-250 vamint barrel, just because. I wanted to see how well it would work, and it worked well enough that I could watch PD hits through the scope out past 500 when I took it out west this past summer.

Also, I have yet to see or hear about one of these mysterious "Pigs" you speak of being around down here. I know the DNR says there are some but it must be a very small number since those things breed like mice I would think they would be everywhere by now.

Good luck with your build.

[txbdyguard]

I agree Criterion barrels are the best I have ever used on a Savage. Best deer caliber for drop dead in their tracks is a 30-30. Trust me I own 165 acres and pigs will mess a place up bad. I shot at one this week was 500 yards out. They don't hang allot anymore since I turned the feeders off.

[mjs408]

Thanks for the info on the criterion barrels. I was referencing the DNR statements about pigs in IA. I dont have any first hand knowledge of them. After this rifle is done I hope to do a 223AI/22-250, turn the heat up so to speak.

[Cavitation]

Hello gentlemen, This is my first post here. Thought I might throw in another curve to consider. Ever consider a Flash hider? Or a comp/flash hider? Not as lgnorrant on the ears as a compensator but they work well. I am a fan of the "A2" style you find on AR15s. It sounds like your building a very functional rifle for my area of use as well.

AL

[bootsmcguire]

Thanks for the info on the criterion barrels. I was referencing the DNR statements about pigs in IA. I dont have any first hand knowledge of them. After this rifle is done I hope to do a 223AI/22-250, turn the heat up so to speak.

Go 22-250AI if you are going to go for a fast 22cal with minimal fuss. If you want barn-burner speeds, the 243AI or 6mmRem-AI would be the way to go. I shoot 58gr V-Max's out of my 243AI at over 4000fps and I could push them faster if I choose. Accurate and very flat. When sighted for 100yds I have less than 6" drop to 400yds. Point and shoot on coyotes. If you wanted something a tad different a 222 Rem Mag in standard or AI would be neat.

As far as the pigs, I think the DNR had a report of a couple of them in South-Central Iowa a few years ago and were telling outdoorsmen to shoot on sight, to try and stop them from getting a foothold here in our state. Must have worked 'cuz I haven't heard any complaints about them.