My 7mm Rem Mag build

Okay so this is basically the start of something completely new and different for me. Around Christmas time I decided I needed to scratch my Magnum itch. Its been 3 years since I owned one, and I never should've sold it. It was a Weatherby Vanguard Stainless SUB MOA in 300 WSM. Had the super nice B&C black and gray spider web stock on it. Anyway, this is my first attempt at doing a build completely from scratch. So far I've acquired a 24" Varmint contour small shank barrel from an awesome forum member on here. I called Jim at Northland Shooters Supply originally just to purchase an action and the tools required to do a barrel swap. Long story short he talked me into purchasing a complete package rifle he had in stock that was chambered in 7mm Rem Mag already. So I got the rifle, the action wrench, barrel nut wrench, recoil lug and barrel nut all from NSS. Jim's a great guy, very happy with his service and he's a pleasure to deal with. So the accompanying pictures are basically all the BEFORE shots. The rifle is a Model 111 FXP4.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ject/image.jpg
http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ct/image_7.jpg
http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ct/image_1.jpg
http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ct/image_2.jpg
http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ct/image_6.jpg

My plans are as follows:
1) Sell barrel, stock and scope
2) Install and headspace 24" Varmint barrel
3) Purchase and install Bell and Carlson Medalist Sporter in Black and Gray Spider web
3) Mount, level and install Vortex Scope (undecided as of yet)
4) Shoot and proof the barrel, do load work up. Once barrel proves to be accurate
5) Send barrel and action to Hawk Hill custom and have muzzle brake installed and barrel Cerakoted matte stainless finish, action coated matte blue finish

That's where I'm at so far. Let me know what you guys think. I'll definitely have a ton of questions as I get further along. Obviously still in the beginning stages a the moment. I've been acquiring brass, bullets and powder. Haven't purchased dies yet though. I still need to contact PT&G to get the go/no go gauges, I've just been running out of cash lately lol God this is an addictive and expensive hobby.

#1 could prove to be troublesome but other than that it sounds like a nice build.

Thank you Stomp. Can't wait til I get further along with it. Yeah the barrel's gonna be tough. I have atleast 2 or 3 people at work that are interested in the scope believe it or not. The stock is gonna be tough too cause it's the cheap Tupperware version but hell I won't know til I try.

Well I've made some progress, not much but its a start. As of about a month ago, I sold the scope and rings that came off the rifle to a friend at work. I also purchased a Glades Armory bolt handle for my Model 12, of which I ended up swapping the handle off of it to the 7mm and really digging the contrast going on and plus the larger handle is an improvement over the factory small handle. Plus I think with the NSS stainless recoil lug and barrel nut on the blued varmint barrel it'll look even better. So I'm just posting pictures of how it sits as of right now. There'll be more updates coming, as I recently purchased my Bell and Carlson Medalist Sporter stock in black and gray spider web for it as of yesterday. That should be here this coming Friday, before which I'll try to get the barrel swap going so I could try and drop it in when the stock comes. I'll probably end up just throwing this factory stock in the recycling honestly. Anyway here it is.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/.../image_3_1.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/.../image_4_1.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/.../image_5_1.jpg

Just as a side note, I don't think I'll be taking pictures in the bedroom anymore lol The white and extra lighting really ruins the quality compared to my other pictures. Rant over.

I've built a couple of rifles with blued or matte actions and barrels, both have NSS barrel nuts and lugs, as well as stainless handles. I prefer the contrast myself also. I also went with the plated sear on one and it adds even more to the highlights.

I think your build is really going to look great when it's done. I did a 7mm mag build last year and settled on a 26" Criterion barrel from NSS in a light varmint contour. Had it bead blasted at Score High in Albuquerque. Took him 10 minutes and cost me $10....hard to beat that. If you go with a 24" in a heavy barrel it may be heavier than the 26" in a light varmint. I really like the light varmint contour. For me it was the best balance between the heavy barrel and the sporter.

Good luck with the project and keep the pics coming as you get along. :tea:

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Originally Posted by Hotolds442

I've built a couple of rifles with blued or matte actions and barrels, both have NSS barrel nuts and lugs, as well as stainless handles. I prefer the contrast myself also. I also went with the plated sear on one and it adds even more to the highlights.

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Yeah I think it's going to look good. My only worry is that my action has more of a shiny blued finish, while the varmint barrel I have has more of a matte blued finish. I think the NSS lug and nut will add enough to the contrast that it won't look bad, but I'll find out for sure when I get the barrel swapped on. I like the idea of the plated sear on the trigger Hotolds, I might look into that. Do you have any pictures of ones you've done so I could see what the lug, nut and sear look like against a blued/black action and barrel?

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Originally Posted by wbm

I think your build is really going to look great when it's done. I did a 7mm mag build last year and settled on a 26" Criterion barrel from NSS in a light varmint contour. Had it bead blasted at Score High in Albuquerque. Took him 10 minutes and cost me $10....hard to beat that. If you go with a 24" in a heavy barrel it may be heavier than the 26" in a light varmint. I really like the light varmint contour. For me it was the best balance between the heavy barrel and the sporter.

Good luck with the project and keep the pics coming as you get along. :tea:

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Thanks very much wbm for the kind words. I'll certainly be updating this post as I go forward with pics and such, as often as I can. The barrel I have is a factory 24" Varmint contour off of a 110FP that I purchased from a forum member on here. It measures .830 at the muzzle. Not truck axle like, but pretty stout. I still think I'll be able to keep the total weight with scope and bipod under 11lbs. Its certainly not going to be a lightweight rifle, but its not going to be my Model 12 precision rifle at 14+lbs either. I plan to actually carry this one around more often as it will be more of a dual purpose long range hunting/precision rifle. I wish I had the funds to be further along, but had to take a break for a lil while to recoup some cash. I'll be posting up pics of the barrel swap sooner rather than later, hopefully within the next week or two.

Sounds like an awesome project!

I'm doing something very similar with a 7mm WSM and the scope I have been using is this:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/178...ProductFinding

I couldn't be happier with it as a hunting scope- great glass, very clear and bright, easy to to shoot groups at 600 yards without the pointless bells and whistles you don't need on a hunting scope. If you get a chance check it out.

I just put together a 7mag blued action and barrel (take off from a member here) with stainless lug and nut...Ill try to throw a pic up tomorrow for you to see...I personally think it looks really good myself, I think youll like it.
Scooter

Here's a couple pics with the blued/stainless combo
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...psptwvq6ex.jpg
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...psozzm629n.jpg
I like the contrast myself.
Scooter

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Originally Posted by mattri

Sounds like an awesome project!

I'm doing something very similar with a 7mm WSM and the scope I have been using is this:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/178...ProductFinding

I couldn't be happier with it as a hunting scope- great glass, very clear and bright, easy to to shoot groups at 600 yards without the pointless bells and whistles you don't need on a hunting scope. If you get a chance check it out.

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Thanks for the recommendation. I'm def a fan of Vortex, especially their PST line. I've actually got a plan for my scope situation. My 4-16 PST with FFP MOA reticle from my model 12 is going on the 7mm Mag and I'm upgrading to a 6-24 PST with EBR-2C MOA reticle on the model 12. It's on layaway (in jail) at the moment. As soon as it's paid off I'll be making the switch.

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Originally Posted by scooterf79

I just put together a 7mag blued action and barrel (take off from a member here) with stainless lug and nut...Ill try to throw a pic up tomorrow for you to see...I personally think it looks really good myself, I think youll like it.
Scooter

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Originally Posted by scooterf79

Here's a couple pics with the blued/stainless combo
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...psptwvq6ex.jpg
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...psozzm629n.jpg
I like the contrast myself.
Scooter

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Yup I really dig it. Is your bolt jeweled Scooter or is it black? Hard to tell in the pic. I think my jeweled bolt is gonna help bring it together for sure. My only worry, like I said, is my action is glossy and my barrel is a matte finish. We'll see when I get it together. Yours def looks good though, well done.

I love the franken-gun look. It screams I AM A CUSTOM RIFLE.

My bolt is jeweled, I noticed it when I posted the pics, not sure what happened there but it is jeweled, when the weather clears up here I'll take it outside and snap a couple pics, it should show up better.
Thanks!
Scooter

Okay so I have sort of a happy and depressing, one step forward, two steps backward update. I did my first barrel swap on Thursday night at work. I swapped the 24" 110FP Varmint barrel onto my action with the NSS recoil lug and nut, using the NSS Action Wrench and barrel nut wrench. Also used my PTG go and no go gauges. I called Jim three times (twice for questions, once to thank him) during the process and he was more than helpful and very patient, not to mention it was pretty late in the evening and he answered the phone everytime which was awesome. Unfortunately, due to the fact I was doing it by myself, concentrating heavily and didn't want to make a mistake I wasn't able to document anything with photo's. I will say this, with absolute certainty, having the right tools and right gauges for the job made a stressful first time experience go very smoothly. Couldn't have done it without Jim. I was nervous at first but once I got the old barrel off and new barrel on it was smooth sailing after that. I'm very happy with the contrasting finishes, and although I was thinking of Cerakoting everything a matte finish I think I'm going to leave it. Here's some pictures of the rifle assembled in the factory stock, WITHOUT and barrel inletting which it desperately needs. That will happen this coming week hopefully.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...t/image_10.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...t/image_11.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...t/image_12.jpg

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Heres the depressing part. My B&C Medalist Sporter stock came in finally from Midway. Opened up the box all excited, looked great. Then I notice this. Kind of disheartening. Was willing to overlook it.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ct/image_8.jpg

Start to take the action out of the factory stock and set it in the B&C Stock. Here's where the problems start becoming extremely apparent. First off, when I removed my centerfeed magazine from the old stock and placed it into the new stock, it absolutely does not fit like its supposed to. Okay, so maybe its designed for a staggerfeed model, even though the listing on Midway made no mention of specifically what magazine design it was supposed to work for. Just that it was for a blind magazine. I thought, okay there's gotta be a way to fix that on Savageshooters somewhere, no biggie. Then I go to fit the trigger guard from the factory stock to the new one, its not even remotely close to fitting. Major clearancing needed to make it work. Okay thats strike two. THEN!!! I start tightening the action screws and low and behold I hear a click and the trigger locks up. Come to find out, the Accu-Trigger adjustment spring on the rear of the trigger group is contacting this block on the rear of the stock near the tang. You can see here in the picture where it was making contact.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ct/image_9.jpg

Absolutely ridiculous. The rifle is rendered useless as soon as its screwed into the stock with the action screws and that's FAR too many modifications needed for what's supposed to be a drop in stock. I expected to have to inlet the barrel channel since its designed for sporter weight barrels, but to have to modify the magazine well, the trigger guard and clearance the rear tang block in order for the trigger to operate is just ludicrous. Not to mention the blemish in the tip of the for-end. Long story short, I'm calling Midway on Monday and returning it. Washing my hands of it. Now I'm back to the drawing board as to what stock to choose. I'm probably just going to open up the barrel channel on the factory Tupperware stock just so I can shoot it and do some load work up. I did give a call to Kevin at Stockade and was contemplating going that route but they currently have a 7 month lead time they're so busy. Just in case anyone's curious how awesome it WOULD'VE looked, heres some pictures of it just laying in the stock.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/.../image_2_1.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/.../image_1_1.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/.../image_3_2.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/.../image_6_1.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/.../image_7_1.jpg

It never ends. Atleast the barrel swap went smooth and its ready to go now. I really had my heart set on this black and gray spider web color combo. I might just do a Boyd's Pro Varmint/Tacticool and spider web it the way I want. I don't know, my brain hurts right now I'm so frustrated. Sorry for the picture heavy post. To be continued.

The action bolt spacing is different on the stagger feed as compared to the center feed. If both bolts screw into the action easily while its sitting in the stock, it is correct for the action that you have. Inletting for the stagger feed magazine is longer. You may have the wrong trigger guard, not uncommon. I think you're on the right track sending it back, but on Midway's website, they do show the manufacturers part number which can be cross referenced on the manufacturers website.

Hotolds now that you mention it, it was quite a chore to even get the front action screw started. I didn't bother tightening any further once the trigger locked up. I didn't realize the action spacing was different from stagger to center feed in the long action. That, again leads me to believe this is a stagger feed stock. Also, when I was doing my research I couldn't seem to find any listing for the particular stock on B&C's website so I had no way of cross referencing it. That could've simply been my mistake tho as the website is kind of confusing last I looked. Either way, as I said it's not what I thought it was and it's getting returned. Whether that's my misinterpretation or Midways, I've gotta figure something else out. It would be so much easier if there were more options out there for long actions. Starting to wonder if I should just throw my goal of under 11lbs out the door and go with a Choate Tactical. I keep seeing nothing but positive input in them for what they cost vs the fit and performance. I'll have to start a new thread in the Help Me Decide section lol

Sorry, I got this thread confused with another. The action bolt spacing only differs on the short actions. The long actions are the same with the exception of the dreaded intermediate action.
Looking at the B&C website, the only long action Savage stock listed is for a stagger feed action. More trouble than it's worth trying to make it work by the time you fix that forend flaw.

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Originally Posted by Hotolds442

Sorry, I got this thread confused with another. The action bolt spacing only differs on the short actions. The long actions are the same with the exception of the dreaded intermediate action.
Looking at the B&C website, the only long action Savage stock listed is for a stagger feed action. More trouble than it's worth trying to make it work by the time you fix that forend flaw.

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Yes I agree. I did do some checking on their website and came to the same conclusion. Honestly, if it was simply a matter of making my centerfeed magazine work and fixing the blemish I'd probly be ok with it. But the Accu-Trigger group simply will not fit in this stock, I'd have to heavily clearance the area in front of the tang where it's making contact with the spring. On top of fixing the blemish, finding the correct trigger guard or making mine work, and opening up the barrel channel. Shame on me for not looking into it further and shame on Midway for not making the listing crystal clear. I noticed on a lot of their other listings for savage stocks there's a special note saying the stagger feed stocks will not work with the centerfeed rifles, yet no such mention of that wih this B&C stock. Go figure. On the positive side a coworker has an older stagger feed 110 30-06 that might be interested in purchasing it from me, I'll find out on Monday. It'd be nice to get the money back right away and not have to deal with the hassle of contacting Midway and shipping it back to them, then have to wait however long to get refunded.

Sorry for the giant gap in updates but my home computer has since keeled over as of last week and I've been crazy busy moving/purchasing reloading supplies to my work and practicing for a couple matches comin up at the end of the month and beginning of May. So to follow up with my last post I was in fact able to sell the incorrect B&C stock to a coworker and it fit his flat back action perfectly. I didn't lose any money accept the originally shipping cost which I'm okay with. That brings me to the stock I ended up going with after some phone calls and more research. I went with an HS Precision PST129 in black and gray spiderweb. Stocky's had the best price but that color was on back order so I called them and was told it wouldn't take longer than a month. Placed the order and received my stock in two weeks. I was very happy with that. What I was unhappy with was the action screws that were supposed to come with the stock, which I asked about twice, were no where to be found. I called and got less than stellar customer service, they said anything they would have there would be too long. So I ended up ordering action screws from midway for model 12 HS precision and they worked perfectly. Thanks to the excellent FAQ article on centerfeed bottom metal I was able to order the correct parts from Savage to convert my blind magazine to detachable. Very happy with how easily the parts went together and how nice it looks. Also the trigger guard style that this stock is designed for is the old style flat bottom without the tabs, so I stole the one of my BVSS stock and it worked perfectly and I think it helps tie in the other stainless parts. So as of last weekend it's done. I was only able to snap a couple pictures the other night, which aren't the best but they're better than nothing. The kitchen proved to be the only place with decent lighting for some reason. So here she is complete with my Vortex PST 4-16x50 FFP EBR-1 MOA reticle, Vortex Low precision matched rings, Warne Tactical steel 20 MOA base and my Triad Tactical stock pack. I took a couple pictures of thd palm swell too incase anyone is interested in purchasing this stock. It feels very comfortable for me, but some may not like it.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...t/image_17.jpg

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Nice build... I really like the stainless on black contrast too; adds some pop and flash. How do you like the Vortex PST? Looking at picking one up for my latest build and on the fence... have heard great things and horrible things

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Originally Posted by BarrelNuts

Nice build... I really like the stainless on black contrast too; adds some pop and flash. How do you like the Vortex PST? Looking at picking one up for my latest build and on the fence... have heard great things and horrible things

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Thank you much. Yeah I was surprised how much I like the contrast, I won't be changing anything until it needs a new barrel. I love my PST's, personally. This particular 4-16 that's on this rifle came off my model 12, it's 2-3 years old and was made back when Vortex was having some clarity issues with the 4-16 models, it looks perfect til about 12x then it starts getting a little rough. I only really noticed it after I purchased a new 6-24 PST for my model 12. They have since fixed this problem. Being an FFP scope I tend to park it on 10-12x anyway unless I'm measuring with the reticle. I did have an issue with the reticle twisting when turning the mag ring and the warranty service I received was second to none. They sent me extra zero stop shims, batteries, and a new sunshade as well as going over the entire scope and fixing the reticle issue. Had it back in less than a week. With all that said, my new 6-24 that's on my model 12 is amazing. It's crystal clear all the way to 24x and I have zero complaints with it so far. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase another one.