advice on building a stevens rifle for hunting/longer range accuracy

[logic factory]

caveat: albeit i offer some specific details about the weapon i want to build this is not to say i am dead set. i am receptive to logical arguments about changes to the crudely proposed plan below. if for some reason it is not apparent, just about all the details of this endevour are green to me. the few exceptions being the fabrication involved; although i may have never done it i am comfortable with most tools and have watched several videos to help familiarize myself with potential projects; i.e. bedding action, possible modifying stock for dbm or floating barrel. i also do not need anyone wasting their time reiterating any opinions they have offered before, if you can find me a link, please provide it, as i will read it. after i am finished with the literature, if for some reason i still have questions i will ask them in the appropriate forum.

first and foremost i am looking to make a great shooting weapon that i feel confident in shooting out to beyond 400 yards at some point. this rifle will predominantly be used to harvest deer but i enjoy trying to improve my marksmanship and will spend the time necessary to understand the ballistics of a .270 win better than most; relative to the entire hunting community not this elite group. i will likely shoot a hornady superformance 130 grain bullet for deer when longer shots may be present but with budget in mind i will likely use some less expensive ammo for more typical sub 200yard shots. i may hand load later down the road if this hobby takes off like others i have created time for.

i will accept the compromise of added weight from barrel length and size to be able to shot out to the ranges that test a rifleman skills. at this point i was thinking a 26" barrel in the common 10 and 1 rifling. i would consider using this round to shoot just about anything else friends may want a buddy to go along for a trip on; i.e. varmints. anyone recommend a good barrel for 350 or less that can meet my criteria? if one is much better than other options i can likely increase the budget for a barrel.

i will buy an aftermarket trigger. seem to have read some good things about the sav-2 for about 130 dollars. can anyone endorse any other less expensive options that can still improve the potential accuracy better? in the 100 range.

i am not to concerned about the stock, if i can not sell mine i will consider altering it or worse case i have seen a couple that i would not mind purchasing; budget here is maximum of around 200. the overall budget may be able to tap into the potential money from selling the stock barrel and stock. seems like people can get about 75 dollars for these components.

my overall goal for cost of rifle sans optics is 800 like many other build threads i have read. i can accept a little more but would like to if at all possible adhere to the best bang for my buck policy. again, i am willing to compromise my budget if it can be justified.

i will look back at my notes from last nights research about witch rings and rails to run. i do not understand this 20 moa rail i have read. i understand what moa means but am having a difficult trying to see how that does relate to the site rail. any budget conscious solutions you would recommend for rail and rings?
this was taken from another thread"The EGW base and Burris rings are a great budget buy" i will look into these.

i will spend more time thinking over the wealth of information i have feasted my eyes on in the last couple days. any advice is welcome and thank you for your time.

[dcloco]

Trigger - I have two of the Jard brand triggers and love them. These triggers come with a difference sear/bolt release that changes the geometry that helps quite a bit. VERY smooth trigger...cost is $85.

Caliber - I am going to offer advice on caliber. Unfortunately, there is not a plethora of 277 diameter bullets available to choose from. At the minimum, I would recommend a 284/7mm or 30 caliber. The bullet selection quadrupled if the 284 selected. ...and 100x for the 30 caliber.

Go heavy for caliber - 284/7mm - 162 to 175 grain. 30 caliber - 180's are ok, 208's are a LOT better. Buy the barrel that will support shooting the highest BC and SD of the bullet in the caliber that you plan to build.

If you want to reach out past 1200 yards, you have to graduate to a 275 to 300 gr 338 bullet. 300 gr reach to 2K yards with ease in a properly set up 338 RUM or 338 Edge chamber.

Rings/bases....

I prefer two piece picatinny/weaver style on long actions. Opens up the top of the action when loading or removing spent cases/loaded rounds. Otherwise, your fingers just don't fit with a one piece rail. I prefer the Burris 2 piece bases - they are steel. Bed the bases or rail to your action with Devcon/etc....it is the details that count.

I DO like one piece rails though...and would not turn one down. EGW makes an excellent product...there are several at my house.

20 MOA - raises the rear of the rail or rear scope base 20 moa. This allows your scope to be dialed in at 100 yards at the bottom of the scope's internal adjustment range....allowing you to be able to utilize more of the internal adjustment of your scope to dial up to long yardage. Otherwise, you will run out of scope adjustment before being able to dial up to the longer yardages.

I almost exclusively run Burris Signature Zee rings. For nothing else, the plastic inserts don't mark up your scope tube. I would not turn down Leupold Mark 4 rings or Burris Tactical - both are heavy rings designed for heavy duty use and high recoil.

[dcloco]

Forgot to mention....accuracy lies in the quality of the barrel, optics, trigger, reloading/bullet/load workup, you, and PRACTICE.

Buy your Stevens action, sell the stock/barrel, buy an aftermarket barrel, base, rings, trigger, and reloading components....and have fun.

You should easily be at or under your $800 target price as you indicated.

[Werewolf]

The longest poke I have taken with a 270 at a deer was 302 yards. I was shooting out of a stock 22" barrel with winchester supreme factory ammo loaded with nosler accubonds. I aimed about 6" high and drilled him, ran 25 yards and piled up.

270 is a great deer round, and an easy to find classic in factory ammo, but the bullet choices are limited to a certain degree as mentioned above. The bullet in the story above was 130 grains, that factory barrel wouldn't shoot 150s worth a flip.

If I was going to build one I would go with at least a 24" barrel

a Jard trigger may be too light for hunting, I have used timneys (~$100) with success on my hunting rigs to get a 2-3 lb pull, but this depends on your style of hunting.

20 moa bases are needed to go really long range, but out to 300 or so you shouldnt need one, I have been putting DNZ one piece bases (~$50) on hunting rigs. I love them. They are rock solid and fit the reciever well, and don't get in the way too much.

I think you will be able to put together a first class hunting rig and stay in that budget

[psharon97]

As others have said, the bullet selection for both 30cal and 7mm is much greater than that for .227. I would go with either of these rounds. If you're looking for a round that is very common on the shelves of most any store, go with rounds like 7mm-08, 7mm rem mag, 308 winchester, 30-06, or 300 win mag. All of these rounds can easily take deer out beyond 400 meters.

Barrel Length: I would choose either 24" or 26" in varmint contour. The barrel will be a little thicker than a sporter barrel, whats on most rifles, but not as think as most target rifles.

Stocks are plentiful depending on the type of action you have. You can choose something like Choate UV, Bell and carlson duramax stock or any other stock.

Trigger: i personally like the SSS competition trigger. You will have to get a lot of trigger time behind this trigger, because it is very light. But the quality is outstanding. Hope this helps ya out a little.

[ellobo]

For hunting here is my 2 cents worth. Those expensive triggers that can get down to super low pull wgts are useless for hunting which I assume is what you want this rifle for. A Timney will work very well. For relatively inexpensive but very nice stocks in laminate or walnut I am about to buy a Boyds Prairy Hunter stock for around $100 bucks and use the $50 checkering option. I like nice wood but the aftermarket fibreglass and molded ones will work. Just make sure your barrel and tang are free flaoted. As has been said, reloading th 270 due to little bullet selection is a problem. You may want to go with a 7mm of some sort. Depepnds on if you have a short or long action. When ordering a barrel get a rate of twist best for the bullets you will use. 2 different barrels, one for a long range cartridge and one for a shorter range cartridge and swap to meet your needs is an option. In which case the 20MOA mount is a good deal. In the 2 barrel swap option you have the option to go with a .30-06 and a 7mm magnum, or in a short action a .7mm-08 and 7mmshort magnum or any combo you feel comfortable with. You have your requirements figured out very well and a lot of good info above. Good luck

El Lobo

[r29l20]

First off your .270 choice is fine. If you what to build one that's great, or you could just look through the Savage catalog, and pick the one you like. Other than having a flaw or something, any one will shoot M.O.A. most will shoot a lot better than that. Don't be afraid to get a thinner profile barrel eather, they are just as accurate as any. If you are shooting high volumes of ammo, and heating up the barrel a heavy barrel would be better.

[gotcha]

Logic, Welcome to the forum! You've gotten some great & in some cases hard earned advice. You mentioned this would be a new hobby. Have you considered recoil? The .270 & larger bores can be pretty hard kicking. Some of us (me included) don't care for massive recoil. You may want to visit a local range & politely ask if you could shoot one of those .270 & up rifles. The majority of shooters would be happy to accomodate. It's a brotherhood thing. Videos & how-to books just can't explain how punishing large cartridges w/ heavy bullets can be ;D Not sayin' you can't hack it. But some of us are more recoil sensitive than others. If you're burning up lotsa ammo refining shooting skills it's something you should consider. A lot of shooters stay in practice w/ .22lr & similar. Hate to see you develope a flinch right from the get-go. That's how I started & it took me some time to recover. Good luck w/ your build, you'll find all the help you need right here. Dale

[logic factory]

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thank you for sharing your knowledge and time.
before i went to work today i was able to read you post and thought about it a lot over the several hours i worked. i was difficult to wait till i could get home and do additional research. this is exactly what i have been doing for the 5+ hours today. thank you for answering the 20 moa sight rail question; makes complete sense now. ill also look into any potential loading issues a solid may have with the particular action i rest on; as apposed to a 2 piece.
this next part ill quote because i find it as great advise, not to take away from anything else you offered; "Buy the barrel that will support shooting the highest BC and SD of the bullet in the caliber that you plan to build."
this advise has consumed much of my time today.
unless i see a reason to consider other rings i will adpot your recommendation on the burris zee rings.

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thank you for the reply.
after reading another positive post about the 270 win it spends more time in my mind. i will say with my most resent research it is becoming easier to part ways but still hard. =/ possible similar to the bitter sweet feeling parents have of their child leaving the house.
your concerns about the trigger have been observed in other posts i have read as well. i will continue to look into this and also try to at some point feel what a lighter trigger does for me.

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thank you for your response.
you may be happy to find out how much i am now considering a couple 7mm options. i will most certainly run a 26" barrel and am happy to now understand the distinction between a varmint and target barrel.
the choate makes a couple stocks i can live with and have not made up my mind here either as i want to understand the processes of altering actions for different actions more and also looking into other cartridges. after i feel more comfortable with these topics i will spend more time one picking the stock.
that sss comp trigger i think was the one i found for 140ish and i may entertain it more at a later time; for similar reasons i just mentioned. i am not sure i will be able to appreciate the refinement of this trigger and can put the money saved into some other aspect of this avocation.

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thank you for the advise.
your sentiments about triggers are coming home to me and the fact i can save some money is a nice pill to swallow, too. the stock you are considering is one i saw a couple nights ago. i kinda like a ross featherlight thumbhole myself in a couple different colors. as i mention above this decision had been put on the back burner for now.
between your post and others i now will not make the mistake of just buying some arbitrary 26" barrel i will make sure it compliments the bullet well; seems like the bullets i have spent some time looking at prefer 1 and 8(140gr 6.5)
i have to look into the free floating of the tang as this is the first i have heard and upon first inspection google images shows an image that appears the "tang" is in a spot i have seen people bed in their actions. as i mentioned in my first post, this pastime is mostly new to me and i will get to the bottom of this confusion.
i also address another part of your post about long and short actions in my last thoughts in this post.

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thank you for the response.
i will try and make a good compromise on barrel weight to accommodate what i will do most the time; i.e. single shoot but still handle heat from several shots without to erratic bullet flight. im guessing the quickest i may put 2 shots down range would be in an scenario i miss a shot and have a second one on a game animal. i may even look for data of how many shots a typical barrel in xx thickness handles a similar round before bullet accuracy is impaired enough the shot should be abandoned. this is another element to the build that still needs more research but has taken a back seat.

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thank you for sharing your concerns.
after reading your post and one about how efficient the 7mm saum cartridge lends it self great velocity at reduced recoil. i have read about how others have helped reduce the recoil of their rifles and if i make a decision i regret i have some contingency plans to possible help bail me out.
in your opinion if you have shot a .264 wm how does it far against other popular long range cartridges? what gr bullet and any additional information about your combo that suggest a role it played on the recoil; e.g. butt pad, overall weight of weapon, muzzle break?

caveat: my updated thoughts.
new research has me liking the following cartridges; in 7mm/.284 the 7mm saum and .284 win, and in 6.5mm/.264 the .264 wm and 6.5-284. the edge at this time is in the 6.5mm line(specifically the wm) and i am trying to remain open to other rounds to but am finding it difficult. i like the idea of the more manageable recoil and have found a potential bullet i would load in that caliber if i choose it; berger 140 vld.
i have begun to accept the notion i will likely be handloading sooner than i had intended but hope the caliber i choose has reasonable factory ammo that can hold be over the first season i have the gun so that i can wait to budget budget all the equipment one needs if they want to be successful with handloading.
the next step i see in this process is for me to better understand what actions i will need for each of these calibers and any additional parts i will need to allow a stevens action to cycled the respected caliber that will likely be different than what it was originally chambered in.
at this point the only thing semi-permanent is to get a stevens action provided it can adapted over one of the aforementioned cartridges i have listed in this post.
again thank you for all the time you have shared with me so far and i will continue to share what i am thinking with hopes of making the best informed decision i can.

[Ray Gunter]

quote "new research has me liking the following cartridges; in 7mm/.284 the 7mm saum and .284 win, and in 6.5mm/.264 the .264 wm and 6.5-284. "

Dont forget the 280 Rem. My favorite 7mm in a 06 case

[handirifle]

quote "new research has me liking the following cartridges; in 7mm/.284 the 7mm saum and .284 win, and in 6.5mm/.264 the .264 wm and 6.5-284. "

Dont forget the 280 Rem. My favorite 7mm in a 06 case

+1 for the 280.

The case is actually slightly greater capacity than the '06 but recoils less, based on my personal experience with it. WAY more bullets available for it than the 270. Ammo is available, but not as plentiful as a 270, but when you do get into handloading, that becomes a non issue.

The 280 will give you about 90% of the 7mm Mag performance with about 60-70% of the recoil. I have shot quite a few rounds through both and the 280 does not punish you like the magnums do.

On the subject of hand loading, and bullets, I noticed you mentioned using different bullets for longer range. My advice is to do like my friend with his 300 WM. He uses one load, for everything. It is a 180gr bullet, close to 3000fps. He has taken deer at 150 and antelope at 500 with the same load. His rationale, is he knows exactly where this bullet will land at a given range, and will expand at any distance he can hit them with it.

[scooters45]

For me I would go with a .280 AI. Finding ammo is a little more difficult but it's worth it. You can still shoot factory ammo. If you reload it comes into its's own light.

I stoned my trigger and dry fired it a bunch and have it down to 3 1/4 lbs. Myself thats as light as I like for a hunting rifle.

I have a DBM rifle and that makes stock choices a bit more difficult but I'm working on it.

I'm using Conetrol mounts and rings. They are designed more for the hunter than tactical setups.

[earl39]

i have to look into the free floating of the tang as this is the first i have heard and upon first inspection google images shows an image that appears the "tang" is in a spot i have seen people bed in their actions. as i mentioned in my first post, this pastime is mostly new to me and i will get to the bottom of this confusion.

when you see pics of the tang being bedded it is a Remington or a Remington clone type action and not a Savage action. Remington has an action screw in the tang where Savage does not which can place a Savage action in a bind if the tang is bedded. With a really rare exception a Savage action will shoot better with a floated tang.

[JCalhoun]

Logic;

Check out the Savage Model 111 Long Range Hunter in .25-05 or 6.5-284.

[wbm]

PM Sent. Something that might interest you.

[stangfish]

Best thread I have seen in a long time....and yes, I am easily intertained.

[logic factory]

Dont forget the 280 Rem. My favorite 7mm in a 06 case

thank you for the recommendation.
i have spent some time looking at this cartridge the last couple days and if i want a quicker introduction into this sport i may pause for more consideration. what i mean by this is, if i build a rifle and want to shoot right away the ability to find factory ammo is a huge benefit. some of the other cartridges i have been looking at are almost exclusively hand load only. than i have to factory in the start up cost of this and i do not want to start making compromises on parts that i will regret later down the road. e.g. find out the reloading equipment will cost 600+ dollars and then skip out on optics. i will share my tentative plan for this at the bottom.

...My advice is to do like my friend with his 300 WM. He uses one load, for everything.

this was great advice that i quickly accepted. one of the few parts of this build i have just about locked in is the type of bullet i will load; berger 140 vld for a 6.5mm or the berger 180 vld for a 7mm. things will become to dynamic in my mind if/when a long shot comes and i am thinking of extra data that does not directly translate to the shot i am trying to execute; i.e. shooting 2 different bullets and thinking about how the other bullet that is not loaded would react under current conditions or accidentally confusing the data, emotions impair judgement.

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thank you for the suggestions.
i did look at several of the ai influenced cartridges these last couple days and if i decide to defiantly go 7mm i will seek more opinions.
your results with the reduced trigger pull coincides with what i have read. with my propensity to not leave anything alone there is a great chance i will attempt to reduce mine and see if it is acceptable before i commit the 85+ dollars on an aftermarket option.
i will look into those mounts and rings also.

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understood. thank you for the enlightenment.

Check out the Savage Model 111 Long Range Hunter in .25-05 or 6.5-284.

the idea one can possible have a 6.5-284 for under 800 dollars may very well bet out the idea of assembling a rifle. this recommendation is of particular interest to me as i have come close to resting on a 6.5-284 as the possible one and only cartridge and rifle for life. if i am anything like half the population of this forum i can see several barrel changes within the rifles life but can see faithful monogamous relationship forming.

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to much is left to interpretation over the internet so i will give you benefit of doubt and say thank you.

as i have alluded to several times now, this process has consumed me this past week. i have slowly evolved my decision to one i am begging to get more comfortable with. i still think the original idea, to purchase a 270 win could have been a good compromise and saved me lots of time but i enjoy chasing efficiencies and learning new subjects. i think my most recent idea to just about settle on a 6.5-284 shooting 140g berger vld would provide a better compromise when compared to the original plan.
i was caught up in velocity and ballistics for a long time and have settled on the notion, accuracy trumps all. most of my early influences to a particular cartridge was attributed to solely the mv's. i am not ignorant to aerodynamics as i have been chasing efficiencies within my car for several years but i overlooked it's importance at first. ballistic coefficient is an important variable that should not be overlooked. over these last couple days i have began to understand some of the intricacies that go into successful long range shooting; i knew these would exists i just needed time to start uncovering them. something like how complete and efficient different powders in various quantities burn lending themselves to a spread of velocity of xx fps and how this spread can translate down the range. this type of cerebral thinking is something i relish and i concede i may not pick up the game of chess as quick as most but with time i can call checkmate majority of the time; i.e. win more than i lose.

at this time i am interested in both the sightron s111 6-24x50 and the vortex viper pst ffe 6-24x50. i have to make sure the sightron has the moa-2 reticle (like this tactical moa hash marks) in front of the magnification to ensure that moa stays constant with zoom. i am not sure i am recalling this correctly but i do know i want to make sure moa stays constant throughout zoom to help reduce any calculation i may have to make. i believe the vv pst does not have the aforementioned potential problem and also has a couple other features devoid from the siii line. i have not ruled out the 4-16 power scopes yet either. it is just difficult for me to rationalize not spending the extra couple dollars and get much better potential should i want to be humbled taking aim past 500 yards; 4-16 vs. 6-24.

i still have lots of research to do and will continue to update this thread with what is on my mind. thank you for the contributions and with time you will see the fruits of your labor.