Hi Choclabs
I'm very strongly looking at the LRP in .260 right now. The blued/stainless issue is unimportant to me. What intrigues me is the capability to get the target receiver/trigger combination already set up with a .260 barrel and a decent stock. I built a .260 on a model 12 receiver with a Shilen bull barrel last year and had really great results. It seems that if I can get one mostly right out of the box, then it will save a lot of time and effort.

You can get the receiver by itself (in stainless). I found one at Bud's. In fact, I was looking for one when I saw the 12LRP in .260. The receiver by itself is around $550. I figure that by the time I drop another 350-400 for barrel/nut, etc and add on a decent stock and hardware (easily another 5-600), I will be quite a bit past the cost of the LRP. You're always gambling on a barrel. I have had uniformly good luck with Shilens, but then I've had uniformly good luck with factory Savage LRPV barrels and Savage Palma barrels.

I plan to pick up the LRP in the next week. My guess is that it will be the right answer at a reasonable price. I've done enough builds that I'm not all that excited to do another one for the sake of building a rifle.

As always, your mileage may vary and good luck.

JS