What to start with to build a .308?

[Kaldor]

Looking for build a new rifle on a Savage action, but Im unsure where to start with the action.

Id like to build this rifle around a short action, shooting .308 to start with, and possibly .260 at a later date. Rifle will be primarily be used for hunting, but might see some time at ranges of 500+.

What rifle do I need to start with for a donor action? Its very likely I can pick up a used rifle for a decent price, chambered in .308, but anything from a .243 to 7mm-08 would be fine as well.

I do live about 20 minutes from Brux Barrels, so its likely I will get a barrel from them. Another thought is BHW, as I own a couple of barrels for my AR's for them, and they shoot nice.

As far as the stock, Im open for suggestions. Id prefer to stick with a laminated wood stock.

Thanks!

[BarrelNuts]

If you are going to go all-in and already know you are going to re-barrel then any standard short action will work. What I did with mine was went pawn-shopping and picked up a used Model 10 on the cheap... added new barrel, new bottom metal, new stock.
As far as the donor action... if you don't want to change bolt heads you can get anything based off of a .308 case and be fine... .243, .260, .308, 7mm-08, etc. will all work without doing a bolt head swap.
I would recommend staying away from one of the newer models with the plastic bottom/bottom bolt release as these are harder to find replacement stocks inletted for. If all you can find on the cheap is a blind magazine don't sweat it, changing to a DBM (if you want it) is as easy as getting a stock already inletted for the bottom metal, then getting either the stock bottom metal or an aftermarket one from AccurateMag or CDI.
To do the barrel swap you will need at minimum a barrel nut wrench; I would recommend getting an action wrench as well... Jim at Northland Shooter's Supply (one of the vendors listed on the site) sells good quality tools and the added bonus of being super awesome to work with. You may want to talk to him about a barrel as well... he regularly stocks Shilen and Criterion and while you live next door to Brux he has quite a few good sticks on the shelf already threaded and chambered in whatever you are looking for and pretty solid prices.
Boyd's (another site vendor) has a ton of laminated stocks... may also want to look at stocky's.
Hope this helps... I just finished my first build and waiting for glass; process was pretty easy and straightforward and after talking with a few other folks here and getting pointers was pretty easy. Keep us posted and start a thread in the "my build thread" here with pictures so we can all follow along!

[Kaldor]

Thanks for the heads up.

Just found a used .308 Model 10 for a very reasonable price. Going to pick it up Sunday. When Ive got the gun, Im sure Ill have some more questions.

[BarrelNuts]

Awesome, can't wait to see what you do with it!

[foxx]

My favorite go-to piece for donors is the Hog Hunter .308. Even at it's new price, it's pretty good.

It has the top bolt release (as Barrelnuts recommends above) and Accutrigger. If you want .308 anyhow, it's a good value. If not, the new HH barrels have a good resale value.

If you don't particularly care for the accutrigger, it can usually be sold for around $50, lowering the net cost of a different aftermarket trigger down to around $50-100.

Just food for thought.

[Kaldor]

Got a little more info on the donor gun. Its has top bolt release, Accutrigger, poly stock, lightweight hunter profile barrel, Bushnell scope, and a 100 rounds of assorted ammo.

Guy said hes put less than a box thru it, and the guy he bought it from put maybe 50 thru it. The metal is spotless from the pics Ive seen. Ill probably pull the barrel and stock and sell them. The scope can maybe go on my kids 22.

[darkker]

Never believe how big the fish was, or how little a rifle was fired... But it won't matter even if you kept it. My 10FP has over 3500 rounds through it and still shoots accurately to a mile.

[Kaldor]

Not a bad rifle for what I paid for it. Didnt have much time to look at it last night. Ill put up a few better pics later tonite as I have a couple questions.

[BarrelNuts]

Looks eerily similar to where I started a month or two ago...

I've almost finished it up now... another coat of Duracoat, replacing a screw, and mounting glass whenever it decides to show up are all that is left for mine. Any idea what stock you are going to put it in?

[Kaldor]

Looks eerily similar to where I started a month or two ago...

I've almost finished it up now... another coat of Duracoat, replacing a screw, and mounting glass whenever it decides to show up are all that is left for mine. Any idea what stock you are going to put it in?

Yep, I got the gun, scope, 100 rounds of ammo for $350. Thought I did OK. :)

Im not sure yet on the stock, but yeah, its gotta go. I need to look into what it will cost me to change this over to a removable magazine. After I figure that out, something laminate from Boyds or Stockys. On my AR's, plastic and aluminum is fine as I tend to beat on them. I dislike plastic stocks on bolt actions because I like a classic look.

[BarrelNuts]

To make it a detachable mag you need to either order the factory bottom (most stocks are already inletted for this) or go with AccurateMag or CDI bottom metal. On mine I did just the factory and it fit perfectly in my B&C stock. The internal box is the same as the detachable box; just need a floor plate for it from savage if you go that route; CDI uses AICS mags and AccurateMag I think makes their own. You will likely need to get the shorter front action screw, Midway has them for $2 or so.
And yeah; if you got scope rifle and ammo for that price I would say you did pretty good!

[foxx]

Yep, you did good. That was a bargain, for sure.

And, as darker said, unless you know the guy, round count is pretty much an unknown, can't believe what anyone tells you. If it were a .243 or 25-06, or any other "barrel burner" I'd just assume the barrel was burned out no matter what they tell you. If it ain't, then whatever life it has left in it ia a pure plus. However, in .308 it almost doesn't matter. I doubt any hunting rifle in .308 will ever get shot enough to wear it out.

[Kaldor]

What is the cost on the Savage bottom metal for a detachable mag? Im assuming the easiest place to get it would be direct from Savage? The only issue I have with this is the Savage mags are crazy overpriced. The CDI version is interesting, but pricey at $200+ without a mag. However, being able to use AICS mags is good because Magpul is going to start making AICS mags for probably a 1/4 of the price. I guess, all around it will probably cost the same in the end.

The gun having a blind mag is just not doable for me. My stupid hands are just too big. Great for shooting rifle and pistol, not so good for loading a bolt action from the top with a low scope.

[BarrelNuts]

I think the bottom metal cost $68, $75 or so shipped. I bought a complete new magazine from a local shop.

HotHolds posted this list of factory part numbers if you prefer to order online vice calling savage... this is for bottom metal only

Order directly from Savage if you can't find one elsewhere.
Short action:
SA Matte part number 107605 for bottom bolt release
SA Matte part number 106238 for top release

Long action:
LA Matte part number 105857 for top bolt release
LA Matte part number 106706 for bottom bolt release

Hope this helps. IMHO if you are using the rifle primarily for hunting, and your local laws are like they are here, sticking with the factory DBM set up not only eliminates that pesky 5-round max rule but also gives the bottom a more sleek/slim profile (no extra magazine sticking out).

[Kaldor]

Thanks BarrelNuts. I will not be able to find one locally, at least for a decent price. This is the one Ill need: SA Matte part number 106238 for top release

Law in WI is 10 rounds in mag at most. Even still, Ill only hunt with a 5. No need to truck around extra weight.

[BarrelNuts]

Oh wow, here in SC the law is for deer no more than 5. For migratory birds we have to have shotguns plugged to 3 max. Although for the deer if you need more than 5 rounds you shouldn't be in the woods... just my .02

Best way to order it from savage is to go to their website and click on the "store" tab and just copy/paste the part number into the search box.

[Kaldor]

Well, Im moving a little slow on this project. Lots of stuff going on this time of year.

Need a quick evaluation on some parts.

Stock:
Boyds Pro Varmint - Will bed and pillar stock. Plastic and aluminum is cool for my AR's but I really wanted to stay with a wood stock for this. Need suggestions for materials to use.

Scope Rail and Rings:
Weaver 20 MOA base, Vortex rings - Midway

Barrel:
Criterion - 26" Varmint profile - Northland

Parts and Pieces:
Bottom metal and mags from Savage, Lug, Barrel Nut, wrench from Northland

That about covers the rifle. Is it worth buying the action wrench or will a decent barrel vise in combination with the nut wrench be good enough? Any comments? Or good to go?

I want to get a Vortex Viper PST 6-24X50 FFP, but that might be aways off before I feel like dropping that kind of cash on a scope even though the wife is cool with it. Any input? Tossed around buying something in the $300-400 range, any ideas? Lastly, Ive never pillared and bed a stock before. Anyone have any decent info they can pass along?

Ill start my project in the appropriate forum once I get moving on this!

[foxx]

Relieve generously everywhere you want to bed. Leave the top of the wood around the action screws at original height until after you've determined how high they need to be. I use lamp rod for the pillars. It's cheap and readily avail at the hardware store or Walmart (look in lamps/lighting section). I cut them a little long, drill-out the screw holes a little large and then insert the rods and test fit... trim/file to length. Once I am happy with the rods, I use a bit of 2 part epoxy putty to hold them in place while I assemble it and test fit everything. I like them to be done BEFORE I bed the action, but some people do it all at once. Once they set and everything works well with them as they are, I then move on to bedding the action. I like plumbers putty for all my dams and filling holes, etc before applying the epoxy. I even place some in the barrel channel so as to support it and keep everything centered, etc. I do a LOT of test fitting and double-checking of everything before applying the epoxy. For epoxy, I prefer Devcon 10110. It does not shrink, it applies easily because of its peanut butter like consistency and its smooth when done. It can be found online cheaper than most anywhere else you can get it locally. But shop around online, too. There's a couple places where it is cheaper than everywhere else. If you plan to do anymore bedding jobs in the future, I would recommend Brownell's Acra-release. It is expensive, but works better than anything else I've tried and you don't have to worry about missing spots b/c it is a spray. Only problem is a can is meant to do about 10-15 jobs, so it's not cheap. Be sure to remember to tape off the bottom and sides and front (muzzle side) of the recoil lug before bedding. I use two layers of tape and then put plumber's putty in front of the recoil lug so it doesn't bind in the stock.

Once everything is completely set and bedded properly, I open up the inside of the lamp rod pillars so there is no chance the screws are touching them under recoil. Keep in mind they are not there for support of the action. They are only there to prevent the action screws from crushing the stock material when tightening the screws and so they do not have to be super thick or anything. However, the screws must not touch the inside walls of the pillars. THat being the case, I always ream them out when done, just for good measure.


As for wrenches: I only have a nut wrench and action wrench. I suppose the barrel vice would be a good thing to have, but never needed it. I don't know if a barrel vice and nut wrench is sufficient.

For scopes in $300-400 range you could look at SWFA SS 1x0 or 12x They are excellent fixed power scopes and have good internals. Battle worthy. For less money you could go FFP and Variable power if you went with Primary Arms 4-14x. I like them. I doubt they are battle worthy, but good enough to play with and maybe better glass than the SWFA SS fixed scopes I mentioned earlier. Another good scope for the money is a Midway exclusive Weaver Grand Slam Tactical 3-10 or something like that. I like all of these three partly b/c the reticles match the turrets (mil/mil). Can't stand anything else if there is any chance I'll be playing with the turrets/reticles in the field. If I am just shooting at one range (200 yards and nothing else), I guess it doesn't matter. Or if I am hunting inside of 300 yards, what's the point in moving the reticles???

Geez, oh pete, there's a million different opinions and good ideas and options for what you're asking. I'm sure you will get many. I could name more myself and give you good reasons why to do any number of different things.

Have fun with it and don't worry too much about "getting it right" the first time. It will be good enough no matter what you do, and, if you stay with it you'll decide some other option or way of doing it would be better for you next time, anyways. You gotta try things and see how you like the results and how you like doing it.

[Kaldor]

Thanks for the info Foxx. Done a bunch of reading. I figured on going with Devcon as you suggested. Lamp rod, thats interesting. Do you rough the surface of the rod up some to help the Devcon "grab" onto it? Ill just use shoe polish. Im a perfectionist as well, much to wifes dismay alot of times. :)

I thought about a Primary Arms scope as a stand in for this for the moment as well. They stand behind their stuff pretty good. Lord knows Ive bought enough AR parts from them in the last 2 years. :)

[foxx]

The rod is already threaded, that's another reason I like it.

[Kaldor]

The rod is already threaded, that's another reason I like it.

Excellent. Im assuming you drill the holes slightly oversized for the pillars and then Devcon them into place from what I read before. Once set, you relieve material from the stock, and actually bed the receiver. When adding the pillars do you figure them to contact the bottom of the receiver correct? Do you radius them to fully contact the receiver, or leave them square and rely on the Devcon to pick up the radius of the receiver? And they simply control the height at which the receiver rides in the stock, providing stability vertically with the screws. The recoil lug handles all the lateral forces.

[foxx]

Pretty much got it. The pillars i keep square/ flat on top, just as the factory does and the devcon will fill the radius, as you said. Yes, drill the holes larger than the OD of the rod. In my mind, bigger the better, so you can be sure they settle into place where they naturally need to be without any binding or stress. Backfill the excess space around the pillar with devconwhen bedding. The bottom of the pillars rest on the top of the trigger guard and other bottom metal pieces like detachable mag frame.

[Kaldor]

Thanks for the info. Ill have the stock and bottom metal on order in the next week or so. Do you think its a good idea to have the barrel on hand before doing the bedding?

[foxx]

I would. You want to make sure all is centered and no stress before bedding. Not just on hand, but installed.

[Kaldor]

A few pics so I know Im buying the right stuff:



Center feed and standard shank? Looks like it.

Will be ordering stock, barrel, lug, barrel nut, bottom metal and a couple of mags tonite.

Thanks for the help guys.