700 Long Action - what can I do?

[JohnnyC]

So my first hunting rifle was a Remington 700 LA in .30-06. Lately the deer have been running around in the flats more, and ridge to ridge shots are increasingly less common. Because of this, I've safed the 700 and have been using one of my AR's. The deer are small, and the lightweight RDS equipped gun is a better tool.

Anyway, I've essentially got this 700 LA sitting in my safe doing nothing, and I think I'd like to get it built up into something but I don't know where to start? Anybody have any advice or suggestions re:direction?

Thinking something with a shorter barrel, 18" or so. I don't want to be that guy that has to shoot 1k to prove his penile length, just something good all around.

[Artos]

describe your primary hunting conditions & I'll give my $0.02...kinda like asking: "i have a 350 short block...any ideas??"

[mark5pt56]

I would leave it as is and maybe your son would like it one day. Ask yourself what you want and by it new or build it up.

If you are pondering the long range and want a boomer, get it now and not wait until you are 60 wishing you did.

[JohnnyC]

I'm not necessarily looking for this to be a hunting rifle, and it's a bottom of the barrel 700 ADL synthetic, had the iron sights removed and the screws put in, so it's not like it's even anything special I might one day pass down.

Ideally I'm looking for a shorter barrel, 600ish yards and in. If I had a short action I'd just go .308, new barrel, new stock and forget about it. However, since I've got a long action, and admittedly know nothing about long action calibers other than the .30-06 it was chambered in, I'm unclear on my options. I seem to remember years ago hearing that having a long action opens up the possibilities and available options but I can't remember where I heard this or if the advice was even credible.

I figure it'll get a rebarrel in whatever caliber I end up choosing, and probably a new stock. I just don't know where to start on this or what my options would be for a short-medium range precision gun.

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

God there are about a million options. If you handload there are even more than a million. 600 yards for what deer or targets? Rounds that come to mind are the 280AI, 6.5-06 or have the bolt face and feed rails opened up and go with a magnum round.

You should define your intended uses. If you dont reload some things are impractical in my opnion with the cost of ammo today.

Jon

[JStor]

I'd probably sell it and buy a short action rifle in .308 Win. or 7-08 Rem. Your desire for a short 18 inch barrel means you want a compact, somewhat light, easy handling package. As others have said, options abound...from stocks to barrels and accessories.

Nothing wrong with the .30-06 you already have, either. Mount a decent scope on it in some Talley rings and you'll be good for anything. I use a Leupold 4x on a pre-64 Winchester 70 and a Leupold 6x on a Model 70 Classic, both in .30-06. The 6x with 42 mm. objective offers one of the most generous eye relief ranges available.

[Anchor Zero Six]

Replace the barrel for one chambered in 308. 30-06 and 308 .470 bolt face. No big issues running a short round in a long action the M-24 is proof if you need it.

[fn1889m]

I built a .308 on a Rem. 700 long action, HS stock. It works.

But if I had your rifle, I would a) get some Williams or BDL bottom metal, and b) get a nice BDL stock from Numrich: http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/Detail.aspx?pid=1148230&catid=11940


and shoot the barrel out....

[Merc8541]

re-barrel possible re-stock... 20" is a better all round number, longer the better for your range, but moving around shorter might work in your favor. Or like mentioned before could just hold on to it for a while if you want to keep it a "hunting gun".

[jwfuhrman]

30/06 actually has better long range terminal performance the the 308. I've pretty much decided I can live with not having a DBM on a Bolt gun, and am going to build a precision 30/06. Recoil isn't much different than a 308.

Go check out 6mmbr.com, that site has a TON of good info on the subject at hand.

[Big Bubba Mike]

I don't know why you would replace the barrel and rechamber to a 308 The 30-06 will do anything the 308 can do and more. More importantly it will handle heavier bullets better.

If you are set on something else then you must consider ammunition availability of you reload then I agree with a 6.5-06 or even a 6mm-06. If not then a 25-06 may be what you want. the 280 remington is another good choice. Your options are limitless really.

If you want a shorter barrel 18 to 20 inches then the 308, 260, 243, or even a round based on the mauser like a 7mm mauser, 6mm remingtion or 257 roberts. Your options are limitless with the standard length action.

One thing to remember tho. When I was in the army I was sent to sniper school then was part of the rifle team. An instructor once told me that it really didn't matter what caliber of rifle one used as most rifles can shoot much further than the average shooter can accurately shoot them. I watched this instructer repeatedly hit a 36 inch bull at 400 meters with a ruger number 3 rifle in 47-70.

So my advice is pick your poison. I don't see where you can go wrong with whatever you decide

[tuck]

If you don't really want to turn it into an "uber tacticool sniper rifle" perhaps you could have the barrel cut down to 22" and put a nice laminate stock on it. Maybe a little trigger work as well, and you would have a good looking, handy rifle.

[Big Bubba Mike]

that's a good idea you can get a decent lamanate stock from boydsgunstocks.com spend around a hundred bucks for a thumbhole or classic they look good They also have benchrest and target style stocks. You could even put a bipod on the rifle to give it a more tactical style look

You are definately not missing out on anything having the rifle in 30-06 and you can make it look like you want a lot cheaper than rebarrelling and rechambering

[August]

I'll bet if you asked a hundred guys "what would you build if you had a Rem 700 Standard Long action?" that 95 of 'em would say a 30-06. Four would say a .280 Remington. And, one would recommend a .270 Winchester.

They all recommend a medium-heavy barrel with 1/10 or 1/8 twist. They'd say don't build it with a barrel shorter than 26" and that 30" is better.

Do you really want to put 600 bucks in a rifle that's already what you'd end up with????

[MistWolf]

If you want to go with an 18" barrel or shorter, you're better off trading the long action for a short action. Calibers appropriate for a long action are more efficient with barrel lengths around 22". The exception would be something like the 35 Whelen.

One option I'd give serious consideration is cutting the barrel to 20-22 inches, removing the scope and installing a post or ramp front sight and a large aperture rear and make it a lightweight, rugged, walkabout rifle