Going Custom: The argument for custom actions over blueprinted Remington actions

Getting this concept into an article is long overdue, as it is one of my most frequently asked questions.  Quite often the discussion with new customers begins with "what action should I use?" or "where can I find a Remington action for my project?" It appears we now live in a time where Remington is able to ship bare actions.  These are available at a retail price that is far better than touring the pawn shops.  These are brand new actions without the common dents in the extraction cam, galling on the lugs, and etched bolt faces from Bubba's brother's handloads.  So as good as a brand new, off the shelf Remington action sounds, why purchase a custom action?  The answer is the proverbial, you get what you pay for.

The new Remington actions seem to be acceptable with respect to the machining and alignment of features.  I suspect they have adopted some of the principles of manufacturing at the factory that the custom action manufacturers employ to keep features aligned true to the center line.  Where I find they are lacking is in the bolt timing.  Timing on a bolt action rifle is often overlooked and not understood by the end users.  I usually get a blank stare when I mention it.  Bolt timing is important for the action to actually work.  When you lift the bolt handle, the bolt lugs have to unlock before the extraction cam can start pulling the bolt back.  That concept is simple to understand.  If the bolt timing didn't work as it should you couldn't even cycle the bolt in your new action or rifle.  In keeping the timing requirement on the safe side of manufacturing tolerances, timing is often on the sloppy side which shows up as minimal primary extraction.  The bolt lugs are typically long unlocked before the primary extraction cam surfaces meet each other.  This principle makes for minimal extraction as the gap between the extractor's hook and cartridge's rim has to be closed before the case is pulled from the chamber.   When blueprinting a Remington, every thousandth of an inch machined off of the locking lugs in the receiver or on the bolt, reduces the extraction by an equal amount.  It is entirely possible to end up without ample extraction for reliable bolt cycling.  The bolt handles on a Remington bolt can be removed and reinstalled to correct the timing, but this isn't an easy process and is not something this rifle builder wants to try to make a profit doing.

To be fair, the older Remingtons that you might find as a pawnshop score seem to have better bolt timing, but the features of the receiver are not aligned as well.  I speculate they were made on several machines where setting them up in fixtures does not always yield the best of alignment.

So why not just fix all these things on that shiny new Remington action?  It is more paying work for your rifle builder right?   That is an argument that will get different answers from different rifle builders, but this one would rather spend the same amount of shop time building another rifle and making another customer happy while having more confidence in the rifles going out the door.  And on the customer's side, you still get what you pay for.

Below is a breakdown of the costs to work with a Remington action versus starting with a custom action, along with a description of the extras you get with the custom action.  For this exercise I am going to use the Stiller Tac 30 action for the comparison.  In my experience, they are a strong contender for the "most bang for the buck"  moniker and are probably the fairest comparison to a worked over Remington for this analysis.

The Stiller Tac 30 retails at around $1000, call it $1050 with delivery.  This action accepts Remington style triggers and will fit in stocks and chassis designed for Remingtons.  The Stiller action includes the receiver, bolt, Picatinny scope base, and a precision ground recoil lug.   The bolt is manufactured out of one piece of chrome-moly steel, is fluted, has a threaded on bolt knob, and has a m16-style extractor.  The scope base is held to the receiver with 8-40 screws and tight fitting dowel pins that transfer recoil forces between the base and receiver which relieves the screws from shearing force.  The receiver itself is made with superior processes and will require no blueprinting.  The receiver is stiffer than a Remington and can be ordered to accommodate any of the magazine setups or even as a single shot.  The Stiller Tac 30 can take Remington magazine parts for internal box magazines and hinged-floorplate type bottom metal.  The Stiller Predator is machined to work with the Wyatt's longer magazine boxes.  The Stiller Tac 30 A/W can accept the popular Accuracy International AW-style detachable magazines.

Getting a Remington to a comparable state as the Stiller is shown in the breakdown below.

Parts -
Remington 700 Action  - $475  ^1
Seekins 20 MOA Scope Base  - $100
PTG Recoil Lug  - $45
PTG Bolt Knob -  $10
  - parts total $630

Labor (Stage 1) -
Sawtooth Rifles "Stage 1 - R700 blueprinting"  - $175 ^2
Sawtooth Rifles weld on threaded bolt handle stem - $85 ^3
 - Stage 1 and bolt knob labor $260
 - Parts and Stage 1 - $890

Further Enhancements (Stage 2) -
Mini - 16 Extractor - $200 ^4
Bolt Fluting - $100 ^5
 - stage 2 enhancements $300
 - Parts and Stage 1 Blueprinting plus Stage 2 Enhancements - $1090

I could keep going with pricing further modifications to the Remington to get it closer to the Stiller.  At this point we are over the cost of the Stiller Tac 30 action, yet still have a bolt that is 3 pieces soldered together with poor timing.  We have a scope base that doesn't necessarily fit perfectly and is mounted with less robust hardware.  We still have a bottom bolt release which is strong and generally trouble free but certainly less handy than the Stiller's side bolt stop/release.  Getting the Remington to work with the longer Wyatt's magazine boxes, or AW-style detachable magazines takes yet another setup and milling operation.  The Stiller action's firing pin and spring also involve some improvements over the standard Remington parts.

Just to prove that we will work on a Remington and have enough experience with them to make these arguments...   A Remington 40X single shot with our stage 1 blueprinting and the Sako style extractor work done by Gre-Tan.

 In conclusion, it takes a lot of work to get a Remington to a comparable state to the Stiller action at a cost that is well above what makes sense financially. When considering the additional benefits of some of the other actions with integral scope bases and recoil lugs (Defiance Deviant for example), a Remington just can not get there.  Period.

I will accept that there are reasons other than finances to do certain things, and will leave it at that. When working with a limited budget, a Remington and our Stage 1 blueprinting can offer a functional action with the potential to shoot well.  When working with high expectations and a severe duty use, I think there are several better options.  As more and more of each get tested and shipped out the door, I tend to scratch my head even more with every Remington that comes in that door.


1.  MSRP, Includes bolt and Remington trigger (which you probably will not use)
2.  2017 Pricing, Includes truing receiver face, receiver bolt lugs, single cut threads to 1.080 nominal major dia., bore and chamfer PTG recoil lug to matching 1.080 diameter, pin recoil lug to receiver, lap bolt lugs to receiver
3.  2017 Pricing, welding and blending threaded stem to bolt handle for a smooth transition and strong connection
4.  Work outsourced to Gre-Tan Rifles with round trip freight included
5.  Work outsourced to Pro-Precision Rifles with round trip freight included

Sawtooth Rifles #81 .338 Lapua

Sawtooth Rifles #81 .338 Lapua

Stiller Tac 338 Repeater

McMillan A5-Adj  in Desert Transition

Stiller detachable bottom metal

Brux 1.35 AMU finished at 30" 1:9.5" twist 6 groove

APA Fat Bastard Gen 2 brake

Vortex Razor Gen 2 4.5-27x56 MOA EBR-2C

Cerakote color samples with the McMillan Desert Transistion painted stock and Vortex Razor Gen 2

Magpul Flat Dark Earth (left sample) closely matches the mid tones in the stock.  Patriot Brown (right sample) is closer to the dark tones but still contrasts.

Sawtooth Rifles #66 .338 Lapua Color Selection

Finished Rifle - Sawtooth Rifles #66 .338 Lapua
Stiller Tac 338 Single Shot
McMillan A5-Adjustable Woodland Spectre
Bartlein 1.35 Rem Varmint Finished at 30" 1:9.3 twist
Piercision 4 Port Slabbed Brake
Jewell Trigger'
PTG Trigger Guard
Nightforce 5.5-22x56 Moar
Nightforce Ultralight Rights
Vortex Low Profile Bubble Level
Magpul Flat Dark Earth Cerakote
Atlas PSR Tall BT47-LW17 Bipod

Blending in, near some southern Idaho sage and dry grass.

Below are pictures of the McMillan A5 Stock in Woodland Specter, after filling the barrel channel to match the smaller profile.  Rifle: Sawtooth Rifles #66 .338 Lapua on a Stiller Tac338 Single Shot.

Shades of tan and brown Cerakote samples.  The Desert Sand (square plate on left) closely matches the tan in the stock.

Colors that combine the green and tans - Field Drab on left, Foliage Green on right (closely matches the foliage color in the stock)

The Cerakote colors that closely match the McMillan Woodland Specter colors.  L-R - Desert Sand, Mil Spec OD Green, Magpul Foliage Green

Sniper Grey (L) and Armor Black (R)

Sawtooth Rifles #55/56/57 Cerakoted in Magpul Flat Dark Earth, with our custom mixed pattern on the stock. An example of our original color plan.  Our plan was to go with a bit less black on the stock shadowing.

 

Sawtooth Rifles #62 with the same stock pattern, and Mil Sped OD Green Cerakote.

McMillan Woodland Spectre mocked up with a Magpul Flat Dark Earth Cerakoted barrel action.

McMillan Woodland Spectre mocked up with a Magpul Foliage Green Cerakoted barreled action.

Magpul Foliage Green Ceracote vs McMillan Woodland Spectre

2016 April Pic Hosting

2015 July Pic Hosting

Optics Review: Vortex Kaibab HD 15x56 Binocular "Big Eyes"

Below is a gear review we received from a customer on the Vortex Kaibab HD 15x56 Binoculars, known as "big eyes".  These binoculars are high priority on the gear list for the Coues Whitetail Deer hunters of New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico.  As our reviewer finds, perhaps they should be considered for hunting other species, such as Aoudad or Barbary sheep, or even for a big country Pronghorn, Mule Deer, or Elk hunt.

Vortex Kaibab HD 15x56 Binoculars

Worth the Weight?

As a backpacker and hunter, reduction of weight and bulk in my chosen kit is a never ending effort.   Over the last 20 years, two times stand out where I remember actually adding weight to my pack from the previous season.  The first was when I experienced the warmth of a Kifaru woodstove inside my tipi during a week-long hunt in western Washington.   The second was when I discovered the benefit of truly good glass, finding a bedded muley in thick sagebrush at 800 yards.  I subsequently added a pair of Swarovski 10x42 SLC binoculars to the “worn” column of my gear checklist.   2015 now marks the third time I’ve recognized performance outweighing reduction of weight. 

I hadn’t even considered not using my trusty Swarovski’s on an upcoming DIY Barbary Sheep hunt in New Mexico, until Matt from Sawtooth Rifles offered up some loaner optics.  As a new Vortex dealer, he was interested in getting feedback in multiple real-world field conditions.  Although Matt is a straight shooter, I was skeptical to believing his claims of the difference these “big eyes” binos might make for me.   Gasping at the advertised weight of 43.5oz, I remember thinking there is no way a little extra FOV and magnification is going to be worth such an increase in weight.   Reluctantly, I told him to send them anyway.

The Vortex Kaibab HD 15x56 along side the author's "trusty" and well traveled Swarovski 10x42 SLC Binocular.

The Vortex Kaibab HD 15x56 binoculars and Vortex Razor HD 11-33x50 angled spotting scope arrived well protected, with the factory packaging itself being impressively robust.  I quickly got things put together and grabbed my 10x42s for an informal comparison out my kitchen window.  I stared at our neighbor’s familiar barn, 400 yards across our pasture in the late afternoon light, first with the Swarovski’s, then the Kaibabs.  With the Kaibabs, I could now see there were bolts holding some of the barn boards together that I hadn’t noticed before.  I figured the difference was solely attributed to the extra magnification, so I packed everything up, not giving it too much consideration.  On my scale, the Kaibabs weighed right at 3 pounds including the neck strap and tripod adapter.   Although only 13.5 ounces heavier than my 10x42 SLCs, the additional 2.5 inches of length made them feel substantially larger. 

Arriving in El Paso, I hopped into the rented Dodge Club Cab 4x4 with 3 miles on the clock.   The rental agent told me to “please be careful, it’s brand new”, I just smiled, thinking to myself “noted”.  I headed north towards the Lincoln National Forest, it was going to be a good trip.   

I ended up backpacking into the same hunting area on two separate weekends, totaling 6 days of dawn-dusk use in a mixture of high desert cliffs, steep drainages and large ridges covered in sagebrush and cacti, i.e. Barbary Sheep country.   The average viewing distance ranged from 500 to 1600 meters, and legal shooting hours were ½ hour before and after sunrise/set respectfully.  My trips included over 30 miles of hiking, so this gave me a good overall appreciation for the performance of these binoculars under a variety of conditions.  Truth in lending, I was only looking for a mature ram, not trying to decipher a true trophy class animal at any distance.  As such, I didn’t spend a lot of time analyzing if the binoculars provided sufficient resolution for this at extended ranges.  Anecdotally, I could easily pick a mature ram out of a group at one mile, and could clearly see a herd of elk grazing at over 2.2 miles 10 minutes before dark.

Typical terrain in the homelands of the Barbary Sheep (we will call them that while roaming in New Mexico)

I used two methods while glassing, the first was off my Slik Sprint Mini II tripod and the second using my Primos Trigger Stick monopod for support while quickly glassing areas on the move.  I am an active hunter, and believe in finding the game where it is (especially in a new area), so I have a tendency to cover some ground.  Due to this fact, I quickly began using the binoculars exclusively, leaving the spotting scope in the pack.  When I did use the spotter, it was clear and easy to operate, but took me quite a bit more time to find the target, zoom in, then analyze.  New target, rinse and repeat.  If I was looking for a true trophy ram, this would be required, but since I just needed to discern a good set of horns inside of a mile or so, it became unnecessary.  The spotter has both a coarse and fine focus adjustment, making it very useful at seeing “through” various vegetation in depth without moving the optic itself.  The optical performance and usability it provides in such a small package is impressive.

The author's setup, with lightweight tripod.

Our author, comfortably glassing behind the tripod mounted Vortex Kaibab HD 15x56 Binocular.

The Trigger Stick worked extremely well due to its quick height adjustments, where a bit of leaning on the binos provided a surprisingly steady stance.  Nowhere near as stable as on the tripod, but for a quick “is there a sheep on that ridge?” check, it more than sufficed.  Although not designed as a primary hiking pole, the Trigger Stick served handedly in that regard as well, as the immediate height adjustments were especially useful when descending rugged terrain with a relatively heavy pack.  

Once in an area I wanted to explore in more detail, I broke out the tripod and started picking apart the landscape.  Suffice to say, glassing off a tripod with binos was a unique experience, as I was able to instantly identify any movement in the landscape.  The clarity of the glass allowed me to view from multiple angles, edge to edge, without moving.  So steady, that if something moved in that field of view, there is no question you were going to see it.  All of the sheep I saw were either standing, feeding or moving, so as soon as they entered my field of view, they literally popped out of the background at any range.

The optical performance of these 56mm binoculars extends a whole new “wow” factor as opposed to traditional sized glass, something about the combination of magnification and objective diameter was perfectly suited to the intended use for this hunt.  Every time I “cleared” a section of terrain, I felt certain I would have seen a sheep if it had been there.  The eyecups have three distinct settings, which came in handy during various light conditions and whether or not I was wearing sunglasses.  Could be purely coincidental, but I never bumped a sheep off a piece of terrain I had previously glassed after moving through it.  Again, every time I did see sheep (53 or so), they instantly jumped out to me in the binoculars.  It became clearly evident these binos were my “primary weapon system” for this type of hunting, so I quickly lost any concern over the weight or lack of suitable carrying configuration.   

The author, and his new "primary weapon system" for finding Barbary Sheep.

Speaking of carrying configuration, I explored a couple methods of transporting these big binoculars, but neither ended up completely satisfactory to me.  My requirement was no burden on my neck, no flopping while climbing/moving quickly, protection for the optic, and rapid employment/deployment.  I’ve become quite a fan of chest mounted packs, so I started out using the standard binocular neck strap and my Hill People Gear Kit Bag to protect/support the glass.  Since the binos didn’t fit into the main pouch very well, that configuration failed the flopping, protection and deployment criteria.  That pack is not designed for this, so I was not surprised.  The second time I used a similar setup, but substituted the Kit Bag with my Kifaru Koala Lite with an organizer pouch on the front.  This met all my requirements except the employment/deployment, since it required a bit of time to get them in/out and zipped up well enough to keep the pack from unzipping.   Bottom line, I may have to give up on my current chest pack rigs and go with a larger dedicated binocular pack when using these.

The one issue I had was with the configuration of the diopter adjustment.  Although the diopter adjustment on the right ocular lens has a locking feature, I found I was periodically getting it unlocked and out of adjustment.  I’m pretty certain this had to do with how I was carrying them since it slides in and out to lock/unlock, and that is the same motion/direction of going in and out of my chest pouch.  Since the fit was very tight in my pouches, the adjustment ring was always getting direct contact.  Then again, there were also times I found my finger on the diopter adjustment instead of the focus knob, since they are closely located to each other.  Good or bad, a slight change to the diopter setting is readily visible when viewing at range, so I knew immediately when an adjustment was in order. 

Once the diopter was set, the image was extremely clear at all ranges.  I found the most comfortable viewing range was from about 400 yards out to 1500 yards or so.  Closer than that increased the workload a bit due to decreased FOV, and beyond that, loss of detail had the same effect.   A few times I had to glass into the sun, and obviously the scene was a bit washed out, but the lens coatings made the image still very usable.   During the heat of the day, mirages were easy to see using various focus adjustments, allowing me to estimate wind speed at a distance.

So what about all those sheep?  I saw one group of 28 sheep at the same time from about 700 yards, and it was truly an impressive sight.  They were moving through the area, and I just couldn’t catch up.  Suffice to say, I had my chances, but only two of those were decent opportunities.   I could’ve shot one ram any time over the course of an hour at 300 yards, but couldn’t be certain I’d be able to recover him from the cliff he was feeding on, so I passed.  The second opportunity was a very nice ram at 501 yards.  Although I felt comfortable with that shot, I felt certain I could get closer.  But much like my initial speculations on the usefulness of a 3lb pair of binoculars, I was wrong.

Motivation, for planning your own Barbary Sheep hunt.

In summary, the fact that I never remember fussing about the extra weight or bulk over six days of hunting and 30 miles is testament itself to the usefulness of these binoculars.  More simply put, if I had to boil it down to just one word, it would be confidence.  I was confident that I didn’t miss a thing as I glassed the landscape with these binoculars.   This was reinforced every time I immediately spotted sheep, deer, coyotes and birds at extended ranges.   Over the same time, I kept thinking back to my antelope hunt last October in Wyoming, and just how useful these would have been for that application.    All said and done, I sent the Razor spotting scope back to Matt, but sent him a check in place of the Kaibabs.  I am truly excited thinking of the future opportunities I’ll get to use these binoculars to increase my effectiveness on upcoming open country hunts.  

Review by:  Spence Guida

Vortex Kaibab HD Binoculars:  http://www.vortexoptics.com/category/kaibab_binoculars
Purchase from Sawtooth Rifles:  http://www.sawtoothrifles.com/
or come on into Hagerman Valley Sports and Merc:  http://www.gunsandduns.com
Interested in an Auodad (Barbary Sheep Hunt)?  Hit up the guys at Gothunts.com for more info:  http://gothunts.com/hunting/sheep-hunting/aoudad-hunting/

Sawtooth Rifles team member with your own story to tell?  Send it in.  I'll make it worth your time...