Need a beanfield rifle

Originally Posted by andriesdeklerk

Met with the gunsmith yesterday. So exiting! After a lengthy conversation with him it seems a custom rifle should be in a more traditional calibre, something more like a 240 Apex or 244H&H. But loading data from South African BR shooters will be hard to come by. Where the 243AI is much more in abundance. Real head scratcher. So what is he really saying? One thing is sure; the wood is going to be the real head turner on this rifle. Manage to drag old Dad into the project as well. This means the budget doubled! For now I will chew on what calibre, I have some time. Will have more updates when the wood arrives.

Sounds like he already has the chamber reamer for the 243AI, HA!

Originally Posted by 35bore

Sounds like he already has the chamber reamer for the 243AI, HA!

+1

Friend has a 6mm XC and strongly recommends it. But the 243AI out performs it when it comes to speed and I am sure is not far behind in accuracy. Bought a Shilen match grade barrel and are shopping for the right action. Must be based on the 98 Mauser, love controlled fed actions! Think the VX3 L Leopold will add to the rifles slick lines.

The 6mm XC is usually much easier to get to shoot very accurate compared with the 243 and the 243 AI.

Will be picking out my piece of wood on Wednesday. Manage to convince my Dad into buying himself a piece to. Well most things are sorted and agreed upon but the action is a problem now. I want a controlled fed action like the Mauser K98. Gunsmith recommends buying a Remington rifle for the action. Think this is a waste off a perfectly good rifle, just using the action and not using the rest and I am sure there are cheaper options. Need some recommendations on an action her that is also of competition grade. How are the nightforce scope compared to Zeiss and Swarovski?

Have you looked at the NEW Mauser actions? They're very nice!

Originally Posted by andriesdeklerk

Will be picking out my piece of wood on Wednesday. Manage to convince my Dad into buying himself a piece to. Well most things are sorted and agreed upon but the action is a problem now. I want a controlled fed action like the Mauser K98. Gunsmith recommends buying a Remington rifle for the action. Think this is a waste off a perfectly good rifle, just using the action and not using the rest and I am sure there are cheaper options. Need some recommendations on an action her that is also of competition grade. How are the nightforce scope compared to Zeiss and Swarovski?

Guess if it's a K98 action you want, then that is what you should build on. A lot of good custom rifles have been built on that action. Myself, I lean toward you gunsmith with the M700, but, I'm a fan.


Are you leaning toward the A.I.? Or going to step it up a notch with the H&H?

The 240/244 have too many hang ups. 243AI to complicate to reload. I am settling with the 6mmXC.
Here is some eye candy!

Originally Posted by andriesdeklerk

Will be picking out my piece of wood on Wednesday. Manage to convince my Dad into buying himself a piece to. Well most things are sorted and agreed upon but the action is a problem now. I want a controlled fed action like the Mauser K98. Gunsmith recommends buying a Remington rifle for the action. Think this is a waste off a perfectly good rifle, just using the action and not using the rest and I am sure there are cheaper options. Need some recommendations on an action her that is also of competition grade. How are the nightforce scope compared to Zeiss and Swarovski?

There is a reason Remington 700 actions are preferred by gunsmiths. They are accurate, reliable, one of the sturdiest and safest, relatively lightweight and there are tons of them out there. Find yourself a cheap used rifle and canibalize it for the action.

As for the barrel burner problem, since you are building it form scratch anyway, get yourself a high grade stainless barrel and put all thoughs of chrome moly out of your mind, this will double the accurate life of the barrel especially if you are the type who refuses to allow the barrel to cool sufficiently while at the range.

.257 Weatherby is my vote. A good grade of barrel that is never abused by overheating will last thousands of shots before falling off. If you plan on shooting factory ammo it will probably not have quite as good of accuracy as it could due to the fact that you will need .378" of freebore but if you plan to handload then forget the freebore and forget factory rounds.

The .257 WBY has the kick of a 25-06 with the trajectory of a 30-378, there is no flatter cartridge short of a Lazeroni. I shoot 100gr Barnes TSX at 3630fps. It is women and children approved yet has no problem reaching out and touching animals waaaaay out there.

Originally Posted by andriesdeklerk

Need some recommendations on an action her that is also of competition grade

..have a look here and ask these guys. Might be able to help. Voorspoed..!

Actions - Safari and Outdoor | Africa's Premier Outfitter

I noted with interest that the 25-06 was mentioned in an earlier post. There was a comment made that they are a barrel burner. I don't know that they are any worse than say a 6.5X284 or 7mm mag. If you heat up a barrel and keep shooting it you'll burn out a barrel in short order.
I'll second the 6.5-06 that Norweigenwoods mentioned. You can run a large selection of bullets in it. 130 gr and down will stay in the 3000 fps range. With 100 gr bullet you can get over 3400 fps. Recoil is mild. Good luck. Bruce

Originally Posted by DOCMAN

..have a look here and ask these guys. Might be able to help. Voorspoed..!

Actions - Safari and Outdoor | Africa's Premier Outfitter

Docman
Kyk na die hout, kyk wat op dit geskryf is. Dis waar ek al my onderdele kry. My goeie vriend is mede eienaar!

Originally Posted by andriesdeklerk

The 240/244 have too many hang ups. 243AI to complicate to reload. I am settling with the 6mmXC.
Here is some eye candy!

I love eye candy
The 6mmXC is a good choice.

My first choice for an action is a Winchester pre 64 action if you can get your hands on that.
Controlled feed and has very good safety in my opinion.
If controlled feed is not very important, then a Winchester post 64 action would be my second choice.
A Remington action would be my third choice.

I have never used Nightforce scopes for hunting myself. Just tested it in good light and low light at the range.
They seem to be of very high quality and I have been told that they can take very much beating.
They are by far the highest quality scopes made in USA.

I think the German made Zeiss scopes are better in low light and would be and is my choice for low light hunting.
If you are not going to hunt in low light, then this doesn't matter to you
I have never used or tested Swarovski scopes.

After I bought my first German made Zeiss scope, I have never looked back and continued to put German Zeiss scopes on my new guns.
The only exception is my 375 Ruger. It has a Leupold attached

Been doing a little reading on the 6mmXC, velocities are not crazy (which is good for barrel life) but it does have an edge on the 6mm Rem. I think you have made a great choice. Also, a friend of mine has one of the Nightforce scopes on his 308, he's with an ERT, and he swears' by it. It is one of the earlier scopes they made, you know back when they were cheaper in price.

So a K98 action (maybe), the awesome wood, a match grade barrel in 6mmXC, and a Nightforce scope. I think your set, Sterkte, en skiet reguit na my vriend, think that's right.

Everything in a rifle is a compromize. I dont want to burst your bubble but standard cartridges fit the bill and with a good barrel and properly cut chamber will deliver .25 MOA. YOU CANNOT GET BENCHREST ACCURACY WITH A 98 MUASER ACTION. While you can get a very accurate rifle with a 98 Mauser YOU AINT GETTING .25 MOA. For the dollars spent the remington M700 trued and fitted properly fitted with a match barrel in a standard caliber is the best way to get there.How do I know I build rifles about 100 a year.

I do feel like I need to promote my favorite small caliber, the 6mm NormaBR. I shoot a Ruger M77 MarkII with a heavy Shilen barrel in this caliber and the accuracy are remarkable.
More about the caliber here:

6mmBR Cartridge Guide

Originally Posted by andriesdeklerk

My goeie vriend is mede eienaar!

..lucky bugger..!

I was allowed to have first picked today. So I cherry picked. Could not help myself. Like a kid in a candy shop. So hard to choose so one blank ended up as three! Can稚 put into words the beauty of the wood. So there will be a 6mmXC, restock dads 404J and thinking of putting the last piece to good use in a 350Rigby. Last two picks will be the 6mmXC. Block 6 and A+ for the 404 and 350R.

Three blanks are four now. How to stop?

Never thought I would say this to another man but, that's some nice wood.