My new, old Rem 700 has arrived

[Spindrift]

Finally, my gunsmith was finished with my «Rem 700 custom project», and I could take the gun home today!

The gun was made in 1995, a CDL (I think) with detachable magazine, in 30-06. Nothing wrong with it in the first place. Accuracy adequate for big game hunting, but not directly inspiring; about 1,5 MOA. And since the primary function of this gun is to entertain me, I decided something had to be done. I admit, a rebuild was kind of the plan when I got it in the first place.

I am very lucky to have a highly proficient builder of bench rifles nearby, who does all kinds of gunsmithing. After discussing the matter with him, the plan was as follows:

- Bed it in a GRS Berserk stock (love it! Don`t try it if you can´t get it!)
-Upgrade to magnum recoil lug
-Conversion to hinged floorplate (my preference)
- Treaded sleeve in front reciever ring (Made by Varberger, Sweden), so you can swap barrels as easily as changing a muzzle device
-Square/lap bolt face/recoil lug/ Reciever
- Convert to Sako extractor
- Schultz & Larsen 22in 30-06 sporter barrel, threaded for silencer.
-Varberger 6,5x55 Scan 22in semi- heavy barrel, threaded
- Lothar Walther .44 Auto Mag 20in heavy barrel

The feeling when closing the bolt is noticably.. different. Feels incredibly tight, but not heavy if you know what I mean.
Can`t wait to shoot this gun. I think I will start with the Auto Mag, and cast bullets- very curious what I can get out of this pistol cartridge in such an accuracy- oriented platform.

The scope is a Zeiss conquest HD 3-12x50, in standard leuopld rings. The silencer is produced in Norway (Hausken), and works with the 6,5 and .30 cal barrels. THe plan is top thread the .44 barrel as well, find a cheap, second- hand aluminium silencer and ream it to .44.

Adding new barrels is relatively affordable. I have bought a lightly used spare bolt, so I can add another famliy of bolt faces if I want to.

The only negative thing about this rifle is, it leaves absolutely no excuses. It might not be to everybody`s taste, but it doesn`t have to be- it is an uncompromising build, for me.

Range day on Saturday

 

[Rick]

That is just too nice. Congrats! Waiting for the targets. I'll bet it lives up to your expectations.

 

[Cherokee]

Sounds great, exactly what you wanted.

 

[Ian]

If I could give that ten likes I would, especially the part about it being YOUR baby built just the way you wanted with no apologies. Looks like you could eventually have even more barrels fitted to match the receiver/bolt face if you wanted, and NOW I finally understand the 44 automag choice for your straight-wall conversion. Had you considered the 45 Raptor?

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

ILIKE IT!


Looking forward to reading the results of this weekends shoot!!

CW

 

[Spindrift]

Ian, I was not aware of the 45 Raptor at the time I ordered the barrel (and applied for a permit). My gunsmith already had a 44 AM reamer, and a nice Hornady die set with an old, yellowed and friendly price tag on it .

The Raptor is certainly interesting, I have been looking into it after you brought it to my attention in another thread. I think the Raptor would satisfy the energy demands for big game hunting in Norway (with cast bullets). I will shoot this rifle a bit, and get some experience with straight wall cartridge/bolt gun combination. I will consider the Raptor for my next barrel, but there are other cartridges that are tempting as well; 35 Whelen, 9,3x62.....

The case volume of the Starline brass is almost identical to Remington .44 mag-brass. So, I will start with .44mag starting loads. I have been shopping moulds, perhaps a bit over-enthusiastically:

Lee 429-200 (.431 as cast)
MP 434-215 (GC, HP multi-choice)
Lee 430-240 swc (TL grooves, bevel base)
NOE 432-240 (WFN, GC)
NOE 432-249 (50/50 gc/pb)
Lachmiller 429-250 (.431, 265grs as cast; GC, SWC)
MP 432-256 (PB, HP-multi-choice)
Lee c430-310 (wfn, GC)

These should keep me occupied for a while

 

[Ian]

It's good to have options, especially if they present themselves economically and handily. I may eventually come to realize that Von Gruff was right, a 7x57 Mauser and a .416 Rigby are all a man ever needs, but in the meantime this is a hobby, right?

 

[Intheshop]

Very nice Spin,am sure it going to be worth the effort.

Curious about how easy/fast the scope zero's dial in.

 

[Spindrift]

Yes, Ian, it is a hobby- our choices need not always be logical. If actual need was a part of the equation, I would never have gotten this rifle in the first place.

ITS, I’m also curious as to the difference in point of impact; no way to predict, really. I might install a picatinny rail later, so I can have dedicated scopes to the different barrels. The 6,5 barrel kind of begs for a long-range scope like a Vortex HS-T, or something.

 

[RBHarter]

You missed the 429421 .
Just kidding a little .
I have one that was lathe opened on the bands to .448 and is actually very good paper patched to .452 for Colts etc in Carbines I would expect it to work well if large enough in a 44 as well .

 

[Spindrift]

RBHarter, I’ll keep my eyes open
I admit I’ve gone a little over the top with my mould selection here

When I started casting with my Lee moulds, I was so fascinated by the huge slugs.... never owned anything beyond .30 caliber before. A few well- timed (or ill-timed) discounts at NOE and MP, and a nice Lachmiller at bargain price... I’m only human, you know.

Just finished loading the first 50 test loads, with viht N110. A nice variety of weights, from 210-310grs. Some for chrono, will shoot some groups too.

Notes to self:
1) deburr the starline cases before first use
2) more flare next time (Shavings! I hate them!)

 

[Spindrift]

Fired the first 50 rounds with the Auto Mag today. The goal today was mostly to get some chrono data, and an impression of the ballistics of this round. I used N110 powder, which should be a good powder for this cartridge- but maybe not for the Lee 429-200 PB bullet? We`ll see. Got to start somewhere.

Shot a «pressure ladder» with one shot with each loading weight, half-grain increments
Lee 429-200, N110 19,5- 21,5 grs (1480- 1730fps)
NOE 432-240 WFN/GC, N110 17,5- 19,5 (1486- 1660fps)
Lachmiller 429-250 SWC/GC N110 17,5- 19,5 (1437-1640fps)
Lee c430-310RF N110 15-17 (1122- 1351)

Some soot on some of the lower loads. There is room for more spice here. The little Lee- bullet will be tested with a faster powder next time. I have also some PC bullets, will be interesting to see how fast I can drive the light bullets with PC.

I also shot some groups, just to start gathering data. Since I had shaved several bullets quite badly during the loading session, expectations were low. No really impressive groups, but I think there is potential here. Now I have some data to build on.

The group below was Lach 429-250 GC, 17,5grs N110. It was while loading these cartridges I realized I was shaving the bearing surface of the bullets. So, 1 cartridge with lead shaving, the rest were OK, since i deburred the cases. Guess which cartridge gave rise to the flier?

Distance 100, shooting from prone position with support on a bag. The target circles are about 1MOA apart.

 

[fiver]

I dunno about the 7x57 and 416 being all one needs.
I started with the 7 and kept working it upwards.
first the Ackley then the ICL which got me into lower-mid 7mag velocity's with the 140gr bullets.
that was a little more than I needed with the bullets I liked.
I was I dunno not so cheap on the rifle build but didn't go overboard for a hunting rifle that was gonna get drug through everything, but there was a definite line I was gonna not cross for the price of a projectile.
I guess the old saying of 'speed has it's price,,, how fast you wanna go?' is true for rifles as well as cars.

 

[Spindrift]

I like the look of the MP bullets. Think they will get their first run next time. Now I have a rough idea where I am on the map, loading- wise.

 

[Spindrift]

Second range trip today, with the Auto Mag. So, still early days in load development. I have started with .431 sizing, light neck tension (0,001) and light jam fit. I suspect these cartridges would bnenefit from more neck tension, will try next time. And maybe crimping, to aid ignition- but that would involve shortening the COL to the crimp groove. I will have to consult the target, to see what works best.

Several 5- shot groups around 2 MOA today. Shot from prone, with support on a bag; there are elements of shooters error in the groups here. So, no crazy accuracy yet- but I`m learning. THis is the first straight-wall cartridge I have loaded for. A learning curve is expected.

The 429-200/ 8grs universal load was subsonic, and I could actually see the bullet arcing towards the target. Great fun!
The 429-250 Lachmiller SWC, and the Lee c430-310-RF show promise.

 

[Ian]

Those all show promise, no wild flyers. Do you have a suppressor for that caliber?

 

[Spindrift]

Not yet, but I will eventually get one

 

[Spindrift]

By the way; I resized the brass using my Lyman .308win FL-die. It works the brass less (but still sufficiently) than the .44 auto mag FL- die.

A question for you seasoned handgun reloaders concerning PB and bevel based bullets. Do you think I can load them to full power, or is it necessary to show some constraint, like with PB bullets in bottleneck cartridges?

 

[fiver]

run e'm up.
I'd also up the neck tension some.

I was running plain base bullets in the lever rifles at 1650 fps without even trying.
a closed system and the smaller cases seem to let you pull off a few things you can't get away with when using bigger or bottleneck cases.

 

[Spindrift]

Thanks! Will up the neck tension next time, and try some full-power plain base loads.

Edit
In have used a .430 plug, with .431 bullets. My expander options are .430, .429, .427 and .426. Will try .429 next, and move to smaller plugs if necessary. I also have sizer options from .430-.434 (NOE bushings). Lots of combinations I could try