Building a bolt gun

[jkgts1]

Remington 700 action...criterion remage setup...I was in your position at one point...I'm not a pro...I'm just an occasional shooter and this rifle is more than enough for my needs....I didnt want to spend thousands of dollars....i shoot with people with custom rifles costing 3x and i never felt at a disadvantage.

This is a couple groups at 100yards...but you should do what you feel suits your need or what you really want...I'm just sharing
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Very nice groups, thanks for sharing.

[divingin]

Unless you're planning on competing against stiff competition (and looking to win, if not give them a run for their money), I'd say a RemAge setup will do fine. In the end we're all taking what we've got and trying to do the best we can with it.

The advantage of a Rem-Age is the economy of assembly (no smith required, hence, no smith wait time); the disadvantage is the possibility of slightly degraded performance. You may or may not save money on the up front costs. Barrel replacement is straightforward, and the initial installation teaches you what you need to do, so it's quicker the second time.

I have both a switch barrel shouldered action (spin off the short range barrel, spin on the long range barrel - requires down time to fit a new barrel as the smith wants the action in hand, and he's not real fast); and a R700 RemAge setup for more casual shooting. Either way works for me.

[ar15barrels]

The advantage of a Rem-Age is the economy of assembly (no smith required, hence, no smith wait time); the disadvantage is the possibility of slightly degraded performance. You may or may not save money on the up front costs. Barrel replacement is straightforward, and the initial installation teaches you what you need to do, so it's quicker the second time.

I have both a switch barrel shouldered action (spin off the short range barrel, spin on the long range barrel - requires down time to fit a new barrel as the smith wants the action in hand, and he's not real fast); and a R700 RemAge setup for more casual shooting.

The advantage of having me fit a barrel is that the wait time is only 3-4 hours and you get to watch the work being done.

[splithoof]

Op, you could save yourself a lot of dicking around by simply having Randall install a good quality barrel in the caliber of your choice, and in the exact configuration you prefer. If you decide to get more serious later about placing the bullets in distance targets, you will have the foundation you need without having to go from cheap to much better, and buying more tools to make that happen. You can enjoy assembling the rest of the components that don't require the specialized experience that a proper barrel install really does. And that experience WILL make a difference that is measurable.

[divingin]

The advantage of having me fit a barrel is that the wait time is only 3-4 hours and you get to watch the work being done.

Well, yeah, aside from the 7 hour drive down and another 7 back...

But I'm keeping you in mind, Randall.