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If one were building a high end hunting rifle in something like 300 WM, 300 PRC, 300 RUM, etc, would there be a preference toward a particular action?

AZ1182 wrote: ↑July 6th, 2020, 9:50 am Building from an action? Remington 700 all day, I see parts for it of interest all the time, the aftermarket is still making new and better things for it dude to the interest in PRS.

Got it. Is there any inherent accuracy or durability difference?

I guess it depends what your definition of high end is. There are some nice rifles that have been built off of a R700, but I wouldn't consider them "high end". I would start with a custom or at least a clone if you're building something. If that pushes the budget over the top, then I think building off of a Tikka (made by Sako) action would give you a better result than a R700 in the end. Buying things in the used market won't be as easy, but there's enough aftermarket support that you shouldn't have a problem getting what you want.

I wouldn't dismiss buying a complete Sako off the shelf or used though.

"High end" is defined differently by different people. The benefit of Remington is the aftermarket support available for it. You can find literally hundreds of options for stocks, triggers, DBM's scope rings and anything else you may need. That being said the cost of truing up a Remington to "high end" quality will put you very close to a custom action cost that will be leaps and bounds better and still have the aftermarket compatibility.

You can build a really nice rifle around the 700 action. As others have mentioned, the aftermarket support is there. Parts are readily available, and I think you'll find that the equivalent parts will be cheaper for the 700.

Years back, I customized a Weatherby MK V. The rifle had a high price to begin with, and then everything I swapped on it was insanely expensive, especially since hardly anyone made aftermarket for it. In the end, I was just flushing money down the toilet. If I would have put the same amount of money into a cheaper initial platform, I could have dumped more into some stellar glass. Just my opinion.

Thanks for the feedback. Let's pretend all the variables were very similar (cost, parts availability, gunsmith, etc), and it was being pieced together as a custom rig rather than from a mass-produced store bought rifle. Would there be any inherent accuracy and/or durability difference based on the raw design of the actions?

Sako is a better action than factory Remington 700 by a long way. Better barrels and triggers too. There are a lot of good options now a days, but between those 2 choices, Sako hands down. If you were actuality going to build a new custom rifle; I would not recommend either, better stuff can be had for similar or less money.

It's not the R700s design (outside of the crappy extractor) that's the issue - it's the execution of the design. A R700 produced to precision tolerances with a reliable extractor would be a fine action... Just ask Kelbly, Stiller, or Zermatt.

From a durability standpoint, the extractor is notorious for failing, especially on the mag bolt faces. It doesn't help that the extraction timing on the factory models is typically poor. I also wouldn't trust the lug engagement behind mag cartridge and the bolt fit is sloppy on most.

TheAccountant wrote: ↑July 7th, 2020, 2:14 pm I also wouldn't trust the lug engagement behind mag cartridge and the bolt fit is sloppy on most.

On a factory action or across the board?

On a factory 700. Sorry, should have been clearer.

If using a well-respected smith and non-mass-produced parts, is there any benefit to using a Sako rather than a Rem 700 type action?

Remington 700 "clone" custom actions are your best bet. Remington factory actions are junk without lot of work and money. It's really not worth the money invested. Lots of R700 footprint actions that will shoot great and last forever.

What is your budget? This will answer a lot of your questions. Is your budget $1500 or $6000?

Who is your smith? Do you already have one? Good smiths have a backlog of work. Local smith?

What is your time frame? Custom rifles take a long time (6mo-2yrs). Do you wanna to hunt this fall?

Good Scope? Big money there. Don't put a $500 scope on a $5000 rifle

Remington 700.

Is there a reason you're stuck on those two options?

I think you're best bet is to do what delfuego said and what I alluded to earlier: buy a clone. You can get an off the shelf shouldered and chambered barrel that will bolt right up without a smith ever seeing the action. Assuming you're a little handy, you should be able to buy a fully inlet stock and handle the bedding yourself. No need to wait a year for someone to build you a rifle.