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If you go the .308 custom route...

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VYD View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VYD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: If you go the .308 custom route...
    Posted: October/06/2010 at 15:18
Which one would you choose and why. Would like to hear from someone who have shot, or/and own, or/and planning to buy and done the research. I have done my own research but neither shot one of those guns nor own.
 
GA Precision
Tactical Rifles
TacOps
Mcmillan
 
They all guarantee 1/2" at 100 or better with Match grade ammo, so accuracy is not an issue. What do I need to look for and what questions to ask in case I missed anything?
 
Thanks!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dale Clifford Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/06/2010 at 15:45
Decide if you want a big and heavy tactical rifle or something a little more around town. Decide which cartridge and bullet you want to shoot, then tell them, they know what to do.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jonoMT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/06/2010 at 17:32
I'd agree that you need to be more specific about what you have in mind. There are so many options, even among those vendors. Also consider whether it's even worth it at all. There are some rifles made by Remington, Savage and Sako that would cost much less but be almost as if not as accurate. Personally, if someone handed me a budget of $5000 or so, I'd be putting money into serious optics (maybe even a Hensoldt), top-notch rings and rail, an Atlas bipod....ah, the list goes on.
Reaction time is a factor...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote supertool73 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/06/2010 at 17:35
One thing he will get with a Custom gun is a good stock.  Most of the stocks that come on these under $1000 factory guns flat out blow.  The stock and the hand lapped tube make them worth a lot more in my book. 

Course there are a lot of other smiths that build rifles just as good for a fraction of the cost of these big names.  
Lifetime warranty and excellent customer service don't mean a thing when your gun fails during a zombie attack.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VYD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/06/2010 at 17:53
I see what you are saying guys, however, with a custom gun, you have a control over what is going onto your gun. Besides, no factory mass produced rifle comes with a match grade barrel, match trigger, match style crown, high tolerence match grade receiver and bolt, high quality stock, high quality floor plate, and magazines...not to mention camo job if you need it.
 
I believe you have to have a high quality gun to take a full advantage of high quality optics. So the gun comes first.
 
Thanks.


Edited by VYD - October/06/2010 at 17:55
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 308 Sav Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/06/2010 at 19:25
Nothing wrong with a custom at all.

You get to have it made for YOU. You choose the outcome of how it will look and feel to you. 

I would like to get a custom built myself, and I own a Savage that would probably out shoot it. But there is a lot to be said about having a custom made for you how you want it.

Good luck and enjoy. Wish I could give you some advice.
Gerald Baker
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dale Clifford Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/06/2010 at 20:10
Originally posted by VYD VYD wrote:

I see what you are saying guys, however, with a custom gun, you have a control over what is going onto your gun. Besides, no factory mass produced rifle comes with a match grade barrel, match trigger, match style crown, high tolerence match grade receiver and bolt, high quality stock, high quality floor plate, and magazines...not to mention camo job if you need it.
 
I believe you have to have a high quality gun to take a full advantage of high quality optics. So the gun comes first.
 
Thanks.
Wrong-- Sako TRG 60 deg bolt for fast operations found, one of the best 2 stage match triggers out there, and AI, and DTA which has replaceable barrels, about the best safety location and trigger next to the sako out there. In fact I would say that it would be tough for any custom to match these 3 guns.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jonoMT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/07/2010 at 09:23
Well, it's your money and if you can afford both a custom rifle and the best optics, then go for it. However, I can't think of how many times I've seen one of these custom rifle packages with a decent but not overally impressive or functional scope. I can't help but wonder about the lack of balance in the overall package.

I will disagree to an extent with some comments. Yes, there are better barrels and better stocks, but I've loaded and shot 175 gr. SMKs through my $1000 Rem. 5R milspec with an H-S stock and kept them under .5 MOA almost every time (shooter error, not the rifle). As for optics, the function and glass in my Premier 3-15X beat the daylights out of anything but S&B or Hensoldt. That glass is so good we could see .308 bullet holes @ 300 yards. Also to consider, what's your budget for ammo and range time? What about a supplementary .22 target rifle to 1) give you another 100+ shots every time you go out and 2) something to do between cold-barrel shots on the .308? Do you shoot off a bipod? If so, better to pay $235 for an Atlas than half that for a Harris.

In the end, first consider what your goals are and how you want to use the rifle. Then consider the OVERALL approach to meeting those goals. Seldom is there one piece of equipment that will get you there.

Reaction time is a factor...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dale Clifford Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/07/2010 at 09:56
Barrels are barrels and actions are actions. Most custom actions are nice, especially with a rail built into as one unit, but they are still modified mausers, and in some cases remington copies. Even most good stocks are copies of Mcmillians. You should try different stocks, because at this level it's the most important item. (They all shoot good). While remington type hanger triggers (Huebert, Jewel) are nice the length of pull isn't adjustable or trigger angle. Sako and DTA solve this problem somewhat. The only really different one out there is DTA, and at this level with the money, accepting or rejecting what this gun has to offer should  be high on the list. Its pretty easy to 8-10k counting a good scope. If this hurts don't look at good skeet guns.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote supertool73 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/07/2010 at 10:02
As the SWFA SS scopes have proven you don't have to have a $3000 scope on your rifle to have a consistent and reliable optic.  And as TPS has proven you don't have to spent $160 on a set of rings to get good quality.  I am not saying the $3000 scopes don't offer you more, I am just saying having a $3000 optic on a decent $1000 rifle is no different than having a decent $800 scope on a $3000 rifle. 

As far as stocks go, there is no comparison between an HS stock that comes on many of the remington heavy barreled gun and a adjustable stock that is built for prone shooting.  They have a larger for-end, a properly angled grip and larger grip so you get the proper finger placement on the trigger.  They are typically heavier so your gun is more balanced.  Most of them have adjustable cheek height and LOP which makes all the diff in the world.  The list goes on.  Comparing a HS police type stock an adjustable HS, McMillan, AI, Sako TRG, or a Manners, is like comparing a Bushnell 4200 to a Z6.  Sure the 4200 works, but not like a Z6.  When I upgraded to an adjustable HS from my VS stock the difference was huge.  Same with the Mcmillan I had.  You quickly see that factory stocks just do not fit you and you can shoot much better with an adjustable stock. 

Having had a factory rem VS that would shoot .5 MOA and then having a new one built with a hand lapped tube and a adjustable stock, I can say there is no comparison between the two.  The stock actually fits me now, the barrel cleans easier, I have less fliers, my gun is more balanced.  When I grip the gun and put my finger on the trigger my wrist is at exactly the right angle and my finger fits perfectly on the trigger. 

On to the main question.  I have read that TacOps rifles are purposefully chambered for 168 grain SMK federal GMM ammo.  So if you plan on reloading keep that in mind. 

I have shot a McMillan and a GAP.  I liked the GAP a little better personally, but I only shot a few rounds out of each so my experience is minimal.  But they both shot exceptionally well.

I would take Dale's advice pick out kind of what you have in mind for uses and let them do the rest.  They know what to do.  It is kind of like asking a performance engine mechanic to build you a 500 HP engine and then you ordering all the parts that you think are best and telling him how to do it.  IT is just better to tell him what you want to do with the engine and let him take it from there.   

Another builder you might want to consider is American Patriot Arms.  They make some very fine rifles as well.  Jerod Joplin is a very talented builder. 


Edited by supertool73 - October/07/2010 at 10:06
Lifetime warranty and excellent customer service don't mean a thing when your gun fails during a zombie attack.

"A Liberal is a person who will give away everything they don't own."
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VYD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/07/2010 at 10:25
Thank all. Big Grin As far as optics, I am pretty much set on NF.

Edited by VYD - October/07/2010 at 10:25
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jonoMT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/07/2010 at 12:28
Supertool,

You make a lot of good points. And I'm not disputing that a $3000-4000 rifle is probably better...but how much better and at the expense of what other components and tools that will make a shooter better? I will disagree, however, on the point that a $1000 rifle with a $3000 optic is only just as good as a $3000 rifle with an $800 optic. I think that might be true in certain circumstances, e.g. two shooters at less than 500 yards in broad daylight. But @ 1000 yards in low light I'd rather have the $3000 scope.

Of course the simple truth about all this stuff, whether rifles or optics, is that you reach a point of diminishing returns pretty quickly. That's why it pays to balance any purchasing decision against the rest of what you need. Before I'd pay to shave another tenth or two of of a .5 MOA rifle I'd want a really good rangefinder. As for cleaning, I have 382 rounds down the 5R and have only cleaned it once (@ 220 rounds).
Reaction time is a factor...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote supertool73 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/07/2010 at 12:46
Originally posted by jonoMT jonoMT wrote:

is that you reach a point of diminishing returns pretty quickly.


That is very true.


 
Originally posted by jonoMT jonoMT wrote:

Before I'd pay to shave another tenth or two of of a .5 MOA rifle I'd want a really good rangefinder.


Its not really about shaving that last tenth or two for me.  If I can shoot under 1MOA at longer distances then I am completely satisfied.  And even more important than groups is if I can make a first round hit at given distances. That is where a better stock and barrel with help you.  ANd a good scope as well.  It is more about the consistency that is offered with a hand lapped custom barrel than a hammer forged factory barrel.  I have no doubt the 5r barrel is not a good barrel, but if they were really one of the best then people would not be spending money on the custom ones.  Making that first round hit becomes eaiser and more often with a rifle that is fitted to you and has all those bells and whistles.


Edited by supertool73 - October/07/2010 at 12:46
Lifetime warranty and excellent customer service don't mean a thing when your gun fails during a zombie attack.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dale Clifford Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/07/2010 at 14:32

The labor cost of putting on an old barrel so-so barrel is the same as putting on a nice and shiney name brand. So why would anyone choose the so-so barrel. The probability of greater precision, cleaning, bragging rights, go with a few bucks more and a bright and shiney. None of it matters if there isn't buckets of spent primers that goes along with gun down the road. No mention of caliber yet.

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