Time to build a new rifle.

[Lars]

So I'm going to start a new rifle build and I would like some opinions from the crowd. This is going to be my Go To rifle for every thing from deer to moose and bear. This build will be a .30 cal. leaning toward the .300 weatherby as I really like the weatherby calibers and have plenty of brass and the dies already on hand. However, I would like to get away from the belted cartridge and the freebore that comes with any Weatherby caliber. As such I have been looking into the .300 Dakota, your getting the same ballistics as a weatherby while eliminating the cons that I previously mentioned. The .300 Win Mag is not an option, nothing against the caliber, I just don't wont a Win Mag.

the barrel will be built by Mark Channlynn and I'm leaning toward using a Bighorn action, but let's open that discussion as well. The stock is either going to be a McMillian or Manners, with BDL type hinged bottom metal. Let's hear your thoughts and opinions on this one and see what we can come up with. This is not going to be a bench gun so weight is a consideration.

[XC700116]

I think I'd look at 300 Norma or 300 rum from what it sounds like you're looking for.

[cstone]

So you are going for a Remage type barrel nut on a 700 action?

.338 Lapua Mag in consideration?

[Lars]

The . 300 rum and the .338 lapua are out as I want to stick with a standard length action. And while the .338 Lapua is an excellent cartridge, it is the last thing that I would want to pack on my next sheep hunt in Alaska or take into the back country.

[Spdu4ia]

Have you looked into defiance actions?

[TheBelly]

7mm Short aAction Ultra Mag?

[Hoser]

Either a 7 SAUM/WSM or 30 SAUM/WSM would be the way I would lean.

Good call on the Bighorn. I am very happy with mine.

Go with Manners. Tom Manners is a great person and he runs a great company.

[C Ward]

Neither 300 Dakota or 300 Norma are going to work in a standard magnum action . The Dakota is based on the 404 Jefferies case and the Norma is a proprietary case with the same case head as a 338 Lapua . A 300 RUM will fit in a standard Rem magnum action .


The SAUM's shoot but brass availability is problematic .

The freebore with the Weatherby cartridges was done by them to get the velocity they wanted for advertising and is bad from an accuracy stand point , it doesn't have to be there . A custom reamer fixes that and all the issues typically associated with belted mag's .

Weatherby brass has issues because of the compound radius on the shoulder and being made by Norma it is soft .

No reason to reinvent the wheel , with bullet choice today there is no reason to choose a 30 over a 7 . If it was me I'd go 7 WSM or 7-300 WSM , brass availability which is crap for everything but oddballs and orphans now so it's only marginally better , and have the reamer cut to run the Berger 180's .

[Delfuego]

Bighorn / Channlyn is a great combo! Colorado made rifle
I think 7mm is a better caliber choice.

[Lars]

Thanks for the input guys. I decided to go ahead with the .300 Weatherby, I know it's not everyone's first choice but I have had great success with the caliber in the past, and well I just really like it so I'm building another one. I talked to Mark and got the order put in for a 26" #5 contour fluted barrel, and I bought a Bighorn action from 3rd Gen shooters supply today. I've decided to put it in a manners elite hunter stock using a Jewel trigger. All that is left is to decide on bottom metal and whether or not to put a break on it.