Bedding, scope mounting, trigger job – improving hunting rifle

[OPM]

I have an old 30-06 Savage, which helped me to harvest a few animals. It was a packaged deal, so rifle plus mounted scope cost me under $300. All animals were taken within 75y and at that distance the package was great. However, I now exclusively hunt with a muzzleloader and the old girl is lonely in the safe. So I’d like to turn it into a long range hunting rifle with few improvements. My goal is Antelope @ 300y.

My plan:

1. Better scope. OEM scope sucks. I love Nikon and BDC. Currently they are on sale - $180 for 40mm 4-12. Is 4-12 a good choice? Or would 6-18 be better?
2. Talley Lightweight Alloy scope mounts. Is there a better choice? Or should I just reuse current rings? They are actually not bad.
3. Should I bother with Wheeler Engineering scope mounting kit or similar kit? At $95 it hurts, but I will likely install 2-3 more scopes within the next 5 years. Can I rent it some place? I know some tools can be rented.
4. Bed the action. It’s plastic stock. I was thinking ACRAGLAS Gel kit. Is there something better?
5. Build a custom cheek rest. Any recommendations on existing products to save me time and aggravation?
6. Trigger job.
7. Workup a 150gr load or may be 165gr. We’ll see what she likes.

Any tips from bench guys would be appreciated. My main two concerns are # 3 and 4. $95 can be used elsewhere, but if it’s a must than I’ll do it. And I prefer to use high quality bedding kit. Thanks.

 

[cockpitbob]

* Scope: 4-12 is good, but a 4-16 would be better. Several manufacturers easily handle that 4:1 zoom ratio. I have a Sightron and love it. Anything over 18 is a waste because at 18x you can see aiming errors less than 1/4MOA.
* Mounts: Any Weaver/Picatinny mount system is fine. Lots of people over do the mount but unless you plan on dropping the rifle on the scope, hard, I wouldn't go overboard.
* Wheeler mounting kit: I don't see any need. Savage probably drilled the holes accurately. I also don't know anyone that lapped their rings. A few thou of stress on the scope tube won't do anything.
* Bedding is critical, but if the barrel is floated back to within 2" of the receiver I would only do this if she didn't perform. Do everything else then decide if you want to bed it. I've used Acraglass and except for getting the bubbles out, it is easy to work with. On my next bedding job I plan on trying their Steel Bed. McMillian uses black MarineTex. I used it once and liked it a lot. Easy to get the bubbles out, but doesn't run.
* Do a trigger job if there's something you don't like. If it can be adjusted down to a clean 3-4lb break, leave it. Think twice about going below 3lbs for a big game gun.
* Load: 300y isn't that long, so the weight of the bullet isn't that critical. For target ranges beyond 300 in my 30-06 I use a 175gr Sierra MatchKing and for hunting something of a similar weight. The longer bullets are lower drag and actually shoot flatter at the longer ranges because they retain their speed better.

 

[OPM]

Thank you.

* So what power do you usually use @ 300y?

* I never mounted a scope before so I was not sure the real world benefit, but rings + kit is around $130 and I’d love to save that.

* It’s an inexpensive mass produced rifle. The barrel is not free-floating. It touches in number of spots. @75y it was not critical, but @ 300y I have a feeling it might be. Besides, I’d like to try bedding it. But since the price is almost identical for all kits and it takes time and effort to do it right, I wanted to make sure I am using high quality kit.

* The trigger is slightly over 5lb. It’s not too bad. I am only planning to polish it a little. 3-4lb and smooth is my goal.

*175gr might be great for paper, but likely be too much for an Antelope. Hence, 150gr. If needed, I can go with Barnes all-copper 150gr, which will give me a longer bullet. But that is more of the “part-two” of this build. Oh and BTW, it is standard 1:10 twist.

 

[cockpitbob]

The power I use depends on 1) steadiness of rest. 2) Needed field of view. If I'm up on my hind legs I'm at 4X and if I'm on my belly with the bipod I'm probably at 16X. You only need enough power to eliminate visual aiming errors. I use the mil-dots which are only accurate at 16X(not a first focal plane scope) so I either use 16x, 8x or 4x to keep the mental math doable.

If the barrel is not free-floating then that should be a #1 priority. Shot to shot and hot to cold, the stock pressure on the barrel will change which will move your point of impact. I've never seen floating the barrel not help. I had a sporterized Krag who's 50 year old walnut stock had shifted and was putting pressure on the side of the barrel up front. At 100 yards it would string a horizontal pattern 10" wide!. After I pillar bedded the action and floated the barrel it started doing sub 2" groups. So, go for it! Take your time and have fun with it. Since it's a tupperware stock you have little to lose. Mask off the outside and if you don't like how the inside looks, just grind out the epoxy and do it again . The only really bad thing that can happen is gluing the metal to the plastic or getting glue on the outside.

That 1:10 twist is great. It will stabilize almost anything. A long Barnes is a great choice.

 

[bpm990d]

If it's a polypropylene stock you can not bed it. The bedding will not stick.

I think 300 yards is within the MPB range of a 30-06 with bullets suitable for antelope. Not really long range.

Barrel, bedding and bullets is what you should focus on. I personally think Savage is the Trabant/Gremlin of rifles, they can be made to shoot well but they have lines like Rosean Barr.

B

 

[ChevyGuy91]

I personally think Savage is the Trabant/Gremlin of rifles, they can be made to shoot well but they have lines like Rosean Barr.

B

I have nothing of substance to add to this thread, I just wanted to say this right here, is funny.

 

[OPM]

If it's a polypropylene stock you can not bed it. The bedding will not stick.

Great point! It could have cost me. However, I did some reading and it seems it can be done. Tricks: 1) make undercuts for mechanical hold; 2) drill small holes ½ or ¾ of the stock’s depth for mechanical hold; 3) use primer or paint designed for polypropylene; 4) use small metal screws as the foundation. I like 1 & 2. I might even be willing to drill a few small holes all the way through stock. I likely will paint it afterwards anyway.

I also see that too many people rave about Devcon Plastic Steel Putty. So I am thinking of maybe using that. Many think it’s too pricy. And I agree if you getting a lb, but I can buy 2oz for $8 and I do not think I’ll need more than 3-4oz. So that is $16+$3 for kiwi, which is the same price as 4oz ACRAGLAS Gel kit.

I personally think Savage is the Trabant/Gremlin of rifles, they can be made to shoot well but they have lines like Rosean Barr.

That’s my secret. I am a terrible shot, but the animals die from the heart attack just looking at the Savage.

 

[exo]

In addition to the sale prices Nikon is currently doing a rebate offer for their BDC scopes.

http://www.nikonpromo.com/bdc.php

 

[OPM]

Thank you for the heads up. I was planning to leverage this rebate to go from usual MSRP of 220 to 180, but it seems Amazon just reduced the price to $200 (http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-ProStaf...UTF8&qid=1346966823&sr=8-4&keywords=nikon+bdc). So I pulled the trigger and now @ 170. Sweet! Although 4-16 might have been better, I just cannot see putting anything over $200 on this girl. I love Nikon and find BDC useful. So @ 170 this was really an easy decision right scope at the right price for this rifle. I doubt that I’ll regret it.

So it seems the build just started!!!

 

[mac1911]

All though not s opening my Springfield 03A3 I did free float barrel.
it came with original stock and a unknown brand synthesis stock. The original stock was s bear to shoot. The synth was more comfortable BUT ac curacy was all over.
I spray painted the barrel channel primer gray. Applied lip stick to under side of barrel. All the contact points showed their face. I used a dremel tool to grind down all the contacting areas back to 2 inches of reciever. This alone help big time. Old girl wax now grouping. I gave up there as this stock had a ringing through it that was just horrible.
you could apply the sameconcept to the action see any high or low spots?

I wasted a lot of time trying to get sun par stuff to work....mount the scope and see what happens. Then freefloat barrel and look for improvements.