painless

just wanted to get thoughts on customizing 2 of my abolts. i have a 300 win mag and a 270wsm. i have narrowed the stocks down to mcmillian browning varmit series. these stocks will take up to a number 8 contour. i have also decided on putting a lilja barrel 27 inches long with a muzzle brake and a 1 in 10 twist on the 300 win mag, the 270 wsm gets a pac nor 24 inches long with a 1 in 10 twist. my question is what contour barrels to use i am looking at number 5 or 6 contours right now but am open to suggestions. both guns shoot great but i want to make them mine. also if you dont like the browning factory trigger brownells has a moyer trigger that fits the a-bolt and it is nice and crisp. both guns have this trigger and i am very pleased with the results. both of these guns will be used for hunting, but i am also in an informal club where we shoot out to 600 yards so i want them to be a little better than factory any advice would be great thanks.....




browning...........the best there is!!!!!!!!!

popeye

My first thought is really two questions. What type and style of hunting do you plan on doing? What will be the primary use of each rifle when you complete the project?
Adding an inch in length generally will not increase velocity enough to matter. However going to a 5/6 or heavier contour barrel and a varmint stock will greatly increase weight and bulk. In a hunting context both rifle' s would be limited because of this. In the case of the 300, a 27in barrel is difficult to deploy unless you' ll be useing a tripod stand or similar situation with a clear field of fire.
If you' re going to use the rifles for benchrest type of shooting then both the extra length and weight could be an asset. I don' t know enough about serious benchrest shooting to offer an opinion.
You have made fine choices in regards to barrel and stock companys, all three make high quality products. I would stick with the stock Browning trigger.

painless

both of my guns are in the 8 to 10 pound range as they are so weight is really not a factor for me most of my hunting is done out of a treestand over fields. i do have a harris bi pod on my 300 win mag. the 300 is primarily used for elk and mule deer out west and the 270 wsm is used for deer and coyote. i live in tennessee but hunt all over the place. the main purpose for the upgrade is accuracy. i just enjoy shooting accurate rifles and i guess that is the real reason...

bigcountry

Well, my only thought would be why the browning action? I mean I have gained new respect for the browning guns after recently buying a Medallion and not a bad shooter. But for customizer, I don' t know. There is alot of things I don' t like about the action. Mainly the safety and its style period. Just did the same thing but to a 700 action. The gun shoots very well, but in retrospec, I would have used a 70 Action. Now I am having to have the bolt reworked with a Sako extractor. Well, don' t have too, but want to. I did this with a kreieger barrel however. Really like kreiger. And Dan Lilja, and hart, and maybe Shilen. Can' t go wrong with none of them. Also, here is a tip that I wish I would have specified loudly to my my smith. Tell him that you want to be able to hit the lands below the SAAMI max. COL Specs. With special reamers they can do this. One reamer for the headspace and another for the bullet to hit the lands that doesn' t cut the headspace. With my 300RUM, my thoat is very long. Not happy with that. Still shoots well.

Quilly

i too once wanted to use a browning action for a 35whelen. until i found out from a gunsmith in N.H. that you need a certain special lug wrnech to take off the barrel. and that can only be taken off or on by browning. ( don' t know if it was true or just what the gunsmith told me was bull ) anyone know or heard of that one?

bigcountry

Thats bull according to my gunsmith. But they are one of the toughests barrels to remove. Some smiths thought they were press fitted at one time. But they use a very strong perm. loktight on the barrels from factory.

I saw my gunsmith remove one with big modified Pipe type wrench. It was modified with rubber so you can remove with no damage to the barrel. Maybe the wrench you were talking about.

oldelkhunter

Like Big Country Says the barrels are really tightened down and industrial strength loctite is used. Lots of Gunsmiths won' t work on a A bolt for whatever reason they may have . The ones I have owned 7 mag and 300 wsm I saw no need to go the custom barrel route they all shot great very accurate rifles. There is no guarantee that going the heavy barrel route and restocking the barrelled action that your gun(s) will be that much more accurate.

painless

i guess i should have stated that i allready have a browning a-bolt that my gunsmith worked on. he put a krieger barrel on it for me. all the browning rifles that i own shoot very accurately. i just like custom guns. oldelkhunter said it all....there is a chance it wont shoot any better, but after my first browning project i like my chances. the thing that i dont understand is why everyone thinks it is so hard to customize a-bolts???????? my gunsmith said he rarely works on them but they are not really any trouble after you get the barrel off!!!!

bigcountry

I don' t think everyone thinks it hard to work on, but that first breaking of the barrel. Dude, you asked for opinions.

painless

i understand what you are saying, i just want to know what contour you guys would use. the .308 i had worked on was a straight taper and i am looking for a sporter type contour. i already know that i am crazy and that my expectations are to high, my fiance has told me that on several occasions but she said i could not buy anymore guns untill we were married, but she never said that i could not customize the ones i already have. you guys are great and i thank you for any info that you pass on to me.........