My next project Rem 700 in .458 Socom

[Reagan40]

I've had a little bit of time over the last two days to work on the Remington 700. Here are a few pictures of Monday evening.


Head space is set. This picture shows the bolt not closing on the no go gauge.




After checking headspace, I put in a piece of brass that had a primer loaded, no bullet or powder. Then I pulled the trigger and heard the pop of the primer. Why? Well... Because it was kind of fun even though it served no real purpose except for making me smile.






Next, I took the bolt apart. The ejector was already out for the head space gauges. I actually broke the bolt down further to prep for Cerakote, but I didn't take a picture of that.

Next post will will be of what I did tonight.

 

[Reagan40]

Tonight, I got a little more done. Most of the evening was spent running wire and hooking up a 220v circuit in my garage so that I could use our old electric oven for this project. After I finished that, I started degreasing the parts.


So, I've never soaked a barreled action in acetone before. Previous builds have involved the barrel and receiver being separate at this point. So, the tub I typically use was not long enought. So, I made a tub using aluminum foil. Disregard the torch. It and the acetone bottle were being used to keep the makeshift soaking tank from falling apart. I soaked the parts for 45 minutes. I need to find a better way to do this. Suggestions?



Then, everything went into the oven for 30 minutes. No signs of oil after the parts came out of the oven.

Tomorrow, I hope to sand blast and Cerakote.

 

[oldpink]

Great stuff.
I bet you're super eager to get out to the range to sight in your new rifle.
Thanks for the pics.

 

[ghuns]

I need to find a better way to do this. Suggestions?

For a blueing tank, I have always used a capped piece of 4" PVC, sawed in half lengthwise. Not so good for an acetone bath. Maybe check a farm supply type place for a metal trough of some kind?

 

[Reagan40]

Parts are cooling and about to come out of the oven. I'll try to assemble them tomorrow.


And, I just realized how disgusting this oven is... Even for a garage project oven, this is bad.

 

[Reagan40]

Here is where I am at now. I just need a stock and it would be ready to shoot. The Cerakote turned out really well. It takes some time, but it is worth it.

I plan on buying a Magpul Hunter stock with the detachable magazine. With that being a new item, they are not expected to be in stock anywhere until May. So, I will have to take a break on this project for a month or so. Once I get the stock, I will post a picture of the completed rifle, then hopefully a range report soon after.

 

[oldpink]

That looks really nice.
I've heard a lot about Cerakote as a viable alternative for the much more involved hot bath bluing process.
A couple of years ago, I had my Marlin 39A reblued because years before that, I had foolishly left it in a gun case too long, enough so to rust the receiver and barrel a bit.
It broke my heart having to do it, but I love this rifle.
I sometimes wonder if Cerakote might have been a better option.

 

[AllenM]

Looking good!

 

[gunselman]

Looks awesome man. I have a 243 Remington 700 i picked up a while ago that i am thinking of switching over to a 458 bolt gun to augment my 10.5" 458 AR15 SBR. How long is that barrel?

 

[Reagan40]

Looks awesome man. I have a 243 Remington 700 i picked up a while ago that i am thinking of switching over to a 458 bolt gun to augment my 10.5" 458 AR15 SBR. How long is that barrel?

The barrel is 18". I really like the .458 Socom round. My AR has a 16" barrel and it is my favorite gun to shoot. The fact that I can hunt deer in Indiana with it, makes it even more enjoyable. An SBR in .458 would be cool. How does your shoot?

 

[gunselman]

My 10.5" SBR shoots great; about 1.5" groups @ 100 yards maybe a little less. I got the barrel from SBR (Southern Ballistic Resarch) same place as you. I know that's not great for some people but i didn't expect that kind of accuracy form a barrel this short in a 458. If think it actually shoots better than my old 16" Rock River Arms 458 SOCOM upper!

 

[Reagan40]

I couldn't wait anymore. I am intending to put the new Magpul 700 stock on this, with the detachable magazine floor plate, but I had a few minutes to go to the range with my family tonight. I took the hogue stock off of my Remington 70 SPS tactical .308 and put it on my .458 socom. I plopped an old bushmaster scope on top just to have something to look through. My purpose was to make sure that the gun would shoot and not blow up. I only took 3 rounds. I just wanted to know it would work and didn't want to take the time to sight it in since my wife and 8 year old daughter were there with me. The gun fired and did not blow up. That was a good thing. I could see I was hitting the back stop, but I never hit the target. I guess I should have takin a few minutes to bore sight it before I went out

The best part of the evening was teaching my daughter how to shoot my savage .22 with a suppressor. This was her first time at the range. She has started calling it her gun, so I am both excited and a little sad all at the same time. I'm guessing it will be cerekoted pink by the time she turns 9. She did really well. 19 of 20 shots on target, and most within a 3" circle in the center of the target.

So, now I continue to wait on Magpul to start shipping their stocks. I'll post pictures once the Magpul stock is on.

 

[Reagan40]

I decided not to wait on Magpul to start shipping the Hunter 700 stock to finish this project. I decided that I would go ahead and buy an inexpensive stock, with the PTG trigger guard for the AICS detachable magazine. This would still give me the detachable magazine, but not be terribly expensive. The only downside, is the inexpensive Boyd's stock that I bought does not allow for a drop in fit. So, I will begin inletting for the PTG tonight. The PTG kit came with pillars, so I will pillar bed it for now. I ordered the Boyd's stock thinking it will be temporary. I just don't think I can wait any longer. I really need to get this rifle out to the range and get a load developed. For the money, I am pleasantly surprised by the Boyd's stock. It is rigid and feels pretty good. I think it is going to do fine for my shorter range hunt. Here is a picture of what I received today. Ill post some pictures of the process later.

 

[Reagan40]

I have the PTG bottom kit 95% completed. I should have a magazine delivered to me by Tuesday. Once I have that, I will check to see how it feeds. I may have to inlet a bit deeper, but I wanted to get the magazine in to test the feeding first. Here is what it looks like now. I am taking Tuesday off, so I hope to get the inletting finished, epoxy in my pillars, and maybe get a coat of paint on the stock.

 

[oldpink]

Nice job.
Really cool that you're seeking to get the most you possibly can out of the .458 Socom round by putting it in a high quality bolt action setup.

 

[Reagan40]

I finished up the fine tuning of the I letting this evening. I assembled everything and popped a magazine in with 3 dummy rounds. It fed the rounds well. Then, I took it all apart. There was some exposed wood from the I letting, so I decided to paint the stock. Tonight, I put a coat of primer on. Tomorrow, I plan to paint it. I'm thinking I may try camo.

 

[Reagan40]

I think this rifle is finished! I finished painting the stock today.



After the the paint dried, I put everything together. I am hoping to have time to run to the range to fire a few rounds before we leave town tomorrow mid morning. I will do a brief range report once I have the chance to shoot it. Hopefully it will shoot well and I can get a bear with it. I borrowed a scope from one of my other rifles for now. I will eventually put a Vortex on it and return the loaner scope to its rifle. Here is how it looks for now.



Ill try try to take some better pictures when I take it to the range. So far, I am very pleased with how this rifle turned out. It will undoubtedly be a very special part of my collection.

 

[oldpink]

Nice camo job.
Not that it would enhance its utility, but have you considered dressing it up with a nice walnut stock for an alternate look when you feel like showing it off?

 

[Reagan40]

I leave tomorrow morning to take this rifle on the bear hunt. I will add some pictures when I get back. Hopefully I will get a bear, and a bear wont get me!

 

[curraheeguns]

Updates?? Cool thread.