The Dream Rifle
I’m a lousy gun collector. A good collector has themes (all the firearms used during World War II, etc.) and, more importantly, holds onto almost everything. I have a lot of guns, it's true, but I am more of an enthusiast. I buy the guns that strike my fancy at the time. Sometimes, I walk into the local gun shop and something jumps out at me. I have bought dozens of guns over the years that I didn’t plan to keep. I just thought I could clean them up and make a buck. During my younger years, that is exactly what I did. I would buy up old beaters from pawn shops and yard sales, fix them, and resell them at my own yard sale. This was back when the Crown, (Nevada) allowed the private transfer of firearms. Heaven forbid a man buys a .22 at a yard sale for his kid without the government making its best impression of Don Corleone and giving the nod of approval. I digress. I try not to keep around too many guns that I don't use. So even today, I offload the dust collectors and line my pockets with cash so that when the next firearm strikes my fancy, I have the green to bring it home.
About ten years ago, I had a very successful yard sale and ended up with about four grand in my pocket. Traditionally, that would have lasted a good portion of the year, but that particular year, there was nothing I desired, no old classic to pine over and no new guns on the horizon that called to me. So, I decided to build my dream rifle. Spare no expense, damn the torpedoes, dream hunting rifle.
What, you may ask, makes a dream rifle? Of course, every individual who attempts to build their dream rifle will have a different set of criteria. Mine is quite different from the vast majority of hunters nowadays. Most hunters are looking for larger, faster, and farther. Now, I have never besmirched anyone's desires when it comes to guns. I have bought some silly guns for silly reasons and smiled the entire time. That said, today’s hunter could use a lesson in practicality. Every week, a new hunting cartridge hits the shelves. Each one pushes the limits of velocity to a new extreme and, more importantly, pushes the hunter's pocketbook to the same extreme. I'm sorry, I can't bring myself to shoot a cartridge that contains a quarter can of powder in every shell, even as a hand loader that is a bridge too far. Scanning shelves at the local gun store, all I see are 14-pound target rifles, dipped in camo and sold as hunting rifles, with price tags that range closer to 1980s sports cars. All that cost and I ask myself, what are you buying? What performance features are worth that kind of cash? I believe the gun industry relies on the ignorance of the average hunter. This is not the case with my dream gun. Oh yes, it would be expensive, but its cost in materials would reflect a planned series of choices to suit my hunting style, and it would do it with the most high-tech features while maintaining the classic lines of the American hunting rifle.
Priorities
I mentioned my rifle would reflect my hunting style. I am an all-around hunter. When I apply for tags, I do it knowing I can hunt with a rifle, bow, handgun, or muzzleloader. I enjoy the nuances of each of these platforms. What I enjoy the most is getting close. No matter what platform I choose to hunt with, the game for me is getting as close to the animal as possible, even with a rifle. For me, it is the challenge that keeps me coming back. I can count the number of animals I have killed over 300 yards on one hand. I enjoy long-range shooting for fun and tailoring my ammo for maximum accuracy, but long-distance shots on animals are not on my radar.
I also like to walk. It's true that here, in Nevada, hunting means spending a lot of time in the truck, traveling from location to location, and glassing, but I believe we pay for venison with burning thighs. Anytime I feel like I have spent too much time in the truck and get out and do some walking, I’m never disappointed. In my mind, getting the heart rate up is like calling the muse. Expend energy, and you will be rewarded. So, a 14-pound hydro-dipped target rifle is not what I look for in a dream gun.
The Criteria
*First and most importantly, the dream gun must be accurate. I don't strive for one-hole accuracy. A minute of angle is more than enough accuracy for my purposes. Two minutes of angle would likely never cause me a problem.
*Second is reliability. Only the finest and sturdiest of materials will do. I don't want to worry about rust, scratches, or malfunctions on my dream rifle.
*The third priority is weight. I like to walk, and I wanted a nice, light, and handy rifle that's quick to the shoulder and points like a shotgun. My goal for this build was a 6-pound rifle with scope and suppressor, ready to hunt (spoiler alert! I didn't quite make it, but more on that later).
Get to Building
The heart of any rifle is the action. So with a wad of cash in my pocket, I set out to find the best and lightest action I could find. This was not easy, to begin with, I wanted an action that would be simple to build on but also give me the most variety of options later on. A Remington model 700 pattern action meets that criteria. The Remington model 700 has established itself as the standard to which most custom actions are made, and rightly so. The model 700 was not perfect by any stretch of the imagination and compounded by the fact that Remington, as a company, has turned into a complete disaster, and at the time of this writing, has been out of business a couple of times and is currently barely hanging on. That said, the model 700 is a great rifle design, simple, functional, and most importantly, well supported by aftermarket brands and makers.
Action
We are blessed with a host of custom Remington model 700 pattern actions, and now there are even more great options than there were at the time I built this rifle. The problem is that most of them are more concerned with accuracy than weight. If you want a rifle that's as light as possible, you save weight on the big three; action, barrel, and stock. After months of research, I landed on an action made by Pierce Engineering. Pierce makes quality target-grade actions and has been used to win many target shooting competitions. I chose their model 700 short action pattern made entirely, bolt and all, out of titanium. Pierce still makes this action, but it now has a steel bolt that weighs slightly more. I'm guessing this is to reduce galling. Even though the bolt is Nitride coated, it still is not the smoothest action ever. I am pleased with it in all ways, but it does occasionally get hung up when working the action hard. If this were a combat rifle or made for safari where your life depends on it, then this would be unacceptable, but in my case, I was glad to make the trade for the weight savings.
Barrel
Now that the action has been procured, it’s time to move on to the barrel. Many lightweight guns have carbon fiber barrels, and ultimately, that is what I chose to go with, but in all actuality, you can save more weight with a pencil profile barrel. The problem with pencil profiles is that they are difficult to get to shoot. Heat builds up quickly in them, and rounds start to string. Carbon fiber weighs a little more but dissipates heat well and makes for a stiffer barrel. Initially, I wanted a Proof Research barrel. They have established themselves as the premier carbon fiber barrel builders. The problem was that their lightest profile barrel was a Remington Sendero pattern, and that was more stout than I wanted. I ended up using a company called Carbon 6. They use McGowan barrels. I have used McGowan barrels many times. They make a quality barrel at a very reasonable price, and they can do just about any machining you need right in their factory before the barrel even gets to you. As a gunsmith, that is a time saver. I'm not sure if Carbon 6 is a part of the McGowan family, or if they are a separate company, but they take McGowan barrels and carbon wrap them. I liked the slimmer taper options that Carbon 6 had, plus I had them thread the barrel for a suppressor, chamber the barrel, and thread the shank for a Remage nut.
What is a Remage nut you say? It is a lock nut that allows you to set the headspace on a rifle barrel with the twist of a wrench. Savage is well known for using this shouldering method and has done so for years. Fine rifle builders would certainly scoff at me for using a Remage nut, and admittedly they don’t look as classy as a finely-shouldered barrel, but it does have its advantages. The first is adjustable headspace. With a turn of the nut you can make your headspace tight, or a little sloppy, both have their uses. What makes the Remage nut stand out is essentially, you have a switch barrel rifle. I had my rifle chambered in .308, but if I ever wanted to change cartridges, as long as my new cartridge fit in the short action and used the same bolt face, all I needed to do was unlock the nut, twist out the barrel, put the new one in, and set the headspace. Many of the newer actions out there even have interchangeable bolt faces.
Yes, you heard that right. I got my barrel chambered in boring old .308. I tell you what, the boys down at the local gun store couldn't have been more disappointed in me for building this highfalutin rifle in such a mundane cartridge as .308. I'm just not a velocity chaser, and I like the old cartridges. The .308 round is inherently accurate, and yes, I could have gotten a much more high-performing cartridge in my short action. I didn't see the need. I can accurately pump a 165-grain Swift bullet out to 500 yards. That is plenty of capability for the way I like to hunt.
Stock
The next piece in this build was the stock. There are so many lightweight options today that can be ordered straight off the internet, but at the time I was building this gun, there weren't a lot of options. I chose to go with Pendleton Composite Stocks out of Pendleton, Oregon. I have previously used Wayne York (http://www.oregunsmithingllc.com) to make stocks for me. Wayne hand-lays Kevlar composite and he can fit just about any gun you want to send him. At the time of this build, it was, and may still be one of the lightest stocks on the market. His advertised weight for the stock profile I chose was 16 ounces finished. Mine came in at 20, which was disappointing at the time, but I'm okay with it now. They are great stocks and darn near indestructible.
Scope
Now for optics. Unfortunately, the optics world nowadays doesn't give a hoot about making a light scope. I chose the Leupold ultralight 3-9 with CDS dial. Leupold has dropped this scope from their line and no longer makes an ultralight option. Some of their more budget-friendly scopes get close to the weights on the ultralight line, but most of their quality stuff doesn’t. I can't bring myself to put a 2-pound scope on a 4½ pound rifle. The scope is mounted using Talley lightweight one-piece rings. If they are available Talley rings are always my first choice when choosing scope rings.
Suppressor
I always intended for this rifle to have a suppressor, which is why I ordered the barrel at 16 inches. For the suppressor, I chose the AAC Jaeger. It was economical, and more importantly light, at 12 ounces. It does have a downside. While it is rated for 300 Win Mag, it is not recommended that you shoot a lot of rounds rapidly through it. There are lighter and stronger suppressors out there, but most of them cost up to 3 times as much. Since the building of my rifle, AAC has gone out and back into business. I do not know if the Jaeger is still in production or not.
Finished
The goal for the rifle was a suppressed hunter that weighed 6 pounds. I missed the mark by 3.75 ounces. Remember that the stock came in 4 ounces heavier than expected. I could find 4 ounces to remove from the rifle. I could skeletonize the rings and trigger guard, replace screws and parts with titanium, but I don't know if the juice would be worth the squeeze.
Problems
Not all is peaches and cream with the dream build. Don't get me wrong, I love my dream gun and wouldn't trade it for anything I see out on the market even today, but a gun that weighs 5 pounds 8 ounces (without its suppressor) has its quirks. I mentioned it earlier, but the solid titanium action is anything but smooth. Also, a gun that is this light is hard to shoot. There is just no way around it. When shooting, be it over the bench or in the field, weight creates stability, and let me tell you, this rifle does not have stability. It weighs so little, that when shot over a bench, I can see my heartbeat in the scope. I have to make sure I’m following my fundamentals when shooting this rifle.
Let’s discuss the suppressor. In full honesty, I'm not in love with it. While it is a well-made and light suppressor, it moves what weight it has right to the end of my barrel, turning my nice handy little rifle into an ungainly boat paddle. It does make the rifle quiet though, and reduces recoil which is greatly appreciated. With a gun this light it’s difficult to see your hits. To help with recoil, I had a titanium muzzle break made for it that stayed on for all of one shot. With a 16-inch barrel, the gun is already quite loud, and when I added the muzzle break and test-fired it, even with earmuffs on, it made my ears ring. I would rather deal with the recoil than destroy my hearing.
I love my dream rifle, but if I could do it all over, I would make changes. To start with, I would forget the suppressor and throw a couple more inches back on the barrel. I would also find the lightest action I could get, but choose steel or at least a steel bolt. I would shoot for a 6-pound rifle, scope and all. Still light, but with enough weight to shoot comfortably and accurately. I might over time warm up to the suppressor. Most people I talk to that hunt with one say they wouldn't ever go back. I'm not there yet, but I'm willing to give it more time to see if it grows on me.
Building my dream rifle was an experience. It's funny, you spend your whole life looking at rifles on the shelf and comparing their features, but we often never sit and write down what a “perfect” gun should be. I enjoyed the challenge of going out and finding the components that would meet those goals. I spent every bit of six months scouring the internet looking for parts, and it was a blast.
The Money
You will notice that I have not mentioned any prices in the body of this article. That is for two reasons. One, I built this rifle around 2015, and anyone paying attention will notice that prices, especially on gun parts, have increased wildly. Two, if you are going to embark on the journey of building a dream rifle, then you should save up enough money to get anything you want. Building your dream rifle will not be cheap, and if you are going to make compromises on what you need, just to save money, then you should buy a nice off-the-shelf rifle. Chances are an off-the-shelf rifle will cost you far less and be very nice. It just won't be your rifle. All that being said, I know everyone is going to ask so… all of the component pieces to my rifle cost me around $3800. That includes the scope, suppressor, and the tax stamp for the suppressor. If you are planning on having a gunsmith build the rifle for you, expect at least another thousand on top of that. This rifle, with the options I chose, is easily buildable at home with few tools and some basic gunsmithing knowledge. In today's dollars, I expect the parts could run as high as $5000 to build my exact rifle.
Building my dream rifle was an experience. It made me think about what I wanted in a rifle and made me think about my hunting style like I had never done before. It was worth doing just to learn more about myself as a hunter. There is one major problem with building your dream rifle though, that I would be remiss in not mentioning. Once you have your dream rifle it's awfully hard talking yourself into buying another rifle off the shelf at your local gun store. Everything you look at you will say, “Well, it's nice, but it's no dream rifle.” Good thing I like collecting revolvers too, and if I ever build my dream revolver, I'll let you know.