# Barrel/Bedding Suggestions



## saskcoyote (Dec 30, 2006)

Yo: Been chasing this dog for a while. I want a .204 caliber in Remington Model 700 BDL. Problem is, Remington doesn't make BDLs in small caliber centerfires anymore and definitely not .204s. Up here, it's next to impossible to track down a used Remington BDL in small centerfire -- .17, .222 or .223 -- to rechamber but I think I've got the cat skinned in putting a BDL together and rechambering it into a .204. I've tracked down a stock, action, etc., but of course, I have to go with a custom barrel. The tube I want is 24-inch, 12 twist, and in sporter configuration. Which custom barrels do you guys prefer -- PacNor, Shillen or some other?

Also, I'm going to free float the barrel and bed the action. As far as bedding goes, is piller bedding better than glass bedding? Do you guys, if it can be done, do both? I've never got involved with the bedding thing -- always just owned completely stock firearms -- but getting this together is my pet project. Your suggestions would be appreciated.

Now, some of you are probably wondering, is why I'd go to the trouble of putting this baby together when there are so many .204s in the market. Well, as somebody previously mentioned on this forum, life is too short to own something as ugly as a Savage. :rollin: And as for synthetic stocks, just call me a traditionalist. 

Good luck and with some help, maybe I can shoot straighter. :sniper: Saskcoyote


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

If your gonna go to that far id pillar it.


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

yep pillar and glass bed it. Marine tex is a very good bedding. http://www.marinetex.com/ it's the same stuff that some of the more know rifle builders are using now.

Both companies that you mention for barrels are decent. Lilja, Bartlein, Brux, Rock, Satern, Hart, Kreiger, Douglas. I'd say just go to your smith that you'll have do the work and see what they think on barrels, there are so many out there. It's like Ford or Chevy, it'll always be an argument which is better.

My own opinion on barrels if i were to do it all over again would be either a Brux or a Bartlein. I have a Bartlein and it's very nice. Accurate, 5grove, canted land. (ie. 5R). easy to clean. These are cut rifling over the hammer forged or buttoned. The cuts are some of your better barrels, because they aren't under stress when the rifling is made so you'll have less fatigue, cracks, burs etc, just a smoother bore all together.

xdeano


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## huntin1 (Nov 14, 2003)

I'd rather have a butt ugly Savage that is boringly accurate than a pretty Remington that won't group better than MOA. But, that's just me, to each their own.

Good luck with your build.

And I agree with BBJ and xdeano, if you are staying with a wood stock and bedding anyway, pillar bed it.

:beer:

huntin1


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## saskcoyote (Dec 30, 2006)

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I haven't ventured into building a rifle before and I don't know much about the whole process so the bedding opinions are much appreciated. Deano, as for the Brux/Bartlein options, I'll mention them when I talk with the 'smith this week.

Huntin1, I don't know much about MOA either. All I know is when I take a rifle to the range after cooking up a variety of loads, it better shoot well. That's what I found with my BDL in .223. The loads it likes to eat are 40-grain Vmax over 14.5 grains of Blue Dot, 40-grain Vmax over 24.5 grains of IMR 3031 and, for yotes, 50-grain Speer TNT over 25 grains of 3031. It also likes other powder but not quite as much.

It's the same with my other yote/little-critter rifles in CZ and Tikka. If I mess around with a few different recipes they shoot what I think is very well. I don't know about MOA but when my final shot of the gun-range session ends with me putting a hole in that little dot (a tad larger than a smiley face) on the target, that's good enough for me. 

This .204 project has intrigued me for quite a while because I like the caliber and because I like the BDL model. The .204 caliber is just fun to shoot and fun to reload. I enjoy the BDL's clean, classic lines and not only is it eye candy (to me) but BDLs fit me very well. So, with what's supposed to be the inherent accuracy of the 700 action, a few modifications in the build and a bit of cooking up some loads, I'm gonna have a shooter. Now, if only it can be ready for our Montana PD shoot in June.

Huntin1, I do have a soft spot in my heart for Savages. In fact, I have a Model 340 in 30-30. Lots of memories. Used it to bag my first whitetail as well as my first coyote. Best of all, it's the rifle my Dad left me and it occupies a place of honor in my gun cabinet.

So, the answer is whatever suits us as long as we're having fun.

Good luck and shoot straight -- whether it's with a Savage or Remington or...

Saskcoyote


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## saskcoyote (Dec 30, 2006)

Wow, talk about the world working in mysterious ways (induldge me, here's a story)  . I've been looking for a Remington 700 BDL in a short action, one to chamber in a .204. Because Remington stopped making short actions in calibers like .17, .222 and .223 several years ago, I had to look for used guns. Well, as I said before, trying to find one up here in Canada has been next to impossible.

I checked gun shops from British Columbia east to Quebec and the Maritimes. No luck. Everybody told me these don't come up because they're passed on to relatives or friends who snap them up. Earlier this year, I missed one by about two days (ouch) but that was the closest I ever came and that was the only one on the market that I came across.

I called a friend a while back back to see if he had contacts who might help and he tapped into his contacts across Western Canada. Lo and behold, he called this morning and said there was a .17 on the market. Now here's the best part. After searching web sites acoss the country and having zero luck, this rifle was at a dealer's shop 25 miles down the road. Yes, that's right, 25 miles. I called immediately, told the gun guy (from whom I bought a BDL in .223 a few years ago) that I'd be there in half an hour.

There it was. When I stepped into the shop, he had it laid out on the counter. It was 95-plus. I snapped it up damn near faster than xdeano could whack a coyote -- $625 plus tax.

Now getting this .17 in BDL was amazingly enough. What makes it even more interesting is that it came from a fellow who lived very near my home town. And to top it off, I rode the school bus with him. So, later tonight, I'll call him, check out the rifle but more importantly, find out the loads that worked for him. Apparently, from the the dealer told me, he traded it off because it was too small for coyotes.

I was hoping to get a BDL and have it rechambered in .204 but what from what the 'smith tells me, that could take three months or more. I was actually hoping to take the rechambered .204 down to Montana for a PD hunt in June but that wouldn't be not possible -- the work takes too long plus I've got to go through the ATF Import Licence process which takes extra time. So I'm going to keep it in .17 and take it down to Montana as it is. A relative of a relative whose hubby passed on has a whack of guns and reloading equipment which includes .17 dies, brass, bullets, etc. So I'll just mess around for the next month or two cooking up some loads for little critters. After that we'll see how the conversion from .17 to .204 plays out. (Plus, after Kdog and I got beat up by guys like BBJ for using .204s, I wouldn't dare think of using a .17 Rem for coyotes  .)

So why did I write this story (other than the fact I like Nodak stories)? Maybe because I wanted to share the news that, yes, the gun gods smile once in a while. Plus, my wife was absolutely thrilled when I told her I bought her a new gun. :rollin:

Good luck and shoot straight :sniper: no matter what caliber you choose. Saskcoyote


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## bearhunter (Jan 30, 2009)

sask. i just ordered a barrel for a .17 cal. its gonna be a .17-.204 on a savage action. i did quite abit of research and had phone contact with quite afew guys that shoot .17's and the positive feedback i recieved convinced me to do this. those that talked to me about this generally agreed that the basic .17 cal bullets bought in factory rounds will kill coyotes but are not real reliablable. factory rounds are built for pd's and small stuff. however for reloading there are a few bullets that are stronger built for coyotes. kindler golds,hammetts,genco's,bergers. most likely your barrel is a 1-10 twist so up to 25's should be good. good luck.
http://www.rmvh.com/17PDanC.htm


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## saskcoyote (Dec 30, 2006)

Yo, Bearhunter: Sounds like an interesting project you've got going as well. Probably the "Is the .17 caliber a good coyote rifle?" debate won't ever be settled. When I picked up .17 Remington, the dealer told me the previous owner got rid of it because he felt it was too small for coyotes. I talked to that owner yesterday to find out what loads the rifle liked to shoot. Yes, he said he got rid of it because of runners and instead picked up a 22-250. He said he only shot about three boxes of factory loads through it but didn't do any reloading for it so he didn't have any data. Maybe this is an example of the factory-load dilemma you mentioned.

The other night, I phoned a neighbor a couple miles down the road. He's an avid yote hunter and it's not uncommon for him and his partner to get 60 or 80 or more coyotes a year. He shoots a .17 Remington and swears by it. His pet load is 24.5 grains of IMR 4350 propelling a 25-grain HP, with a Remington primer and Remington case. This guy is one hell of a fine shot, I might add. He's won a provincial silhouette shooting title three times so his ability to achieve shot placement is probably much better than most.

So there you have it, the only two guys I talked to and two different opinions.

Good luck with your project. Keep us updated. Saskcoyote


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## bearhunter (Jan 30, 2009)

sask, next time yoy talk to him ask him witch brand of bullet he uses. bet it won't be a hornady


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## saskcoyote (Dec 30, 2006)

Bearhunter: When I talked with him the other night, he wasn't sure which brand of bullet he was using because his friend did the reloading. Up here, unless they're special ordered, we have a limited selection. I can't say I've ever seen Kindlers, Hammets or Gencos but I've come across Bergers. If he's shooting 25-grain HP, most likely it's Hornady.


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