Got a buddy planning a build off of a 700 s/a. He has to buy the gun ( Cabelas gift cards) is there a huge difference in quality between the adl, bdl, etc? Or just buy the cheapest one?

Note: He doesn't want another brand

I haven't noticed any difference in models. I normally try pawn shops first, then Academy for a plain Jane.

I saw some Remington action for under $400 ONLINE

ADL as a donor action, and a Timney trigger.

BDL and CDL are more money, but same action and bolt. BDL and CDL are charging for bottom metal type, and stock type.

I have a new MOA trigger, I can let go for a song and some $$$, cheap

not MOA, the Pro Mark?? its a factory Remington trigger

Buy an ADL from Academy (or where ever is cheapest/on-sale) in .308 Win cal. Have gunsmith or hobbyist remove barrel without scratching it. Sell everything except action on eBay as "New". I got my last Rem SA virtually for free doing this. The .308 Win barrel is the most sought after & will bring the most money on eBay.

No difference in quality I have ever seen, just configuration. If I plan to run a ptg I look for used cheap adl or bdl for a steal and sell floor plate assembly on eBay for 80-100.

There is definitely a difference in quality between a regular black anodized action from a store-bought rifle, and the stainless bare actions that are made for building on. The stainless bare actions and bolts are just made better. I have a couple of both to compare.

There is no practical difference in the 700 actions other than the finish.

If your friend is building a rifle from scratch the 700 is a good place to start. Also you might want to remind him that he won't save much money using a donor action though. The cost difference between starting with a stock factory action and a custom action isn't that much after you add in the cost to blue print the Remington action. By the time you square the action, true the barrel tenon threads, square the lugs, square the bolt lugs, square the bolt face, install a side bolt stop, install either a Sako or M16 extractor and install a firing pin bushing in the bolt face you are spending about the same as a custom action and adding additional time into the rifle build.

All that being said, a blue printed Remington action still makes a for a great build. I have rifles built on both custom and Remington actions and they all shoot and function extremely well.

Who says one has to make all those modifications to a Rem 700 action at all?

Going on memory, back to an article in Kenny Jarrett and his 'beanfield rifles', he said that there were certain 700 actions, mostly later production, that he would not build a rifle with because they couldn't be made to meet his stringent accuracy guarantees. He even gave the prefix info on what he would accept, and he went on to say that he finally just gave up and developed his own actions in order to meet extreme accuracy demands.

That surely made me think that not just any old 700 action was worth the effort. That said, I am no gunsmith.

If he going to use some sort of DBM or just regular bottom metal? ADL as the donor if he wants DBM. If he wants standard bottom metal you can often find cheap .243/.308 BDL/SPS variants for cheaper than buying a bare action.

I don't think I ever said you had to. That is just a fairly complete list of machining that can be done to a factory Remington action.
However, I wouldn't build a semi-custom rifle without doing all of that minus the bushing, extractor and side bolt release. I like having the barrel's bore centered in the action and 100% contact for the bolt lugs and barrel tenon threads.

I agree. Do it right, or don't do it at all.

A trued Remington action should save you hundreds over a custom action. If you must have the upgraded extractor, it makes more sense to buy a PTG bolt and a receiver instead. If you really have to have the extractor and a side bolt release, than you are probably not far from Stiller territory. However, you should save allot if you just blueprint the 700 and go.

It looked like you assumed Patrick's friend was going to go through all those steps. And I would agree, a custom action, at three times the price might be a better route. But I've seen, and shot, some insanely accurate rifles on plain vanilla actions, that were never modified from the factory, including one Rem 700 action I own. Centering the bore to the rifling is paramount, of course. But that has nothing to do with modifying the action

I totally agree with Fireman here. The OP didn't say he wanted to build a benchrest rifle or long range match rifle. Take the off-the-shelf Rem 700 action & have a qualified gunsmith fit the best match grade barrel you can afford & forget the other minutiae. If there was a pie-chart of components/procedures to build a very accurate rifle (i.e. beyond most shooter's capabilities) the barrel & 'smithing would be 90% - 95%. The rest is fill-in.

IMHO...

Guys, you may be right and I may be completely missing the point and intent of the OP's friend.

It sure sounded like he was looking for a donor action to build a semi-custom rifle on.
Even going with budget friendly items for the barrel, stock, trigger and bottom metal you will have a decent investment in the rifle. By the time you figure the cost for a gunsmith to do the heavy lifting and maybe add a muzzle brake and/or fluting the cost start to add up.

For that size of expenditure I would certainly have the receiver trued. You can always true the action later, minus recutting the tenon threads, and still use the barrel you have after you have it set back and the chamber recut and head spaced. If you want to true the barrel�s bore to the receiver�s centerline after the barrel has been chambered then it requires replacing the barrel since the barrel tenon will be a smaller diameter than the receiver.

Unless it was for a cartridge that you can't find a factory offering for I would just start with a nice factory rifle and either pillar bed the factory wood stock or replace it with an aftermarket stock and have it bedded. Chances are good it will shoot just as well as rifle built on a stock Remington action for a fraction of the cost. Once the barrel comes off of a receiver I always have it trued. You only have to do it once and from then on it�s just a re-barrel.

Sloppy Savage action, unmodified, Obermeyer perfectly chambered in 260 Rem.



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Same rifle. That's 3 shots measuring .09" prone and bipod.

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Tikka T-3 action, unmodified Bartlein perfectly chambered, 6.5 Creedmoor.


These are why I'm not following you.

I never said a stock action was no good.
I said that once the barrel comes off, the action gets some work done to it.

Like I stated earlier


Bone stock CDL chambered in 7mm-08 shooting Remington 140 gr, Core-Lokt.



My almost free .223 with only an aftermarket stock and hand loads

Which goes back to, why spend the money all this, instead of buying a custom action?

APR builds most of their rifles off of a R700 action and they seem to shoot pretty good. You can get one built for $2k with all of their upgrades including stock, barrel, fluting, cerakote, bolt, etc. I figure it's gonna be hard to do that for less building it yourself.

TRUE Story........I'm on No.2.

If you get the action or rifle the right price then this is worth it. If you are buying a brand new CDL then your money is better spent on a custom action.

I will always recommend that once the barrel comes off you should true the action. The extractor, bolt release and usually the firing pin bushing are discretionary. Pay once, Cry once.