I need some help in getting started in building a new rifle. I have decided on a rifle chambered in 450 Dakota. I am also set on several features of the gun.
1. CRF action
2. Ghost ring sight. No peep sights. .190 + aperture.
3. 4 + 1 capacity
My question is which action should I start with ? I would like to keep the build around $4,000. Which gun smith(s) would you guys recommend? The action I believe should be a starting point. I would prefer the three position safety as that it what most of my rifles have and am familiar with. Any imput would be appreciated.

personally, I'd start with the 1999 Montana action.

If I wasn't so cheap as to build it myself, I'd ask Jim Kobe to build it for me.....He's pretty good.
Oh yea.....find a good piece of French Walnut for it.

Or, you could just buy Wendell's for sale in the AR Classifieds.

quote:

Originally posted by KINO:
I need some help in getting started in building a new rifle. I have decided on a rifle chambered in 450 Dakota. I am also set on several features of the gun.
1. CRF action
2. Ghost ring sight. No peep sights. .190 + aperture.
3. 4 + 1 capacity
My question is which action should I start with ? I would like to keep the build around $4,000. Which gun smith(s) would you guys recommend? The action I believe should be a starting point. I would prefer the three position safety as that it what most of my rifles have and am familiar with. Any imput would be appreciated.

Send a CZ550 action to Tom Burgess and you will get a very classy and reliable work product.

So far that's two for a CZ and one for an MRC. I looked at the Ph model in pre production, but after researching it in past threads it seems uncertain as to when it will be made. How are the Dakota actions for a starting point and do they need further work for reliability?
500 grains, do you have contact info for Tom Burgess?
Vapodog, how about for Jim Kobe?
Thanks

quote:

Originally posted by KINO:
500 grains, do you have contact info for Tom Burgess?
Vapodog, how about for Jim Kobe?
Thanks

You could PM them as both post here, Burgess as systeme98 and Kobe under his name.

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but the MRC actions currently available are not long enough to handle the 450 Dakota. So far the MRC PH action is all talk and no action, so I would not pin my hopes on that one.

Or you could get a Granite Mountain Arms action, set up like this:



http://www.rbbigbores.com

Thanks for the quick reply. That looks like a Breeding rifle. Does he use the granite mountain action for all his builds?

kino?
sorry to question your choice of caliber.
http://www.dakotaarms.com/currentinventory/inventory_it...lNumber=R0573!^20512

take a real good (not great) blank and your 4k, get a cz in 450 rigby (1500)and send it to chic/bill/d'arcy for restocking.... and order an necg rear "ruger" peep sight

if you MUST have the 450 dakota, that gun can be set back one thread and rechamber for total clean up to 450 dakota vs 450 rigby... in fact they're made from the same basic brass, only difference is details.

jeffe

quote:

Originally posted by KINO:
Thanks for the quick reply. That looks like a Breeding rifle. Does he use the granite mountain action for all his builds?

It is (see the link below the pic). He uses GMA for most of his rifles, but he does build on other actions on occasion. However, his rifles are definitely well above your stated $4K price, but worth it.

Jeffeosso, I considered the 450 Rigby, but finding the brass can be a problem. I do a fiar amount of reloading but not sure I want to start fire forming and necking up 416 brass. The Dakota brass can be gotten easily from Dakota and has the proper head stamp.
500 Grains, I imagined the RB rifle are above $ 4K, but dare I ask where they start at?

Brass is EASY... till you stockpile 450, take 416, some fast pistol powder, some corn meal, a plastic packing peanut.. BOOM.. brass..

but that goes for either, as they are the same basic brass

jeffe

KINO, please view your private messages.

________


Kino (and others trying to save a bit of cash on a DGR),

I would like to comment that I wish I had just bought a bolt gun from Ryan Breeding or Reimer Johannsen from the outset rather than screwing around with a bunch of lower dollar custom guns. Here is a list of where I have wasted money. For what I spent I could have gotten a top notch gun from Breeding or Johannsen (or Prechtl or Ritterbusch). Maybe someone can learn from my experience.

Win M54 in 9.3 x 62. Beautiful package. Comb is for a scope so I should have it lowered. Paid too much for the stock blank. $3K invested.

Husqvarna 9.3 x 62 for me. Used to be a 30-06. $700 invested. Accurate. Ugly stock. I will take it hunting this fall. Should have bought a vintage factory Husq 9.3 for less money.

Husqvarna 9.3 x 62 for my wife. Featherweight. Needs more work on the sights. A gun store owner friend saw me at the range with it and said, "That rifle is a club." $800 invested. I won't sell this one because it is so handy.

Win M70 Classic SS .375 - stock with brake. $650 invested. Sold.

Win M70 Classic SS .375 - barrel shortened, NECG sights, cleaned up the action. On loan to a person going elephant hunting. $1300 invested. It costs at least as much in gunsmithing to put a M70 into working order as it does to buy one. Should have got a pre-64 (even though the gas handling is not too good).

Win M70 Classic SS .375 - NIB in case I need one for a project. $800 invested. Not going up in value.

Win M70 in .585 Nyati. $2000 invested. I think the gunsmith worked for $2/hour on this one. It was single stack and fed like a dream. Shot an elephant with it. Only held 3 shots (2 in the magazine) so I sold it.

Mauser VZ24 in 458 Win Mag with beautiful stock. $2500 invested. But why did I build a .458 Win Mag? I thought it would be a good plains game gun. 9.3 is more practical. Sold.

Mauser VZ24 in 458 Lott. Gunsmith screwed up the feeding. Needs a new receiver. $1500 invested. Needs another $1K put into it. At that point I will have a rifle worth $1200.

Mauser VZ24 in 470 capstick. Feeds perfectly, balances right, correct weight, beautiful stock. $2500 invested. It took 3 years and a lot of cajoling of 3 gunsmiths to get there, but I finally got a proper iron-sighted DGR bolt gun that feeds FN solids. Will keep this one.

Mauser VZ24 in 470 capstick. $1200 invested. Very accurate. I want to change the barrel contour, which means a new stock too. And I want a different front sight. Got to get going on this.

Interarms Mark X .458 Lott. 30% done. At a gunsmith's since Nov. '02. Will have $2500 to $3K invested. Maybe the gunsmith will decide to work on it one day. I call him twice a year to check on it and he feels I am too pushy.

Olympic Arms Ultramag in .585 Nyati. Holds 4 shots. 40% done. It is vacationing at a gunsmith's shop. Been there waiting for him to get into a mood to work on it since November '02. Will have $4K invested.

Searcy field grade .500 NE. Paid $7200 with upgraded wood. Shot 3 elephants and a buffalo with it. Buying this gun was a good decision, and I am keeping it.

Flaig .375 custom (Austrian guild gun on FN Mauser). Nice stock and sights. $2500 invested (not counting value of scope). It is being shipped to me right now. Would probably cost between $4K and $5K to duplicate. We'll see how this one works out.

CZ 550 custom in .500 A-square. I bought all the stuff to build one then changed my mind after getting the .500 Searcy. Sold the stuff.

Heym .600 Nitro. $6800 invested. This thing kicked the hell out of me. I think it did some inner ear damage because I never got seasick before but now I get seasick on airplanes and even riding in a car with soft suspension like a Cadillac. Sold at break even.

CZ550 in .600 Overkill. I bought all the stuff to build one, then got the Heym and sold the Overkill stuff for a loss.

The bottom line from all of this is that I wish I had just bought a finished rifle from Ryan Breeding or Reimer Johansen in the first place (in addition to my Searcy double, of course). And just buying one gun would have been a lot cheaper than going through this exhausting and frustrating custom gun building saga.

Good luck!

As to your "Ghost sight", a .125 hole is more accurate and you can see a lot of Africa through it....190 is going over the top and not needed IMO....Actually just taking the eyepiece out of any Receiver sight will give you a "Ghost Peep"..........its fast and accurate.

Is there a comercial producer of 450 Rigby brass out there, and who is it.? Is the eye piece on the NECG peep removable to open the aperture?

quote:

Originally posted by KINO:
Is there a comercial producer of 450 Rigby brass out there, and who is it.? Is the eye piece on the NECG peep removable to open the aperture?

Yes, it is removable. But you wouldn't want to do that as the screw in aperture is what "locks" the elevation adjustment in place.

KINO,

American Hunting Rifles, Inc.

500grains,

Don't beat yourself up too much. You can't learn the answer until after the lesson.

Besides, if you're anything like I am, there is no way that having only two DGRs would keep you happy.