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Montana 1999 Short Action Stock Options
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I'm 99% of the way to deciding to use a short action Montana 1999 action to build a long range varminter in .243. My other option is to use a Remington 700 short action. The tradeoff is I have two barrels, a cro moly for the blued remington, and a stainless for the stainless 1999. I'd prefer to use the stainless barrel for longer life, and don't want to mix the blue and SS. This is a low dollar varminter, so don't want to pay someone to do an expensive custom stock. More of a cheap throwaway than an heirloom. Set it up, shoot it for a year or two on prairie dogs until the barrels gone, and salvage the action for something else.

The difficult part seems to be finding an inexpensive stock for the Montana. This isn't a rifle I want to put a lot of effort into. Ideally, I'd barrel it up, bead blast the finish, drop it into an inexpensive synthetic stock like an HS precision, and shoot it. If I have to, I can inlet a wood stock, but I'm at least a couple behind at the moment, so might not get to it in time to use it this summer.

Everything I've read says the differences between a model 70 and a Montana make for a lot of work in adapting an aluminum bedded synthetic stock.

Any suggestions, or should I just use the remington and live with blued steel or mismatch barrel/receiver so that I can use a drop in stock?

dave
 
Posts: 1116 | Location: Eastern Oregon | Registered: 02 December 2007Reply With Quote
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Picture of Rub Line
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Great American Gunstocks usually has Montana stocks for sale. I purchased a few from them over the years and some are better than others but the price is always right.


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Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Proverbs 26-4


National Rifle Association Life Member

 
Posts: 1992 | Location: WI | Registered: 28 September 2007Reply With Quote
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quote:
o on prairie

Try out http://www.accurateinnovations.com/

Might be more money than you are looking to spend, but I'm sure they have what you are looking for.
 
Posts: 347 | Location: Canada | Registered: 30 August 2004Reply With Quote
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Picture of Mike_Dettorre
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So if this is a "cheap throw away" why are you choosing the action that will be the most expensive to stock?

You can find Remington take off stocks for $75 and a multitude of drop in Remington aftermarket stocks for under $200.


Mike

Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.



What I have learned on AR, since 2001:
1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken.
2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps.
3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges.
4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down.
5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine.
6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle.
7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions.
8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA.
9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not.
10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact.
11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores.
12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence.
13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances.
 
Posts: 10138 | Location: Loving retirement in Boise, ID | Registered: 16 December 2003Reply With Quote
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I did a pair of 1999 SA's and used M70 SA takeoff stocks, had to play with the trigger guard inletting a little and bedded with some Marine Tex before I painted, no big deal at all.
 
Posts: 1692 | Location: East Coast | Registered: 06 January 2003Reply With Quote
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Picture of tiggertate
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Ditto what Mike said. I have chased a similar problem and there's no good answer unless you want to whittle a Mod 70 short action stock to fit. Given that you'll have to whittle it anyway, you might call Richard's Microfit and see what they can do. Or Boyd's. Just be prepared to do a lot of correcting too if go with Richard's.


"Experience" is the only class you take where the exam comes before the lesson.
 
Posts: 11142 | Location: Texas, USA | Registered: 22 September 2003Reply With Quote
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Picture of Mike_Dettorre
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The other comment I have is given you are trying to build "a long range varminter", the rem 700 action is likely going to be easier to produce an accurate gun than the MRC.


Mike

Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.



What I have learned on AR, since 2001:
1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken.
2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps.
3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges.
4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down.
5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine.
6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle.
7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions.
8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA.
9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not.
10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact.
11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores.
12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence.
13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances.
 
Posts: 10138 | Location: Loving retirement in Boise, ID | Registered: 16 December 2003Reply With Quote
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posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by tiggertate:
Ditto what Mike said. I have chased a similar problem and there's no good answer unless you want to whittle a Mod 70 short action stock to fit. Given that you'll have to whittle it anyway, you might call Richard's Microfit and see what they can do. Or Boyd's. Just be prepared to do a lot of correcting too if go with Richard's.


Thanks, guys, you're coming to the same conclusion I did. Use a remington action.

I don't want to inlet a Richards or other semi-inlet. Don't have the time. Could inlet and bed a takeoff model 70 if I run into one cheap, but the stock would have no salvage value when I'm done, except to do the same thing again. Ideally, the cheapest and easiest way to do this is use a remington, use a HS precision stock, and just put it together. When the rifle is shot out, spin the barrel off, and you have an action and stock that is worth just as much as when you started, less some wear.

No easy path to get there with the Montana action.

Really, in using the Montana action, I was just trying to keep the stainless look uniform across the rifle. I can use the stainless barrel in the Remington, or put a little more effort and cost into it and use the cro moly and blue it.

All this is to build a utility grade rifle for a specific task with materials on hand, except for the stock. I just happen to have a montana short action and a remingon short action, and two 6mm barrels, so no money out of my pocket to use them. I even have a beater 700 stock that I could hog out for the larger barrel, glass bed it to the barrelled action, and I'd be no money out of pocket on the whole deal. Just a little more work on the stock than a drop in.

dave
 
Posts: 1116 | Location: Eastern Oregon | Registered: 02 December 2007Reply With Quote
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Picture of tiggertate
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All true but if lowest buck for the bang is in order, there are stable drop-ins for less than H-S stocks. Resale is a crap shoot anyway you go.
I'm stuck with the Montanna action as the only option right now, so I just ordered a Boyd's to see exactly how much work is required. I figured for $72.00 it was worth the roll of the dice. I just hope it's wood to remove, not gaps to fill.


"Experience" is the only class you take where the exam comes before the lesson.
 
Posts: 11142 | Location: Texas, USA | Registered: 22 September 2003Reply With Quote
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Picture of tiggertate
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The stock arrived and there won't be any gap issues. The front ring of the MCR is a little longer than Winchester's and the bottom metal is wider. That's about it.


"Experience" is the only class you take where the exam comes before the lesson.
 
Posts: 11142 | Location: Texas, USA | Registered: 22 September 2003Reply With Quote
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