Bolt action, Remington, Savage, or CZ

[Medic650]

I want to build a 300 Whisper bolt gun. Originally I was going to go with a Remington 700 but am concerned with the ejection problems with the Remington.
I've never shot a Savage but have they seem to have a good rep. and always heard good things about the accu-trigger. It looks like it's easy to swap the barrel on the Savage. Anything special to so for headspace? Any extraction or feeding problems like the Remington.
I don't know anyone with the CZ but, I like the Mauser type bolt on the CZ. It looks like the CZ shouldn't have any feeding or extraction problems. In a CZ I would look at the 527.

For the more experianced, which would make the best build?

[Spook]

Medic, I have been made aware of some feeding issues with the CZ...:frown: may be remedied by a 7.62 X 39 magazine as a fix.
Rems..Savages either eject or dont and its been an individual rifle sort of thing...Some work with a little "technique" while working the bolt.
Howa seems to work best for me thus far.

Others mileage will likely vary.

[egraham]

I have a remington 700 and it shoots through the same hole at 100 yards with subsonics. Sometimes the bolt drops the brass but if I had to do it again I would go with the 700.

No feeding problems and there are plenty of aftermarkets parts.

[Medic650]

I'm not really familier with Howa. I don't have a particular brand in mind but, I don't want to shell out for a custom and have it not function without problems.

[Malaga]

Look to the CZ.. all in all a better platform from which to build. Mag issue is a simple fix.. on the 527 223 mags you will need to remove a little metal from the sides to allow smooth function.

[Fastshooter03]

You might consider a Tikka as well. My M595 works great except for a longer than needed bolt travel.
I don't have a T3 but I would think that would work?

Nick

[amafrank]

I'd go with the CZ myself ( and I do have one in the works). I really like the extractor and the single set trigger which is fantastic. The mag problem seems to be a very small thing which can be fixed easily.

I've done a 700 and there are issues with extraction and ejecting that could cause problems if you actually need a quick followup shot. Most of us shooting paper have never really needed that followup since the paper rarely shoots back....I do like the 700's other than that one minor detail.

I've built a number of Remington 799's which are the mini Mark X mauser actions from Zastava / Serbia. They are small handy rifles and work quite well and my only complaint with them is that they use the small Sako type extractor which can slip off a sticky case rim when you are working up a load. Other than that they are my second choice as accuracy is good and they are smaller and lighter than the 700's. Actions and rifles in 223 seem to have disappeared however and I'm not sure if remington is still importing them.

That leads us back to the CZ. The actions are basically the Mauser 98 action which has proven to be accurate. The CZ's are smaller versions but still use the non rotating extractor which is really nice. It holds a much larger percentage of the rim than the Sako types or the remington type so the pull is better meaning less torn rims and stuck cases. The quality is excellent and the wood is quite beautiful on all the rifles I've seen. It appears that the action wrench I adapted for the Zastava 799 will work on the CZ as well so working on the actions is simple. As one of the others noted the mag lips can be bent or ground slightly to allow better feeding of the 300 round so that problem can be easily solved. The CZ is smaller, lighter and a bit handier than the 700 and to me thats an advantage. The set trigger can be used or not used at the shooters discretion and mine broke at 2lb 14oz unset or 12 oz set. Its easy to shoot on a rest with the trigger set and not disturb the rifle.

Thats my opinion for what its worth. Good luck on your build

Frank

[Medic650]

Thanks Frank, I was leaning towards the CZ already. I had at one time considered a Ruger to get the positive extraction but haven't been able to find anyone that has built on a Ruger.

[Cerebus]

Is barrel installation a DIY project on a CZ rifle? ...or does a smith need to be involved?

[Malaga]

On the CZ I would definatly recommend a good smith as the barrel is both screwed and glued in place.

[amafrank]

Is barrel installation a DIY project on a CZ rifle? ...or does a smith need to be involved?

I guess the answer to this one depends on what sort of equipment and experience you have. If you have rebarreled a few mauser 98's or that sort of thing than yes, the CZ could be done yourself. If all you have is a vise and a monkey wrench than I'd suggest a good smith. I've not pulled the barrel from my CZ yet but its probably just like the rest of the euro spec actions where the barrel is torqued in fairly tight and loctite is used as a thread locker. The Zastava rifles were done that way and so have a couple 700's I worked on. I've never pulled a ruger bolt rifle barrel but have not heard much good about them. I use the standard Mauser M98 action wrench on the remington 799's and will use it one the CZ but I've made adapters from aluminum to fit the various receiver sizes since the 98 is a much larger diameter compared to the other two listed. The barrel vise I use is a standard unit which clamps the barrel between 2 oak blocks and the vise clamps to my milling machine table so that its very solid. I use rosin on the blocks to help keep the barrel from slipping and without that little detail you will never get a tight barrel out.
I hope that answers your question and if not let us know what more info you need.

Frank

[m21black]

built my most recent 300 W on a CZ action... need to build another because my oldest daughter is claiming it as hers...