I have a few cases of 308 and noticed the other day I dont currently own a 308 rifle.  I'd like to change that.  

Purpose is hunting but I enjoy military(ish) firearms.  

I always loved the look of the M40A5, I never used one, a friend of mine had access to one during a deployment but never used it, Mk12 was the go-to.  Other friend hated it, had to carry condition 4 because some units had the gun fire from external impacts.  Sounds like scuttlebutt / ND excuses but I dont know.

I dont know shit about bolt guns / long range.  I'm thinking McMillan a4 stock (~$1000), Remington 700 heavy barrel $700, glass (dunno).  

1. From my understanding the Remington 700 short action is somewhat standard?  As in Bergara shares a same action line?  So a McMillan A4 rem short action will also accommodate a Bergara rem style short action vice versa?

2. I read lots of drama about bottom metal, bolt knobs, etc.  Correct me if I'm wrong those are cosmetic, right?  I guess I dont understand the heartache over it cosmetics.

3. I see custom build bolt guns for sale for 2x more than the cost of the parts.  I understand trueing bolt faces, etc. but modern machining + reloading = sub MOA gun from my understanding?  Not as complex as it used to be.  Keep in mind I have no fallacies of 2000m competition, this is a 800m gun.

Any advice?  I dont care enough to hunt down exact issued cage/part numbers but I'd like to get the M40A5 vibe down at least.

1. The remington footprint stock is pretty ubiquitous. Even most custom actions follow this footprint to an extent. Iirc yes bergara is a clone.

2. Bottom metal determines what magazines your gun will accept and the magazine release. AICS is probably the most common magazine, but there are lots of others outside the scope of this post.  If you're going m40a5 I'd guess you'll want the badger m5, which is a pretty popular one anyway.  

There's definitely an aesthetic component to this stuff but it's ergonomic as well.

3. Anything having to do with Precision rifle shooting is fairly expensive.  People might have been trying to get what they spent on their rifle in the sale, which isn't going to work unless it's a big name or something rare.

A trued 700 with a good barrel can be expected to hold MOA or better. A lot depends on you and your reloads though.


Advice? Go out and have fun. Maybe show up at an F Class or PRS shoot if they have one in your area. They'll get you squared away.

Duplicate

It's my understanding that the drama associated with M40 builds is having the exact correct parts.   From the right serial number range receiver, bottom metal, scope mount, and bedding type.   I don't think that applies to  what you're describing.

Agreed with the above poster that said the drama is over the small detail parts, that if you want your clone to be exact can often be time consuming and expensive to source. If you want your rifle to have the look of the m40A5, you can do it with little hassle. The remington rifles can be made to shoot very well. In my experience most factory bolt guns are capable to sub-MOA accuracy if a knowledgeable person is reloading for them.The reason the smiths tend to charge more is that to get the highest levels of performance out a build it takes experience beyond knowing how to slap parts together. That and a custom BBL installed will set you back around $800 or more by itself. Lots of smiths can produce a good M40A5 clone, if you want to go the custom route, check out GA Precision. They produce a nice M40A5 clone.

I’m somewhat mechanically inclined.  Built AKs, ARs, bedded bolt stocks before with epoxy.  Any magic to installing a action is a McMillan stock?

Bedding it (if required) takes some skill.  If they're offered with a mini chassis of some sort then it's just tightening up 2 screws.

I haven't kept up if Mcmillan offers a mini chassis system or not.

No magic per say. When you get one built by an experienced gunsmith you are paying for their experience and in my opinion the end product is often better than the sum of its parts. To be clear, Im not saying you couldnt put together a rifle that shoots extremely well, I am saying getting one done by an experienced smith is more likely to perform to the highest level. It may only be a difference between a .75 MOA rifle vs a sub .5 MOA rifle. Only you could decide if that difference would matter to you.

Bergara read your mind a few weeks back: https://www.bergara.online/us/rifles/smallbatch/m40ish/

I have a 2016 Bergara custom that's M40 inspired. It's my most cherished firearm.

Bergara, bro.





If I go hunting with a bolt gun again, it will have a slim pencil barrel.  As you get older, things get ten times heavier.

If I was doing a Reminton, it would be a 5R barrel, all stainless, Timney trigger, Badger bolt knob, H&S Precision stock......like this, but stainless:

I like that option because its an easy button but $1k for a mcmillan stock and $1k for a barreled action.  Why $3500 for the two pieces assembled?  Is there $1500 of work im missing?

Trigger, bottom metal, base, case, bedding, and labor. It's also a factory rifle with a guarantee and warranty, it's up to you if that matters or not.

Here's my 2016 custom Bergara, similar flavor:

I wanted the same and got a Remington 700 police as I wanted a threaded barrel

Jb weld bedded it to my McMillan turn in stock and have 1/4 moa with Federal gold cup match or m118lr

I’ll try and post a photo later

An M40a5 clone for hunting?  Have you considered the weight OP?  My A5 clone weighs just over 17 lbs.