You can't swap the stock out in an RPR.

A ballistic comparison of some of the common calibers.  Notice ballistically speaking the 6.5CM, .300 Winchester Magnum and 7mm Remington Magnum are very similar.  The .300 WM carries more energy at 1000 yards.  The 7mm RM has less bullet drop, less windage and is moving faster when it does get there with just a little less energy compared to the .300 WM.  It also stays super sonic longer.  The 6.5CM is quite comparable to the other 2 with less energy.  I still wouldn't want to get hit with one. 




You can likely find cheap ammo for all of them.  It doesn't matter how cheap you can find it if it isn't going to be accurate enough for you though.

What do you want to do with this rifle?  What will it's propose be.  Unless you plan to spend some serious time behind this gun I would guess both platforms will deliver more then enough energy down range at your (read the shooters abilities) effective range.    No offense meant there but you would need to spend some serious time shooting beyond 1000 yards for the additional energy of the .338 to really matter.

What brand of reloading equipment is included with the deal? 

Thx guys, for the $$ looks like the RPR is hard to beat. I like the Sako, but my wallet does not. I do not like the safety on the savages, but it and the RPR have similar triggers. Didn't know about the feeding/ejection issues.

I want some ting that hits hard at range. Understand the 338 is not a barrel burner at all.

Planning on about 1k for the scope, besides liking vortex they have a few options in that range with the features I like.

Are you realistically going to shoot the rifle enough for barrel life to matter.

The Gen 2 Vipers would definitely be with in your budget.  If you can stretch it just a bit more you could get into the Gen 1 Razor. 

What type of capability do you want at 1000 yards.  There are a ton of options that will get you to 1000.  If you are on a budget to build the gun you will also be on a budget to shoot it.  Even if you reload, .338 will be significantly more expensive to shoot than a lot of other options.  If you just want to hit steel at 1000 yards a 6.5 Creedmoor will easily get you there with cheap and easy to find ammo.  If you want something that is going to hit a little harder at that distance the .300 WM, .300WSM, 7WSM etc would be good options.

In my opinion, Savage has good accuracy but they have other issues.  They are known for feeding and extraction issues.   I have one and it seems like every other round doesn't eject properly.  The actions are also a little harder to work then some of the better options in my opinion, this means that you will be changing your point of aim more when working the bolt.

The RPR is ok.  The biggest down side for me is the way they are built there really is no way to upgrade them etc..  The RPR has been around for a few years now but the magnum line just came out this last year.

Don't do a Christensen Arms.

If I was buying a factory rifle I would be looking very closely at a Tikka/ Sako or Howa.  Both have good factory accuracy with nice bolt lift and decent ergonomics.   If you can, find something with and adjustable LOP and cheek rest.

For optics I would be looking at FFP.  The scope on my precision rifle is a 5-25.  I almost never shoot on 25 power.  Normally 12-15, sometimes up to 20.  With a FFP plane I can still use the reticle for holds etc..  On a SFP the reticle is useless at anything other then full magnification.

Look at Vortex, Burris and Athlon for more budget friendly glass.  You might be able to pick up a Gen I Razor for a decent deal also.  Burris just came out with the 3rd generation of their Burris XTR.  You might be able to pick up a Gen II for a good deal.

 No budget, I would be picking up a Tangent Theta.  I've looked through a couple and the image quality is simply amazing.  Any thoughts on what type of reticle you are wanting?  I would recomend a mil reticle. 

and no headlines were made when what looks like the only female in the picture did her shooting?!

I counted 3 females at least, possibly as many as 5.  I would be curious how many of these occured in Chicago.

3d printed from what?

Parts can be 3D printed in a variety of metals now.  Basically a robotic welder that lays weld bead on top of weld bead to build a structure.  They can make a very strong structure per its weight because material only needs to be placed where it is required for strength.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2szk5MItRA

Exactly Bear. I never had a problem with recoil with my 308 with the can.  But I can see that too,   The 7wsm is a great round and I may get a hunting rifle built on that platform


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I'm tossed up between the 7WSM or the 7LRM for my next hunting rifle.

I don’t see how that would work all that well, considering you’re only sharpening the top of the tooth. Doesn’t a significant portion of the cutting come from the inside of the tooth? Thus the need for a round file....?

These sharpeners require a special chain from what I understand. 

I couldn’t get my amazon to pull up anything larger than class 3 for some reason, is your frame bolt pattern same as the trucks?


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My research had told me the suburban and truck bumpers were the same.  But Don just sent me an email saying the bumper wasn't bolting upright, and after looking at some of Don's pics closer I can definitely say they are not the same.

They show about 12k new. No year listed, trying to get it now.

Should sign for the land next week, A trailer is no on the list along with the above. Containers are all over starting around $1000.

Here is a comparable.  1228 miles, 733 hours.  Comes with a plow, but asking $15,000. 

https://www.motorsportsuniverse.com/listing/for-sale/31065645/2014-john-deere-gator-xuv-825i-utility-utility-vehicles?lang=2

I prefer hydraulic foot pedals over the handles for boom lift and tilt.  Works better in my opinion for jobs where you are doing a lot of bucket manipulation while in transport.  The best operator controls for a skid steer in my opinion are the t-post style where one hand is forward/ reverse and you twist the t-handle to turn.  The other hand is boom lift forward and back, and twist for tilt.  We had that on one of the Gehls on the farm and it was great.

Skid steers can certainly be handy but they do have their limitations.  Wheeled versions aren't great for traction.  They are pretty easy to get stuck.  That said, depending on the attachment type you can generally use the hydraulics to push yourself out, as long as you thought ahead and didn't back yourself into a corner.  Also, because of the way skid steers are setup with the exit over the bucket, some lifting operations need 2 people where you might be able to just do it yourself with a FEL.  With the FEL you can place the loader at whatever height you want and exit, not the case with a skid steer.  Basically all the way up or all the way down.

I didn't hold out for very long.  Ran across a deal for a Bushnell AR optic.  1-4x24 FFP.  Normally $500, After sale, discount code and rebate $150 to my door, and that includes a mount.  Very close to would I was looking for so I didn't figure I should pass it up.

https://www.brownells.com/optics-mounting/scopes/rifle-scopes/ar-optics-1-4x24mm-scope-ffp-illum-btr-reticle-prod112477.aspx

Tonight I got everything packaged up and strapped down to a pallet.  Sorry no pictures of that process.  When I ship a front and rear together I grab a pallet from the guys that cut my steel.  It starts out as a 5'x10' pallet.  After a little chain saw work I cut it down to about 78"x 48".

I toss both bumpers on there and strap them down with a couple of ratchet straps and they are ready to go.

Weighed some stuff up tonight.

Front bumper: 125 lbs

Rear bumper without arm attached: 90 lbs
Swing Arm: 80 lbs
Total rear bumper: 170 lbs

Quote from: Bigdave_185 on March 23, 2019, 11:04:42 PM

Quote from: Flyin6 on March 23, 2019, 10:31:26 PM

One more problem to solve.

This monster axle has some monster studs. Not the 14.5mm stock size but something like 3/4" fine thread. I've never seen a stud this large on a passenger vehicle.

It’s not designed for a passenger vehicle bud.    What prep are you going to do to this new axle?


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Tear down and check
Install a new yukon Duragrip Limited slip
New seals
Teardown the hubs
Figure out this stud thing
New rotors
New calipers
Figure out a parking brake
Cut off the low hanging shock mounts and tuck new ones in tighter
De-rust/sanding/grinding/repaint
Install mounts for air bags
reinstall

And here I was starting to worry you were going to have this thing rolling before I got the bumper to you.

With that done I did a little clean up work and rolled the bumper outside to take some decent pictures.

Without arm installed.



With arm installed and some pics of the latches and pins.









And one of the arm swung open and pinned in place.

Before calling it a night I finished up the tire carrier.  I decided that larger 4-1/2" piece of pipe wasn't going to work, the OD was larger then I would have liked and it was a little short.  There wouldn't have been much hub to catch on before hitting the end of the lug bolts.  This is a piece with a 3-1/2" OD.  After the hub was welded in place the lug bolts were tacked in place. I'm going to have Don weld these permanently after he can test fit and make sure the lug pattern bolts up right.  It shouldn't be an issue but I would like to make sure the lugs are straight and the wheel will slide into place without any issue.

Then I finished up the secondary pin latch on the driver side.   I had tacked this in previously but needed to set it in place and build an area for it to pin in to. 





This is what that will pin into.  I left it open to the back side so that there wasn't an area that couldn't be painted and so water couldn't get trapped in there.

Back at it on the rear last night.  Started out by welding the recovery mounts onto the bumper.  These are the same as what I used on the front bumper.  3/4" thick and shaped to fit up with the bumper angles a little.  I set them up and weld them to the front and rear.   I try to place them along the main frame mounts to get a weld on those also.

Finished up the rear bumper today.  Will be posting an update to the bumper build thread later today when I have time to get on the computer.  Should finish the front tomorrow.

This was always a favorite. We always made this with regular tortilla chips though.

Yeah it's really nice, as long as you get someone who does it correctly. ...all depends on the dealer.
They actually take the paint code from the vehicle and use that color, in urethane.

^^^ That.  It is just like paint.  A lot of the quality is still dependent on good prep work.  I tried taking a couple to one of the local linex guys per customers request but after a couple failed attempts, and then bringing one to a different linex dealer and having them tell me all the areas the previous guy was doing it wrong I refuse to take anything to him.

For the most part I like linex, and think it comes out looking good.  Just make sure you talk to them and make sure they are going to do a good job.  I tried bringing a few bumpers to a guy local to me.  It took him a while to get to them because in his words the local dealership kept bringing in new trucks to line and he had to give them priority and get them done.  Eventually when he got to them he did a shotty work.  When it all started peeling off, my customer took it to a different linex dealer who looked it over and said the first guy didn't prep them right, and only sprayed the linex on about 1/4 as thick as he should have in most spots.

Let me ask you a question publically about final coating your bumpers.

Throughout this build we have seen attention to detail and fretting over the most minor things. All that, of course adds up to one outstanding product, which is readily evident in the pics laid out in these pages.

So since you so, Well, I can't say the word, since I am striving not to be so coarse (See that Nate, the Warrant officer is trying to clean up his act). Well since you have put so much thought into these steel bumpers of yours, how would you recommend I finish them?

I am not going to use the globular matter sometimes called truck bed liner. It is all cobbled up lookin' and these works of art deserve a finer finishing. Something near but a tad short of something Tex, the Redness of neck, would do for his beautiful trucks.

Lets hear what you are thinking...

Honestly, I like bed liner, not the really big chunky stuff with a lot of texture.  Something a little finer but still with some texture to it.  I like the texture for a couple of reasons:

It hides any imperfections in the steel really well.  I am not working with automotive body panel sheet metal class steel.  It is not uncommon for the cut parts to have some scratches and small gouges in them from transportation etc.. before I even see them.  Once I start welding and putting heat into the steel, it will start to move some.  Flat surfaces are no longer flat.  If I weld a bracket on the backside of the bumper, HAZ will leave a raised area on the front surface.  I do grind this area down.  If I am going to just paint or powder coat these area that area does not just need to be grinded, but sanded also, as well as every other inch of the bumper really.  There are some exterior areas where I weld that can not easily be grinded/ really cleaned up.  Painting over these areas with regular paint, just makes those imperfect welds pop right out at you to my eye.  Basically, regular paint is going to really show any imperfections in the steel/ welds, unless you go through the process of using body filler and sanding the entire bumper.  I'm not really big on finish work, it gets real tedious real quick, and if I need to start charging people to do all this clean up work it is going to start getting real expensive real quick.  A bed liner product is kind of like putting texture on drywall in your house, it just breaks up the surface to hide all the little imperfections.

If you do run into something or push something out of the way resulting in a scratch or get some rock chips etc.. it is easier to repair those damages a little more seamlessly.  Depending on the damage you may need to do a little clean-up work but you should be able to blend the repair into the rest of the bumper without to much effort.

What I generally recommend is a good quality bed liner on top of a couple coats of good primer.  Of course with any paint job, it is going to be all in the prep work,  Get it cleaned up good and get a good etching primer down first.  If you want to do it right follow up with a coat or 2 of an epoxy primer.  Then a couple light coats of a good bed liner product.  I follow that up with a coat of clear.  I find the bed liner products can sometimes dry a little flat or almost gray.  The clear gets the black darker.  I also find that the bed liner products will sometimes seem to hold dirt and be harder to clean etc.. I coat or two of clear seems to act as a release and help keep it clean with just a spray down.

Looks good. Hub should be 116mm or 4.56 inches.


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I grabbed a hub diameter of 130.81mm or about 5.15" off the box that Don's new wheels came in.  Guessing those might have been a little larger then the factory wheel.