I am by no means an expert on custom rifles. However I am learning. I am also considering the same build. And I have been talking to some smith's about this very thing. I think I am going to go with the 338 Lapua Improved. My information is showing this cartridge to be easier on cases. However I do not know why.
Personally I will never build another rifle on a 700 action. And this is not to say there is anything wrong with a 700 action, I say this because after you spend your money on a 700 to do all the work needed to bring it up to custom action standards--you could have bought a custom action for the same price. It is $1,000 or close to it no matter how you get there. So why not just buy the custom action to start with?? Tom.
