The rifles you buy when you're young and stupid

[bigbrother]

If I had 2 guns and wanted a custom, I would sell off the 7STW privately. Then, I would take the Rem 700 to a competant gunsmith, have him true the action rebarrel it to a 280 Ackley (you didn't want a magnum but this will get you just about a 7mag without the extra powder and recoil) put a new stock on it and have the gun weigh a normal to light carry rifle weight. Now you still have the stock and the barrel off the 2506 that you can sell, or have the gunsmith sell for you....FYI sendero stocks alone will sell for 125 to 200 depending upon condition. Take off barrels will sell for around 50 to 100 bucks again depending upon condition (or how many rounds shot through it).

The only reason I mention this route, is that you already have a good action for a smith to build your custom gun on....that can save you a lot of money in the custom gun process. Of course you can tailor barrel countour, length, twist rate etc. and stock style, weight, type, etc. to your needs but it shouldn't cost you near as much to do. By going this route you have less to "trade offs" to worry about also. A good gunsmith can build a light weight rifle, capable of subminute accuracy and recommend stock style, brakes, or a host of things to keep the recoil to your tolerable level. For instance, don't think all brakes are the same. Some are horribly loud, some are not (to the shooter, never stand to the side of any brake) some reduce recoil more than others. Stock style also will make felt recoil intolerable or comfortable. Good luck in whatever you decide.