Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
Articles
Latest reviews
Author list
Classifieds
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Equipment Discussions
My guns (third try to get this to work right, Aaaargggh!)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Chawlston" data-source="post: 139114"><p>"Your buddy who does a little home smithing is now a felon if he hangs a barrel on your rifle."</p><p></p><p>He is my buddy, but he is a full time custom gun business.</p><p></p><p>As long as the customer owns the components, the repair of re-barrelling a rifle with new barrel due to a barrel that is shot out is not considered manufacturing. Smiths who are not manufacturers seem to prefer it this way from my expereince. </p><p></p><p>Custom gunsmiths probably spend more time actually rebarrelling actions and changing stocks than building guns from the ground up. There are a lot of used custom guns that have very good components that just need to be tweeked to be as good as a new custom build. </p><p></p><p>As far as figuring out how to supoprt the gunsmiths for them to make a good living, I will leave that up to those who aspire to do it. I am sure it is possible, many of the top BR smiths in the country are doing fairly well. I keep my gunsmith on retainer so that when I need to get a new barrel chambered, threaded and crowned, it will get done as I stand there and watch him do it. Usually within a week.</p><p></p><p>You can't really expect for somebody to not pick up good deals on barrels, actions, stocks etc to ultimately put them together into a very nice rifle. If you are not prepared for your customers to reuse their actions and stocks when the barrel is worn out, then you might want to re-think the venture.</p><p></p><p>I know a lot of guys who have done the following:</p><p></p><p>Guy #1 is interested in a new barrel. Guy #2 is interested in a new scope. Guy #3 is interested in a new action. Guy #4 is interested in a different stock. And, at the shooting match they are attending, a brand new rifle is being sold that meets all of their specifications and desires. Boy I have seen this at almost ever match I have shot at. Anyway, </p><p></p><p>If guy #1 wanted you to install the new barrel he took off of a new gun that was unfired would you do it?</p><p></p><p>If guy #3 wanted you to barrel and stock his new action would you do it?</p><p></p><p>If guy #4 wanted you to restock his barrelled action would you do it.</p><p></p><p>My point is that you will find that you are probably doing more piece work than total rifle builds. The point of getting a good action and stock to begin with is for it to be a lifetime investment. It should provide an excellent platform for the specific shooting discipline much longer than the shooter participates in shooting.</p><p></p><p>For instance Tony Boyers' original Shilen actioned rifle was recently sold and it is still as competitive as it was ten years ago.</p><p></p><p>There will come a time when the market is saturated with custom actions and/or the industry cannot supply them quick enough for the demand. During those instances, folks will buy used guns and have them configured to their liking and if you are not willing to do it since it is not a ground up build you will be losing out on a lot of business. You may even spend a lot of time correcting factory gun problems.</p><p></p><p>I grew up around my dads' business. He owned a production comany that produced packaging machinery. So I am well versed from time in his machine shops.</p><p></p><p>For what it's worth, I have it from a good information source that a lot of the Surgeon Rifle companys work is actually contracted out. One of our ex-farmers down here is one of their machinists/gunsmiths. He also builds custom rifles that would rival any that you could come up with for comparison.</p><p></p><p>James</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Chawlston, post: 139114"] "Your buddy who does a little home smithing is now a felon if he hangs a barrel on your rifle." He is my buddy, but he is a full time custom gun business. As long as the customer owns the components, the repair of re-barrelling a rifle with new barrel due to a barrel that is shot out is not considered manufacturing. Smiths who are not manufacturers seem to prefer it this way from my expereince. Custom gunsmiths probably spend more time actually rebarrelling actions and changing stocks than building guns from the ground up. There are a lot of used custom guns that have very good components that just need to be tweeked to be as good as a new custom build. As far as figuring out how to supoprt the gunsmiths for them to make a good living, I will leave that up to those who aspire to do it. I am sure it is possible, many of the top BR smiths in the country are doing fairly well. I keep my gunsmith on retainer so that when I need to get a new barrel chambered, threaded and crowned, it will get done as I stand there and watch him do it. Usually within a week. You can't really expect for somebody to not pick up good deals on barrels, actions, stocks etc to ultimately put them together into a very nice rifle. If you are not prepared for your customers to reuse their actions and stocks when the barrel is worn out, then you might want to re-think the venture. I know a lot of guys who have done the following: Guy #1 is interested in a new barrel. Guy #2 is interested in a new scope. Guy #3 is interested in a new action. Guy #4 is interested in a different stock. And, at the shooting match they are attending, a brand new rifle is being sold that meets all of their specifications and desires. Boy I have seen this at almost ever match I have shot at. Anyway, If guy #1 wanted you to install the new barrel he took off of a new gun that was unfired would you do it? If guy #3 wanted you to barrel and stock his new action would you do it? If guy #4 wanted you to restock his barrelled action would you do it. My point is that you will find that you are probably doing more piece work than total rifle builds. The point of getting a good action and stock to begin with is for it to be a lifetime investment. It should provide an excellent platform for the specific shooting discipline much longer than the shooter participates in shooting. For instance Tony Boyers' original Shilen actioned rifle was recently sold and it is still as competitive as it was ten years ago. There will come a time when the market is saturated with custom actions and/or the industry cannot supply them quick enough for the demand. During those instances, folks will buy used guns and have them configured to their liking and if you are not willing to do it since it is not a ground up build you will be losing out on a lot of business. You may even spend a lot of time correcting factory gun problems. I grew up around my dads' business. He owned a production comany that produced packaging machinery. So I am well versed from time in his machine shops. For what it's worth, I have it from a good information source that a lot of the Surgeon Rifle companys work is actually contracted out. One of our ex-farmers down here is one of their machinists/gunsmiths. He also builds custom rifles that would rival any that you could come up with for comparison. James [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Equipment Discussions
My guns (third try to get this to work right, Aaaargggh!)
Top