Cost of full custom rifle but on budget?

[Bigeclipse]

All,
I want a custom rifle built but as my title states im on a budget. I do not have an exact budget in mind but am starting to save. My original thought was to buy a cooper rifle but now im thinking I may just go custom depending on costs. What can I expect? This will be a handy rifle and not a dedicated long range. I am thinking along the lines of a sporter type weight in a sporter style stock. I am mostly concerned about accuracy and weight and do not need ultra fancy (such as custom milling of bolts and barrels and such for appearance sake). So what do you think the cost would be for a reputable company to build me this rifle? I am thinking something in a Remington 700 style action. Mcmillan stock would be sweet but they are expensive so not sure if there are other budget friendly options which are almost as nice. I definitely do not want a wood stock as this rifle will be carried in dense woods. I think id prefer stainless but not settled on that. Caliber is also not decided but is between 6.5prc, 6.5x284, 280, 280ai. Game will be 99% whitetails with a very rare opportunity on a black bear. I do not hunt for black bear direct but if one comes by during deer season, id take one so let's focus on that. This rifle MUST be sub 1 MOA out to 500 yards and would prefer closer to .5MOA. So what do you think im looking at for costs and which companies should I look into to build me this rifle? Thanks!

 

[PNWGator]

Easiest and most cost effective route to achieve the end result you're looking for may be to buy the appropriate Tikka T3x and have it rebarreled, chambered and a brake installed by one of the many gunsmiths on this forum.

 

[86alaskan]

Depends on what you think is affordable. I'll second the Tikka, hard to get a smoother action with a better trigger without spending a whole lot more money. If you've got to build new, there are a number of sub $1k actions that'll do nicely.... bighorn origin, gunwerks grb, defiance tenacity. then it's just a matter of piecing the rest together. on the flip side, just check the for sale side of this forum. Lots of guys constantly buying and selling semi and full custom rigs. Lots of those rifles are proven shooters with break in done and a load developed. As far as caliber, any of the 6.5's with a good bullet will do hat you want with light recoil. The 280 is not a bad choice, but it'll kick more.

 

[Ingwe]

FWIW: I bought a blueprinted remage action and Criterion barrel 7mmRem with muzzle from James at Northwoods, a McMillan e6a stock, trigger tech trigger, new bolt head, all put to by GA Tactical for around 3thousand if I remember correctly. I also painted it myself in a brown and black leopard spots pattern

I put a Swarovski X5 6-18-50 on it


Done that way you get exactly what you want

 

[Tangent]

I've found that for custom rifles costs rise significantly for weight savings, 'name brand', and aesthetics. You can have a full custom for the price of most Coopers.

Gunwerks GRB/Bighorn Origin/Alamo Precision Hunter = ~$825
Bartlein/Benchmark/other/other = ~$325
Timney/TriggerTech = ~$150
Chamber barrel & thread muzzle = ~$450

For the stock, you can easily spend over $1,000, but for a budget build, you might look into KRG Bravo (~$400) or some of the Stockys offerings (~$200 + ~$150 bottom metal).

All-in you should be ~$2,200.

Any of the sub-$1000 actions provide far more features than a Tikka and will retain value longer as a 'custom' action over the factory Tikka.

For gunsmith, you might look into who you have locally. Some of the 'bigger' names that have good prices are LRI, Patriot Valley Arms, Alamo Precision, Northwest ActionWorks...lots of others around.

For whitetails out to 500 yards, I would go with the lighter recoiling 6.5 variant.

 

[Deputy819]

Hard to beat a Criterion pre-fit barrel. I've got one chambered in .280AI spun onto a factory Savage 110 action and it actually shoots tighter than a full custom-built .243 of mine (trued 700 action, etc..)......... and was WAY less expensive to put together.

 

[Deleted member 103481]

If you're not going to buy a tikka and get a shouldered prefit then sit back with your money and watch the classifieds of a few different forums and be ready to pounce when the opportunity presents its self. You can get a nice custom barreled action for a little over a grand.

Hell you can get a brand new kelbly with a barrel for 1500 right now, so that's a good baseline. 500-1k for a stock depending on what you want

 

[bdlesh]

I am kicking around building a rifle as well. I have found trued 700 actions in the $500 range. I am thinking remage barrel so I can do the install myself. Again around $500. For a stock you can spend as much as you got, but I am looking for middle of the road. So again $500 ish. Bottom metal let's say $200. And if you want a brake another $200. I feel for $2000 I should have a pretty nice rifle. I know everyone says to use a custom action for resale value, but never sell any of mine and this will be a hunting rifle. So it should serve me well.....I hope

 

[BoomFlop]

Do you reload?

My opinion is you'll never get the accuracy capable out of a custom rifle without reloading.

Also, I believe a custom rifle should have a specific purpose, which you already should know and that a good factory rifle doesn't cover.

There are A LOT of great rifles for $800-$2500 already produced.

Steve

 

[Big Jake Duke]

A 700 action and a Remage system will save you tons if you are not wildcatting. The 700 will have tons of stock options that other actions dont have at this time- yes there are options, but nothing like the amount for a 700. Then if you ever want to change calibers (same bolt head), you will save the cost of a new rifle and optics system. The 6.5-284 is really hard to beat for what you are asking for in a rifle.

 

[Shane Lindsey]

https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/custom-700-switch-barrel.223364/

Bam!!!

 

[lancetkenyon]

Buy a lightly used custom. Save thousands.

I purchased a semi-custom for about $1500 less than build cost.

.260 Rem
R700SA trued
PT&G .250" recoil lug
26" 1:8" Bartlein #3b
McMillan Game Scout
PT&G Oberndorf BDL bottom metal
Timney 510 @ 1.5#
Seekins 20MOA Picatinny rail
Vortex PMR 35mm rings
Vortex Razor 5-20×50
140 rounds fired
Came with full set of Redding comp dies

Build cost with scope was $4500
I paid $3000 with scope
Sold the scope for $1500
So had the rifle in hand for $1500
Way ahead of the game.

Put a S&B PMII 3-20×50 on it
Bought some Lapua brass
Already had a bunch of H4350, CCI BR-2, and 140 HVLDs.

 

[Weatherby Fan]

Ive built about 40 rifles and the most cost effective way to build a poor mans Custom rifle is grab an used Kimber Montana in your desired action length, 84M, 84L or 8400wsm or 8400 Long Action,
They have an excellent adjustable trigger, and all stainless action and a Kevlar/Carbon Fibre stock so it has all the components in one package other than a barrel,

buy your self a #2 Contour Bartlein, Benchmark or HawkHill barrel and have your Gunsmith.......

True,Square and bed the Action
Lighten the trigger to 2.5lbs
Chamber barrel to your desired caliber and your all set with an excellent all stainless lightweight custom hunting rifle.

Probably no more than 1400-1500 dollars all in depending on the price of the donor rifle, barrel and labour

Ive built several with the Montana as a donor and they are 2nd to none as a hunting rifle, here's my latest 300 PRC on a Montana 8400 LA I just picked up this morning


You can also use a Tikka T3x or Sako A7 which is a good platform but there stocks aren't the best, other than that they are a great donor.

Hers a 6.5 PRC built on a Montana 8400 WSM donor


Heres my first 300 PRC built on a Montana 8400 LA


Heres a pair of 6.5-284s built on Montana 84L actions


Here's my sheep hunting rig 6.5-284 built on a Montana 84M short action

 

[silverhair]

Howa barreled action or 1500 rifle, Boyds or Promag Archangel stock, Vortex Diamondback or Viper PST scope. Mod the stock a little and add a REAL bipod like a Harris.