Cost of full custom rifle but on budget?

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.

I will admit, I just attached my first Archangel to a Howa in 257 Wby Mag. I am impressed with the way this feels and my ability to get on target quickly. The balance is superb. I have had few Howa's out of several that would deliver much below 1 MOA is my only gripe. I've had 2 or 3 that went WAY sub-1/2 MOA, but they seem to be an exception rather than rule. I found this brand new in package archangel for $150! Bought a 10-round magazine. An 11-round tactical .257 Wby is a pretty amazing weapon! Most accurate cartridge of all time with the Howa was a .375 Ruger limited production gun in a Hogue pillar-bedded stock.
 
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!
Find a used rifle in 06, or 308...$300-400, $170 wilson barrel from Ragged Hole, and bell and carlson stock. You should be able to find a gunsmith to thread, turn and chamber the the barrel blank for $250 or so and end up around $1K
 
I'm going to ---- alot of people on here off, but to do what you (op) wants to do is a complete waste of money to "build" anything. There are any number of rifles under $1000 that will do exactly what you want and they exist in the cartridges you list. And if you happen to get the occasional dud-in-a-box, sell it and buy another one. You're still ahead money.

Before any of you blow your tops, or computers up, my friend (and gunsmith) and his neighbor were sitting around talking 2 days ago about this. He does this for a living, and he's as ultra precise as a brain operation with a laser. He looks me in the eye and says, "You know as well as I do many of the off-the-shelf guns will shoot just as accurately as most any custom gun." I admitted MORE accurately many times. He grinned and said he hoped none of his work fell in that category. I grinned back and said not so far, but the jury was still out on the last one. A $250 Marlin XL7 or XS7 will hold .700" @100yds all day. That's why Remington bought them and ceased production. They had a decent trigger and cheap but utilitarian stock and a fluted bolt, along with an excellent safety. A Bergara low end model will shoot in the .5s. How do I know? Most of your Browning X-Bolts will shoot half or sub-half MOA without buying the McMillan version. I have multiple examples of that. I'm making my cousin some ammo for his now-discontinued Remington 710 in .30-06. It was considered by most to be junk. The barrel isn't free floated, the factory trigger is 6 lbs, and it ain't much to look at. That stupid thing that sold for $300 new shoots one ragged hole with my handloads and a good rest. I've got guns I've invested $4000 in that won't do that, man! More than one! I could rework his trigger for him and buy that gun for whatever he wanted and be REAL happy! Winchester XPRs will go at least to the .7s, also. You want something special, invest $700 in a Sauer 100 in your 6.5 PRC. Or if you just like the cool, tactical look, buy the new Ruger Hawkeye Varmint Target rifle for $999 in 6.5 PRC with full 26" tube. It has a 2+ lb trigger in it and demonstrates sub-1/2 MOA in reviews. The first guy that commented on this post advised you to buy a Tikka Tx3 and have it rebarreled. I'm telling you that you don't even have to have it rebarreled. The Tx3 will shoot 1/2 MOA with it's preferred load off the shelf.

There are only 2 reasons to build a custom gun. Well, 3. Ok, 4. 1)For a particular style that fits the shooter better than available models, 2)For a special caliber (cartridge chambering) that isn't available in the desired model or anywhere, 3)For a competition grade rifle, and 4)Just because you want to and what people like me say is boring and can't possibly be true. Then $60,000 or more later after 20+ custom guns, many of them wildcats, have been built and paid for, you realize only one or two was as great as you thought it might or ought to be. Yes, that's me. I've easily spent money to build at least 20 custom guns. I've used barrels from McGowen, Mullerworks, Shilen, Hart, Pac-Nor, Krieger, Bartlein, Douglas, Brux, Lilja, Wilson, etc. and had as much blue printing as any machinist would care to do on Winchester, Remington, Pierce, Weatherby, Savage, and CZ, and spent several thousand dollars in parts, labor, and loading components for each one. Not one was capable of doing what the $300 Remington 710 is doing now. One other gun was capable, and it was a Browning A-Blolt Eclipse in 270 WSM. Now I've had some quarter-inch big magnums that were capable of a whole lot more than this .30-06, and I've had some very capable .22 wildcats.

Look, if you want to build super, guaranteed accuracy into a custom rifle, you can. It's going to have a near straight-taper barrel sitting in a Manners, McMillan, or AG Composites stock. If you want to tote a 15-lb rifle into the woods every time, it will be superbly accurate. I believe what you are asking for is something you actually enjoy carrying and not "lugging" or "hauling" around. Go to www.stockysstocks.com and you'll be able to configure the stock you want. If it's not available, you'll know where to look to get it factory direct. www.bugholes.com and www.redhawkrifles.com ALL have precision parts available. you're dead set on forking out the dough you could be spending on high-end glass, my advice is to see which stock on Stocky's site tickles your fancy, and order it. Go over to Red Hawk Rifles and buy a Douglas Air-Gauged barrel in appropriate contour for your wants and specifications in your bore size of choice. Have a knowledgable, capable, and ENTHUSIASTIC gunsmith do the machining and bed your action choice in your stock of choice with that Douglas air-gauged barrel and be prepared to spend a lot of time at the reloading bench to figure out the gun's desires. That's right. You HAVE to reload to get the performance you're looling for. And top accuracy. Don't blame the rifle for poor accuracy if you haven't taken the time to craft and feed it what it wants.

$1800 is going to be about the least you'll spend for a custom buy a Browning X-Bolt in 280 Remington, or the new Ruger Target in 6.5 PRC, or the Sauer 100 in 6.5 PRC, or a Savage Long Range Hunter in 6.5x284 and be amazed at the accuracy and value in what you get- or throw it out and buy another one if it doesn't function up to par. I could buy 6 of the Rem 710s for my least expensive custom and the extra dollars bought no more accuracy. They bought perfect balance, good trigger, extra long barrel for extra velocity, and unique caliber/cartridge- and great accuracy- just not quite as great as the 710 model. AG Composites and Manners are my 2 favorite choices for custom stocks. You won't go wrong with any barrel you pick from any one of the Web sites I listed. It's easier to just go ahead and buy an aftermarket action rather than make smith do all the dialing in to true/blue-print a factory action. Lots of big name, flashy actions out there now and list grows by the day. Still nothing wrong with a plain old Stiller Predator to drop into a Manners stock and have it properly bedded. I have a smith I'd trust to do anything here right by home and his name is Johnny Garris and he owns Custom Gun Coatings and Repair in Mobile, AL. He can do anything you want done and do it faster than 90% of any other smith in the country. Most of your "big time" smiths are only interested in building you a super-ultra-long-range-badass-countersniper-tactical-match rig weighing the requisite 15 pounds or more capable of shooting about what the $300 Remington 710 is shooting. A "regular" hunting rifle is beneath them. Tell Johnny that Ray Young from Hurley, MS sent you and you might get an even better deal than he's already going to give you.

Another option is a semi-custom. Montana Rifle Company and Nosler both make sub-MOA rifles in the calibers you specified for half the price of a Cooper. If you want to go a little higher up the food chain, buy a Fierce Fury for $1999 and it's GUARANTEED to shoot 1/2 MOA! Best deal on the market, IMHO. But don't just throw money at the idea. You are much more likely to be disappointed since your expectations will be perfection for something "custom" you paid all that money for. Good luck!


Honestly, I could not agree more, including the 4 reasons you stated.

With so many accurate off-the-shelf rifles at low low low prices, and so many quality high-end production rifles under 2K, spending 5K on a great custom makes very little sense FOR A HUNTER.

And spending 2K on a budget build maybe makes even less sense, as you don't even get the bragging rights :rolleyes: and you surely won't get the resale value.

If the 2K build doesn't turn out PERFECT in your eyes, be prepared to sell it at a 50% loss and do it again, because once you start it is hard to stop.

FOR A HUNTER there are just too many great factory rifles options out there that can be tweaked to near-perfection to make building a full-custom worthwhile.
 
Find a used rifle in 06, or 308...$300-400, $170 wilson barrel from Ragged Hole, and bell and carlson stock. You should be able to find a gunsmith to thread, turn and chamber the the barrel blank for $250 or so and end up around $1K
first of all if you don't want a gun to shoot to its best ability you go and find someone who calls him self a gunsmith and spend that $250.00 and you will have your tomato stake
or you can have a good gunsmith with all the tools who knows how to use them and have the action trued and quality barrel in stalled
Action truing will run $450.00 to $900.00 and the THREADING and chamber and cut crowned and barrel indexed will cost $450.00 I would have the barrel cryo
I would have the barreled action stress free bedded $275.00 to $400.00
The stock should be fit to the customer for length of pull and good recoil pad around $200.00
If the stock needs to be fit and finished 250.00 and up
And then you will have a gun that will shoot better than 99.5% of the shooter out there
For mid to long range the scope for easy use is a Huskemaw 4 - 16 $1199.00 or a 5-20 for $1499.00
So what I am saying is stay away from cheap barrels and installing them yourself or using a so called gunsmith who is self taught or youtuber(if you screw up you could kill your self or the guy next to you at the range
So be smart and spend the money 1 time and you will be happy and never look back
 
I'm going to ---- alot of people on here off, but to do what you (op) wants to do is a complete waste of money to "build" anything. There are any number of rifles under $1000 that will do exactly what you want and they exist in the cartridges you list. And if you happen to get the occasional dud-in-a-box, sell it and buy another one. You're still ahead money.

Before any of you blow your tops, or computers up, my friend (and gunsmith) and his neighbor were sitting around talking 2 days ago about this. He does this for a living, and he's as ultra precise as a brain operation with a laser. He looks me in the eye and says, "You know as well as I do many of the off-the-shelf guns will shoot just as accurately as most any custom gun." I admitted MORE accurately many times. He grinned and said he hoped none of his work fell in that category. I grinned back and said not so far, but the jury was still out on the last one. A $250 Marlin XL7 or XS7 will hold .700" @100yds all day. That's why Remington bought them and ceased production. They had a decent trigger and cheap but utilitarian stock and a fluted bolt, along with an excellent safety. A Bergara low end model will shoot in the .5s. How do I know? Most of your Browning X-Bolts will shoot half or sub-half MOA without buying the McMillan version. I have multiple examples of that. I'm making my cousin some ammo for his now-discontinued Remington 710 in .30-06. It was considered by most to be junk. The barrel isn't free floated, the factory trigger is 6 lbs, and it ain't much to look at. That stupid thing that sold for $300 new shoots one ragged hole with my handloads and a good rest. I've got guns I've invested $4000 in that won't do that, man! More than one! I could rework his trigger for him and buy that gun for whatever he wanted and be REAL happy! Winchester XPRs will go at least to the .7s, also. You want something special, invest $700 in a Sauer 100 in your 6.5 PRC. Or if you just like the cool, tactical look, buy the new Ruger Hawkeye Varmint Target rifle for $999 in 6.5 PRC with full 26" tube. It has a 2+ lb trigger in it and demonstrates sub-1/2 MOA in reviews. The first guy that commented on this post advised you to buy a Tikka Tx3 and have it rebarreled. I'm telling you that you don't even have to have it rebarreled. The Tx3 will shoot 1/2 MOA with it's preferred load off the shelf.

There are only 2 reasons to build a custom gun. Well, 3. Ok, 4. 1)For a particular style that fits the shooter better than available models, 2)For a special caliber (cartridge chambering) that isn't available in the desired model or anywhere, 3)For a competition grade rifle, and 4)Just because you want to and what people like me say is boring and can't possibly be true. Then $60,000 or more later after 20+ custom guns, many of them wildcats, have been built and paid for, you realize only one or two was as great as you thought it might or ought to be. Yes, that's me. I've easily spent money to build at least 20 custom guns. I've used barrels from McGowen, Mullerworks, Shilen, Hart, Pac-Nor, Krieger, Bartlein, Douglas, Brux, Lilja, Wilson, etc. and had as much blue printing as any machinist would care to do on Winchester, Remington, Pierce, Weatherby, Savage, and CZ, and spent several thousand dollars in parts, labor, and loading components for each one. Not one was capable of doing what the $300 Remington 710 is doing now. One other gun was capable, and it was a Browning A-Blolt Eclipse in 270 WSM. Now I've had some quarter-inch big magnums that were capable of a whole lot more than this .30-06, and I've had some very capable .22 wildcats.

Look, if you want to build super, guaranteed accuracy into a custom rifle, you can. It's going to have a near straight-taper barrel sitting in a Manners, McMillan, or AG Composites stock. If you want to tote a 15-lb rifle into the woods every time, it will be superbly accurate. I believe what you are asking for is something you actually enjoy carrying and not "lugging" or "hauling" around. Go to www.stockysstocks.com and you'll be able to configure the stock you want. If it's not available, you'll know where to look to get it factory direct. www.bugholes.com and www.redhawkrifles.com ALL have precision parts available. you're dead set on forking out the dough you could be spending on high-end glass, my advice is to see which stock on Stocky's site tickles your fancy, and order it. Go over to Red Hawk Rifles and buy a Douglas Air-Gauged barrel in appropriate contour for your wants and specifications in your bore size of choice. Have a knowledgable, capable, and ENTHUSIASTIC gunsmith do the machining and bed your action choice in your stock of choice with that Douglas air-gauged barrel and be prepared to spend a lot of time at the reloading bench to figure out the gun's desires. That's right. You HAVE to reload to get the performance you're looling for. And top accuracy. Don't blame the rifle for poor accuracy if you haven't taken the time to craft and feed it what it wants.

$1800 is going to be about the least you'll spend for a custom buy a Browning X-Bolt in 280 Remington, or the new Ruger Target in 6.5 PRC, or the Sauer 100 in 6.5 PRC, or a Savage Long Range Hunter in 6.5x284 and be amazed at the accuracy and value in what you get- or throw it out and buy another one if it doesn't function up to par. I could buy 6 of the Rem 710s for my least expensive custom and the extra dollars bought no more accuracy. They bought perfect balance, good trigger, extra long barrel for extra velocity, and unique caliber/cartridge- and great accuracy- just not quite as great as the 710 model. AG Composites and Manners are my 2 favorite choices for custom stocks. You won't go wrong with any barrel you pick from any one of the Web sites I listed. It's easier to just go ahead and buy an aftermarket action rather than make smith do all the dialing in to true/blue-print a factory action. Lots of big name, flashy actions out there now and list grows by the day. Still nothing wrong with a plain old Stiller Predator to drop into a Manners stock and have it properly bedded. I have a smith I'd trust to do anything here right by home and his name is Johnny Garris and he owns Custom Gun Coatings and Repair in Mobile, AL. He can do anything you want done and do it faster than 90% of any other smith in the country. Most of your "big time" smiths are only interested in building you a super-ultra-long-range-badass-countersniper-tactical-match rig weighing the requisite 15 pounds or more capable of shooting about what the $300 Remington 710 is shooting. A "regular" hunting rifle is beneath them. Tell Johnny that Ray Young from Hurley, MS sent you and you might get an even better deal than he's already going to give you.

Another option is a semi-custom. Montana Rifle Company and Nosler both make sub-MOA rifles in the calibers you specified for half the price of a Cooper. If you want to go a little higher up the food chain, buy a Fierce Fury for $1999 and it's GUARANTEED to shoot 1/2 MOA! Best deal on the market, IMHO. But don't just throw money at the idea. You are much more likely to be disappointed since your expectations will be perfection for something "custom" you paid all that money for. Good luck!
I agree with .300 Dakota on about all counts. I have a Remington ADL that I won in a raffle in Lubbock Texas in 1998. Its a .300 winmag and it regularly shoots 0.6 to 0.8 inch groups at 100 yards. The only thing I've done to it is adjust the trigger. I have a Ruger M77Mk II that shoots about 0.75 inch 5 shot groups at 100 yards. Again, I've put a Timney trigger in it, and that's all. My 1903A3 shoots about the same and nothing has been done to it but to add the scope and mounts. My 35 Whelen can shoot 0.5 inch 5 shot groups with 225 grain Sierra Gamekings and its a factory Remington CDL. The only thing I've done to it is adjust the trigger. I have several other Remington and Ruger rifles, ADLs, SPSes and M77s or No 1 and they all shoot inside an inch or tighter. I'm willing to bet that if you buy a Ruger Hawkeye Hunter in 300 winmag, it will easily shoot 0.75 inch groups with just a trigger adjustment. The stock on this rifle is adjustable for pull length and the trigger is easily adjustable. And any Remington 700 in just about any caliber will do the same. But I'd check out their M700 Long Range. Also, blueprinting isn't always necessary. If you take a match and smoke the lugs on the bolt and then close the bolt, you can get a read on how much contact each lug is making, and if both lugs are getting more than 1/2 of their surface in good contact, that's going to be a good lock-up. Also, don't free float the rifle until you've seen how it shoots. Some rifles, like the Ruger M77 series, are designed to have some upward pressure on the barrel. Mine shoots best with about 50 inch/pds of pressure on the front mounting bolt, giving an upward pressure on the barrel about 1 inch back from the front of the stock. Monday before last, I placed three rounds in the bull at 100 yards, and they went into 0.5 inches with this rifle. Its a 30-06 and the load was IMR 4350, Remington primer and Sierra 180 grain Pro Hunter. Brass was FC.
 
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
Good looking rifles. Who done your work? Those are nice.
 
Good looking rifles. Who done your work? Those are nice.

Gary Flach in Langley BC Canada
He's an excellent Gunsmith,
CRF actions are kind of his specialty or preferred action, he's also excellent with modifying CF stocks, and making wood stocks from blanks, he does some amazing work for sure.
 
Gary Flach in Langley BC Canada
He's an excellent Gunsmith,
CRF actions are kind of his specialty or preferred action, he's also excellent with modifying CF stocks, and making wood stocks from blanks, he does some amazing work for sure.

Are you in Canada? What's the process for having a Canadian Smith work on a rifle from US
 
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


Good call! I had my gunsmith build me a 6.5 PRC on the 8400. Great thing about the Montana WSM is it has a 3.05" mag box which is plenty long for the PRC/WSM/SAUM and long heavy bullets. Picked up a well used 300 WSM Montana, got a Rock Creek 5R cut rifled #2 contour 8 twist barrel, and had him spin it up and also skim bed and bed the recoil lug.
Kimber $699 used
Rock Creek barrel $300 off classifieds
Gunsmith $300

Total $1300. Looks like this and shoots factory 147's like this (rounds 4-7 thru barrel):





 
Here's a cpl more pictures of my latest Kimber Montana 8400 300 PRC, (300 win mag donor) just waiting for a Zeiss V6 5-30X50 scope to mount on it.

My gunsmith opened up the mag box to 3.75" as well as the bottom of the action,
Action Trued & Squared, factory trigger set at 2.5lbs, Palm Swell and High Comb added to the Montana Stock, he had to open up the barrel channel so it was reinforced with Kevlar, Painted a dark green with multi colour speckles, all metal coated with Black Gunkote
26" SS 5R 1-9.5 twist Fluted Benchmark #4 Contour Barrel.
gun weighs 7lbs 3.6oz on its own so should be 9lbs scoped

Costs converted to USD
Used Kimber Donor rifle $780.00
Benchmark Fluted Barrel $390.00
Gunsmith. $520.00
Total cost. $1690.00
if you just bead blast barrel and action, don't paint the stock or add palm swell and comb and get a non fluted barrel you could cut costs by about $300





 
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