Cost of full custom rifle but on budget?

[highflyer]

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!

If you are hunting in "dense woods"why on earth would you need sub MOA out to 500 yards?

 

[gator378]

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!

Save up and get the rifle of your dreams. You will smile every time you pull the trigger. After the kids go through college I got two rifles I always wanted. I really enjoy shooting them. So get the rifle you really want. You will smile every time you go to the range. It is like driving your dream car. Always a nice experience. I am 72. My last dream rifle is a 416 Weatherby with a #4 barrel. I got the money but have not done it yet. time is short get your dreams now so you can enjoy them.

 

[Jc07rhino]

Save up and get the rifle of your dreams. You will smile every time you pull the trigger. After the kids go through college I got two rifles I always wanted. I really enjoy shooting them. So get the rifle you really want. You will smile every time you go to the range. It is like driving your dream car. Always a nice experience. I am 72. My last dream rifle is a 416 Weatherby with a #4 barrel. I got the money but have not done it yet. time is short get your dreams now so you can enjoy them.

This guy knows what he's talking about. I got mine built before I got married and had kids. I won't see another custom rig until after the kids are gone and the house is paid off. Although I have some sweet shooting factory rifles. I purchased a Browning Hell's Canyon speed in a 300 wsm and with proper handloads she's getting me at half moa and out to 1,000 yards.

 

[denobravo]

Tikka tikka tikka
GREAT trigger and under a pound if you buy a ten dollar spring for it
I have bought 3 from euro optics at a very very good price, closeouts at about 500 for the rifle.
Rebarrel in anything you want and its cartridge not caliber.
The beauty of a tikka is the magazine lentgh
I shoot a 6comp match a variation of a 243
I buy the long magazine so I can seat my bullets out to 2.9 (and longer if needed)
That also is an easy option to change from a short action to a long action cheap easy do it yourself.
SO....TIKKA
TRIGGER, long magazine, great price from euro close outs

 

[Braunschweiger]

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!

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.

I would agree that in my time buying, building, and selling custom and factory rifles... the cost is indicative of how much weight you want to save. Custom components will certainly give you an edge.

First thing first to help you out... absolutely peruse the Rifle buy sell trade pages from numerous forums including this one... I find almost 99/100 that folks spend BIG money on a full custom rifle and then life happens (happened to me several times) and end up selling basically brand new rifles for about half of what they spent. From here on out, unless I am looking for something very very specific, I'll be buying used.

Now... we are in a very exciting time where ingenuity and lots of new players in the market want their share... there are tons of excellent factory rifles from the big players such as Tikka, Remington, Savage, Weatherby, etc... but even more of the folks like Alamo Precision, Fierce Firearms, Cristensen Arms, to name a few... which all build EXCELLENT and very accurate rifles fr the money over a true "custom, gunsmith built" rifle.

The other worst part about rifles is the fact that you have to budget also for an optic. I've used bargain bin scopes and also own the most expensive scopes money can buy and let me tell you... optics should be priority.

Something you can think about which in my opinion is the way to go nowadays with he quality of CNC machining and prefit barrels... is to purchase something like a Northland Shooter's Supply Trued Rem 700 action, buy a barrel nut Rem/Age system, and spin on your own prefit barrel to your specs. Same goes for if you want a true custom action like say a Bighorn Origin (I personally own one) which many manufacturers and smiths sell prefits for. The best part about this concept is that for the most part...if you decide down the road you prefer a different caliber, it's fairly easy to make the swap. Multi-caliber rifles arent going away and personally I wish all of mine were that way.

As far as your caliber choices above... wise man once told me... don't purchase a rifle/caliber based upon what you will use it for 1-5% of the time, purchase it for what you will mainly be using it for. Since you say 99% Whitetail hunting, any of those above will be more than appropriate.

In regards to Tangent's reply, I ould agree with all that he has said... the costs are usually fairly close on smithing fees and cost of the main components.

All in all, it's kind of like building a shop... always build bigger than you think you need... cuz you can always use the extra room. --- This equates to save save save ad buy exactly what you want...it would be a shame to buy something and then not like it and have to spend even more money on another rifle (or be a poor sap who has to sell his custom rifle for half of what he paid...)

Hope this helps and feel free to message me if you hve any other questions.

-Darin

 

[swabby56]

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!

Hello,
I have had a few rifles made at ER SHAW in Bridgeville, PA Their rifles are great shooters. All the one I have gotten are sub 1/2 moa at 300 right now. You would do great going there. They have a PRECISIION GUN SHOP where some are already made in any caliber you want. If you go with a custom there is approx a 6 to 8 month wait. YOU CAN NOT GO WRONG!!!!! The cost would be from 900 to 1600 dollars. Check out the ER SHAW website and build a rifle with stock and everything. you will be surprised. GOOD LUCK. I got a 6.5 x 284 with 26 in fluted barrel after tax and all was just under 1200. TACK DRIVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! here is the web site link https://www.shawcustombarrels.com/

Any questions, give them a call. Great company to work with. PRECISION GUN STORE phone is 412-221-3406, Where they make the rifles is 412-221-3636.

GOOD LUCK AND GOOD SHOOTING!!!
SWABBY 56

 

[JDD]

A Kimber aspen for about $1800 in 280 ackley if you reload will do what you want all day long. Go the ackley for longer case life. The on 6.5 I would consider is the 6.5prc or the wild cat 6.5 280 ackley improved. Then your stuck with reloading. Don t spend money on a Remington donor You can get a new bare reciever from buds a one piece bolt with Sako extractor from PTG. cost about 500. Rem bolts are crap the handles pull off. If you go true custom go big. a light weight custom action 800 to 1100 bucks 300 to 400 for a match barrel get a 8 twist or faster. The state of the art stock 500. Barrel length, taper profile, and twist are choices you get to make. You want a long action. The Tika t 3 is always a long action you just change mag. Good barrels same as sako. You can take a t3 in 7/08 buy a reamer for 280 ackley and for minimal cost have a 280 ackley for about 350 you should be able to get it rechambered and have a muzzle break installed. Look at the kimber aspen I shot two different rifles the both shot 1/2 moa

 

[Alibiiv]

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!

Do you presently have a rifle that you could use as a donor rifle? What are you comfortable with in the recoil department? Might you have any future plans for a hunt other than Whitetail deer? Do you reload? Cartridges that come to mind are the .280 Ackley Improved, or a .270 Winchester or the .270WSM, all three are great cartridges and all three ought to cover the bases for what you intend this rifle for.

My budget rifle consisted of a Ruger 77 tang safety, I rebarreled the rifle with a contoured Lilja barrel, had the action blueprinted (trued/lapped lugs), pillar bedded, glass bedded and floated the action, reblued rifle, used the existing stock, about $800-900. The plan is to buy a McMillon stock at a later date.

 

[MoaFlat]

Heaps of Factory rifles out there that will shoot ½" Sub MOA, the biggest problem with them is getting the Factory twist rate to suit the purpose to deliver what your after. For example taking a Range Princess Rifle (RPR) that will shoot 1600 out of the box- now available in 6.5PRC or some new big boy calibers may not suit walking or stalking carrying for hunting. I know for I tried taking a few Factory Range Princesses out hunting and frightened a half dozen great deer shots because the action was very noisy and clunky - (Unfortunately I don't hunt with live round in battery until I'm going to shoot). So fit for purpose is I think should be the main primary consideration. Taking a match rifle hunting - vice versa can have it's drawbacks. Taking a heavy long barrel custom RPR out hunting can have some drawbacks - like hurting shoulders from carrying a range cannon 28 to 32" barrel to hunt with. Or you can get an RPR, Bergara, few Tikka or Sauer low entry level shooters that just seem to hardly ever get the rifle twist right. Which remains a mystery... but can only remain a problem until you shoot the barrel out (or get tired of it) and replace it with a nice light weight carbon fiber wrapped barrel with the twist your looking for and much easier to carry around the woods. As some of previous good advice already given, that you can take these Factory or factory modified rifles and occasionally shoot sub MOA with factory stuff - so hand loading then becomes your next priority. Here are a few examples of modified Factory actions suited up with new carbon wraps that each below shot single ragged holes at 100. These four just happened to be 6 Creedmoors, but did same recently with 6.5-284, 6.5win Mag, and PRC. Cheers and good luck..

 

[Antarcticchamp]

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!

Bighorn origin action $850
Savage prefit barrel $500
AG Composites stock $600
Trigger $200
Headspace gauges. $60

Doing it yourself. Priceless

 

[TBell]

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!

These folks in Colorado built my 300wm and it is in the 3/8 - 5/16 grouping range with a 208 grain eld- m bullet.

https://remington700rifle.com/

I think the #406 order is actually the gun they built for me. This one is a little heavy but very pleased. They can shave a bunch of weight of the barrel and stock.

 

[vancewalker007]

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

With the pre-fit remage, the 700 action and a Grayboe stock I think you could get down close to $1500ish.

 

[Mark Hilburger]

I think you can get the accuracy you looking for in a factory rifle these days. Save the money on the rifle and put it into a better scope than you might be planning. I have two Ruger Americans 308 and 6.5 in Magpul Stocks and they shoot 0.5 MOA. My 6.5 will bang steel at 950 yards with the best of them. Both have scopes that cost more than the rifle. I don't know anyone who has missed a deer because they didn't have a custom rifle. I do know people who would have gotten a deer, if they had a better scope on. Savage, Kimber, and Ruger factor rifles should all be able to meet your goal. I would stay away from a rifle straight from Remington because of recent quality problems. If your hunting in rough country a three position safety is also important.

 

[WahooYahoo]

I built a Remage myself, essentially the same as Ingwe did. Blueprinted 7mm Rem Mag, 8 twist Criterion barrel, Mcmillan Game Hunter, Trigger Tech Special, $1750. I did all of the assembly, headspaced and bedded myself in a few days. I can almost strike matches with this thing.
If you are handy, its not difficult and frankly its very rewarding. If you are not handy the Tikka route will get you there quick too. Buying a second hand custom is a real money saver. if you aren't dedicated to an exact list of components. Good Luck!