Cost of full custom rifle but on budget?

[Ingwe]

You have received some excellent advice. After finishing 2 recent builds my 2 cents are
1. Don't true a factory action (making a silk purse out of a sow's ear). A little extra & buy one built right 1st time. Won't recommend as there are several good choices.
2. If not using a well known gunsmith make sure you get several references & check them out good.

I think that allot of us here have "made a silk purse out of a sows ear" and have been pretty happy with the results.

 

[extreme]

This topic has come up so many times and its always the same answers. My answer is if you cant afford at least $ 4,600.00 to as much as 8 9 or 10.00 thousand dollars for the word custom then stay away from it. Just ask Len for the cost of one of his rifles and you will very quickly see CUSTOM means big MONEY. There are a few very good factory rifles built today that are very impressive. Again just my opinion after 55 years of building and buying hundreds of rifles. Good luck.

 

[lancetkenyon]

It's excellent. But my remington with homemade cartridges does the same thing at the exit of the box.

Huh?

 

[Eptphil]

Does anyone know where I can buy a Sako or Tikka action?

 

[bigngreen]

Does anyone know where I can buy a Sako or Tikka action?

I've tried to get just the actions and the largest importer can't even pull just actions, if we could it would be unreal!!!

 

[Ronald W Schaefer]

Don't know about "budget" but I have three of the Fierce Firearms CT Carbon edge--weight about 5 pounds before scope--about 6.25 # with optics. 1/2 MOA with factory ammo guaranteed from factory or they'll work you up a load and give you the recipe.
http://www.fiercearms.com/
Do you really want/need a custom? I have a SAKO 85 in .260 Rem that shoots between 1/2 to 3/4 MOA with no magic whatsoever...just right out of the box...so there's that!

 

[John Klingenberg]

I just finished ordering my stuff for a savage custom in 224 valkyrie. 1965.00 was my total with scope but for a hunting rig you should be able to save several hundreds of dollars. I do my work myself so no gunsmith fees. But for the most part its plug and play anyway. Started with a savage 12fv. Opened a 223 boltface or you can order them for about 80.00. MDT Chasis 400.00 on sale. Hart varmint stainless barrel pre-fit 24", 6 twist with a longer throat for the 88 to 100 grain bullets seated farther out. The lead time at Shilen and Northland is 16 weeks, pretty much every big maker i tried is at that lead time. Hart estimated 8 weeks so I went with them. 20 MOA rail for 120.00, AI mags and scope.

 

[John Klingenberg]

I just finished ordering my stuff for a savage custom in 224 valkyrie. 1965.00 was my total with scope but for a hunting rig you should be able to save several hundreds of dollars. I do my work myself so no gunsmith fees. But for the most part its plug and play anyway. Started with a savage 12fv. Opened a 223 boltface or you can order them for about 80.00. MDT Chasis 400.00 on sale. Hart varmint stainless barrel pre-fit 24", 6 twist with a longer throat for the 88 to 100 grain bullets seated farther out. The lead time at Shilen and Northland is 16 weeks, pretty much every big maker i tried is at that lead time. Hart estimated 8 weeks so I went with them. 20 MOA rail for 120.00, AI mags and scope.

Barrel was 525.00

 

[Kimber7man]

So,
This probably isnt even worth me taking the time to write it as it was probably the wrong way to do things.
But maybe someone can tell me that and why also.
I have done 2 this way:
Buy the Rem 700 action on a place like gunbroker ($350)
Get a McGowan barrel (or who ever you choose) I got one for around ($350(?) then one for ($800). They give a 10% mil/vet/le discount. Even if there is also a sale going on.
Then I used the Hunter 700 stock from Magpul ($225)
Gunsmith to install the barrel and chamber it to 7RUM / 28 Nosler was ($300).
So I am at $1225 for the first one being the 7RUM.
I am looking at a different action for my 3rd one but I already have the Mcgowan barrel.
The 2 rifles shoot great for me and I am not pro. Just 10 shots in a dime at 1000 yards. (Haha!)
2017 - Colorado antelope @ 250 and elk @ 469.

Forgot trigger and bottom metal.

 

[Eptphil]

I've tried to get just the actions and the largest importer can't even pull just actions, if we could it would be unreal!!!

How does Fierce Firearms get theirs?

 

[bigngreen]

How does Fierce Firearms get theirs?

Fierce is a clone made in Canada.

 

[ranger3]

My .02, I have used savage target actions on a few customs. That being said I'd buy a Tikka in the caliber you want, rebarrel and put into a KRG stock. you're going to be at 90 % or better of what a good custom will do. It may even shoot as well as a custom without the barrel.

 

[Tatsnscoots]

You can go to Shaw precision guns.com and order a custom rifle off a savage action for +/- $1500. I was going to go this route at one time and then got side tracked. I don't know anyone who has one of these rifles but online reviews look promising.

 

[shiples0861]

What is this blasphemy

My point is if you have a "budget", which I'm assuming he is talking around $2,500 or less, you are not going to get anything more out of buying a bunch of individual parts (i.e. barrel, action, stock, trigger) and putting them together vs. buying a really nice factory rifle for $1,500.

Manufacturers are making stuff better than they ever have. Any off the shelf rifle now comes with a "1 moa" guarantee (not saying a Savage Axis or Remington 770 is better than a custom rifle, just that they shoot just as good as a $1,000 rifle did 15 years ago). If you expect to get a custom rifle guaranteed for 1/4 moa, by some really obscure custom rifle builder, then you ain't gonna get it for $2,500. More like 5k. The originator of this thread says he wants to shoot deer at a couple hundred yards. Unless he just WANTS to spend more money, then I think his time and money would be better spent buying a very high quality factory rifle for what's he's stated he needs it to do. I've done both.