Custom rifle cost going to the moon , when does it end ?

[Deleted member 103481]

Isn't load development practicing ! I know for me it is !!! Hundreds and hundreds of rounds Ladder testing at 600 for all my projects really concentrating so I don't skew the results !! Not to mention all the $ I save at a therapist!!

I get it , some people don't want to do all that or more importantly don't know how to ( tune ) a load for a specific gun let alone set up a chart and optic then validate ( then there is tweaking the validation if needed ) so the idea of a out of the box rifle is attractive for ALOT of people And if you can justify it then hammer down !

IMO No it's not

Sure for trigger pull maybe, but I have yet to see someone at the range doing load development do about 20 jumping jacks to get their heart beating then run across the field throw their rifle in the dirt get there backpack off to make a field style shot.

It's different for good reason, but it's different

 

[Nwimport]

I just saw a new release of a highbred big game rifle from probably THE big boys in the industry . The cost including a 2500.00$ optic is 12500.00$ . I have done my fair share of buying things that I knew were a bit out of the ( practical or common sense range ) because I just wanted it but not to the tune of 12500.00 lol !! To be clear I'm sure it comes with 100 rounds of custom ( tuned ) Ammo for it and we all know the work that goes into that although the load development is the steepest on the first ( set up ) then after that it's probably a little more cookie cutter . I'll be the first to admit these are some of the baddest rifles to ever hit the planet and the detail and designs are AMAZING for sure! I feel a custom build with a premium barrel , stock , trigger , action and optic around 5-6 k is ( fair ) but I also have some factory rifles with a proper tuned load that shot at .250 or better . One in particular I have is a .093 5 shot group at 100 yard and it holds that moa pretty close to 800 so far , I knew they shot well but I'm still on cloud 9 with that one and I promise, that's not the norm for me on factory guns !!
I know these factory rifles most likely will walk significantly more threw a 20 shot string then these premium guns will of course but for most hunting rifles that's not necessarily going to be needed . I have set up several rifles for friends that just want a hunting gun with factory Ammo . I set one rem 700 up with a Leupold VX-3 4.5-14 and found THE factory Ammo that it liked ! On most of these projects I'm able to find Ammo that will shoot .500 or better all for 1800.00$ and it just about holds that all the way to 800. I'm not poking at custom builders ,it is a true art , I'm just asking what your feelings are towards these 10-12000.00$ guns and where the future is headed ( and I'm not talking about 50 bmg or 375 cheytac type guns) With all the modern machining practices, factory rifles have came a long way for sure ! I think we are going to see a swing in the market for gun builders to produce a gun that is a (budget) version . I think these are selling now because of the craze we are in now kinda like in 2008 when desil pickups were grocery getters during that craze that blew up , then desil hit 5.00$ gallon in Comifornia and they were dumped quick ! Is it just me or are these prices crazy ..... but soooo bad a** of a rifle !!

I think those prices are insane but that's completely subjective. Especially as the quality of factory guns is going up. $500 Savages group extremely well now as a matter of course. Remington is offering a $1300 street price build with a blueprinted action with 5r rifling and cerakote.
Bergara just started building rifles in 2016 with prices from $700 to around $1900 that shoot .5" all day. And frankly I don't understand the perceived need for .5" rifles for even mule deer. The kill zone is about 18" and you surely don't need sub moa for that.

What I think is a fad is the relatively new practice of shooting game at 500+ yards. I heard some yahoo bragging about his umpteen hundred yard kill. I told him I wouldn't be going on about being that poor of a hunter that I couldn't get within a half mile of it. From his expression I got down voted on that. . Now long range SHOOTING is understandable and fun but not game animals.

Now if you're talking rifles as an addiction I can certainly understand how special builds get your blood pumping. All I'm saying is I don't think as a practical need stratosphere guns are required even to get accuracy you don't need. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Pauleye]

Visit the Purdy store in London. Shotgun for $250K

 

[DSheetz]

As with all other things it's demand for the product . As more people have found out that a real well built rifle is a work of art as well as functioning smoothly and accurately the demand has increased .

 

[browning442]

Does your local pay his DOD licencing and is insured?
Im at $4795 for the basic rifle like I would ship out as a local Smith, my profit margins keeps the light on that's it, no extra for R&D or inventory or dealing with basic reloading question. You add up the real value in a product like Gunwerks and there is way more than a local smith can supply at their prices. I used to think they were way over priced too till I tried doing it!!

@bigngreen Yes he does.

I understand the larger company side of it for sure, he doesn't have costs like marketing or nearly as much overhead which is the difference. I also do think a turn-key setup is a different ballgame than just having a rifle built, and understand for some that there may be more value in going that route.

 

[AaronSkipDavidson]

So why is it better?

To be fair, most of your rifles would fall into the $9k-$11k range. Another thing that should be pointed out is you seem to have in stock high end product that you could sell me today. Maybe you have matching ammo. To some folks, that covers much of the price gap, but I would rather hear this from you.

I didn't say better. That's a very subjective statement! I have tons of factory and cheaper assembled customs. I won't knock any of those products. Guns are awesome! Most of the differences we see are math problems. We are usually 500 to 1000 more than the assembly shops when you price everything. It's basically the difference of the excise tax. In the case of this Skuhl dangerous game build that this post references there are two main adds that increase the base rifle price. One is engraving and the other is the natural fiber/carbon fiber composite stock layup. It just plain costs more. Our base rifle price is 4k and they work just as good as the local smith builds. It's kind of like some guys drive a ram ST, and some drive a Limited. If all you know is the ST, then 75 mph straight down the road with power windows seems like all you would ever want.

 

[milo-2]

Visit the Purdy store in London. Shotgun for $250K

This may cost you 750.00 in an upscale NYC restaurant, doesn't make it worth the price. While the Purdy is an investment, the 12K rifle may be the opposite.

 

[AaronSkipDavidson]

i didn't hear it... how is their rifle a better deal at $7000?

This is the issue. Turnkey rifles are not a better deal. They quickly become a company finding people to sell them name parts at a lower rate. Well, a lower rate gets you.....hey this bore looks kinda funky.....oh, put it in that rack. They pay less for our barrels and it probably still shoots.

Or this receiver feels rough with every bolt....just find a bolt that fits in it and put it with those actions over there. They pay much less for our action.

When you are selling to a sole proprietor who has to answer for that one rifle that doesn't shoot, they are much more careful that every gun is best quality work.

I disagree completely. As a company gets engineering control and begins to vertically integrate I would argue the customer has a better chance at part design intent and fit/function finding a happy marriage.

 

[Ingwe]

The ONLY thing that bothers me about a one-man show is that if you have allot of money into your projects and he's in the midst of it and something bad happens to him then you are screwed.

 

[AaronSkipDavidson]

Those prices typically reflect the overhead of such a company since they have NUMEROUS employees. Most companies are just a single builder or two, which is why their prices are about half that.

63 to be precise.

 

[jarnold37]

I have always been interested in mechanical things from a very early age. That includes rifles and shooting. After college had opportunity to hunt on two different farms and the one farmer was an accuracy enthusiast. We had options of deer and groundhog shots out to 1000 yards. After having two guns rebarreled by well known gunsmiths, my patience and money was running thin. Waiting 6 months for a barreled action to come back was even qorse than the money expenditure. It wasnt long until I purchased a lathe and jumped in head first. I was determined to be able to fit and chamber my own. Ordered good barrel, reamer and dies and for $800 or less, I could experiment with different chamberigs. Also learned to glass bed by just trial and error. Now you can learn all of this on the internet as any aspect is clearly videod in detail. The only drawback is all of the expensive tooling that you will want to buy. But that too is enjoyable and part of the game. With $8-10 thousand dollarsThe Big Boys guns are definitely desirable but that much money allows for a lot of enjoyment in doing it youself. A big boy gun expense hits you all at once, which is difficult to swing, but doing it youself is a little bit at a time which makes it doable. If I can do it you can to.

 

[browning442]

As with all other things it's demand for the product . As more people have found out that a real well built rifle is a work of art as well as functioning smoothly and accurately the demand has increased .

I would completely agree with this... once I went with a first custom and saw the inherent accuracy and fit & function, I was addicted. I used to want more rifles, now i want more quality even if it means thinning the arsenal to get there.

 

[Deleted member 103481]

Some of you clowns need to actually go price a gun at Gunwerks apples to apples instead of throwing around this much smoking BS!!!

Does your local pay his DOD licencing and is insured?
Im at $4795 for the basic rifle like I would ship out as a local Smith, my profit margins keeps the light on that's it, no extra for R&D or inventory or dealing with basic reloading question. You add up the real value in a product like Gunwerks and there is way more than a local smith can supply at their prices. I used to think they were way over priced too till I tried doing it!!

Bingo.

Everyone is cutting out scope and rings cost ( and mounting everything correctly) load development, and dope to a grand.

go price load development, dope to 1k yards AND then your gunsmith loading you that exact load forever. It's expensive.

now consider this is a company that has their own action, and now makes their own stocks. They aren't bidding on seconds from action and stock makers like people in here claim for some reason ...they are designing and building them themselves

I would have paid Alex almost any price he named to do load development on my last rifle, because it's hilarious and insulting for me to act like I could do it as well as him. I'm enjoying learning the top tier process but I've got almost enough for another rifle in loading materials alone. Not to mention the time(which you are paying for with a load development service)

I know one guy with a full "kit" rifle setup. It's not a gunwerks it's a Jarrett, it's his only hunting rifle and Kenny set the whole thing up, did load development, and still loads his ammo for him. That dude stacks bulls every year with that rifle and loves it.

I have zero intention on ever buying a GW rifle, but it's also not some insane racket.

 

[Almondgrower]

IMO No it's not

Well I guess controlling heart rate , breathing , trigger press and follow threw may not be good practice for you but it is for me because when you are climbing a mountain and buck feaver kicks in these muscle memories are now more important then ever !!!! I do spot and stock coyotes and varmints from cover for this EXACT reason , when I see them I need to get to a shooting point , get set up and break a clean shot all while my heart rate is up and getting my shooting position set up all in prep for fall hunting season , this is getting off topic so I'll leave it there