First custom rifle

Some guys on this forum are total custom gun snobs - a couple of them have responded on this thread. You can spend as much or as little as you want...if you pick up a nice custom barrel, I don't see how the really expensive guns will shoot any better than the lower end customs.

Can a custom rifle not be built on a trued Rem 700 action? Is it that the more money you spend on components is directly related to how custom a rifle is?

I have a Remington 700 Sendero SFII in 25-06 with the HS Precision stock and a Timney. If I go out and have a smith screw on a proof barrel, what do I have? A semi-custom? A full custom? The only thing made by remington at that point is the action and I am into it maybe $2500.
 
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Look into a McWhorter rifle. I have one in a 300 win mag and it shoots lights out! I have a Proof barrel on it and it is pretty light, I'm not 100% sure of the weight, but my guess is around 7 Lbs.
 
I have "custom" rifles in the $3000-4000 range. And I have true top of the line customs in the $4000-5000 range. Those prices do NOT include optics or mounting solutions.

I have a few built on trued R700 actions. They shoot extremely well.
R700 barreled action from a pawn shop $300 (you get action, bolt, bottom metal to use)
True action $350
Barrel $350 (or $460 fluted)
Chamber/cut/time/thread $250-350
Muzzle brake $100-150
Cut/thread/crown/time brake $150-200
Stock (from B&C Medalist to Manners EH series non-adjustable) $250-750
Bed stock (if needed) $150
Trigger $0-300
Cerakote $250-350
Range of $2200-3350 This is a no frills workhorse. You could add bolts or bolt work like M16 extractor, fluted bolt, tac bolt knob, alloy shroud, side bolt release, firing pin and spring upgrades. Also other work like bedding bottom metal, or add component upgrades, recoil lug, Wyatt's box and bolt stop mods, etc.

True full custom w. High end parts
Action $900-1600 (which normally won't need as much of any work)
Higher end custom barrel or Proof barrel $350-$800
Chamber/cut/time/thread $250-350
High end CF stock $600-1500+
Bed stock $150 (if needed)
Brake w. Install $250-350
DBM M5 bottom metal w. A couple mags or custom BDL $300-450
Trigger $150-400
Cerakote $250-350
Range $3400-4000+.
You can still add costs to these too like Wyatt's box but some actions come cut for them already.

You also need.to add optics w. a mounting solution. I like Picatinny rails on all my rifles, high quality rings, and excellent glass. So you can add anywhere from $300 to $5000+ into your rifle build w. optics costs depending on tastes and quality.

Don't forget accessories like a bipod, sling, scope covers, levels, shooting angle, throw lever, cleaning kits, rifle case, etc.

Then we start on ammo and/or reloading components.......anywhere from $100 (cheap factory ammo) to $1000+ for your first 100 loaded rounds of custom tailored ammo if you need to add a new set of dies to your reloading desk.

Don't forget to add the cost of gas, targets, range time, etc. to your price list for a new rifle.

A true custom rifle might not shoot much better than a trued factory action with top end components. But the feel and cycling is usually much better, tolerances are tighter, all the bells and whistles are usually included, and you get exactly what you want. You can make it as "one of a kind" as you want.

All in all, I think the SHOOTER is what makes any rifle as accurate as it can be. And when you get a rifle set.up exactly for you, it makes shooting it more comfortable and accurate. And you want to shoot it more, so you get more practice.
 
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Some guys on this forum are total custom gun snobs - a couple of them have responded on this thread. You can spend as much or as little as you want...if you pick up a nice custom barrel, I don't see how the really expensive guns will shoot any better than the lower end customs.

You cannot spend "as little as you want". That custom rifle doesn't exist. If so, let me know when Walmart has their order list available.

Can a custom rifle not be built on a trued Rem 700 action? Is it that the more money you spend on components is directly related to how custom a rifle is?

Yes. And yes.

I have a Remington 700 Sendero SFII in 25-06 with the HS Precision stock and a Timney. If I go out and have a smith screw on a proof barrel, what do I have? A semi-custom? A full custom? The only thing made by remington at that point is the action and I am into it maybe $2500.

A nice Sendero w. new barrel swap. You still have the factory action and the factory stock that came on the rifle, even though it is a nice factory upgrade. But no upgrades to any of that.
Let's say you got the Sendero for $1100
Add a Timney 512 for $150 and you install and adjust
Proof barrel $730 (unless you know someone)
Chamber/cut/thread/crown $350
$2250ish.
Most gunsmiths would want to clean up and true the R700 action however. Add another $300-350.
Still only $2600. A good workhorse rifle that should be very accurate.
If you want any other upgrades, all it takes is more $$$
Bedding the stock is usually a great upgrade while you are at it. And maybe a brake depending on chambering choice.
Now you are at $3000. Still a lot of potential upgrades to get all the bells and whistles if you want them. But they just make the rifle a little nicer and more refined.
See above.
 
I believe most of what you get when you go past $3000 to 4500-5000 for a custom or semi custom build is a bunch of blue sky with the builders name on it. Here is one Kirby built for me on an approximate $3000 budget. He could easily get the big money for his name alone but he has remained humble and delivers a solid value for your money.

Here is just one example of what $3000 can get you. It is an awesome 338 Ultra Maxx (338 Edge Improved) built by Kirby at APS including a pile of components and a NF 5-22x56 NXS I have for sale over on 24 hr campfire $5000 total ready to shoot. If you sold the scope off it that puts the rifle, custom dies, a pile of components for about $3000. It's an ultimate long range hammer as most of Kirby Allen's rifles are. It is featured in the gallery on the APS website.

APS Xtreme Sporter, 338 Ultra Maxx, Weatherby Vanguard long action, Lilja fluted stainless steel #7 contour, 30" finish length, Painkiller muzzle brake, McMillan A-5 tactical stock.

It based on a Kirby trued up Vanguard in a single shot configuration. My daughter was able to shoot 500 yard groups under 1". I'm just getting to old for this large of rifle.
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$3000 will either buy you an excellent shooting gun that's a simple tool, or a flashy gun with a bunch of components and a name which won't offer any practical advantage.

If you just shop around and find the right deals on components it's amazing what you can have put together. My 338 SnipeTac Rifle was right at $2900 total (including a set of dies) built by a local smith. I'm just using this example because there's a common belief that it costs an obscene amount of money to build a CT sized rifle.

- CT model 310 action (Lawton) in a CT Chassis (McRee) $1500
- Bartlien 1-9.3" $325
- Jewell Trigger $175
- Reamers and headspace gauge $175 (Finish and resize reamers)
- 1 mag $150
- Terminator T4 brake $150
- Gunsmithing fee for assembly and custom dies made $400

We built a similar gun in 375 CT using a single shot Stiller Tac 408 action and a McRee chassis for about the same price. Then there was a 338 Edge built on a Borden BRM action in a Sendero stock, the 6 BR on a BAT action in a McMillan stock and probably 10 others I've helped guys piece together with a little time and patience. Any local smith or machinist who can hold a decent tolerance can build a gun that will easily hold .5 MOA, it's just not that tough. I can pay a handful of different local smiths/machinists less than $200 to thread and chamber a barrel.

I'm far more interested in how my guns shoot than I am in how they look. I've paid some big named smiths an awful lot of money to build me a gun that shoots as well as a Savage I slapped together in a Cabelas parking lot. I've never had a gun shoot better because I spent $1200 on a new action instead of picking up the same action used for $800. Same goes for stocks and triggers. There are lots of excellent barrel blanks available for $400 or less and even more if you browse the classified section and wait for a good deal to pop up.

If you want to spend $5k + on a gun and you've got the money sitting around, by all means go for it! I have in the past and I will in the future, but I do that with the understanding that they won't offer any functional advantage over what I can have built for a couple thousand dollars less. Those numbers are all based on using a custom action too, use a Savage, Tikka, Remington, Howa/Vanguard action and you'll save even more and still end up with a gun that will easily shoot .5 MOA. The vast majority will shoot better than that but I tend to believe that very few shooters are capable of shooting better than .5 MOA aggs, so why worry about a gun that's more capable than the shooter?
 
Wow..
Custom is a relative term, it doesn't define anything just means it's specd to your liking. Dollars, part options, wanted results (looks, accuracy) etc can vary drastically by different people's standards. A stock and trigger job on a factory rig will make a lot of people happier than they they could imagine.
Here's the but...
When we're talking new builds with custom action, bbl, stock, small parts, etc 3k can get burned up pretty quick. It's doable no doubt but keep in mind a lot of them have more than that in parts cost before you even factor in labor, coatings, etc.

All that said i have no doubt that a hell of a custom rifle can be built for 3k, I've been tickled pink by rifles tht cost way less than that. Half the fun of the build is picking parts anyway, doing so on a budget just makes the fun part last a little longer. Good luck and have fun with it.
 
I'm thinking if the OP is hunting in CA and mainly after deer or hogs, that it may be way easier to simply buy a Barrett Fieldcraft in 6.5 creedmoor. Add a 2.5-10 NXS scope with the savings and start shooting a bunch. Looking for light and solid, and keeping recoil fairly low without a brake is where I went. The creedmoor does fine to some pretty longish distances.

That was my thread derail. Carry on.
 
Long range hunting isn't about extending the your maximum effective range in the field.

It's about the outdoor marketing machine expanding the maximum effective range of extracting money from your wallet.









Change my mind. :)
 
Long range hunting isn't about extending the your maximum effective range in the field.

It's about the outdoor marketing machine expanding the maximum effective range of extracting money from your wallet.









Change my mind. :)

Seems like a pretty ridiculous statement, you wont make many friends around here thinking like that.
any PERFORMANCE built machine adheres to this same basic principal- When you get to the extremely high end upgrades it costs a lot to gain very little. Maybe those advances aren't worth it to some but they are to others. I wish you people would quit your cheap vs expensive customs rants, its starting to sound like an Obama rally.. They all work, its not about money.
 
Fierce Fury is in the area of $2,000 and is chambered in those calibers,plus they guarantee 1/2 MOA at a 100. Do you want a Mercedes Benz or a Rolls Royce both will get the job done with class,but one is way more expensive.
 
Let me put this in perspective. I purchased a Rem 700 SPS, chambered in 7 STW, four years ago. What I've spent on upgrades installation and a new barrel is a little under $3,500. An HS Precison stock, Wyatts box mag, Carbon Six (carbon wrapped) barrel with new lug, bedded action, PTG fluted bolt, chambered and installed by my smith. What started out as a "cheap" rifle that was fun to shoot, turned into me going "down the rabbit hole" of making the rifle better. Granted, I had a lot of fun doing this, I learned a lot, and I got to shoot out a barrel. But, in hindsight, I could have easily had a rifle built for me for around the same cost. Lesson learned. I don't regret what I did, just know that it isn't the most cost effective to go at it the way I did
 
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