Tikka's just plain shoot! As do savage 110's. That said i have many customs.
What does a custom build rig really get you???
- Thread starter Beaver10
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Arkansasdad
Well-Known Member
Some rifles are like trophy wives, not good in the sack, can't cook a lick but sure do look good all polished up. It's up to every person to figure out what is important to them.
I agree with the heavier rifle having most advantages. I'd love to be able to use a 16lb rum or edge but it's too painful to pack where we hike around. What kind of stocks do you use in the $300 range? Bc40s are great and the lighter Alaskan has been great too
Beaver10
Well-Known Member
Nothing wrong with wanting the best of both...A hot looker to the eye, but also performs in the sack, umm, field.
The problem is a dumb-dumb like me has thrown a lot of money away on a "past" trophy wife who couldn't wrap her head around the hooker part of the marriage.
I've yet to have the same issues with any of my builds. They seem to like getting dirty and performing in the ways I expected them to do...And, customs are waaaay cheaper than a trophy wife.
Current wife....Ez on the eyes, and treats me like the pig I am.
The problem is a dumb-dumb like me has thrown a lot of money away on a "past" trophy wife who couldn't wrap her head around the hooker part of the marriage.
I've yet to have the same issues with any of my builds. They seem to like getting dirty and performing in the ways I expected them to do...And, customs are waaaay cheaper than a trophy wife.
Current wife....Ez on the eyes, and treats me like the pig I am.
Beaver10
Well-Known Member
Yes Sir! They certainly do...
I just sent my sub-sub shooting Tikka CTR to a good pard to enjoy and do with it however he wants.
I've never really have regretted trip'n a Shooting Iron, this one stings a little. It was just a fine shooting rifle that required little fuss. I replaced it with a full custom that does the same, but cost mo money.
This again, makes no sense to dude without metal looney disorder syndrome.
bigngreen
Well-Known Member
I TOTALLY see using factory everything for PRS, not much more is needed!Anyone going to mammoth at fort Gordon? I'll be there with my kind of custom tikka and my factory Hornady loads. We can put this thread to rest based on how well I place. Top 10, who needs a custom?! Anything less pull out those $4500 GAPs please!
Having loaded for, owned, and shot hundreds of rifles from $78.00 788s (my first) to 6K customs there are stark differences. Some of the cheap guns have been ok, but most do have major issues. Most of the customs are great, easy to load for and much easier to shoot and to a point even worth the money, but some "customs" have been laughable too. There is a semi custom box rifle these days though that are very high end for the price. Still not cheap, but half the price of full customs with way more than just half the performance. I love em all...mostly.
Dang factory Tikka (granted it's the T3X TAC A1) is the most accurate factory rifle I have ever seen. Accurate to where I competed quite favorably with it all last year against MPAs and full customs.
On the other hand, I had a 6 Creedmoor built on a worked Rem action, Krieger barrel and Manners stock to be exactly as I wanted it. The accuracy of the semi-custom and the Tikka are nearly identical. I paid more for the 6 Creedmoor but in the end I was able to build to my specs, esp the barrel length, profile and twist. Not having to compromise on the barrel is a big reason for my choice.
On the other hand, I had a 6 Creedmoor built on a worked Rem action, Krieger barrel and Manners stock to be exactly as I wanted it. The accuracy of the semi-custom and the Tikka are nearly identical. I paid more for the 6 Creedmoor but in the end I was able to build to my specs, esp the barrel length, profile and twist. Not having to compromise on the barrel is a big reason for my choice.
FatOldMIHunter
Well-Known Member
I haven't read through all of the previous responses and I have never built nor had a custom gun built. So maybe I can offer a unique perspective. I want to know if the reason I'm shooting poorly is something beyond my control or not. I want to be able to say whether a particular failure was my fault because of poor shooting or because my gun was not up to the task. The only way that I can do that is to take away variables one by one. How would I feel if I spent thousands on an allegedly great gun, scope, and ammo combination and I still shot poorly? Not very good, I imagine. I wouldn't know what to blame my poor shooting on. Maybe I got sold a lemon. I would have to get that checked by other people.
But if I take a factory gun that has a reasonably good reputation and work on it, and adjust my ammo choice, and with my own eyes try different optics setups and make my preferred scope choice, and if I satisfy myself every step of the way that I have eliminated the choice of equipment as the cause of any poor shooting, then in the process of doing that I'll have gotten the range time required to actually know the limits of each of those choices and to improve my form and to shoot my factory gun at the limit of its ability. In the end will I have spent less? Probably. Would I have enjoyed shooting a more expensive gun more accurately, instead? Not necessarily. I am enjoying the detailed work of exploring the gun's and my limits. I'm currently doing that with three different guns. For the first time, I took two shots at an 8" gong with an unmodified Howa 1500 the other day and hit it both times using the Nikko-Sterling scope that came with it. I could be wrong, but that seems like an accomplishment to me.
But if I take a factory gun that has a reasonably good reputation and work on it, and adjust my ammo choice, and with my own eyes try different optics setups and make my preferred scope choice, and if I satisfy myself every step of the way that I have eliminated the choice of equipment as the cause of any poor shooting, then in the process of doing that I'll have gotten the range time required to actually know the limits of each of those choices and to improve my form and to shoot my factory gun at the limit of its ability. In the end will I have spent less? Probably. Would I have enjoyed shooting a more expensive gun more accurately, instead? Not necessarily. I am enjoying the detailed work of exploring the gun's and my limits. I'm currently doing that with three different guns. For the first time, I took two shots at an 8" gong with an unmodified Howa 1500 the other day and hit it both times using the Nikko-Sterling scope that came with it. I could be wrong, but that seems like an accomplishment to me.
Beaver10
Well-Known Member
FOMH,
I've owned too many production guns to count. A very small percentage of the many owned, I can absolutely say were beautiful examples of a perfectly shaped pile of dog sh@t.
The rest, after some tinkering, were solid killing rifles out to distances I'm comfortable shooting. Good optics matter, at least for me it does.
I've kept a lot of the boxed rifles, still use many, if not all. But, the ones I've kept have all been earlier models from the 60', 70, 80, and mid 90's...Remington, Sako, and a couple Winchester rifles still fill my hands...All really nice shooting rifles with good mechanics.
Anything new in a box now, which, I'm certain are very good products. I elected to go customs to hopefully minimize the rodeo and circus events that you enjoy as part of owning a rifle...I want more hitting, and killing, than swearing, and wearing a look of dumb-fug-a-tude on my face looking down at my rifle wondering "what is now the problem" YMMV definitely.
I've owned too many production guns to count. A very small percentage of the many owned, I can absolutely say were beautiful examples of a perfectly shaped pile of dog sh@t.
The rest, after some tinkering, were solid killing rifles out to distances I'm comfortable shooting. Good optics matter, at least for me it does.
I've kept a lot of the boxed rifles, still use many, if not all. But, the ones I've kept have all been earlier models from the 60', 70, 80, and mid 90's...Remington, Sako, and a couple Winchester rifles still fill my hands...All really nice shooting rifles with good mechanics.
Anything new in a box now, which, I'm certain are very good products. I elected to go customs to hopefully minimize the rodeo and circus events that you enjoy as part of owning a rifle...I want more hitting, and killing, than swearing, and wearing a look of dumb-fug-a-tude on my face looking down at my rifle wondering "what is now the problem" YMMV definitely.
My opinion is that a custom rig that you and your gunsmith discussed how you wanted it built from start to finish gives you the confidence that you have in your hands the best machine to be had for the job at hand. You know deep down inside that you made no compromises in its construction, and you know that the result on the target is the best you can achieve short of your failings as a human. The only excuse for a bad shot is you. And that is how a grown man understands it...
fiftybmg
Well-Known Member
A custom build gets me what I want, as opposed to what I should have according to marketing.
J E Custom
Well-Known Member
If I though for a minute that I could buy factory rifles that would consistently shoot sub 1/4 MOA I would stop building my own and save lots of money. Even not counting my labor I would still spend twice as much to build one.
There is always the exception that a factory rifle will shoot 1/4 moa but it is just that, the exception. Custom rifle have the potential for doing it every time if fed good ammo because generally all the things that make a factory rifle inconsistent are missing.
Many rifles (All factory and customs)get a bad rap because they have not spent the time to find a load that will shoot in it. With most customs the potential to shoot good is there you just have to find it.
I repair factory rifles all the time and see the problems they have and i have never found a factory rifle that didn't need some truing and fitting to get the standards of a good custom. so comparing them is like apples and oranges.
Be happy with what you have and don't worry what someone else has.
J E CUSTOM
There is always the exception that a factory rifle will shoot 1/4 moa but it is just that, the exception. Custom rifle have the potential for doing it every time if fed good ammo because generally all the things that make a factory rifle inconsistent are missing.
Many rifles (All factory and customs)get a bad rap because they have not spent the time to find a load that will shoot in it. With most customs the potential to shoot good is there you just have to find it.
I repair factory rifles all the time and see the problems they have and i have never found a factory rifle that didn't need some truing and fitting to get the standards of a good custom. so comparing them is like apples and oranges.
Be happy with what you have and don't worry what someone else has.
J E CUSTOM
A couple of comments:
1) "no one needs a 1 lb trigger" then why do competitive shooters use even lighter triggers. On the other hand, 1 lb is too light for me for a hunting rifle.
2) "even the least expensive rifle out of the box is an moa shooter" then why do some of my rifles shoot sub-moa and some 2 moa. Also looking at the bedding on the cheaper offerings out there, I question whether their groups will open up with shooting.
1) "no one needs a 1 lb trigger" then why do competitive shooters use even lighter triggers. On the other hand, 1 lb is too light for me for a hunting rifle.
2) "even the least expensive rifle out of the box is an moa shooter" then why do some of my rifles shoot sub-moa and some 2 moa. Also looking at the bedding on the cheaper offerings out there, I question whether their groups will open up with shooting.
