marksman1941
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Custom is beyond cool, but a seekins ph2 will shoot with most of the customs for a 2k price tag. It is hard to justify the prices some of the custom builders ask for.
Your Personal RESULTS with custom long range HUNTING rifles built buy a PROFESSIONAL?
- Thread starter Highcountrybucks
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Varmint Hunter
Well-Known Member
I've had custom rifles built by more smiths than I can even remember. Virtually all of them shot as well as I could shoot and/or develop loads for. None of them disappointed me. Recently I had Alex Wheeler put a 6mmBR together for me. It will shoot under .25moa @ 400yds fairly easily. I've read about guns that were so accurate and dependable that they are boring. I think this may be my most boring rifle.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, I think most ruger Americans are as accurate as customs.
Robert23430
Well-Known Member
Great looking guns.
I am not the best shooter, so if those are the groups the rifle shooters because of me I will take it.
Those groups were also shoot prone using my hunting pack as the front rest with a small bag at the base of the stock. Not ideal, but I was practicing for real world shots.
I like my semi custom I posted about earlier, but alot of rifles off the shelf these days are capable of some amazing things especially if you can load for them. I bought a Sako S20 off eurooptics for $1100, and put a Burris 4x20 XTRII on it from Natchez for $600. All in I am under $2k and the rifle shoots. The load development isn't done yet and it has shot several loads around .5moa, and shots most things very well. It is a 300 win mag.
It isn't as cool as my other semi-custom, but it shoots well for a fair amount less money.
It isn't as cool as my other semi-custom, but it shoots well for a fair amount less money.
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marksman1941
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This is very true. None of the flash, fit or finish, but you can often get a 1/2-3/4moa ruger American for $400. It's pretty ridiculous. My brother has a bubba'd American in 223 that he drags out just to screw with people. Shoots under 1/2moa, looks like a dog. Has a stockys laminate stock with a knee pad spray adhesived and then stapled onto the cheek piece as a cheek riser. Custom dremeled mags to run longer bullets. The bastard will frequently stretch it to 1200 yards and have regular hits on an 18x24 steel. It's just unnatural.
Chokoloskee Joe
Well-Known Member
That's funny! I have the same rifle in a Boyd's Prairie Hunter laminate stock that shoots 1/4-1/2 MOA at 100 yards consistently. But these are outliers. OTOH, I would say that it is not unusual that a high-end rifle maker like Sako can make a better rifle than 95% of the gunsmiths out there. They have the equipment and materials no gunsmith can match.
As far as price goes , once you have a few custom rifles on your rack , the cost of rebarreling is quiet affordable,in comparison to a full build . Kinda like reloading ,once you buy the tools the price of dies are cheap .
the savings in copper remover and patches alone are worth the price of A hand lappped barrel , lol
if you have rem or savage donor rifles , the prefits are a cost effective way to get a great rifle ,which is the way i started out ,
i learned alot about bedding, stock work , crowning ,head spacing , ect . fun hobby and knowledge that can be handed down. A turn key long range capable rifle out of the box cost money ,there is alot of time that goes into putting it all together ,and for the people NOT looking for another hobby its a good option to have out there.
its all just a time vs money balance and the never ending struggle to keep the wife talking to you in a pleasant manor!
the savings in copper remover and patches alone are worth the price of A hand lappped barrel , lol
if you have rem or savage donor rifles , the prefits are a cost effective way to get a great rifle ,which is the way i started out ,
i learned alot about bedding, stock work , crowning ,head spacing , ect . fun hobby and knowledge that can be handed down. A turn key long range capable rifle out of the box cost money ,there is alot of time that goes into putting it all together ,and for the people NOT looking for another hobby its a good option to have out there.
its all just a time vs money balance and the never ending struggle to keep the wife talking to you in a pleasant manor!
Highcountrybucks
Active Member
Very nice collection! Thank you for sharing.
Varmint Hunter
Well-Known Member
I'd have to disagree with that. I recently had a rifle rebarreled with a SS match bbl. Here's what it cost:
barrel - $445
GS work - $400
Shipping $100 each way
That's over $1,000
My most recent rebarrel:
Bart-Carbon $800 delivered
GS work - $400
Threaded for muzzle brake $100-$150 (I forget which)
Brake $225
That's about $1,600 without any shipping
Yeah - there are cheaper ways to go but rebarreling a custom rifle that you already own still isn't "inexpensive" for the average guy.
Just my 2 cents.
Okanogan
Well-Known Member
I have 4 GAPs:
300 WM Bartlien #3 1:9 twist 215 Bergers
300 WM Bartlien #6 1:9 twist 215 Bergers
6.5 GAP Bartlien #2B & Impact action 1:8 twist 156 Bergers
GAP10 .308 150 SST
All will shoot 1/2 MOA with hand loads after I tuned the loads to the specific rifle. I have yet to try any factory ammo that would consistently get 1/2 MOA in any of them. That includes Bergers/ Applied Ballistics 300WM 215 gr ammo. The two 300WMs were both cut with the same reamer spec and yet the two rifles take a different load in both charge weight and seating depth to achieve consistent 1/2 MOA. It usually takes me 200-300 rds to dial in a load but that doesn't bother me too much as the Lab Radar says the barrels are breaking in for the first 150+/- rounds.
I also have a LPR .338 that I never have gotten around to putting the effort in to find a load for. It only has about 50 rds through it. Just like the GAPs, the 1st 50 rds were not in the 1/2 MOA category.
300 WM Bartlien #3 1:9 twist 215 Bergers
300 WM Bartlien #6 1:9 twist 215 Bergers
6.5 GAP Bartlien #2B & Impact action 1:8 twist 156 Bergers
GAP10 .308 150 SST
All will shoot 1/2 MOA with hand loads after I tuned the loads to the specific rifle. I have yet to try any factory ammo that would consistently get 1/2 MOA in any of them. That includes Bergers/ Applied Ballistics 300WM 215 gr ammo. The two 300WMs were both cut with the same reamer spec and yet the two rifles take a different load in both charge weight and seating depth to achieve consistent 1/2 MOA. It usually takes me 200-300 rds to dial in a load but that doesn't bother me too much as the Lab Radar says the barrels are breaking in for the first 150+/- rounds.
I also have a LPR .338 that I never have gotten around to putting the effort in to find a load for. It only has about 50 rds through it. Just like the GAPs, the 1st 50 rds were not in the 1/2 MOA category.
Okanogan
Well-Known Member
If you have a high degree of confidence in your GS and in your build, one option to save some money is to get a second barrel with your original build. I did this with my GAP 6.5. It still wasn't cheap but it did save a few hundred dollars. (It may have helped that the Impact action is supposed to allow prefits).
Your overall estimates though are close to what it cost me when I re-barreled my first GAP 300 WM to get a tighter twist barrel that allowed me to shoot the 215s. Either way, the cost is less than a new build but it still isn't inexpensive.
Sealesniper
Well-Known Member
I have 7 Custom rifles built by professionals, all topped with NF and I do the handloads. The guns can outshoot me, but when I do my part right, the results are phenomenal. Custom guns built by DGCS or SSG are unbelievable. I cant speak for custom ammo as I always load my own.
