Gun builder vs gun builder

[Euler]

Highly dependent on circumstances. Some dudes are running manual lathes in their garage/detached shop. Some guys own/rent commercial warehouse space with multi-million dollar CNC machines, and employ multiple people. Arguments can be made for and against each scenario (and all in betweens).

Also, If you can tighten a nut on a bolt, you probably only need to pay to have someone chamber/thread your barrel.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Most known gunsmiths start small and build their reputation over time. Once they have an established name for quality work, the orders pour in. This is where things often change. One dedicated machinist/gunsmith can only turn out some many complete rifles in any given period of time. Therefore, they must hire employees to pick up the slack. The bigger a gunsmith gets, the more work has to be done by others under the smith's banner. Sooner or later, the quality that made the business grow might change.

Just my observation from dealing with gunsmiths all over the country. Sometimes a good, low-volume gunsmith is better than a BIG name gunsmith who turns out hundreds of rifles a year.

Overall, custom gunsmiths have made it possible for the average shooter, like me, to shoot some amazingly small groups over distances that we never considered before. Shooting LR is an addictive hobby.

 

[kgunz11]

Brother in law builds rifles. They get a substantially lower price on parts.
Anyhow. Not a jab at anyone. Just trying to see the difference between a $4000 rifle and a $10,000 rifle. Both seemingly the same.

Where is he buying those parts? As a rifle builder of 20 years, it is common to only see 10% margins on parts. That is far from "substantial" in my book. Accessory parts can often have 20-25% margins, but those are accessories and not the main components.

The action and stock/chassis choice can greatly affect the cost of a total rifle.

Defiance Anti action $1600
Proof Carbon barrel $800
Manners LRH mini chassis $1170 (may include bottom metal, depends on the vendor)
Trigger Tech Special $240
Hawkins HTR DBM with mag $325

That's $4135 for parts alone. With a mini chassis stock you trade out the cost of bedding. You still have the cost of chambering and muzzle work, then cerakote and assembly. There are hours of work associated with that in labor.

Can you build a budget rifle cheaper? Absolutely, but the question wasn't really about how cheap a rifle could be built. The question was about why one rifle may cost more than another.

My shop is currently working on producing a rifle we are calling the "blue collar rifle". We have our own feature rich custom actions, using a Proof carbon fiber barrel, lightweight carbon fiber shell stocks, DBM or Obendorf bottom metal. We want to make the rifle as affordable as possible while maintaining high quality components. We're still looking at a $3250 retail price point. That's $1300 cheaper than our normal rifle build so I consider that a "substantial" discount. It will still be way higher in quality than a CA or Fierce rifle.

 

[Brijake]

Where is he buying those parts? As a rifle builder of 20 years, it is common to only see 10% margins on parts. That is far from "substantial" in my book. Accessory parts can often have 20-25% margins, but those are accessories and not the main components.

The action and stock/chassis choice can greatly affect the cost of a total rifle.

Defiance Anti action $1600
Proof Carbon barrel $800
Manners LRH mini chassis $1170 (may include bottom metal, depends on the vendor)
Trigger Tech Special $240
Hawkins HTR DBM with mag $325

That's $4135 for parts alone. With a mini chassis stock you trade out the cost of bedding. You still have the cost of chambering and muzzle work, then cerakote and assembly. There are hours of work associated with that in labor.

Can you build a budget rifle cheaper? Absolutely, but the question wasn't really about how cheap a rifle could be built. The question was about why one rifle may cost more than another.

My shop is currently working on producing a rifle we are calling the "blue collar rifle". We have our own feature rich custom actions, using a Proof carbon fiber barrel, lightweight carbon fiber shell stocks, DBM or Obendorf bottom metal. We want to make the rifle as affordable as possible while maintaining high quality components. We're still looking at a $3250 retail price point. That's $1300 cheaper than our normal rifle build so I consider that a "substantial" discount. It will still be way higher in quality than a CA or Fierce rifle.

This is extremely interesing on pricing. How much better, or worse would a 3k gun shoot than if you built one with the mentioned parts? Like what are the expectations of each.