How do you explain….custom rifles?

[Lenny Foffa]

it. Will. Be a treasure and an Heirloom!! And. When. Your are 90. And. You look back on all your. Hunts with the. Custom. Rifle The 3000 dollars your spent on the. Rifle will be inconsequential ! The. Memories of the hunts will. Be. Priceless

 

[david g ranes]

I have never thought of rebarreling a rifle or buying an action for a rifle build a custom it is simply an assembly of parts by you or a gun mechanic all the parts are available to whom ever wants to purchase them so there really isn't anything custom about it just like buying aftermarket parts for your car you might have a one of a kind pattern in a wood stock but the stock itself can and has been repeated over and over I have guns with different barrels different actions they may have been tuned up to run better just like your car but I feel custom is over used in the industry to up sell everything . Just my thoughts. David

 

[capona]

Not long ago, that was a valid question to ask.
But now that you can get out of the box 1/2 moa or better with rifles such as savage stealth and Ruger RpR for $1000-1500 its less clear to ask it. Seems like everyone has a jones to scratch.
If it keeps you out of the bars and away from worse addictions scratch that itch and don't try to justify it..it's your money, until Joe takes it all.

 

[PopNFresh]

Most factory rifles are mass produced and dealt with very little.
Custom rifles are built to purpose and to you. They should be properly bedded and tested both cycling and on paper before they ever hit your hands. They have significantly more labor time in them usually If something does go wrong or you have questions they should be much easier getting addressed than calling a service center.
Plus you don't end up with boxes of take off factory parts all over your place

 

[WildRose]

This is a challenge for me. Factory rifles with load development can shoot quite well. 1 moa is quite common. 1/2 moa or close seems like it is becoming more common.

Factory stocks are becoming crappier and better at the top end. This is a pretty good reason to go full custom.

Otherwise, I feel like rational people think I'm a bit bonkers. I talk about things like case to die to chamber fit being nearly perfect, stock dimensions being a near perfect fit, optics clear enough to really see at lower magnifications.

All that said, I shot my friends Savage package gun in 6.5 creedmor and my only real complaints were:
-stock was not a good fit
-scope was forward and couldn't move
-windage turret moved 0.75 moa with 1 click(1/4 moa turret)
-glass was just ok/usable

Our results were pretty good. Quick sight in at 100, 1.4moa 200yd group, 300 yd 2 moa steel hits. Not bad.

Then we talk about my new rifle. Everything is better, but for what? How do I explain the value of it? Not to justify. I want it, I earned it, it solves my issues from previous experience. I get that, but why are custom rifles worth 5-10 times to price? Or are they a bad deal? The value is definitely low when sold as used.

I ask, really just to generate interest from people who don't connect with the idea immediately.

For the vast majority of people a custom rifle makes no sense at all really for all the reasons you stated.

One thing for sure is that it's a virtual certainty that if you ever sell a custom rifle you'll be lucky to get the cost of your components back out of it so you can't justify them as an investment either.

Why are they so much higher? Whether it's Winchester, Remington, Savage, Tikka or any other major manufacturer, they make their money on the volume of rifles they can produce and sell at market prices using minimal human labor and maximum CNC equipment.

A custom gunsmith will have five to ten times the hours in your rifle than was ever put into a factory rifle. Time and craftsmanship cost money and a big part of what you end up paying for is their experience.

 

[Decap]

Doesn't have to make sense it's one of those times that the heart wants what the heart wants. Some people just appreciate workmanship. The slide on a Wilson Combat 1911 moves like it's on ball bearings. You can shake a S&W 1911 and hear the slide rattle but they will both shoot.

 

[Troutslayer2]

I bet 90% of shooters couldn't print a .5MOA group if they had a 0MOA rifle.

I've probably wasted more money chasing dreams of accuracy with factory rifles and trying to "upgrade" them to get them there than I have spent on the couple of customs I have. The trick for me has been to only own a few that I am really confident in instead of a pile of mediocre ones.

 

[Quintus]

I bet 90% of shooters couldn't print a .5MOA group if they had a 0MOA rifle.

I've probably wasted more money chasing dreams of accuracy with factory rifles and trying to "upgrade" them to get them there than I have spent on the couple of customs I have. The trick for me has been to only own a few that I am really confident in instead of a pile of mediocre ones.

Your right and it's more than 90%

I would say in the last 10-15 years there have been many factory rifles introduced that are capable of the kind of consistency you could once only get with a custom. They are expensive in most cases, but they certainly are available.

 

[MOOSE39465]

Shooting fundamentals, practice,and patience.

 

[nksmfamjp]

Why are they so much higher? Whether it's Winchester, Remington, Savage, Tikka or any other major manufacturer, they make their money on the volume of rifles they can produce and sell at market prices using minimal human labor and maximum CNC equipment.

A custom gunsmith will have five to ten times the hours in your rifle than was ever put into a factory rifle. Time and craftsmanship cost money and a big part of what you end up paying for is their experience.

Interesting. I'm surprised somebody hasn't come through like Dan Wesson did for 1911's. Basically reinvent the classic design with drawings built to the level of fit deliverable off the best machines and tooling. Then essentially remake the model 700 custom rifle in a couple of feature sets. Kind of like the Springfield Waypoint but better!

I bet 90% of shooters couldn't print a .5MOA group if they had a 0MOA rifle.

I've probably wasted more money chasing dreams of accuracy with factory rifles and trying to "upgrade" them to get them there than I have spent on the couple of customs I have. The trick for me has been to only own a few that I am really confident in instead of a pile of mediocre ones.

I agree. I'm always surprised by the high dollar rigs at the range with no ability to hit consistently.

What do you get when you match a precision AR15 with an NX8 and match ammo….well, apparently 3" groups based on what I saw!

 

[WildRose]

Interesting. I'm surprised somebody hasn't come through like Dan Wesson did for 1911's. Basically reinvent the classic design with drawings built to the level of fit deliverable off the best machines and tooling. Then essentially remake the model 700 custom rifle in a couple of feature sets. Kind of like the Springfield Waypoint but better!



I agree. I'm always surprised by the high dollar rigs at the range with no ability to hit consistently.

What do you get when you match a precision AR15 with an NX8 and match ammo….well, apparently 3" groups based on what I saw!

Many have, that's why the Rem 700 is the most copied and built on action in the country.

 

[PopNFresh]

Interesting. I'm surprised somebody hasn't come through like Dan Wesson did for 1911's. Basically reinvent the classic design with drawings built to the level of fit deliverable off the best machines and tooling. Then essentially remake the model 700 custom rifle in a couple of feature sets. Kind of like the Springfield Waypoint but better!



I agree. I'm always surprised by the high dollar rigs at the range with no ability to hit consistently.

What do you get when you match a precision AR15 with an NX8 and match ammo….well, apparently 3" groups based on what I saw!

Many have made great actions for every price range taking what they like from different designs. Most put them into a somewhat standardized footprint getting huge aftermarket to the end user.
We're living in a pretty golden age of "custom" actions currently, unless a gunsmith is starving you're probably better off buying even an entry level nice action than a cheap rem 700 and having it cleaned up

 

[nksmfamjp]

We're living in a pretty golden age of "custom" actions currently,

Agree. Barrels seem to be the sticking point keeping us from a sub $2000 factory custom.