Why Your Custom Builder

[MOOSE39465]

Last rifle that was built for me only took 3 weeks. 2 weeks of that time was shipping.

 

[Deleted member 48126]

My smiths passion, enthusiasm, and close drive to my house are reasons. He's also "been there, done that" in the army so he has some real world shooting experience that I appreciate learning from him. When he's not building he's shooting and teaches me a lot.

There's another Smith I use whos a member here and accurate shooter, when my go to Smith was out for knee surgery and couldn't stand by his lathe. He's the definition of professionalism. His rifles are perfect, and he normally has a 3 month turn around time. He'll also will talk to you for an hour on the phone about parts and what his recommendations are and why. Great guy.

 

[Blackdirt Cowboy]

He's smart, good looking and free

I see what you did there.

 

[762x51]

if it's an AR15/10, then all i wait for is gathering the parts and then i assemble.

for bolt guns, my smith is retired and does builds more as a hobby. so he doesnt have a lot of work going on all the time where he gets backed up. which is the way he wants it. if i need an action blueprinted and barrel installed, i take it over there and hang out with him for the day while he does it. the longest he's ever had one of my guns is about a week.

my current build i'm assembling myself and using a rem-age style barrel. just waiting on a recoil lug alignment tool and i can assemble it.

 

[mountaincarver]

Started pondering a 2020 project. When it comes down to it I have the knowledge base and can obtain/borrow tools to build my next long gun.
Had a conversation with my custom builder and decided to go that route.
My question for you ladies & gentlemen, what does your builder provide you that makes you willing to wait 9 months to a year-and-a-half for that build?

This is a good question and not easy to answer as there are so many different reasons people are into the hobbie of shooting guns. some want benchmark accuracy without hunting in mind, some want light weight accuracy for hunting, some want speed, some want a show piece for their friends, some want tighter chambers or custom chambers to account for magazine issues, some want looks of the gun, some want a special twist rate to shoot particular bullets, some just want custom to say they have one. ive heard many people talk about custom creeds being built for them who are just going to go deer hunting (and nothing wrong with that). could go on and on and its all good stuff if you the owner are happy in the end. for the most part, for me, its not worth it. I enjoy the load testing process in making factory rifles shoot and can usually be almost .5 moa (300 yd) in the end. For some this isn't good enough and it would definitely be worth their wait if they required tighter groups. one things for sure, its a fun thing to do and thoughts may change as time with it either makes you wiser or more confused.

 

[Greyfox]

I would wait that long, even longer when I ordered classic rifles that had custom wood, rust bluing, specific metalwork, etc. The craftsmanship and beauty was justified, and well worth the wait for a unique work of art. For a contemporary build in which the bulk of the work is truing,chambering, bedding with +90% supplied components, for labor, I won't wait more than one to three months. Not always, but often, when long lead times are quoted, the degree of error for delivery has much more variability, usually erring on longer. There is also the possibility that the shorter lead times are reserved for existing, repeat customers which extends the lead time for new customers. Big name gunsmiths cater, and give priority to big name competitors. My approach to hiring a "first time" gunsmith is to ALWAYS rely heavily on trusted referrals, and choose based on "observed" quality of the work, and reasonable lead times on labor. IMO.

 

[milo-2]

I would wait that long, even longer when I ordered classic rifles that had custom wood, rust bluing, specific metalwork, etc. The craftsmanship and beauty was justified, and well worth the wait for a unique work of art. For a contemporary build in which the bulk of the work is truing,chambering, bedding with +90% supplied components, for labor, I won't wait more than one to three months. Not always, but often, when long lead times are quoted, the degree of error for delivery has much more variability, usually erring on longer. There is also the possibility that the shorter lead times are reserved for existing, repeat customers which extends the lead time for new customers. Big name gunsmiths cater, and give priority to big name competitors. My approach to hiring a "first time" gunsmith is to ALWAYS rely heavily on trusted referrals, and choose based on "observed" quality of the work, and reasonable lead times on labor. IMO.

I like your posts, you say things that need to be said well!
Side note, I am sure if rifle builders did not have to answer their phones, build times would drop by 70%.

 

[Deleted member 48126]

^ I think that's why long shot rifles went out of business. Bad book keeping and couldn't keep up with customers.

 

[Wolf76]

For me it's reputation, price, and timeliness.
Had great experiences with short action customs and Pierce engineering.
Generally a good idea to call ahead and see what their workload looks like.

 

[J E Custom]

I had a well known BR smith promise me I would have the custom rifle back in 6 months. It actually took 18 months. I later learned that he completed work for his regular customers ahead of mine. I found a new gunsmith.

Long ago, I waited over 2 years for a custom rifle build and all the fun was out of it by the time it was done.And based on the quality I decided to build my own. Started talking and learning from a very good friends dad that was a master gunsmith and sense then I have built hundreds. The complexity of the build and the availability of the components can have an effect on the time, but the scheduling of the smith and taking and doing all projects in the order they were received has the most impact the on schedule. If taken in order, the smith should be able to tell you when he will start and finish within a couple of weeks to completion.

The fastest I ever completed a complete build was 5 days (Not fast by some standards) but as fast as I could do a quality job. I normally can do one in 2 to 3 weeks (I am retired and don't like deadlines any more). Communication with your smith is all important to build a rifle in a timely manor.

Just My opinion

J E CUSTOM

 

[Tikkamike]

I use Brian ( @Tikka Lover ) at www.shoot-long.com ( a site sposor here) for several reasons.
1. extremely knowledgeable
2. Very personable and has lots of real world experience with what works and what is just a gimmick
3. his work is top notch
4. I have had him build probably 10 rifles and I have never waited more than a few months once all the parts were in his hands. One time I needed a 375 ruger built for a last minute trip, he helped me find all the parts and had it put together in like 10 days (not saying he can always do that but he makes every customer a priority and comes through on his promises.) Every rifle from him has shot lights out.

 

[Jeffrey Van Zandt]

Started pondering a 2020 project. When it comes down to it I have the knowledge base and can obtain/borrow tools to build my next long gun.
Had a conversation with my custom builder and decided to go that route.
My question for you ladies & gentlemen, what does your builder provide you that makes you willing to wait 9 months to a year-and-a-half for that build?

I would never wait that long and now with the actions that are out there and pre-fit barrels why wait, get a bighorn action a proof pre fit shoulder barrel a vice and torque wrench and what ever stock you want and be shooting in less then 4 weeks. , do a carbonfiber barrel or a S.S. one

 

[LaHunter]

For me, when I had a rifle built a little over a year ago, I researched the interweb and got reviews of past customers from a builder that I had been reading about. Then I called them several times and discussed my project and what I had in mind, which was pretty basic. Every time I called them, they were very helpful and always had time to discuss my rifle. They explained the process clearly. So communications was an important factor. Also, the 'plan' never changed along the process. They delivered exactly what they said they would. Wait time was a factor as well. I ordered the parts and had them sent to the builder, which they were good with that. Once they had all the parts, my rifle was ready to ship in less than two weeks. The rifle looks great and shoots even better, so the final product in a timely manner is a big factor for me. Now, I am having them rebarrel my 7 mag. I found a building that I trust, and they have always impressed me as being good guys, so I plan to stick with them: Alamo Precision Rifles in the DFW area

 

[LaHunter]

double post