High end factory rifles vs custom built rifles??

[Sun_and_Steel_77]

Meh, have had my share of full customs and semi-customs from a couple of the big name shops in Canada and was left underwhelmed. Bear in mind these were lightweight mountain rifles where the shop simply assembled parts with a small bit of machining.
I am not knocking some of our wonderful gunsmiths here in BC specifically, as some of the custom work I've seen is pure magic, and I don't hold them in the same regard as someone who has a barrel vice and a headspace gauge and can screw a tube on a 700 clone action.

You wait forever for your rifle to be built, you receive it and it's the latest greatest until something else comes along and then you sell it for peanuts on the EE.
The biggest slap in the face comes when your new to hunting and shooting buddy asks you to sight in his 650$ Tikka T3 in .308.
Lo and behold it shoots sub-MOA with federal blue box and a smoother bolt than the Defiance machine action you just paid 1300$ for!
Damn I hate those Tikkas!

I had Mel Forbes build me a Model 20 a couple years back when the dollar was closer to par and it's been pretty decent.It's the only custom I've kept, but I see Forbes LLC is up and running so I guess my Model 20 is a dime a dozen factory offering now.
Oh well at least it's chambered in .284win...does that make me special and one of the kewl kids?

 

[catnthehatt]

I like factory guns and custom or semi custom guns , one just as much as the other.
That being said, my favourite gun is a full on custom single shot that gets hunted A LOT!
These are pics of the first deer I shot with this gun and the last one last Fall( I had the scope on it for that one)
The scope isn't going back on unless I have something over 150 yards away.
Cat

 

[Kevan]

I like factory guns and custom or semi custom guns , one just as much as the other.
That being said, my favourite gun is a full on custom single shot that gets hunted A LOT!
These are pics of the first deer I shot with this gun and the last one last Fall( I had the scope on it for that one)
The scope isn't going back on unless I have something over 150 yards away.
Cat

Beautiful Rifle Sir, that wouldn't be a 303 built by that now retired chap in Elko... would it ??

 

[Ardent]

Customs come into play when you want something just so, build to your idea of just so, not somebody else's that was designed to appeal to the median interest of hundreds, or thousands of people. This is my favourite custom.

 

[double gun]

Damn it Ardent, when are you going to checker that thing?

 

[Ardent]

I know I know...

It got glasses, that's it so far it's chasing goats soon.

 

[hoytcanon]

I know I know...

It got glasses, that's it so far it's chasing goats soon.

IMO, DON'T checker that beautiful rifle. Is she staying home now? None of my affair, but I am finding that would please me none-the-less... 7X57R is a mighty cool goat cartridge... I can picture a No.1-RSI in .257 Roberts prowling the slopes for goats also...

 

[Mike Webb]

Custom rifles from a reputable builder are without peer but like anything custom from a financial point of view, plan on keeping it. Just like the guys who build 60's muscle cars with 500hp engines you will never get your money back if you decide to sell. I see them in car periodicals all the time; OVER $25,000 INVESTED, ASKING $14,500.

 

[Ardent]

Yep, we are often into several veins of "investments"... I have a classic car full of investments, with a second motor on a virgin block slowly taking shape, also well invested. Same for rifles, to be sure. In the end, I enjoy the building more than anything, I'm a tinkerer and enjoy fooling myself into thinking I'm a closet craftsman. It's a nice fantasy and I entertain it in company with Scotch and out of sight of the Mrs and her reality business. In the end, it sure beats buying something in a box, or a plastic sports car off a lot, even if a poor investment of funds it's an excellent investment in life.

So Hoyt, I dunno! But yes a .257 is a kindred spirit of this rifle, it almost was its chambering from the get go, still have the unused Krieger .257" stainless blank here... That blank was originally slated for an even earlier build... One day it'll get invested, or sold at a loss.

 

[southernman]

even if a poor investment of funds it's an excellent investment in life.

Thanks. This line is a cracker.
I shall take my custom Kimber .260, high into the southern alps in search of a thar, with out regret for the scratches and scars. The cost palling, beneath a sun rise against, a snow cover peak, and the promise of a new day.

 

[hoytcanon]

So Hoyt, I dunno! But yes a .257 is a kindred spirit of this rifle, it almost was its chambering from the get go, still have the unused Krieger .257" stainless blank here...

It would make a dandy little brother... heritage pieces.

That was my thinking with the RSI's... although not nearly so "heritagey."

The Little Brother .257R and Big Brother 7X57;

 

[DIGGER2]

Some beautiful guns there guys. Nice deer to Cat. Whenever I manage to get some time, I'll be visiting some of the gun shops around. I'm sure that once I find one that feels just right ( maybe it will have to be custom??), it will be coming home with me. Thanks for sharing all your input on your experiences with me, and other board members. Cheers fella's!

 

[BigUglyMan]

Sad, I wouldn't hunt with a wood stocked firearm unless the wood is exceptional, therefore the cost is very high and usually why I opt for synthetic instead as high quality/grade wood adds thousands to the cost of the same rifle

I'm curious why wood has to be exceptional but synthetics are OK? That doesn't make much sense to me.

Custom rifles are nice if you have a want that the factory can't provide. About 15 years ago I wanted to build a 25-06 in the SAIT "Gunsmithing" Course. I came across a stainless A-Bolt action (which I've always respected due to it's accuracy) and set about getting a #5 blank from Ted Gaillard. Before I could start messing with the project I was called away for 6 months on the Swinging Arm Ranch so I dropped the box of parts off with #### Pietsch who screwed the rifle together for me. I came into a take-off wood stock from the LGS and refinished it myself. It turned out nicely but I doubt that I would recoup the money I have into it. But that's the nature of the custom rifle game.

 

[The Kurgan]

There are some good custom smiths, but I feel a few of the big names are trying to coast on past success and name alone as it seems quality is going down while prices go up.

Truer words have never been spoken... there are a few good smiths out there [some don't have "big names"]... but beware... some of the "big names" [INSERT AS YOU SEE FIT] are handing their projects off to trainees and apprentice journeymen!

 

[The Kurgan]

It would make a dandy little brother... heritage pieces.

That was my thinking with the RSI's... although not nearly so "heritagey."

The Little Brother .257R and Big Brother 7X57;

I can see why you hung onto those in your downsizing/retirement years. That 7x57 is particularly nice.

 

[hoytcanon]

I can see why you hung onto those in your downsizing/retirement years. That 7x57 is particularly nice.

Thanks... the other side of the .257 stock has some nice feathering... these two RSI's will be in my last half dozen rifles for sure.

 

[Ardent]

Beautiful pair of RSIs! Perfect chamberings too.

The fire is alive in their kin here, fresh coat of tung on the wood, natural colour photos taken in natural light instead of shop fluorescents.

 

[Kevan]

Ardent, I swear that rifle is to die for !
Is that barrel eight-sided or twelve ?
I have been a lover of octagon-barrelled rifles since the days when as a teenager I lugged a '73 Winchester around with a Whitetail Deer tag in my pocket.
Thanks for sharing with us....... and making my day..

 

[The Kurgan]

Striking grain pattern. I much prefer the old school oiled finishes for this very reason.

 

[cam1936]

Everytime I see that rifle I become more and more impressed by it.