Custom rifle cost

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bearhunter338-06

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Cost of a custom rifle

What would you think it would cost for a custom rifle build. I'm not talking full blown custom with exotic wood stock but a rifle you can take out hunting and be proud of.

Here's my thoughts:

Donner rifle: 300 - 500 (Stevens Model 200 $370 at Wholesale Sports)

Barrel: Shilen CM $350

Stock: Boyds Laminate stock $120 (shipped to your door)

Trigger: $100 - $150

I get $990 and the tax, and with the Savage/Stevens I can do the work myself. So for around $1100 you can have a custom rifle that is build buy your own hands.
 
I get $990 and the tax, and with the Savage/Stevens I can do the work myself. So for around $1100 you can have a custom rifle that is build buy your own hands.
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Don't forget the $4000 you will need to buy the lathe and tooling as well as several years experience running the equipment in order to cut a decent chamber and produce a decent crown.

You will also need all the following equipment, supplies and experience:

1. bed the rifle to the stock.
2. finish or paint the barreled action
3. install and tune the trigger

Having built several rifles myself, I can assure you it always takes longer and costs more than you think it will. It is the seemingly small jobs that can be the most finicky and take the most time. Little things like bedding and paint are fraught with pitfalls if you don't know how and can make the project look like ass if done improperly.

There is a reason custom rifles cost what they do.
 
Suputin said:
Don't forget the $4000 you will need to buy the lathe and tooling as well as several years experience running the equipment in order to cut a decent chamber and produce a decent crown.
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Shilen will thread and chamber it for you. All you need is an action wrench and headspace gauges.
 
It depends. I mean, if I'm going to go through the exercise of putting a custom gun together the way I want, I'm not going to settle for an action just because it's easier or cheaper to do, I'm going to use the action I want. If I were doing a gun like that I'd start with a Model 70 action since it's still my favorite. Get a smith to fit a new barrel and chamber it with a match-grade reamer, smooth everything up. Then I'd go ahead and fit a Timney trigger, finish the metalwork and glass bed the whole thing into a McMillan stock. Add bases and rings and some decent glass and beat on it like it owes me money.
 
I'm getting a mental image of a Frankenrifle, and an owner who ends up saying "Why in hell did I ever do this anyway?" The end result might be a rifle costing $1,000 or so with a resale value of diddly squat.

There is a huge difference between "custom" and "home made", no matter whose labels might be on the components.
 
Or you go buy yourself a TC Icon Precision Hunter in 308 out of the door for 900.00,( i have a TC Icon WS in 308 to ) and out of the box with cheap ammo shoot sub moa and with handloads for my TRG-22 they shoot .4 at 200 metres. Those rifles are the best kept secret and since i found out i am awaiting for my third one in 243 to get home, and only a month have passed since i discover them... JP.
 
The cost really depends on what you want. First, go and spend some time on the Internet, looking at the rifle sites and gun magazine articles as there are so many good choices straight from the shelf.

If you build, the sky is the limit. My hunting build turned into a healthy investment but I now have exactly what I wanted.

Donor rifle $1000
Stock $500
Barrel $500
Scope $1700
Bipod $125
Sling $30
Smithing and a few additional small parts $2400

One of my buds was ready to drop a few thousand as well, then realized that a Sako Finnlight with a high end scope would fill his needs. Another colleague also wanted to build until he saw the Model 70 Extreme and a compact Swaro.
 
I know a fellow in town (a CGN member) who bought himself a lathe and has done a lot of reading/research, on bench-rest rifle building/maching, then a lot of experimental work with the lathe to learn the proper techniques.

Was talking to him the other day about a .308 that he built. He bought a .308 blank, heavy, varmint weight barrel, a Savage action, don't know what the stock is.

But he uses the lathe to 'true' up everything; receiver, bolt-face, barrel, reams the barrel to the correct cartridge, in this case .308Win, then assembles everything.

He was telling me that with Sierra match bullets, he has shot egg-shaped 'groups' that measure 1/4", at 100 yards. He also told me that he has produced a 6" group at 600 yards - windy day, which caused horizontal dispersion of 6" - vertical spread was ~2".

I have not looked at this rifle yet, but it's very intriguing to me. I doubt anyone would think it was a Frankenstein though.


So back to the OP, is this what you are talking about?
 
I just went through this exercise myself. I was looking to spend about 1k for a stevens doner, choat stock, pre fit barrel, timney trigger and put it all together myself. I too thought of this as a "frankenrifle" and considered resale value which wouldn't be all that great. It's like souping up a car, you never get close to what you put into it.

I realized I can buy a sendero for ~1k and have a gun that will do everything I need it to and sell it at a later point in time if I so desire.

Just my 0.02
 
bearhunter338-06 said:
Cost of a custom rifle

What would you think it would cost for a custom rifle build. I'm not talking full blown custom with exotic wood stock but a rifle you can take out hunting and be proud of.

Here's my thoughts:

Donner rifle: 300 - 500 (Stevens Model 200 $370 at Wholesale Sports)

Barrel: Shilen CM $350

Stock: Boyds Laminate stock $120 (shipped to your door)

Trigger: $100 - $150

I get $990 and the tax, and with the Savage/Stevens I can do the work myself. So for around $1100 you can have a custom rifle that is build buy your own hands.
Click to expand...

You are probably not too far off on the price. Savage will ship their stocks to gunsmiths (I've been told) if you wanted to go the Accustock route.
 
Duncan Idaho said:
One of my buds was ready to drop a few thousand as well, then realized that a Sako Finnlight with a high end scope would fill his needs. Another colleague also wanted to build until he saw the Model 70 Extreme and a compact Swaro.
Click to expand...

That's the flip side to trying to build a cheap custom gun. There are some really nice factory guns in the $1000 range that will spank a Frankengun on resale.
 
I just finished doing the "Custom" thing. My costs went as follows:
Donor Remington 700 Magnum action $400.00
McGowan C-M medium sporter blank $250.00 (finished at 26")
Remington Custom Shop Stock (Fiddleback Maple) $200.00 (used, but like new)
Smithing: $560.00
VX3 3.5-10x40 with B&C Reticule $500.00 (used, but like new)
Base & mounts $ 60.00 (base has been changed from the one in the pic)
Miscellaneous $ 50.00
Total $2020.00

For this I get: A very attractive rifle, built to my specs, chambered for the round I prefer, trued, bedded, blued in a deep lustrous blue.
Bonus: Initial load development has shown .25 - .4 moa capability.
Sure, I can buy a very capable off-the-shelf rifle for a bit less, but I have exactly what I want, and that is basically the bottom line. Eagleye.
308NormaMagbyLeeper_110327_1706.jpg

308NormaMagbyLeeper_110327_1707.jpg

308NormaMagGroups006.jpg
 
It depends what you consider a custom. If your idea of custom is a $300 Stevens, a $300 barrel and a $100 stock from Boyds you can be a happy custom owner for $700. Confuseing that fun parts gun project with a custom from Corlanes or Ralf Martini is displaying some delusion.
 
This rifle is a total "custom". It is a 1970's vintage Rem 700 action with a McGowen heavy varmint barrel and a B&C stock and a Timney tactical model trigger chambered in 221 Fireball. The metal is all cerakoted and the stock has a custom camo paintjob on it. The bolt knob, rail and brake are all Spartan Precision parts.

I built most of it myself, so is it a custom or not? Who knows but it is a sweet little rifle and it really didn't cost all that much. The action was bought on the EE and after selling off the bits I didn't need, cost me only about $200. The barrel blank was less than $200 and the stock was around $275 IIRC. The trigger was around $140 or so.

The other misc bits and the paint were done on a trade basis so didn't cost me anything. Which makes for a total of around $800.

The question of what it is worth to resell is a valid one and I don't know the answer but I suspect I could get more for it than I put into it. In reality I would never sell it cause I have the ability to change out barrels etc as I choose so I would likely hang on to the action and stock forever.

221Fireball1.jpg
 
You're out just a little, but not a lot price wise on the barrel. A prefit Shilen is a little closer to $500.00. Have a look at the Mystic precision site advertised on the opening header here.
For the nay sayers here take a stroll through the precision rifle forum! You're so called Frankenrifle is used by long range Shooter Jerry Teo, AKA mystic Player on here. He is the go to guy for long range shooting advice, and product and shoots sub MOA with a 223 FrankenRifle out to 1760 yards.
I'm building a similar rifle, but bought a Savage donor action with a custom bolt handle and Timney trigger already installed. I also ordered a Shilen Custom Prefit, but I went wiith the Stainless select match and in 338 EDGE. I also opted for the McMillan ADj A3-5 stock, but Boyd's are pretty decent for the price.
 
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