custom rifle makers in Canada

Shooter0

Shooter0

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Hamilton,ON
I'm looking to have a custom rifle built, but with all the aggravation and added expense of having one brought up from the US I thought I'd look at Canadian builders.

Can anyone recommend one or have an opinion either way?

I've never doubted the quality of our resident smith's but like most things the gun press typically follows the American builders and I must plead ignorance to what we have here at home. :confused:

Thanks,

RR
 
Blargon has it right; Martini and Hagn all the way. I'm lucky enough to live 5 minutes away from them. They did the winchester-style 3 position safety on both my Remington and Mauser; coulden't ask for any better.
Mike
 
As Chuck asked, what kind of a rifle do you have in mind? Walnut & blued VS fiberglass & stainless, we have great gunsmiths for each (and some can handle both) but my suggestion differs depending on the rifle.

??
 
Thinking of a stainless synthetic mountain rifle.
Currently have my heart set on a .257 AI with a 24" match grade fluted bbl 3" chamber, 1/9 twist to stabilize 100-120gr pills. I had looked at NULA out of the states but figure for close to the same cost I can have a rifle built here and not have to deal with the hassle of importing.

Just looked at the Martini and Hagn website and in a word WOW! They are definitely at the top of my shortlist already. Even their CV's are impressive
 
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There are two smiths on this board that I absolutely KNOW can build that to your expectations; namely Guntech and Leeper. They have both done a lot of work for me, and I couldn't be happier with their work. In fact they are both doing work for me right now, or will be very soon. There are of course other gunsmiths who post here; but I am not as familiar with their work.

For what you want I don't think there is anything to pick one over the other. I believe Guntech is more actively soliciting work, so I would probably contact him first. If you send a PM to him here, he is usually very prompt in replying. He is also very quick in doing the work and getting your new toy back to you.

Hope this helps.
 
alberta gun smith

i live in alberta and my gun smith has made some awesome rifles,,, and very well priced if ur interested contacted me sheldon ouderkirk take care
 
Corlane has a rep for ultralight mountain rifles. Alberta Tactical Rifle is a board member and can build to your spec. Leeper is a board member and built a beauty 300 WSM for Gatehouse that might fit your requirements too. Guntech is another board member and he gets good press on here. I've never seen one of his rifles in the flesh though from all reports they are very well made indeed.

I had a rifle built by ATR and wouldn't hesitate to go through Rick again. I don't branch out very well but there's no good reason that I wouldn't have Bill (Leeper) or Dennis (Guntech) build a rifle other than I'm personal friends with Rick. My advice is to give them a shout and discuss the potential project and see if they can help you out. Also find out what their lead time is. My guess is that you'll wait about nine months to a year for a complete build. I got my rifle built by ATRS in pretty good time (dropped it off at the end of Nevember and received it in June) but Rick didn't have to source the action, bottom-metal or stock as I re-used the factory stock and bottom metal. If you want a full custom build on an exotic action that needs to be sourced, figure more time to get same from the US. If you already have a Remington Ti donor rifle lying around, you're a lucky bastard, and your project will come together faster.
 
I second rick at ATR for great quality, great pricing and quick turnaround. I have had one custom precision rifle built by him and another by corlanes, and I would put his work as 10x better then corlanes.....

not saying corlanes is shabby but I believe from my experience that rick spends more time going over the rifle and it is not just a mass market item but something he takes a personal interest in..... corlanes is get'r done and out the door....

thats my .02$ anyway, for what that is worth :)
 
Westicle said:
I second rick at ATR for great quality, great pricing and quick turnaround. I have had one custom precision rifle built by him and another by corlanes, and I would put his work as 10x better then corlanes.....

not saying corlanes is shabby but I believe from my experience that rick spends more time going over the rifle and it is not just a mass market item but something he takes a personal interest in..... corlanes is get'r done and out the door....

thats my .02$ anyway, for what that is worth :)
Click to expand...

Last time I was at ATR I saw a few Corlanes rifles on his repair shelf waiting to be rebarreled.

I looked down the barrel of one of them with his borescope. First time I've ever seen firecracking before.
 
what would cause the fire cracking ?? would that not be the barrel makers problem ??

fire cracking is caused by heat and extreme pressure or the use of heavy ammonia type cleaners.... (the ammonia, so they say)

corlanes makes a good product, they build what you ask for... my 375 ruger has a pacnor barrel on it.
 
Westicle said:
what would cause the fire cracking ?? would that not be the barrel makers problem ??

fire cracking is caused by heat and extreme pressure or the use of heavy ammonia type cleaners.... (the ammonia, so they say)

corlanes makes a good product, they build what you ask for... my 375 ruger has a pacnor barrel on it.
Click to expand...

The barrel mentioned was chambered in 300RUM necked down to 6mm, which is GROSSLY overbore to say the least. Under 100 rounds "cooked" it.
The owner was not aware that the rifle barrel should be allowed to cool some between shots.
I know nothing of what discussions there were about building this rig so can not comment on that, but I would have tried to dissaude building something that would have very short barrel life.

B.U.M. has offered sound advice, decide on what you want to achieve, then talk with the assorted gunmakers.
Some of us really specialize in 1 type of rifle. I am 1st to admit I do NOT do good wood, so stay away from wood stocked rifles, so for wood stuff would recommend other gun makers.
I have built some ultralights and sheep type rifles that seemed to work well for the clients.
If a fluted barrel is a must then another gunmaker is your best bet as I refuse to work with fluted barrels.
 
so it goes back to what I said,.... they will build whatever you want, the owner of the gun should have researched more before chambering it in a barrel burning caliber.

but thats why you go with rick, he takes a personal interest in his builds... :) :)
 
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