Custom Rimfire help Wanted.

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Okay,

I would love to get into a custom rimfire for primarily hunting as well as target shooting. Originally I really wanted to get into a Custom lever action but was strongly advised against it. Any reason why?

I was advised to look into a Anschutz/CIL action (54 or 64) which is bolt action (Im sure you all know this). Forgive me for simplifying all of this I am really green when it comes to all of this.

I just don't know enough about rifles or where to start looking. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I do have a price range in mind.... Under 1,800 :p seems to be reasonable of a starting point. I am still really attached to the Idea of a lever action, I don't know why i'm so attached to this action.

thanks for the help.
 
I don't know exactly what you mean by custom either, but if you want a lever action 22 to hunt and plink with I would say go for it. The Marlin 39As and Browning BL22s that I have seen have been plenty accurate enough to do either with. Browning is making the BL22 in a couple of different grades, and can be had in a nickel finish with an engraved receiver. Looks pretty custom to me, and you wouldn't be spending anywhere near $1800. Now if you want to shoot itty bitty groups and compete with your 22 I would say that you would be looking for something like an Anschutz with a 64 or 54 action. They can be had with any number of different style stocks depending on what discipline you want to shoot with it. Again, I don't know what you want to do to make it "custom". Cooper also make some fine, accurate firearms that are basically factory "customs" but you would have to stretch your budget a little to get there.
 
Oups, somehow missed the "lever" part when I first read your post... Nothing wrong with a custom 22lr lever... Hey, it's your money and you only live once!

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If by 'target' shooting, you mean to casually shoot at targets... and won't be competing in benchrest match... I think the lever would make for an interesting project. Heck, if I had more $$ than brain, I'd get an older Marlin 39 TDS restock in fancy walnut with nice checkering. A Skinner sights on the back... and if there's enough $ left, get a set of quick release scope mount to go on the barrel... to mount a "scout" scope, for those days when I want to punch paper...

Kind of like this, but with "nicer" wood

grizzly_custom_guns_marlin_39a_backpacker_lite_scout_14_1000.jpg
 
Wow, Really like that picture, Thats pretty close to where I'd like to go with my Custom gun, I like the shorter larger barrel and the oversized loop on that gun! I think i would like to go with a gray laminated stock tho.
 
That specific rifle is from www grizzlycustom com in Montana. There are not 'cheap' by any stretch of the imagination!

grizzly_custom_guns_marlin_39a_backpacker_lite_scout_7_1000.jpg


There was a tread about SBR lever guns on rimfirecentral a while back... But my search-foo is not up to par, because I can't seem to find it again!

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Agree with you, scopes do look kind of odd on a lever gun... I much prefer peep-sights... But when you're getting old, sometimes you have to make compromise :redface:. Personally, I'd go for something a little smaller.

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You were probably directed away from "lever guns" because there is a limited amount of "customizing" that you can do to them (at least readily available aftermarket parts)... whereas with a semi or bolt action there are many different possibilities... I would recommend starting with a less expensive base model and then tweaking it from there... here are a few of my semi's which have been "customized";

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Here are some customized bolt actions;

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That gives you an idea of the type of work that can be done... don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with lever action guns (I LOVE my Henry lever guns!)... for just plain shooting fun, you can't beat a lever gun... but you brought the word "custom" into the equation, which is why you are being steered away from them. If you decide to go the semi-action route, you can't go wrong with a base model Ruger 10/22... there are a "bazillion" aftermarket parts available (most of mine are 10/22 "platform" guns... not technically 10/22's, because I build them using Dlask Arm's DAR22 receivers and work up from there...)... if you decide to go with a bolt gun... I would recommend a Savage "FV" model as your base... some of the above guns, either started as FV or FVSS models... there is also the FV-SR model too... Another bolt option is the CZ 452/453/455 models... they are a little more to start and there are fewer aftermarket options, but the are a nicer gun from a "fit/finish" perspective... Good Luck.
 
sillymike said:
These are nice guns... But I wouldn't exactly call them 'custom'... They are more like a souped-up civic.

If I was going to drop $1,800 on a rimfire, I'd want something a little more 'special'. But that's just me ;)
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Barrel work and/or custom barrel (cut/crown/thread and brakes), bolt work and/or custom bolt, chamber work, custom trigger groups and/or kits, custom stocks, assorted aftermarket internals and add-on's, gunsmithing, aftermarket bases and rings... scopes of choice etc... so what in your estimation constitutes "custom?" Some of the above have ZERO OEM factory parts... we are not tallking a 10/22 in a different stock with a bipod. If I had a Volquartsen receiver with a Kidd bolt, RT trigger, Shilen barrel and MacMillan stock would that be a "custom" gun in your estimation? Also... at no time was I suggesting that I have $1800 invested in ANY of the above guns... I'm a pretty thrifty shopper.
 
I have a custom .22 lr mannlicher made by Klaus Hiptmayer....a well known gunmaker in Eastern Canada and New England States.He started with a Ruger 77-22 .
After claw mounts, integral peep sights,tang safety, special steel trigger guard,other miscellaneous mannlicher hardware,oil finish, pachmayer pad and trigger poundage reduction, I was up to $ 2700 with no scope!!!All this was done a few years back........likely quite a bit more expensive now.All this to say that good custom work can set one back some serious coin.When complete, however you are left with something pretty special.
 
How many "TRUE" one off guns are out there? When most shooters are talking "custom" they are talking about a base gun that they "home brew", perhaps with some light gunsmithing. Not every "custom" gun comes out of a hidden backwoods shop or a Bavarian smith's shop... with single production hammer forged barrels and receivers... and those are not coming in at $1800... and are for the most part centerfires. That's a beautiful gun your holding (if that's you), but accessibility is a primary concern for "most" shooters... If anyone is building a weapon (regardless of what sort) from scratch, I feel it is fair to call it "custom" in any circle. To be clear, I would also consider the weapons you refer to as "custom" to be highly desireable custom guns... beauty is in the eye of the beholder and so is definition in this case.
 
No, not mine and not me (I'm old, but not that old)

First gun was worked upon by Clint Meier, a checkering gourou from Missouri I sometime communicate with. Eventually I'll feel confidant enough in my skill and tackle my own 'custom' Martini... 2nd gun is from a stockmaker in Tennessee (can't remember his name right now), it's built on a older 52 action.

If the OP wants (and likes) lever guns, I don't see why he shouldn't go ahead with his idea. Sure, it won't be as easy as modifying a Ruger/Savage/CZ... But it should be interesting nevertheless.
 
hoytcanon said:
How many "TRUE" one off guns are out there? When most shooters are talking "custom" they are talking about a base gun that they "home brew", perhaps with some light gunsmithing. Not every "custom" gun comes out of a hidden backwoods shop or a Bavarian smith's shop... with single production hammer forged barrels and receivers... and those are not coming in at $1800... and are for the most part centerfires. That's a beautiful gun your holding (if that's you), but accessibility is a primary concern for "most" shooters... If anyone is building a weapon (regardless of what sort) from scratch, I feel it is fair to call it "custom" in any circle. To be clear, I would also consider the weapons you refer to as "custom" to be highly desireable custom guns... beauty is in the eye of the beholder and so is definition in this case.
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Well said Hoyt. If you took a screwdriver and scratched your name in the side of your stock, it would honestly BE "one of a kind". Not being sarcastic, but I've read this entire thread and I'm still not sure what you're trying to do! As someone who really isn't drawn towards custom guns unless they're understated (like that 39...WOW) I have to wonder what itch this process is going to scratch, so to speak. I've been to plenty of shooting ranges and I can assure you, any .22lr rifle worth more than about $500 gets some attention, and attention the owners seem to like. If you show-up with something really special, like that Marlin for instance, you'd have most people stopping to ask you about it. Heck, a CZ452 Varmint with spectacular wood grain an a nice scope stopped traffic the last time I was at a range. I don't have any personal experience owning/shooting .22s that cost more than about $600, so perhaps I'm ill-equipped to comment in this thread, but if you've seen/handled/shot Cooper, Anschutz, Kimber, Sako .22s and think "nah, not good/unique enough" then I'm TRULY puzzled about the kind of gun you're after.

Any Hoyt~if you throw one of those 17M2s into a Boyd's Rimfire Hunter stock...PLEASE don't post a picture of it. I have to keep my "non-custom-gun" streak going. Don't need that kind of temptation! lol
 
There's no real rational with spending $$ to have someone make a stock for you when companies are putting perfectly useable stock on their rifles... It's just like why spend $$ to buy a painting to hang on your wall when you can buy prints that will look just as nice and cost 1/50th of the price...

You do it because you want to and because you can.

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To me, spending $$ on a 22lr is easiest. Since at the end of the day, they are the rifles I shoot the most.
- You can shoot them pretty much anywhere.
- You can have fun shooting them at relatively short distance (easier to find plinking area)
- If you are close to civilization, they are quiet enough that people won't mind the pop.
- They are nice when you don't have time to handloads

And over their lifespan, the cost per bang is pretty low.
As in, a $2,000 rimfire will easily go through 4,000 rounds on its first year ($200). Cost per bang is $0.55...

Most of my hunting rifle will seldom see more than 200 rounds per year (and that's a good year). So assuming $1 a shot for reload, that's $11 per bang...

Some people will enjoy the bigger bang more, personally, I enjoy making holes in paper and getting target of opportunity to bounce around... So the 22lr is just has much fun.


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Looking at the 39, I'm starting to wonder what minimum length I would need to still fit 10 rounds down the tube, andhow much would someone like Dlask charge to make such a thing... M-m-mmmm...
 
.22LRGUY said:
Well said Hoyt.

And Hoyt~if you throw one of those 17M2s into a Boyd's Rimfire Hunter stock...PLEASE don't post a picture of it. I have to keep my "non-custom-gun" streak going. Don't need that kind of temptation! lol
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OOps... this one is an HM2! Sorry...;

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WHEW~close call Hoyt, that's thumbhole! lol Those, and the "Evolution" stocks you use allot~probably the last choices I'd make combing through the Boyd's site...just as well. :) Remember...I like understated. :)

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