The budget custom rifle

[yorketransport]

This is just a follow up to Wraithen's thread. I said that I could build a .5 MOA rifle for $500 so here' it is. This is for a very simple gun, without optics or a fancy stock. It will be fully functional and shoot as well as guns which cost twice as much.

First up you need to find a donor rifle. For me, this is always a Savage 110/10 based gun. Caliber doesn't really matter, just be sure that you have the correct action length. (you don't want to buy a short action if you're building a 7mm Mag) This includes the Stevens Model 200, but not the Edge/Axis series. This will also work for the Marlin XL 7, but I have not personally worked with one of those. For a budget gun I suggest waiting until the Stevens goes on sale. I've picked them up brand new for $250. The Stevens will come with a very basic trigger which can be tweaked into a decent, function hunting trigger with a pull around 3#. They can go less but I'm not fond of working them that much. A better option which will let you start out with an accutrigger is to search the pawn shops, gun shops, and online classifieds for a used Savage 110/10 (the 110 is a long action, the 10 is a short action) I've bought at least 6 used Savages, with accutriggers and cheap scopes, for $300 or less. Two of those were actually stainless! The number one rule in buying a donor rifle is DON'T SHOOT THE DONOR RIFLE!  75% of the time, the donor shoots so well that I end up keeping the original barrel.

Now that you have your donor rifle you need to decide what your over all budget really is. If you want to keep it as cheap as possible, you'll need to work with the factory stock to save money. The factory "tupperware" stocks aren't great but they are entirely adequate with a little love. Knowing what your true budget is will determine which parts of the donor you will keep and which parts you'll sell to help fund the project. A factory Savage barrel is worth anywhere from $40-200 depending on caliber, contour, twist rate, finish and round count. A factory stock is worth $30 for a cheap blind mag Stevens stock, or $200+ for an HS Precision stock. Factory triggers are worth $10-30.

For a barrel, decide if you need a brand new barrel, or if you're willing to buy a used one. I've bought low round count PacNors for as little as $150. McGowan and Shilen barrels show up in the same price range pretty often. I bought my most recent McGowan (a stainless 20" 358 Win) for $70 shipped. Not bad for a $250 barrel! Most factory Savage barrels with shoot around .75 MOA with a little load development. Many will do much better. Most of the stainless factory barrels have been between .5-.75, with varmint barrels doing much better at times. I just sold a 26" SS Fluted 223 barrel for $125 and that barrel was shooting well below .5 MOA. If you want to get a new barrel on a budget, I recommend Criterions. They are a button rifled Krieger, and the same barrel Weatherby uses. The last one I had was a 26" 6mm BR (varmint contour) which was shooting in the .3" range with no load development. The price of a Criterion barrel has gone up in the last year, but new ones are about $280. I sold my 6 BR for $200. Jim at Northland Shooters Supply stocks Criterion barrels in a variety of calibers and contours which are ready to ship right now with no wait time!

For the super low budget rifle, this is where you'd stop. All you need to do now is slap it together. No gunsmith necessary! Check out this video to see how.
http://youtu.be/bsM6_J8doIE
This guy really knows his stuff! If any of you local guys need help, just let me know. I have all the tools you'll need to do it your self, and I'd be happy to help you out.

So that's really all there is to it. Here's a break down of the costs:

  $300 (donor rifle)
  - $50 (selling your old barrel. You may get more than this)
+$250 (a little more for a new barrel, a little less for a used one)

$500!

This is pretty bare bones, but it's just to show that it can be done. I've helped other people build 6 Savages in this price range. They all get tweaked, tuned and upgraded though as finances allow. Change that used Criterion barrel to a new, nitrided Benchmark, and you just blew $600 for just a barrel! Swapping out that factory stock for an XLR Industries Chasis and an AI mag or two will cost you another $900. A new trigger, $150. A T&T job at Sharp Shooter Supply another $150. More money doesn't always make the gun shoot better. Just look cooler. But that's half the fun isn't it?

This rifle was built entirely out of parts I picked online over the course of 1 year. The 28" PacNor 300 WSM barrel came off of my first $600 home build. The gun doesn't shoot any better after sinking another $1400 into it (not counting the scope), but it sure is pretty! It's still a .3 MOA rifle as far as I've shot it, just like when I first built it.


So there you go. You really can build a $500 gun that will shoot less than .5 MOA. I left out a lot of little steps, but this post is getting pretty long, and I'm getting hungr :hello:y!
Andrew

[wraithen]

So you tweaked the trigger and change the barrel and that's the semi custom? Not what I had in mind.

[FC]

So you tweaked the trigger and change the barrel and that's the semi custom? Not what I had in mind.

Truthfully those are probably the two things that would do the most for accuracy on a Savage action, I would think that a stock with good bedding and no flex would be next on the list.

[yorketransport]

So you tweaked the trigger and change the barrel and that's the semi custom? Not what I had in mind.

Short answer, yes. Isn't that what happens when you send it to smith to have the gun worked on? That's why it's only a semi custom.

There's no real advantage to having a Savage action blueprinted because of the floating bolt head. The bolt head corrects for any misalignment of the action threads. You could have the action timed and tuned by Sharp Shooter, but that won't change the way the gun shoots. It will make the action operate smoother though.

Next up the smith will tune the trigger, or just install a new one. Either one you can do yourself. Why pay somebody else to do it?

For the biggest change the smith will chamber and headspace a new barrel. With a Savage, you don't need to have this done. You simply buy a prefit barrel which you thread on and headspace yourself.

The stock may or may not need to be tweaked. All that really needs to be done is make sure the the barrel and rear tang are free floating. Bedding would probably help, but not always necessary.

You can build a fancier rifle, but it will cost you. And it may not shoot any better. I have seen guns which cost well over $3k  to put together and don't shoot as well as some of my $3-400 guns.

Andrew

[AWS]

Great thread.  I just put together a specialized target rig.  20" varmintweight  22-250 barrel used $90, SSS Comp. Trigger $90., XLR adjustable cheek piece $30. B-Square 1 piece base $7.00, Burris Rings $30. and Weaver KT-15 scope $150.
Stevens doner in 243 for $250 and the seller threw in a Leupold 6x scope because I didn't try and hagle with him.

So I have $650 into the rifle including glass and $200 in left over parts.  It will shoot .5 at 200yrds

I have Savage rifles in 22-204, 6mm-204 and 25-204, one ER Shaw barrel new, one PacNor barrel and one rechamberred Savage barrel.  All were under $500 each.  I just had to see what you could do with the 204 Ruger case and it has been fun, beyond my expectations.

[grundy53]

Nice!

[JohnVH]

looks cool, but I guess I dont get the point, just so you can say you did it yourself? My box stock $250 savage/stevens will outshoot it for half the money and no time..

But yours looks cooler.

[wraithen]

Your box stock stevens won't do it with a tricep strap. 

[JohnVH]

Your box stock stevens won't do it with a tricep strap. 

Lost me there..

Tricep strap


Stevens 200 at 100yds 3shots

[wraithen]

Think of a sling on the rifle with an extra loop that goes around the non-firing hands arm, that is pulled tight to allow more stable shooting while standing or in an otherwise unsupported position. Your current stock with flex into the next county if you attempted this.

[JohnVH]

Think of a sling on the rifle with an extra loop that goes around the non-firing hands arm, that is pulled tight to allow more stable shooting while standing or in an otherwise unsupported position. Your current stock with flex into the next county if you attempted this.

why would I need to do that? never have yet, with anything. 

[yorketransport]

looks cool, but I guess I dont get the point, just so you can say you did it yourself? My box stock $250 savage/stevens will outshoot it for half the money and no time..

But yours looks cooler.

I you're happy with the factory chamberings, then you're right. The most accurate rifle I've ever owned was a stock savage in 22-250. The primary reason I see for customizing the rifle is to get a nonstandard caliber/barrel configuration.

If Savage offered a 20" 358 Winchester, 19" 338/284 Winchester, 18" or 22" 338/375 Ruger etc. I wouldn't need to mess with them at all. It's just a fun way to have something different without spending a ton of money.

Andrew

[jaymark6655]

Just following this.   Will post my $600 and grouping pictures later (John that group is too far apart  )

[deerslyr]

Im actually doing the same thing and was going to right up a thread when I was done. Except im making an ulta light in 338 fed. I have it mapped out to put me under a grand and weigh 5.5 lbs or less (hopefully). Im going with a new stock, fluted barrel and bolt, glass and pillar bedded. I plan on customizing a hundred dollar boyds laminate into something like the savage ultralight stocks with the vents. I know that doesnt equate to less weight than the tupper ware stock, but it looks flat cool.
Im still deciding on what action though, the 200 or 10. I love the accutrigger but the donor rifle is usually 100 to 150 more. Whats your opinion yorketransport?

[arrowflinger]

Here is one I built, donor was a 110 converted to a .257 Roberts. I think I have about 900 into it with glass. I had the action blue printed.


Oh and I have a 7mm rem mag, what should I do with it? I do not think it will stay a rem mag.

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