Custom Rifle for Next Year ? Act now - Almost too late to order...

[pianoman9701]

  That looks like an amazing rifle.

[Crunchy]

McMillan stock on that beast?

[b23]

Benchmark built .338 Edge, 30" barrel. The bolt fluting and "Hunter" bolt knob were done by Kampfeld Custom.

BH, very nice looking setup and Karl sure does beautiful work.  I'm not sure you can ever go wrong with a 338 Edge either.

[b23]

This is sorta custom-ish. 

I was messing around with my 338 suppressor on my 17 WSM out in my shop earlier.  Yeah, it's a little overkill and that big ole 338 can dwarfed the gun and looks a little goofy but it sure is quiet.

[yorketransport]

What is the range in price for these custom rifles? Can someone do a nice 7mm build for under $2K?

Depending on the action you want to use, $2K is a very realistic price point. Heck, I'll sell you my 338 SnipeTac rifle for $2K if you're ready to step up to a real cartridge.

Since this thread has just turned into a shameless photo post I'll add a few.

Alex Wheeler built this one for me in 10 days. 3 days of that was working on the stock. His rates are a bargain when you look at the quality of his work.


Jim Borden is always a good choice; this one is a switch barrel gun with 270 RUM, 7mm RUM and 338 Edge barrels. I sold this one a while back but still miss it.


Grizz Precision (no longer in business) built two nice ones for me with fast turn arounds and a very fair prices. The little CZ 527 264 LBC is one of my favorite go-to rifles these days.



A little love for the classic smiths too. Someday the owner of this gun is going to try and get it back, I don't think that's going to happen though.


There's a couple more, but I don't have really good pics of them. Then there's a pile of Savages that I've slapped together on the tailgate of a pickup or the floor of my garage. They were all built for a fraction of the cost of most of these full custom builds, but shoot every bit as well (or better in some cases). Custom guns are great if you're looking for a spared no expense package. For my utilitarian guns I typically slap them together myself.

[b23]

Yorke, your little CZ 527 build looks like a sweetheart.  The stocks on both of my CZ 527's are, meh, at best but that one on yours looks very nice and I'm not really even a big fan of wood stocks.

[Biggerhammer]

Yorke,

That 35 Whelen is a VERY nice piece.

[huntandjeep]

Nice rifles Yorke. I've got a rifle built by Don in the safe.

[yorketransport]

Yorke,

That 35 Whelen is a VERY nice piece.

It's a classy gun, but I hate shooting it! The way the stock fits me, I get socked in the cheek bone every time I shoot it! I love the fact that out of all the big guns I've had over the years it's a 35 Whelen that beats me to the point of flinching.

[Biggerhammer]

I thought hard about a 338 when planning mine but the added expense and blast and the fact I won’t be hunting at extreme long range steered me back toward 30 cal. I just didn’t need the extra power. The big 338s are very satisfying to shoot and will definitely knock critters down tho!

I think that's a pretty fair and accurate assessment.  I have a 300AX (30-338 Lap Imp.) that gets shot A LOT more than my 338 Lap Imp.  The big 30's, for a do all, one gun, especially with the newer high BC bullets, are hard to beat.

BULLBLASTER, that's a very nice looking 300 Win you've got.

That's because a .338 Lapua is over rated. A . 338 Ultra Magnum out performs it just shy of a 300gr bullet, most don't hunt with a 300gr bullet and the .338 Edge flat out performs the Lapua. Both do it with out having to have the specialty larger Lapua bolt face.

[pianoman9701]

I'm jealous, you guys. Those are some awesome firearms. Yorke, I've been waiting for the right adoptive parents for some time now. I think I've finally found them!

[BULLBLASTER]

Yorke,

That 35 Whelen is a VERY nice piece.

It's a classy gun, but I hate shooting it! The way the stock fits me, I get socked in the cheek bone every time I shoot it! I love the fact that out of all the big guns I've had over the years it's a 35 Whelen that beats me to the point of flinching.

I’ll take it off your hands and smile every time it abuses me. Knowing I have such a purrrrty Classic!

[rbros]

Load development in hunting season is a pain, but I ended up like buddies doing just that as custom builds are running 9 months out typically now.  Custom stocks running 6-7 months, defiance actions as long as 9 months and good hydrodippers are 6 weeks out - after they have your bedded stock in hand.  Exceptions are the rule but plan for 9+ months as that seems to be the norm.   

Worth the wait tho !

Most of my builds leave the shop within 4 months typically but I inventory a huge amount of components 

[W_Ellison2011]

If you get the barrel you want, action you want, and stock you want i know somebody who would throw it all together and blueprint the action for a decent price. That way would be much cheaper than having a company fully build it from scratch and it would be much quicker. He will also do a muzzle break for $125-$150. The only thing you might also have to supply would be the reamer for whatever you want. He doesnt do meteic threads though but can work with pretty much any remington or savage action. He is a good friend of mine living in the graham/spanaway area.