Wrangler13--
For a .260, I would go longer and thinner on the barrel. Why spend extra $$ for edge construction and then add back way more weight in the barrel contour? The balance would be awful. But if you are a fixed position (i.e., benches, stands and blinds) hunter, that may not be a big deal.
To the OP--
As a budget constrained left handed shooter, I have been building low dollar customs since about 1982. I have gradually decided that you have to figure out clearly what you want the custom to do that you otherwise cannot get in factory gun; otherwise you have just duplicated an over-the-counter item for three times the money. Sometimes for me that just means I want a chambering different that is available to lefties (ever find a factory lefty in .257 Roberts, 338-06, or .416 Rem?). The most common performance profile I am building for is light weight, better (but not pseudo-BR) accuracy, and absolutely stable point of aim. So I tend to use factory actions, thin barrels (mostly stainless, but not always), and good synthetic stocks (mostly McMillan, but some Brown and Bansner thrown in for good measure.) I have therefore never sprung the money for one of the precision Remington clone actions, although I certainly see the appeal. I have also learned how to replace triggers and do passable bedding jobs, and have small number of gunsmiths I use who do a fine chambering job for not too much money or months of waiting. I scrounge for parts and donor actions, and figure that my guns cost 40% of what going to a well known gunsmith with an 18 month waiting list would charge for a turnkey build.
But my design preferences are also shaped by my hunting style and region. I just got back from a cow elk hunt that took 3 days and probably 15+ miles of hiking in steep country, about half of which was by headlamp after dark. A gun that doesn't have 400 yards of effective range or that weighs more than about 8 pounds all up tends to get left at home.
