I had a Cooper 52 in .30/06 made to my specs. It took a long time to be made and to arrive. When the box was opened, I saw a truly beautiful rifle with great wood and excellent craftsmanship. The test target had a bug hole group. I sold the rifle six (6) months later because:
1. It was way to heavy for a .30/06 hunting rifle.
2. The safety did not lock the bolt.
3. The magazine could not be topped up without removing it from the rifle.
4. The bug hole test target, I learned, was shot at 50 yards (instead of 100 yards) with carefully crafted handloads. At 100 yards, with factory loads, an FN made Model 70 featherweight shot groups half the size of the Cooper (.5") with factory loads.
6. Beautiful does not equal accurate or useful. So I sold it for what I paid for it and never regretted that decision.
My recommendation would be to buy a late 40's or early 50's beater Winchester Model 70 and send it to Kenny Jarrett so he can turn it into one of his famous Beanfield rifles. This will set you back $6K plus your action. Or contact Stuart Satterlee in South Dakota and have him make you up one of his North American rifles built on a VZ 24 Mauser action that he will supply as part of the deal. These are superb rifles in the $4K range.
Evolution Gun Works builds some fine rifles based on the pre '64 Model 70 action as well.
Or, you could simply buy a current production Winchester Model 70 featherweight, put a very good scope on it and have a rifle that will likely shoot as well as most customs for a fraction of the cost.
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$6000 for a "Beanfield Rifle"!!Show us picture of one!
