One thing to keep in mind is that a lot of the famous gun smiths have a long back-log of work. Could be well over a year for some. Just getting a custom barrel made, by the barrel maker, can take a few months.
With the times they way they are, right now there are lots of really fine custom rifles on the used market. If you aren't terribly picky about the details, you could save yourself a lot of time and money if you searched around a little for nice used custom. A lot of times these guns were safe queens and haven't seen the light of day, so you coul be getting a practically new gun for a fraction of the price.
