Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Which Custom/Semi-Custon rifle to buy?

How about a DIY custom?

Shilen DGR action. Made by Stiller for Shilen. Has a 700 footprint and uses any trigger that will work on a 700. Will work in any stock inletted for a 700. Has a floating bolt head like a savage ensuring full lug contact. Has small firing pin and ejector plunger holes so handles pressures well. Comes with a double pinned PT&G recoil lug and can be had with a matching 20 MOA pinned rail. Uses a barrel nut like a Savage so you can easily install and headspace your barrel (or barrels) yourself.

One of several pre chambered and threaded barrels in the cartridge of your choice. Criterion and Shilen are the most readily available but if those don't flip your switch, there are plenty of others. I have a Criterion in 6.5x47 Lapua on mine and it put six shots with two different charges in about 2" at five hundred yards during load development.

Any stock of your choice inletted for a 700. In keeping with the DIY concept, I would consider a Manners with the DBM mini chassis or one of the many other chassis. I picked up a used HS Precision that had been inletted for PT&G DBM bottom metal as an interm until I get something a little nicer for it. It works well as is though.

Beauty of this route is that in an hour in your garage you can put together a custom rifle with a precision custom action and other components of your choice that will shoot with most custom rifles out there for hundreds of $ less than a full custom and you will have the satisfaction of having done it yourself. When you get the itch for another clambering, simply order another pre chambered and threaded barrel for $300, install it yourself and start sending rounds down range.

John

This. Seriously.

Buds SS SA 308 bolt face, ~$400 delivered, Rick's Edges $569, barrel of your choice $350, Diablo's action true, barrel install, ~$350. Rock on in 6.5, 7mm, 308, 338........or there are several sako actions for sale in the classified.

Or

Tikka SS lite Wittakers or euro.....~$550 delivered 6.5-55 or 708 or? And , Rick's Edge special......

Quoting myself...this.

Agree on Jarrett rifles. I have 4 of them.

300 Jarrett
300 Winchester
280AI
264 Winchester


They are boring rifles as all of the ones I have shoot bug holes all day long. True there are other smiths that will give you the same performance for more or less money but this is the choice of the buyer and should not driven by the opinions of others who may have not shot a Jarrett.

I have custom rifles from most of the other well know custom builders also. McWorther, Gradous, Kampfeld, Surgeon Hill Country, Penrod, Borden, Banser, Kelby, KIDD etc.. They are all great builders and their rifles are lasers.

When and if you get ready to buy a custom talk or ask questions to the ones that have shot the ones that you are questioning about.

Good luck and drop me a message if there are any questions I can help you with. I may be able to help you along with saving you some money from the lesson I have learned from buying so many custom rifles over the last 20 years.

Hill Country Rifles.

Another vote for NULA. You get to choose caliber, etc. so it is right for you. My third NULA is on order, each of them significantly different from the others. If you have to have pretty wood in a heavy, shiny rifle, you will have to choose another builder.

I would figure out what you are looking for in terms of action features, chambering, stock design and material. What LOP do you want? what kind of weight? barrel length, balance etc.

Once you know those things you can see if one of the off the shelf rifles fits your desires, if not you will have the specs thought out for a custom builder.

Is Dakota off the table? I don't see them mentioned much, if ever. Any reasons?

I have a Dakota 76 African in .416 Rigby. It came with a Douglas SS barrel and consistently shoots under an inch with factory ammo. XXX Englsh walnut, Swaro scope, Recknagel QD scope mounts, all metal surfaces coated in Roguard with bolt and internals done in NP3. It has taken dozens and dozens of African game animals, including cape buff and lion. If I could only keep one of my rifles, this would be it.

That said, I have friends who have bought Dakotas and complain about the lack of accuracy. My local Dakota dealer discontinued carrying them because of too many complaints about inaccuracy from customers. This is contrary to my personal experience, however. Just saying....

BTW, I have never owned an HS Precision rifle, but have several friends who do and enjoy them a great deal. HS guarantees .5" 3 shot groups. They are push feed and have detachable magazines, two features I could never abide with on a DG rifle, but am considering one in 7-08.

This may sound a bit out of left field but, why not get a BRAND NEW double square bridge Mauser from SARCO for $349?

Dumoulin Mauser Action

Sunny Hill makes high quality scope rings for it(only domestic source that I am aware of)

Send it out to the smith or barrel maker of your choice and get it done right with a premium barrel.

Then off to McMillan or maybe Macon Gunstocks, either one will put on a nice stock for under $700.

That's what I would do anyway.

I tried this same thing 2 years ago. Sold 12 custom rifles and decided on a semi custom 270 for shooting and hunting the lower 48. Now two years later I have 17 rifles in the safe and can't break the addiction. My advice? Keep your current favorite. One the the most satisfying experiences for me was having a pre 64 300 h&h refinished by a well known Seattle gunsmith. The bore was excellent, got a new crown machined, tuned the trigger, glass bedded the stock, new matte bluing, oil finished stock, and recut the factory checkering. Loved that gun, gave it to my son

With a rifle like that 300 H&H, you wouldn't really need anything else.

Use the rifles you have now. More than one rifle is a back up for the current favorite.

The 'special' best rifle may never come!

Kinda depends on what you want, Lightweight, vs pretty wood, vs heavy semi-target rifle etc etc etc.

I would say that IMHO the best current action available is the Mausingfield. It combines the best features of other actions and is very precisely made. It fits in 700 pattern stocks so you could have a wood stock made for it or use a McMillan or other Rem pattern stock. With a reasonable barrel contour you could probably make a 8.5lb or so rifle but not an ultralight. Still the feeding, ejection, strength etc are worth it. :-)

If I had to pick one current factory rifle it would be one of the Sako 85 Carbonlites..............dj

I’m pretty impressed with a newly acquired Christensen Arms Ridgeline. Showing promise within its first 40 rounds. Might be worth a looksie.

NULAS are no where at all visually appealing to me which is part of what you are paying for with a custom rifle. If not go buy a Tikka. I would rather have my McWhorter or my MG Arms ultrallight which take a fraction of the time to build than a NULA.

Who said there is no resurrection!!!

This custom 30-06 with an octagon barrel came by chance. The shop was about to put it in the rack and I said "Let me see that rifle."

It's a fabulous custom that we only hope we will ever get by 'ordering' it!

Remington 700 KS Custom shop rifles are outstanding in ergo's, quality & accuracy, especially the ones made from about 1985 to about 2010.

MM

270 Win