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Karl at kampfeldcustoms.com,I can't understand why no one mentioned him sooner.EXCELLANT gunsmith and 1 of the FINEST people to deal with.He'll answer any questions you might have.He builds a rifle the way you want not what he thinks it should be.
Jim at Borden rifles is also 1 of the finest smiths and customer service is 2nd to none.
High dollar but Mcwhorter builds fine rifles also.

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There are so many different categories of custom builders that trying to assign "best" is meaningless. Here is at least a partial list of categories with an example builder in each category

Remington clone action
Jim Borden

Artistic/Elegant
Duane Weibe

Long range
Shawn Carlock

Tactical/sniping
Surely somebody else knows better than I

100% Functional no-holds barred safari rifle
D'Arcy Echols

Super-light
Lex Webernick/Rifles, Inc.

Other categories could certainly be added, and before anybody gets their panties twisted up, the name I listed is an example, not the one and only.

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"Best" would be subjective, but there are a lot of very talented gunmakers in the USA. A plug here for my friend Dave Norin. Some of the biggest British names get Dave to work his magic on some of their guns (his metal finish work is as close to the old London and Birmingham guns as it gets) and he is also the editor of the ACGG journal. Dave does most of his work on traditional actions (Mausers and Winchester 70s) in walnut stocks with case hardening and rust bluing.

Go with any reputable gunmaker and you will have a true treasure. Good hunting!



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Originally Posted by 458Win
I love fancy walnut as much as the next guy but basically a stock is simply a handle with which to hold a rifle. All that fancy wood, shadow lines and moldings are simply BLING that adds nothing to how well the rifle functions. That is the function of the metal work - and who well the stock fits the user.

+1
Was on a Alberta hunt several years ago.Guy from New York city had a gorgeous walnut stocked Heym bolt gun.I seem to remember he had 7 or 8 grand in the thing.
Had a bad ice storm.Weather took a massive chit on us.Had a hard time even getting around.He ended up falling on his rifle and just dinging it up something awful.By the end of the hunt his rifle looked like crap.
Mine looked like crap when I started the hunt and you couldnt see the extra dings after the hunt was over.
Bottem line.
Its a tool.
A workmans tool is going to get used.
I just could not bring myself to abuse something that pretty and feel good about it.

Dwight Scott, BR gunsmith.
Tom Meredith TM Stockworks

dave


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Some of the best don't belong, and some who belong may not be the best, but the American Custom Gun-makers' Guild is a good place to start looking.

A good question to ask any member is which other members he recommends. Those guys are pretty critical of each other's work, ethics, etc.

http://www.acgg.org


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I've had my last 3 built by ACGG members. Very good advice.

Terry



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In my mind a true custom rifle is not the simple assembly of off the shelf parts and a paint job. All have to be meshed with the upmost precision including the stock build, bedding, and finish. One simply does not buy a drop in stock if the maker never handled the metal. One should go in for several fittings as the work progresses, and when finished, it should effortlessly shoulder and be pointed on target with no effort.

I've had a few rifles assembled (and they are shooters), but am working on what is my first real custom stock. I went through the safe and picked the best aspects from over a dozen units and am putting them into this stock. I drew lines, measured, and remeasured for about 3 months before a saw ever touched the plank. I'm still working on fit and finish, but I can pick an object, close my eyes, shoulder it, and it's right on spot when I open my eyes. Another year, and I should have it finished. A 6.5 x 55. Sure hope it shoots because I have a ton of my time into it.

Last edited by 1minute; 08/09/10.

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Originally Posted by Mule Deer
To follow up on what Phil posted, D'Arcy Echols spend an average of 80 hours on each Model 70 Classic action alone, making sure everything works perfectly. For instence, his ideal (though not always reached) is to have the action feed empty cases for the round its chambered in. He also essentially rebuilds the trigger, squaring and honing all applicable surfaces and replacing the factory pins with ones that fit.

In addition he replaces the bottom metal with a magazine that's the perfect width for the round in question, and fits a custom scope mount that is machined the support the entire length of the scope tube.

That's just a few of the things that go into a "plastic" Echols Legend, and are part of the reason they cost so much. They are not just any aftermarket barrel screwed into a Rem. 700 action and dropped into any synthetic stock.

I love fine walnut as much as the next guy, and have several rifles that are custom-stocked with really good wood. But a custom walnut stock does not turn a pre-64 Model 70 into a custom rifle, anymore than dropping a 700 into a McMillan makes it a custom rifle. But it IS a Model 70 with a custom stock.


Is it hard to make a gun feed empty shells? I can do it on my Penrod custom Model 70 with no problems.

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MG Arms Kerry O�Day http://www.mgarmsinc.com/index.html


For my money (literally) it is Kerry O�Day at MG Arms http://www.mgarmsinc.com/index.html.

I have worked with him for at least 20ish years and he has done everything from accurize my sons rifles to build my 338WM.

All work has been just as advertised, accurate and rugged.

Great folks, Great work



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EDMHUNTER,

Empry-case feeding depends a lot on the cartridge, and some on the individual action. Even Model 70's vary enough that not all will feed the same.

I once had a VZ24 98 Mauser action that, when I had it rebarreled to .30-06, fed empty cases perfectly, even though it was originally barreled in 8x57. But not all military 98's will do that.

Many actions will also feed empty cases from one side of the magazine but not from the other--or not feed cases from the bottom of the magazine.





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I have to confess to having always been more concerned about how well the rifle would feed loaded cartridges. Enough so that I always test with complete cartridges and don't much care how well the rifle might feed empties. See, I've been hunting and target shooting for nearly fifty years and am unable to recall a situation where I thought an empty case was the right choice for the shot I had to make.
When it comes to custom gunmakers, there are, literally, hundreds of them whose skills impress me; a lot. GD

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Well If I had the money, I would have D'Arcy Echol's build me a Legend in 300 H+H and say good night. Or A 7mm Remington Mag. Either would be all one could ask of a hunting rifle for North America. There are some truly gifted craftsmen around. And there is one for every budget too. Dollar for Dollar the best value in a hunting rifle is Mel Forbes ware's.


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There are a lot of very good gunsmiths out there.

I have a different view of what I would like.

1) Sterling Davenport- He makes a classic rifle of the highest standards that a regular Joe can afford. Everyone that I have looked at was flawless. It is hard to find a custom maker who hasn't laid at least one turkey. I really want to find one in 338 Winchester Mag. I don't have one and would like one of this flavor.

2) Bolliger Mountain Riflery- They are just so nice. I think that this is the direction that Weatherby should have gone. Notice how many used Mark Vs are for sale. They are heavy but they are nice. You never see these for bargain basement prices but with the economic rough patch some are for sale for some good prices.

3) Mel Forbes- He makes a superior lightweight rifle for the tool process. He would be the guy that I would go to for a custom sheep rifle in 264 Win or 270 Roy. It may not be this year but it will be ahead.

4) Jules Labatchini(sic). I also do want a Jules rifle in 270 or 257 Roberts. I know that he has passed but I would like to find one during a time that I am flush.

5) Mike Connor- He used to be in Juneau. I don't know if he is alive. He knew his way around a Model 70 big bore. I wouldn't look away from his work.

7) Doug Turnbull- I wouldn't mind a 475 Turnbull in a lever for another moose and brown bear gun. Someday I will go to Africa. It wouldn't be a bad gun to take along. They look nice as well.

I don't know if I would pay for a Miller, a Echols, or a Hagn when you can almost buy an English Double Rifle for one of their customs.

Sincerely,
Thomas

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This is like trying to identify the world's most beautiful woman....it simply can't be done smile

One reason is that there are varying degrees of "custom",and the skill sets are markedly different between,say, a Jim Borden,and a Dave Norin,Duane Wiebe,Steve Heilman, etc. These skills may overlap and converge at some point, but you wind up with markedly different rifles at the end of the process.

As to "most accurate", I doubt anybody can lay claim to that any more either,at least in a hunting rifle.The techniques of getting a Rem 700 clone(even a M70 and others) to shoot lights out is pretty common today.Less common are smiths who can take a rifle and make it function perfectly,every time.

Not too long ago there was really "one" type of custom rifle and if you considered anything other than a Wiebe, Biesen,Goens etc you were headed in the wrong direction....starting in about the 80's the number of guys out there capable of that quality work proliferated;I remember attending the ACGG show in Vegas a couple of times in the 80's and was shocked at how many really top quality makers were out there.

I think this trend has continued to this day.There are many fine wood/metal/ accuracy smiths to choose from.

Just a comment on wood vs synthetics:Wood can of course vary all over the place,and I'd be the last to say that a wood stock is tougher or more durable than a good synthetic,but I have owned quite a few customs by top makers,and one of the characteristics I noticed about them is that the things never changed point of impact, nor did they stop shooting very well,even though some of them got thoroughly soaked from rain,ice,and snow, and treated pretty rough over the course of a hunt.

Point is there is a world of difference between a green factory stock,and a well cured hunk of French cut properly,laid out,bedded,and sealed by a top maker.How they do it I don't know,but I actually shot the barrel out of a 280 built on a Mauser action by Kevin Campbell,and the rifle never once required any rezero.So, just because a lot of them are pretty does not necessarily mean they are fragile to any degree,and can be completely trustworthy hunting tools.They can handle some pretty rough treatment.

Last edited by BobinNH; 08/11/10.



The 280 Remington is overbore.

The 7 Rem Mag is over bore.
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Well said.



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Originally Posted by JimBobwsm
Tim McWhorter. Most accurate rifles I have ever seen.

www.mcwhorterrifles.com




He's an outstanding gunsmith, and the rifles he builds are exceptional.


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greydog,

D'Arcy tries to get empty cases to feed because he has found that if a rifle feeds empty cases, it will feed any loaded round with any shaped bullet flawlessly as well. And some of his customers are into different-shaped bullets.


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Originally Posted by greydog
I have to confess to having always been more concerned about how well the rifle would feed loaded cartridges. Enough so that I always test with complete cartridges and don't much care how well the rifle might feed empties. See, I've been hunting and target shooting for nearly fifty years and am unable to recall a situation where I thought an empty case was the right choice for the shot I had to make.
When it comes to custom gunmakers, there are, literally, hundreds of them whose skills impress me; a lot. GD


+1
Im thinking a person ought to know what bullet or bullets there thinking about usuing and have the gun set up accordingly.
Feeding empty cases to me seems like a good case of mental masturbation.
I absolutely need to know that the loaded rounds I have in my hand will feed.
Empty ones not so much.

dave


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Well, for one thing D'Arcy's customers often change their mind about what bullet they want to use. Plus the vast majority are globe-trotting hunters who may end up using whatever ammo is locally available, because their ammo with the "right" bullet didn't show up.

So D'Arcy makes damn sure the rifle will feed anything, and has found that feeding empty cases is the best test. His rifles have a reputation of being absolutely foolproof, which is why his waiting list is very long--for rifles that cost $14,000.

Now, you may think his customers are fools, and that's your prerogative. But they don't think so.


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Butch-Phil,

I agree it all starts with the metal. Precise chambering, action tunned for 100% reliable feeding & ejection, and timed right. lastly precisley bedded into your choice of stock...wood or plastic. Several smiths get it mostly right but it takes a dedicated craftsman to put it all together in one package.

A rifle that doesn't do it all, to me is almost worthless no matter how pretty it is.

Lefty C

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