Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Sisk Rifle Thoughts???

Hello all,

I made the "mistake" of spending some time on the phone with Mr. Sisk . I am sincere when I say his knowledge was only surpassed by his kindness in answering my questions. That said I am thinking about having him build me a rifle on a Rem 700, Win 70 or Howa. Those of you with Sisk rifle, can you give me some of your thoughts and honest reviews? I am thinking of building a 30-06, 270 or 308.


ddj

he used to post on here alot a few years back....believe he is still around somewhat....while i have never had one of his rifles i know he is very highly thought of by guys whos opinions i trust....John Barsness(Mule Deer) and he collaborated on a cartridge design the 9.3 BS(Barsness-Sisk) the 350 Rem Mak necked up.....i wouldnt hesitate to have him build me a gun....

A couple of friends and I had Mr. Sisk build us rifles after talking to him at the Dallas Safari Club Show a few years ago. He did a reasonable okay job, but for what he charged and looking back I would have gone with a Kimber or Cooper for the money. When we got the rifles they shot about what you would expect for the average factory rifle. What shocked us was that all of the rifles had two round magazines. Charlie Sisk has extensive knowledge and meets his time line for delivery. Feel free to PM me and I will let you know of a rising star who is now my rifle build person.

Couple of people have said his rifles are ok but nothing over the wall with incredable accuracy.He does receive a lot of coverage in the shooting and hunting magazines. He also charges quite a bit for his rifles. Just my opinion but I think you can get the same or better rifle from other smiths at a better price or just buy a Cooper

There are better options out there!!

Good guy, good rifle. I own one. For the money, I would do alot of reaserch.
Jim

I've spoke with Mr Sisk recently myself. He does offer nice looking rifles. He is personable and has no problem answering your questions. He does NOT do any work other than full customs. (No this or that smithing)
His rifles are expensive compared to the "same thing" from other sources.
If I were in the market for a really light model 70, I'd either do ALOT of research or go with a kimber Montana

I've never owned one, but I've shot two of them. They are good, well made rifles. As to price, you want to be careful there. Cheap customs usually mean the guy doesn't have alot of experience making them and you could be in for a few lessons in how such things can have problems which are "rather involved" shall we say to have fixed. I've done it both ways. And paid for the lessons, I might add.
The other thing I'd say is that people who don't have alot of experience with rifles in general and customs in particular often don't understand just what custom rifles are all about and what one should expect.
First of all, don't order a custom if you can get what you want in a factory rifle. Even if it isn't quite what you want, you can have them tweaked to get more of what you want. I've done a fair bit of that too. Worked out very well, I might add.
Second, if you insist on a really lightweight or really accurate rifle, order one from somebody who does that kind of rifle. If I wanted the last word in light weight, I'd order a rifle from Mel Forbes, Ultralight Arms. If I wanted a super accurate rifle, I'd order from GAP.
If I was considering another custom rifle, I'd consider Charlie. The first thing I'd ask him is what kind of rifles he makes for his clients. The I'd ask him what he uses to make them, and then I'd see if that's what I'm looking for. Do that with him, or any other custom rifle maker with a solid rep, and you'll get a very fine rifle that will satisfy you. E

Never owned one of Mr Sisk's rifles but if your looking for exceptional accuracy and fit and finish than I would speak with Robert Gradous!

Dunno what other shooters consider an accurate custom rifle, but I've owned three Sisks, all lightweight hunting rifles, though not as light as NULA's.

The first was a .250 Savage built on a short 700 action, used mostly for larger varmints and deer-sized game. It would average in the .3's with 75-grain V-Max's and RL-15, and shot almost as well with 100-grain Ballistic Tips and H4350. My wife won a shooting contest with it using the 75-grain load. Everybody at a prairie dog shoot got ONE shot at a stuffed prairie dog filled with black powder and primers at 350 yards. The wind was blowing pretty well, but between is we figured it out, and Eileen blew up the dog on the first shot of the contest. It weighed a little under 7 pounds with a 3-9x Leupold.

The second was a .300 Winchester Magnum on a tang-safety Ruger 77 action. I never did much load development with it, because during the first range session it shot cloverleaves with 168 TSX's (RL-19) and 200 Partitions (Ramshot Magnum). On a mule deer hunt in Mexico I sat down at a fold-up table and shot over my rolled-up jacket to check the scope, and three of TSX's touched at 100 yards. The rifle's weight was just at 8 pounds with a 6x42 Leupold.

The third is my 9.3 BS, also on a short 700. There was something wrong with the first scope mounted, but switched to a proven one for the next range session and the first 5 groups, shot with three different powders and five different Barnes, Norma and Nosler bullets weighing 232-286 grains, averaged .6 inch, with the groups ranging from .32 to .91. Once I refined the loads it averaged a little under half an inch with the same basic array of bullets. Oh, and all those groups were shot with low-powered variables or fixed 4x scopes. It weighs 7-1/4 pounds with a 4x Leupold in Talley steel rings.

I would use Chad Dixon at Longrifles Inc or 1 of the very good gunsmiths on this site,like Redneck.Costs less and just as GOOD.

That 9.3 BS sounds like a handful.



Travis

Redneck won't work on Howas/Vanguards.


Travis

Actually, the 9.3 BS isn't too bad, especially compared to my .338 Winchester Magnum, which only weighs 5 ounces more!

Pass.... grin.



Travis

Thanks for the imput guys. I'm thinking of buying one of his rifles that he loans out to the gun scribes for around $2000. Not sure I could build one for that price?


ddj

JB set you straight, that's a good bargain from what I can assess, sure you will have a good shooter. Update us.

I have well over a dozen full customs. Jarrett, Bansers, McWorthers, and none come close to the accuracy from the two Rifles Robert has built me.. �No exaggeration" They are both constant one holers.I have plenty of targets to show proof of this statement. Please talk to him. Tell him David sent you. You will not be disappointed

You must be hesitating on the price.

Charlie's is one of the best smiths out there, plus as you said you'll learn a lot.
Pick up mule deers book on ordering a custom rifle and you'll learn a bit more.

sweat the cost a bit, but not choosing Charlie as the smith / builder

Winner winner chicken dinner - can't go wrong with Robert!!