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!!

For the kind of coin Mr. Sisk gets, I'd be looking at a Borden built rifle and have a top flight custom action to boot.

Spotshooter,

The custom rifle book isn't mine, it's Charlie's. I just contributed a few chapters.

Interesting that this thread keeps going even after the OP posted that he was thinking about buying a slightly USED Sisk rifle for $2000. Apparently yet another thread where nobody reads anything except the first post, or maybe even the headline.

Oh yeah... Forgot I bought that book partially for the signature...
Still a good book of course, also gives a fella an Idea on how Charlie's standard which seem pretty good to me.

Yep, go to Charlies website and watch his video's. You'll learn something more than likely. One in particular on a CRF 45/70 feeding correctly, barrels and so on. I don't and haven't owned one of his rifles but certainly would.

I'm thinking that's a pretty good deal...

Thought so too. I'll let you know when it arrives.


ddj

By reading everyone post it seems Sisk is over priced for the quality of the product he supplies . I have never owned or fired one of Sisk rifles, so can't really rate the product or his work , I do know he gets lots of press from the Gun Rags in the Magazines, so i assume they are decent rifles , but never really knew the prices he charges to build one.

Charlie Sisk knows his stuff, and his rifles show it. For some guys, it will be the best money they ever spent.

Wonder how many here recommended NOT buying one of his rifles when they haven't even owned one?

I had Charlie build me a .300 Win back in '04. I paid $4K for it back then, that was when a Legend went from $5-$8K I believe. It was my first synthetic custom.

I wanted a Krieger barrel as all my rifles had Kriegers. Charlie talked me into a Lilja. He was right. That rifle has been a one holer for comin on a decade.

Charlie builds a solid rifle. It'll shoot and be 100% reliable.

In custom rifles you get what you pay for. Good luck.

I'd say you have to have a few rifles before you can dial in exactly with what you want in a custom job, and that is certainly reflected in the classified section here on the forum; Guys and gals constantly tinkering and trying different widgets.

Having said that as long as you do some research into who will build your dream rifle, and go into the process knowing full well it will takes a long time you should be set.

Go get a Remington 700 action; everybody likes em', everybody works on em', parts are everywhere, and you can do about anything with em'

Buy any barrel the Bugholes.com sells

Try McMillan and manners stocks, buy whatever fits you the best

Leupold scopes are bread and butter classics

Any rings and bases you like the looks of; talley, conetrol, S&K

Maybe get another trigger; shilen, timely, jewel



Go hunt.

Here is my hunting rifle breakdown:

Mid sixties Remington 700 $200 (after I sold the wood stock)

Brux tube #3 contour $315 no wait time

McMillan mountain rifle stock $550

Williams bottom metal $125

Zeiss 3x9x40 $350

S&K rings & bases $50 I think

I'm about to box everything up to send to LongRifles inc for their group buy. They will true the action, chamber the tube and screw it on, then cerakote everything. $550 with about a two week turnaround time once they receive it


That's $2140 total cost for the exact rifle I wanted all ready to hunt. Including the McMillan wait time February 27-October 1, plus the minor wait at the smith I'm looking at 8-9 months total wait time.

I don't have a Sisk rifle, but took the time to read the book he put together with a number of other rifle looneys. I was impressed with his straight forward approach, and the fact that he has conducted a number of controlled experiment's allowing one to make up their mind. He seems to spend a great deal of time developing a relationship with each customer which makes sense . By doing so he gets the custom builds to fit correctly to each customer. I think he did a great job of dispelling some of the common myths in the custom rifle world, plus he seems to have a very exstensive machining background. I think price is a very relative thing. Are his guns worth what he asks for them......they must be or he would not still be around. Apparently many people feel they are . I hope I can afford a rifle like that someday. There are some true craftsman in the custom rifle market, for what it is worth, I think Charlie is one of the finest. I think some of the other folks mentioned build great rifles as well. It's a great country where we have that type of choice and oppertunity. Goodshot

One of the things Charlie does sell is customer service. I know other custom smiths who do, but I also know some who pretty much build the rifle they build for everybody and that's it. They take the down payment, build the rifle, and ship it out.

Charlie knows more about stock fit than most, and especially more than most who use synthetic stocks. He also will work with different actions, not just 700's or 700 clones, and so knows the pros and cons of many--and what might work for a particular customer's desires. He'll work up a handload for the customer in his indoor 100-yard range, using a Pressure Trace system. He often delivers rifles personally; I know he drove at least a couple to Georgia this year, combining the trip with some other business. All of that counts for something, and is one reason he has a lot of repeat customers who've been ordering his rifles for years. I've spent time with quite a few of 'em.

Sweet! Looking forward to the pics and range report. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Visited with Mr. Sisk at the NRA Convention in Houston earlier this year. He was pleasant to talk to, but was pretty much into the tactical stocks and that type rifle. He was very honest and said that is where the money is made. Seems to be knowledgeable and no BS.

Yep, tactical's where the market is headed, at least right now.

True but that gives us a chance to get traditional rifles cheaper.


ddj

I hope so, but don't count on it.

Positive thinking.


ddj