"Kit guns" and rifles made starting with a semi-inlet stock can be had or made in shorter times then fully custom guns. One made from a "piece of a tree" is always going to take longer, but with a fully custom gun you get your length of pull, your cast off, your drop at comb, your drop at heel, and your drop at toe. Options are almost unlimited.
Wood type and grade. Type of mounts in steel brass or silver. your choice of patch box, your choice of barrel length, contour, caliber, rifling, your choice of carving, engraving, inlay work and so on and so on.
With kit guns you get what you get for stock shape and dimension. Not that it's always bad. a LOT of very fine guns can and have been made from semi-inlet stocks. But before you jump, take the time to investigate the options.
One last note. Getting a top notch custom gun made in 1 year or less is probably unlikely. Sorry, but that just how the market is. I sure can't speak for all other custom builders, but I am all the way DOWN to 2-1/2 to 3 years from an 8 year long back-log, because I stopped taking on new work several years ago. But good builders are not common, and anyone who is a good builder has more work then he has time. 2-3 years of waiting time is quite common. If asking for a kit gun build many (myself included) can slip one in the line now and then, and get it built pretty fast. If you wanted to do your own finish work a "gun in the white" made from a kit can be done in only a few months. But carving, engraving and inlay work on a kit gun takes just as much time as it does on a 100% hand made gun. NOTE, if carving or inlay work is wanted GET A KIT WITH HARD WOOD! Give up figure for hardness if you need to. Carving soft wood never looks very crisp and doesn't hold up as well, and inlays in soft wood will not hold as well.
If you can find a LH semi-inlet stock that FITS you, many builders can and will put the gun together for you and that will get you a rifle to shoot a lot faster then a total 100% custom build.
Kebler's kits are top notch, but he doesn't do anything in LH.
Jim Chamber does his Isaac Haines and his Penn Fowler (can be had rifled) in LH with swamped barrels.
Track of the Wolf has LH kit guns in the Soughern Mountain, Straight barreled Golden Age, and Isaac Haines All with straight barrels but some can be done with swamped barrels too.
Pecatonica River offers LH gun kits in late Lancaster, A. Verner, fullstock Hawken,Tennessee classic, Tennessee Mountain Rifle, and Virginia rifle. All again with straight barrels but some with swamped. With Track and Pecatonica, you'll have to call them and ask about the details concerning barrel lengths, straight or swamped, calibers and so on.
One thing that is helpful it to know what your measurements are for all stock dimensions. In kits, it's safe to say you will get no cast off or almost no cast off. But for drop measurements, you can often get quite close to what fits you in a kit. Length of pull and drop at comb are the 2 most important ones. Drop at heel and drop at toe are not as critical.
I hope the info I typed here is helpful to you.
Happy hunting.
Last edited by szihn; 10/16/20.
