Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Mistakes made on custom builds??

I've only had one rifle I truly regretted. I ordered a custom barrel and what was delivered was different than what I'd discussed with the barrel maker. The email trail seemed pretty clear but they wouldn't stand behind their promise. (It was Hart in case anyone cares.) My gunsmith tried to make the best of the situation and built a good rifle but it wasn't the rifle I was imagining and I was never satisfied with it. I "accidentally" had a .220 Swift built that was too nose-heavy and wouldn't stay on the bags. Most failures I've had came down to time ... by the time the parts arrived and the 'smith could do his work, my interests had drifted onwards and the gun wasn't what I was dreaming of anymore.

So one thing to do differently is to be sure that what you're ordering is not just what you want now, but what you'll want when it arrives. Another is to find a 'smith that wants to build what you want to receive so that you're staying 'in the box" so far as his established skills.

Tom

It's usually weight, gunsmiths love to talk you into heavier barrels because they're a lot easier to get to shoot well. Building a light rifle that shoots well is more of a trick. I've finally got a couple that are just right for what I want.

I've chosen the wrong gunsmith several times...

That’s a fact. Seems like every time one of the buddies wants to build a light rifle a new Smith seems to wanna use a heavier barrel. Either cause it’ll be easier to shoot or cause they seem to be easier make good groups out of. All good till you have to hump one of them boat anchors around.

I had this issue with Hill Country Rifles on two custom builds.

I specifically told Matt at HCR that I was looking for lightweight Mountain Rifles, both came in an excess of 8 lb

Both were barreled by Benchmark, and both have gone down the road.

Ditto. Maybe not several but you would think a gunsmith could follow instructions or call you if something is wrong.

Had a barrel delivered straight to a smith and when he put it in the lathe he could see it was bent slightly - not a lot, but wobbling several thousandths. Instead of calling me he went ahead and chambered it and installed it, then told me he could see it was bent. Like, WTF dude?! Ya think you could call me so I could return it to this otherwise reputable barrel maker who would surely have sent a replacement?

Told another guy I wanted three identical stocks built off of the same pattern which I supplied - same LOP, same pitch, same size pistol grip for diameter and curvature, same same same everything and make them slender. Got back three distinctly different stocks, none of which was like the other, and all way too fat. Fortunately a fellow I've mentioned before, RJ Renner, was able to do a beautiful job of fixing two of them. The third's LOP was too short to save.

Other than that, rifles with a too heavy barrel contour were the biggest mistake.

What are the specs on it, if you dont mind. Been debating one, but thinking something along the weight of a 700 with a mag sporter contour

Montana 1999 Action, 26 inch heavy barrel in 300 H&H and a light weight Lone Wolf stock. Butt of stock is short and narrow so kicks my ass at the bench. Accurate enough.

Absolutely!

Bell & Carlson

Too heavy as many have already stated.

One that's too light for the caliber, making it no fun to shoot and flinch inducing.

Choosing something that consumes ammo/components/barrels and the expense prohibits practice.

Custom wood too nice to take out hunting and beat it up.

Blowing your budget on the rifle and skimping on the optics/practice ammo/training. See this a lot with AR-15 guys...

It's hard to beat a standard Red Ryder. Lot's of fun in an inexpensive package.

With the number of good quality factory right-handed rifles out there, I'd be hard pressed to build another if right-handed. I won't rule out a lefty 6.5 creedmoor with a #1 pacnor tube on it. Other than that, I really think a guy could save a ton and just buy factory these days.

I wish iduv put a faster twist in my 243.

Yeah it seems like both gunsmiths and some barrel makers (Kreiger) want you to use a heavier contour. I have found a consistent pressure in that direction when what always makes me happy is a thin contour long barrel. But that took some money spent to find out.

And when ordering a barrel, as mentioned before, not getting a slightly faster twist than normal has made me sad more than once.

Another big mistake I always make is counting on something to be ready when the gunsmith says it will!

not to obsess about having CRF and 3 position safety.

Flutes .. I wouldn't mind those for some chamberings... maybe .338 Fed with Rem. LVSF barrel dimensions-flutes.

Reading this discussion reminds me of several times in the past when this question has come up. Reading this thread I'm reminded of one thing especially from many of the responses- not getting your desires in writing with the gunsmith to be sure he is capable of following your instructions exactly- or as close as he can make it . Also, not doing enough homework before hand on your own to determine what each manufacturer barrel contour actually means for weight and size, what twist rate you will need for the bullets you determine up front, what stock design you need for drop at heel and toe, etc....

In order to get a custom you will be happy with all these decisions have to be made ahead of time and communicated to the gunsmith. Trusting a gunsmith to read your mind is a recipe for a poor fitting, heavy, disappointing rifle. Just about the only way to get to this point is to handle a lot of rifles until you know exactly what you want.

I've also found some gunsmiths are great at the details, but poor on the big picture. Others are good at the big picture but poor on the details. To explain, I've had smiths who build a great feeling rifle that fit most of my criteria, but the finish would be crap or the barrel channel would be cut sloppy. I've also had smiths that did great work on stocks, finish was great, but the barrel would be too heavy or action wasn't as slick as it should be or stock wouldn't fit properly even after exact specifications were communicated.

Finding a gunsmith you can communicate with and has the same idea you have about rifles is invaluable. If a smith doesn't seem to be listening to what you have to say or is continually trying to convince you to do things the way he prefers, you need to find another gunsmith. Been there, done that....

Bob

I've only had gunsmithing done by one smith who gets it correct (the others have passed away). Then again, I have largely stopped using gunsmiths for builds, in favor of using factory Savage Precision Target actions; Remington 700 bare actions purchased new; Remington 783 actions disassembled from new rifles (a real sleeper action that even Remington may not know what it has); and AR-15 lowers and side-cocking upper receivers with custom Hart barrels. The others are barreled with custom made prefit barrels from Shilen; Pac-Nor; Hart (AR-15's); and Criterion. All are fitted with barrel nuts and precision recoil lugs so no lathe is needed, and I get exactly what I want. These barrels tend to be much faster twists for various copper monolithic expanding bullets, or those compressed powdered copper, copper-tin, jacketed varmint bullets. For example I use 1:9" or 1:8.5' twist for the .204 Ruger. I also prefer Pac-Nor's polygonal rifled barrels for their accuracy and ease of cleaning. That way I can also swap out barrels depending on what I am using it for. Hart made me a 1:9" twist 24" varmint barrel for the AR-15 without a gas port to make a bolt action rifle, and two 20" .223 Wylde chambered barrels with 1:8" twist, with no gas port also for bolt action uppers. All these shoot under 0.5" at 100 yards for 10 shots, and are great varmint rifles. It takes a bit of learning, and expense for hand tools, but now I am having as much fun building these things as shooting and hunting with them.

Being able to execute well on the "Big Picture" as well as the "Details" goes a long way toward sorting out the masters from the wannabes in many different areas of life...

Weight, wait, twist and smiths. I have several nice ones, a couple which had to be redone. Anymore I would about as soon get a SPS and put a good trigger in it and run. Way less stress and hassle.