Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats What extras makes a gun custom?

Latest reminding revelation came last night as i studied the integral ejector rod housing stop and front sight base on a 6" octagon barreled 500 Linebaugh revolver, ho lee damn what a beautiful sledgehammer of a pistola.

Oh yeah, you scored with that hammer Gunner. That sucker is a BEAUT.

Gunner,

Who built your 500? Nothing as fine as a fine custom revolver. Here's my Bowen Nimrod that has since gone down the road.

The truth is; a custom rifle is a rifle you cannot get from the factory. When a gunsmith re-stocked a 98 Mauser, re-contoured the barrel, welded on a new bolt handle, fitted scope mounts and produced something which was sort of unique, that was a custom rifle. There is a long list of master gunsmiths and gunmakers who made their living and their reputations just that way. When a gunsmith re-barreled a Model 70 and chambered it for some obscure wildcat cartridge, that would not be a custom rifle but a rifle with a custom barrel. When someone sticks the same rifle into a McMillan stock, it's a rifle with a custom barrel in an aftermarket stock.
Now, when D'Arcy Echols modifies a Winchester action, fits it with a custom barrel, puts it into a McMillan stock which is made from his pattern, and tops it off with his scope mount, that's pretty well the epitome of a custom. When I put the same stock on my rifle, it's a rifle with an aftermarket stock. Even when the rifle is a much modified action with a custom barrel and put into that stock, I have trouble calling it a custom rifle; but it is more than a kit.
I have a No1 MkIII Lee Enfield which features a home made forearm, a nice LOP extension on the butt ( cut from a premium pine fence board), a Ruger pad, and fitted with a Lyman peep sight and sourdough front. Although custom features abound, I doubt that anyone, upon seeing it, would say, "Now, that's a custom rifle!" GD

Scratch your initials in the stock with your belt buckle. There ya go, "custom".

Dang Ed, that is a nice darned pistol!

Thanks Big B, i can quickly see it becoming a favorite, bullets will be here today.

EdM, PM sent, damn, i would have been staring out the window with long face had i sent that Bowen down the road ; ]

I beg to differ on Hagn actions. Martin Hagn designed the action and builds them from scratch in batches of 10. He is, now, a one man shop and when he was with Ralf Martini-perhaps a 3 to 4 man shop. Certainly not a factory.
Those "Hagn" actions built by Hartmann and Weiss are built in-house to Martin's specs per agreement with Martin. I would not consider Hartmann and Weiss a "factory" either but a custom builder or a "bespoke" rifle builder in the same manner as Martin Hagn. Both offer different configurations on the actions per customer requests as well.

Finally, somebody gets it............