Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Build or buy a rifle

I was thinking (I have to much time on my hands) does it make sense to build a rifle. Would I be better off buying a Cooper rifle. I figure the cost of building a rifle will be about the same as buying a Cooper rifle.

Give me your thoughts on the subject.

Thank you

I like to pick out the parts...so I always build!

I personally think building a rifle only makes sense if you are after an uncommon cartridge, or want a specific twist, or barrel contour/length.

For example, I cannot see building a sporter weight 30'06, since one can be had at any walmart, but that is just me.

I think it would be hard to build a rifle with the quality of wood that a Cooper comes with for the same amount of money.

I think the same way. Putting $1000 in a stick is no problem.

If you can buy exactly what you want over the counter there is no reason to build.

Depends on what your idea of a "build" is - if you take it from the ground up (purchasing all of the parts rather than having some on hand) they can add up pretty quickly.

Let's say you want to build a good hunting rifle using a Remington action, Pac-Nor barrel, and a McMillan stock

Rem action - $350
Pac-Nor barrel - $310
Pac-Nor barrel fitting(by Pac-Nor) - $300
McMillan stock - $500
stock bedding - $100
shipping of the various parts - $100
TOTAL $1660

If you want a checkered walnut stock figure at least another $500 to the price.

This would not include anything other than a basic build anything over and above this would run the total up pretty quickly.

I just checked Gunsamerica.com and there are 7 Cooper ,model 54 (medium action length) rifles there for right at $1800, and 7 Cooper model 52 (long action length) for right around the same price range. The 52 & 54 are both repeater models, if you want a single shot in either a classic or varmint stock prices are quite a bit less.

Too me it is a no-brainer because you get a rifle with a 1/2" accuracy guarantee, a warranty, and good resale value.

Resale value on most builds is considerably less than the money spent to build them.

drover

i do a lot of my own work on stocks, and am doing my best to know my guns inside and out, so i opt to build where i can.

that said, its hard to go wrong with many factory offerings these days, provided you reload, you can get some stellar accuracy from factory rifles.

having done both many times, the issue comes down to money. If I am feeling like I owe myself something,I will build. there is a certain joy that comes from picking components, then caliber, and finish. then of course, shooting most of them is a pretty much guarantee you did the right thing. But 95% of us, including me most of the time, I will come up with some excuse that I NEED another rifle, buy one off the rack, then bed it, trigger job, and condition with bore...and guess what? for a 1/3 the money, they shoot almost and sometimes, just as well as the customs. just depends on where you are coming from, but some very fine rifles are being made today and with a little extra after the fact, they are just fine.

If you are sure you can't get exactly what you want from an easily modified factory rifle, then building MAY be the answer. That assumes you know a rifle builder who can give you EXACTLY what you want. Be warned, rifle builders often specialize in certain types of rifles. Not all of them can deliever what they claim and some do strange things that can cause problems for the uninformed.
As rule, and this is from a guy that hasn't bought a new factory rifle in many years, having his new rifles all built to his fussy ideas, a factory rifle can often be cheaply tweaked to make almost anyone pretty happy.
Another thing I might add. If really nice wood is one of your desires, I'd look hard at what the nicer factory guns have to offer unless you already have the blank and, again, know somebody who will do a first class job. E

The Cooper would bring more $ down the road vs a semi on a factory action if you were to sell. If you're like me, most rigs never leave the stable, so it's a moot point.

Yep, I build or buy with the sole intension of getting what I want so selling isn't a consideration when buying. That said, there are many factory rifles these day's that can deliver stunning accuracy right off the shelf so I don't feel the need to build unless I want something special. If you just want a good shooting rifle a Cooper will serve you well. So will a Remington and a few other brands for that matter.

Terry

In your original post, I read you have time, but no mention of patience. It will take a lot of patience having one built.

The guy doing the metal work may run late, then the guy providing the stock, then the stockmaker, then the checker person, they may all run late!

Of course if there is something in particular that you want made a certain way that is not available over the counter, you have to go for it and hope he pays good attention to the information you give him.
Happy Hunting

What are you hoping for in the build ? There is no way in hell you'll build a nice looking rifle (nice wood stocked that is) for what you can typically get from Cooper. You'll spend thousands trying to get something that looks as nice and shoots as good as a box stock Cooper.

You might also want to take a look at one of those new wood stocked Nosler customs called the Legend or Legacy or something like that.

Found a link to the rifle above..

[u][color:#000099][size:11pt]Nosler Legacy Rifle[/size][/color][/u]