Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Gene Simillion Rifles

You SOBs cause me to spend money with threads like this.

I think it would be kind of intersting, say from more of an economists point of view, to take one of these Model 70 Classics, the likes of which are used by Miller, Simillion, Echols, and a host of others, and really test it out over a few years, keeping good records of all that it does, and then going through the process of having one of the g makers, such as Mr. Simillion, do one up such as has been shown here.

The interest would be in seeing what sort of added utility the custom rifle provided over the factory unit, meaning what specific untility was provided, or what specific untilities were provided if more than one.

I am sure that the first untility would of course be added pride of ownership. That is evident from this post. And to put a price on that utility, or really any other, would of course be subjective.

But it would be interesting.

UNTILITY?

Merriam-Webster, Cambridge, dictionary.reference, nor Oxford list that as a word in the English language.

Please enlighten.

typing error. The word is meant to be utility.

I have already done that,although not to the level of attempting to quantify any of it, except to note that I have owned enough M70 Classics to easily fund an Echols or Simillion.I say this not to brag, but to show I am not too bright..and that I just like to play with rifles.

Some of these Classics were great rifles and others were pure junk. It was not easy to find one that functioned, shot and performed out of the box as well as the pre 64 M70's I have also owned.A M70 gone over by one of these guys works as well as a bolt action rifle can work;some parts are up graded and replace some factory slop. Actions are squared up,and do not leave the shop until they work every time.They are properly bedded, reliable,and accurate and will not let you down on a hunt,because they were built that way.

Spending money on a custom rifle is not a good investment;you will build high and in many cases sell low.....but it is a good way to get exactly and precisely what you want,and without compromises often associated with a factory job.

If I had devoted the funds to an Echols or Simillion in the first place,I might not have spent as much in the long run on lesser stuff.Then again, I might have....within reason,it pays to buy a really great rifle that you will use for a long time.You will likely forget how much you paid the first time you hunt with it;and over the years of use, it won't matter anyway.

Will a custom kill any more game for me than a stock, factory rifle? Probably not.

Out of curiosity, what does Simillion charge for one of his synthetic stocked semi-custom M70?

I noticed Echols is charging 15.5k for his Legend rifles.

Last time I talked to Gene, he was charging about $7,500. That is with all the bells and whistles. You may be able to get one for less if you use commercial scope rings and bases, factory bottom metal, bolt knob, etc.

Chet

Custom rifles are much like Shelby Mustangs or custom Harley-Davidson motorcycles. A Shelby Mustang may perform a little better than a standard Mustang at the extreme edge of the performance spectrum, but it will not do any better job of getting you to the grocery store. The value in the Shelby or the custom rifle is in getting exactly what you want with few compromises. You could never justify the added cost in pure utility alone.

Chet

A lot of pennies, but considerably less than an Echol's Legend.

How does Gene's rifle compare to D'Arcy's Legend?

How does Penrod compare with Simillion

How does Penrod or Simillion compare to a good pre-64 with a Brown/Mickey stock?

Gene Simillion, that's the guy from Kiss right?

Did a pre-64 come with the hand-fitted attention to detail already done?

Not quite to the level of these rifles. While I love pre-64 70's, they are still a mass production item. Gene, Mark and D'Arcy build these rifles one at a time and leave few stones unturned.

Chet

Chet, I respectfully disagree with your comment about
any old vehicle getting you to the grocery store as well as any other. I drive my Ford truck daily but when I roll out that fire engine red Corvette it is entirely different whether going 25 or 100. Likewise, the experience of owning and using the very best is nothing like using off the shelf or "tuned up" things folks here call custom rifles. Echols, Simillion, Penrod, Fisher, Miller, Brownell and others, Just use one of them and life is much improved. Of course you know this so don't concede the point.

RinB,
I understand your point. I like it. Thanks.

I hear what you are saying, but the question was whether an Echols, Simillion, or Penrod rifle yields enough more "utility" to justifly the price. There is no question that they perform better on average than an off the shelf rifle, but do they perform 15 times better? How do you measure the improvement? Is it even quantifiable? Where do you reach the point of diminishing returns?

As a guy that has three Legends and a Simillion I can say that they perform wonderfully, I have no plans to get rid of them and I will probably buy another one in the future. But, just as a lot of people cannot afford a Corvette, many good hardworking folks cannot afford to pay $7,500 to $15,000 for a hunting rifle and still be able to actually hunt with it. Those guys should get a pre-64 70 in their caliber of choice (or whatever your favorite factory rifle is) top it with a good scope and as Dober says, "Go fill arks". The elk will not know if he was shot with my 338 Simillion M70 or one of the new SC M70's in 338.

On the other hand, if you have the disposable income, by all means partake. As I said before, the real "utility" in having one of these rifles is in getting exactly what you want without any compromises. While I am not sure I can go so far as to say that "my life is much improved" as a result of hunting with my customs, I do enjoy the exacting craftsmanship that went into making them. If my customs were gone tomorrow, you had better believe I would still be out in the mountains this Fall with whatever rifle I could beg, borrow or steal and be happy to be there.

Whenever I get leaning too far off the rifle looney ledge, I think of this quote from Allen Day, who knew his way around a custom rifle or two:

Chet,
I read about the endless builds being discussed on this site and am certain the guys who do this could easily afford a legend.

Actually it would cost less when one considers scopes dies bullets cases etc which support each new "build".

Presently, I have three centerfire rifles which are used for hunting and two wood stocked Burgess/Kennedy rifles from the past. I have the 22lr which my dad gave me when I was about six and a 10/22 type which is red to match the Vette.

I do much more hunting now and less fussing about. I have never seen a hunter packing more than one rifle. I have noticed an inverse relationship between those who hunt and those who "build".

I hope this finds all well with you and yours.

Problem is most people just can't put up that kind of money or don't want to wait till they can.

And they shouldn't if they can't ....then the formula is simply make what you have as reliable as you can and Go Hunting! Go nuts with the favorite Ruger, M700 or M70 in a top quality synthetic,tune it up, and hit the hills....not to worry about what others are building.

Grieves me to report that,despite having been lucky enough to own some very fine custom rifles, the bulk of my game has been killed with common "parts guns" so hideously ugly and unrefined,one glance would freeze most rifle enthusiasts cold.

As Chet and RinB have so eloquently stated(and RinB has without a doubt owned more high end customs and metal than anyone I personally know); there is a lot of satisfaction in having a rifle that you know was built with a lot of hand work to detail;functionally and aesthetically,and there is no way you can think of to make it any better.

But at the end of the day you love the ugly,reliable one's that you killed and hunted with just as much.

Good thread and good posts here!