Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Most common mistake on custom rifle planning

How can shank length lead to such disappointment?

Serious question.

Weight distribution, and the fact that most shanks as supplied by the barrel maker look like stank ass unless they're trimmed a good bit.

My main problem with it is the barrel channel inlet. Longer shanks won't fit in say�..a KS stock and you'll be cutting it close with a mountain rifle pattern. I had ordered a KS stock for a 280AI build, but had to change the order to an Edge Classic when I got the barreled action back with a 2" shank.

And even if it does fit, you may lose some stiffness there because the barrel channel has to be reamed out so much.

Had the same problem with the 1st custom I had. I cut well into the gelcoat trying to get the shank to fit. That was a mountain rifle pattern McMillan. Not a good thing.

And it is unnecessary weight.

Bighorn brought up a good one. A typical modern custom rifle is usually a Remington 700 action with an after-market barrel and stock. Sometimes another factory action is used, but the basic principle is the same: Unless the rifle is put together by some "name" maker, you may have some difficulty getting much more money for it than a synthetic-stocked factory rifle of the same make as the action.

Unless, of course, you get it made in some wildcat cartridge. Then you might not get as much as you would for the same rifle in a factory chambering--and will probably have to include the relatively high-priced dies you bought as well.

A lot of people would be much better off getting their first custom made in a fairly conventional round, in a fairly conventional rifle. These are much easier to sell later when you decide the rifle didn't change your life, but another might.

Find the right gunsmith. A guy who mostly makes "tactical" rifles probably ain't going to make the mountain rifle you want, and vice versa.

Others have already mentioned this, but get every detail in writing, down to rifling twist, barrel shank length, etc.

Over the past 25 years I've had several "custom" gunsmiths offer to build me super-rifles for a discount, and sometimes just the cost of the part. Almost always they built the rifle THEY wanted to build, not what I wanted. They acted like they were listening, but they weren't, and after talking to other people ordered rifles from the same gunsmiths, they usually had the same problems.

Examples: One guy who specialized in tactical rifles promised a "light" .260 Remington. I sent him a Remington 700 short action and got a rifle that weighed almost 8-1/2 pounds before it was scoped. Another guy put a 1-12 twist barrel on a 7x57 (!!!!) because he assumed I'd only be shooting 140-grain bullets. More than one gunsmith has demonstrated that he didn't really understand how to free-float a barrel. One made the length-of-pull 14" because he was under the impression (I don't know how) that I have "long arms."

If the smith doesn't ask about LOP and other details of stock fit, he isn't really a custom gunsmith, just somebody who screws barrels and stocks onto actions. There are a lot of those around.

Entire books have been written on this subject. I have several, but the one I'd usually recommend is SELECTING AND ORDERING A CUSTOM HUNTING RIFLE. It was published by Charlie Sisk but is far from a commercial for his rifles, since he wisely had a bunch of people contribute to it. He published it because he hoped it would save HIM time, preventing having 2-hour phone conversations with his customers once or twice week after they placed their order.

Thinking that buying the best of every think of to which to build with and spending lots of $$$ will make YOU a better shooter.

Wayne York of Oregon being one. I'll never use him again.

He drilled out the aluminum pillars of a Mcmillan Edge Stock of mine and put in steel pillars and repainted the stock.
All to my surprise and all without my say so. Then would not release the rifle till I paid him for the extra services.

So, I would say giving explicit instructions to your smith.

I've noticed many smiths adding work and parts to a rifle that were not initially wanted.

Also, Building a rifle on a Winchester Pre 64 action.

Yeah, some will nickel and dime you to death with "little" extras.

I've known "accuracy" smiths who simply wouldn't deal with pre-'64's, saying they required too much work. On the other hand, many pre-'64's shoot very well as-is!

++++

Closed minded much?

Get it in writing, all of it. Let's them know you CARE about how this turns out!
Sent a full custom Mini 14 back to Texas to have the crown redone. Came back with a 6" long adjustable brake. Completely ruined the gun. Sold it.

Oh, boy, another gunsmith who wanted to "impress."

If you do not give explicit instructions to your smith, you take your chances.

Expecting to get what you have into a custom rifle if you decide to sell it, is just plain crazy.

I had a custom 9.3x62 Mauser built for my Africa trip in 2012, it was built just the way I wanted it and I have much more into the build than it is worth, but it is my rifle done the way I wanted it. Never plan to sell it!

I'd suggest if a smith can't get a custom based on a pre 64 M70 to shoot, that the problem is the smith, not the action.

Not just picking the Montana in the caliber you want, picking wood or synthetic, pick a scope and mounts.

Then all you have to do is pick a sling, if you use 'em.

If you can't get it to shoot, add a new barrel still cheaper than roll yer own.

Too much freebore, and not enough room in the magazine for Cartridge Over all length.

The above was said previously, deserves repeating for those not into safe queens.

Gunsmiths may BS you on how good the barrels shoot with their reamer, but remember, if you can't kiss the lands, then find pressure, you screwed from the get go.

I learned the hard way to get a gunsmith to run the reamer in to the depth of the shoulder on the end of a barrel stubb and mail that to me. If he takes a quarter cut on a milling machine you will have a "window" to see the lands and freebore. You can still insert a case with a bullet in it to check the exact amount of freebore and OAL as the rifle will come to you with a new chamber.

The above is where you start if you want a super accurate rifle, but it is usually just a passing question or no interest in it at all.

I had Ray Montgomery build me a rifle once, and he included a stub of barrel that he throated exactly the same as my gun so I had an easy method for measuring to the lands. Only smith that has ever done that for me.

Thinking it will do something that a factory rifle won't do.............

Most smith's will make barrel stub guage but it will cost you....

Dowling does same on each build. Those guys are buds so no surprise. Wish they were both 30 years younger as I have more rigs that I'd like Dan to build.

'223,

That's standard fare.










rembo,

I've HAPPILY built Customs to reap a twist that weren't available and chamberings that weren't available. Of course Today,there's more of each available OEM over the counter,but certainly not all dots is connected.

Have yet to build,justa' build.(grin)










'338,

Dan's work,blows Ray outta da water.

Great Plumbers abound.

Hint.