Custom gun/barrel bad luck?

[Lawnboi]

I’d say my experience with HCA was piss poor. Build took 15 months instead of 6. Hard to get ahold of the whole time. Showed up with the rear action screw loose enough to take out by hand. Tightened it to spec and the bolt wouldn’t cycle because the screw protruded through the tang. The finish on the pic rail on stock was all marred up. The ejector plunger spring was too long and wouldn’t allow the plunger to depress all the way, left a swipe on the brass every single time a round was chambered. No response to this problem. After I resolved the above problems, the rifle shot pretty good. However, The reamer must have been out of spec because I had problems with the chamber. I trashed the barrel and had another gunsmith redo the entire rifle.

Mike is a nice guy, but I think he took on more work than he should have and had some sub par help. The QC was not there at all.

Very similar to my build.

Still pisses me off seeing that 1200 barrel sitting in the corner

 

[vonb]

Have you had a factory that shot worth a shit? Cause I never really have.

I have 2 Tikkas and 1 Sako that shoot well. I don’t get the velocity of a custom barrel but more powder fixes that.

 

[Mojave]

No. I have said before that I have owned or heavily used “custom” rifles built by a lot of, or most of the bigger names up to around 2016, and all had issues of some sort. The only gunsmith that I have not had a single issue with is Shaen Magen.

This is due to several reasons. First, these aren’t “custom” rifles. They are assembled parts. Second, by and large they do not get functioned checked before they are shipped to the customer. If someone wants to see an actual custom go check out Echols Rifles, Rigby, etc. Those are hand fit down to every single component, modified for the exact person, and fully function checked before you get it.

A “custom” with an R700 pattern receiver, a barrel, a drop in trigger, and a drop in stock is not a custom anymore than a Winchester EW is, or a Barret Fieldcraft was.

Before people start wailing, the Barret Fieldcraft was an aftermarket trued R700 footprint action, a drop in trigger, a “match grade” barrel, with an aftermarket stock that was fully bedded. What is the difference between that and any other “custom” being done by dozens of smiths? When I buy a Bell and Carlson stock for my Savage is that custom? What about a Savage that comes from the factory with a “trued” action, an MDT chassis and Proof barrel? Is that “custom”?

Technically it is the same as any other “custom”, however most intuitively know that it isn’t custom at all.

Rigby is not custom Rigby is a Factory rifle. You can buy a ruby custom rifle but it’s gonna be 30 grand.