"Custom" rifle DIY

[hawkhunts]

I am contemplating a new mountain rifle- I am considering a Weatherby 280 AI- could be a Backcountry guide or backcountry guide TI or Kimber Mountain Ascent. But neither gives me exactly what I want. I like the weight savings with the 280 in the six lug, I love the 3-position safety on the Kimber. Both have locking safety's, both have floor plate. Those are essentials and eliminate alot of other rifle options (Tikka, and others) . But I would like a faster twist rate as I have always preferred heavy for caliber bullets, and that is even more important now with high BC bullets

I have also considered having a custom built. But the price of a custom build is pushing 6k and I'd rather spend the extra $$$ on a hunt.

I recently started thinking about buying a defiance action (Rebel 3 position), screwing on a pre-fit, and doing the bedding myself. It seems that I have to be missing something. Is it that simple to just screw on a pre-fit, bed it into a stock, and be ready to roll?

What am I missing? I get it, you need some tools (barrel vise, action wrench). I have bedded multiple stocks, so I have those tools and experience to do the stock work. The cost will be more $$$ than even Weatherby Ti but still way less than ordering a custom.

Here are the bones I'd build around.
Defiance Rebel 3 position- 2k
proof research carbon wrap barrel- 1k
Peak 44 $800
Bottom Metal $200
So roughly 4k for parts- and I would have a 3-position safety, a faster twist barrel (and probably go to a 7PRC), a floor plate instead of a dbm, a stock of my choice.

Like I said- iIve got to be missing something.

 

[Frozenlead]

A trigger might come in handy.
I think you’ve got it figured out, pretty straight forward and gets you the end product you want without any compromising. Depending where you get your parts, there’s a good chance a decent shop would spin the barrel on for you if your were buying from them.

 

[hawkhunts]

A trigger might come in handy.
I think you’ve got it figured out, pretty straight forward and gets you the end product you want without any compromising. Depending where you get your parts, there’s a good chance a decent shop would spin the barrel on for you if your were buying from them.

The defiance rebel 3 position has the trigger installed already! I believe it’s a trigger tech

 

[SDHNTR]

Go for it.

 

[kodiak725]

You're not missing anything, acquire the parts and put that thing together!

 

[NWBLKTAIL]

Put it together and post up results on it once it gets some range time.

 

[BlackTail]

Not at all trying to talk you out of it but just for some perspective. It looks like you have the rifle parts list put together but if you don’t already have them, you’ll need some tools to put it together which could add to the cost. Torque wrench, action wrench, barrel vise, go/no go gauges, possible a Dremel type tool prior to bedding your stock and installing pillars, bedding compound, anti-seize, etc. if you need to go out and buy all this your $4,000 DIY rifle gets more expensive pretty quick. Some can be borrowed, some can be rented, some can be resold if this is a one time thing, but it still adds time and money. Also, I don’t think Proof makes a 280 AI prefit any longer so unless you can find one still out there, needing to have a blank chambered will also add to your bottom line. And if you do have any issues with fit or function on a DIY rifle, whose fault is it? You could be in for a few headaches if you do run into any problems.

It isn’t rocket science, and if you like to tinker with your stuff, it’s a fun project. Just some things to think about when comparing the costs of a gunsmith versus building your own.

 

[nm.otter]

Skip the carbon barrel unless you're in love with the cosmetics.