I don't need a 10 shot group with a barrel that comes from my smith. He's cut over 40 bbls for me in the last 6 years. I have developed expectations due to their performance and I'm not let down. The last 6cm prefit he spun, put on an origin and it printed 10 shots of 108 eldm 6cm factory at 5/8" shots 6-15 from the rifle. I shoot factory rarely.
Ok- neat. Saying that you don’t want something, isn’t the same as saying “I could get it cheaper”. No you can’t. Or at least I haven’t found it.
All my rifles have run perfectly from accurate, mdt, hawkins aics mags, some from AW. Once mag lips are tuned, I've never had to retune to get them right in another action. I have prob 25 mags to cover all my rem700 short action clone aics needs, there hasn't been a single one that's given me much a problem yet.
Hold on- you’re saying that you had to spend man hours making things work correctly? Novel idea.
Here's what a custom gets me personally:
Infinite options of material, finish, configuration imaginable.
Neat. so you aren’t not interested in any rifle off the shelf? Why are you complaining about something you aren’t in the market for?
But the most important when I go to Manzella Precision, Alex Wheeler or Dallas Lane, I get impeccable machine work, 0.0000 dial ins at
.0000 dial in’s huh? What does that get you exactly?
chamber and muzzle, 100% perfectly stress free bed jobs, vetted thorough assembly and fitment.
Hold on- thoroughly vetted through assembly and fitment? You mean you pay for that? How many rounds are they function checking each rifle with?
These are the things a cannot and will not trust to a man thats getting paid hourly to complete properly or to perfection.
There is one person building and assembling the Marshall.
Any idea what those three smith would charge you to run 101 rounds through a CRF rifle and two mags, and check every aspect of feed, fire, extract, eject, feed? Do they even know how a proper CRF works and needs to be timed? How much would they charge to
know (by shooting high shot groups) the exact rifle they are sending will shoot?
A one man gunsmiths entire operation rides on his reputation. That reputation is made and broken by his own hands. Observed plenty of high dollar rifles I've been around with shit bedding, crooked chambers, because it was Friday at the Proof factory? Or a hung over Monday morning at Alamo Precision Arms? Or just a plain ol random luck of draw Christensen?
Ironically I’ve used rifles from 2 of those 3 you mentioned, and a whole lot more- that had issues. GAP, APA, LRI, UM, etc, etc.
Probably because they didn’t function test them and shoot them before they left the shop.
I'm not saying my customs are better than the S2H colab. My rokstock 6cm is a Zermatt Ti3 with a 20in lt palma ace. I know the BnA trigger installed isn't Siberia friendly, it'll 100% fail before the M70 trigger. It does however feed out of every steel, aluminum or plastic aics mag I've tried. It shoots fantastic. Will it do that with an overnight coat of snow stuffed in? Idk prob not, haven't tested nor put it in the situation to see if it fails me.
So your customs aren’t better? Then what are you posting about?
To be candid- there isn’t a single R700 based “custom” action or trigger in the world that is a better field rifle than the Marshall- it doesn’t matter who assembled it. By every single objective measure of function the MRC Marhall is better- but you’re upset about the cost?
I would hope a that a barrel, action, and stock that can be bought off the internet and assembled on a tailgate with no proofing and function work- would be cheaper than a rifle that has actual hands on man hours into ensuring that it functions properly.
You may not value what is being done, but it is also disingenuous to say that your “customs” are getting more work put into them. The actions are no more precise, the barrels don’t shoot better from what I’ve seen, the triggers are not as reliable, etc.
Are aftermarket barrels a superior product to factory rifle barrels, yes absolutely.
What is the definition of “aftermarket” and “factory” barrels? What is the functional difference?
From what I’ve seen so far, the MRC barrels fall right in line with just about any “aftermarket” barrel on average. The test rifle’s last 10 round group with Hornady factory ammo was .8 MOA-
after 10,000 rounds had been fired through it. I have Bartlien, Brux, Hawk Hill, Lilia, Proof, etc, etc. None of them shoot the same ammo any better.
Triggers? When the geissele super700 becomes available again I'll put one on every rifle I owm, at that point I'll at least be on par with the best triggers available.
Yeah no. The Super 700 is the best R700 trigger on the market- it is no where near what a MRC trigger is in reliability. Let alone the actions that have to go along with that trigger.
@khuber84
Let’s start with the first step: You cannot replicate the MRC Marshall. Full stop. Being that you can’t duplicate it, comparing it to something else entirely isn’t being intellectually honest.
If you don’t like those things, or don’t want those things- well that’s different, don’t buy it. Not one person will try to convince you to buy it. But don’t act like it is some Christianson Arms, or some Lego R700 rifle.
