Upgrading rifle questions

[JGood]

@wind gypsy totally agree on weight. you can get to 10.5 fast, but please take into account that the 8.6# MPA is a 26" number 3 profile barrel. They will happily cut it for you and you can save yourself an lbs.

My point is that i dont think the "high end" factory rifles provide a better cost to accuracy ratio than the tikka. If im gonna spend $2000 on a Weatherby and make compromises, id rather just pay $2500- and get exactly what i want from a reputable (not homebrew customs) gun smith

I think the finger pointing argument is totally bogus. No major rifle manufacturer guarentees real accuracy out of their rifle anyway. Im more than confident that Masterpiece Arms will help you fix your issues than any of the big makers.

It sucks that you’ve had poor luck with $4000 rifles. Were those failures due to components or poor gun smithing?

I get that my experience is purely anecdotal but I’m 6 custom rifles in with multiple barrel changes on several of them and I have had no issues. All of the guys I shoot with shoot custom guns and I can’t say they have a lot of issues either. I can only speak to my personal experience.

 

[wind gypsy]

@wind gypsy totally agree on weight. you can get to 10.5 fast, but please take into account that the 8.6# MPA is a 26" number 3 profile barrel. They will happily cut it for you and you can save yourself an lbs.

My point is that i dont think the "high end" factory rifles provide a better cost to accuracy ratio than the tikka. If im gonna spend $2000 on a Weatherby and make compromises, id rather just pay $2500- and get exactly what i want from a reputable (not homebrew customs) gun smith

I dont necessarily disagree but that 307 he referenced comes with a pretty ideal stock and if the barrel length works, im not sure what else one would be looking for beyond paying for higher odds of a great barrel. It's completely possible that a factory weatherby could end up shooting better than a custom some times too. Expensive barrels aren't always great. I think we get too wrapped up in pure accuracy and lots of times you dont get what you pay for in that regard IMO. Beyond just the accuracy, i bet the weatherby barrel is faster and the action less prone to early pressure signs than a tikka.

I think the finger pointing argument is totally bogus. No major rifle manufacturer guarentees real accuracy out of their rifle anyway. Im more than confident that Masterpiece Arms will help you fix your issues than any of the big makers.

It's not the accuracy i'd be worried about. If someone is putting a trigger, bottom metal, stock together themselves, How that trigger works with that action, how it fits in the stock, how the bottom metal interfaces, how everything feeds, is where I'd see more room for issues. If its getting slapped in a chassis than it's pretty cut and dried though.

It sucks that you’ve had poor luck with $4000 rifles. Were those failures due to components or poor gun smithing?

One was just bad luck with a spiral fluted bartlein that didn't shoot well (gunsmith took good care of me), 2 or 3 lousy stock decisions on my part, one lousy action decision on my part, and one lousy workmanship from gunsmith.

I get that my experience is purely anecdotal but I’m 6 custom rifles in with multiple barrel changes on several of them and I have had no issues. All of the guys I shoot with shoot custom guns and I can’t say they have a lot of issues either. I can only speak to my personal experience.

I've had pretty good luck lately. One barrel had to get sent back because the smiths "saami reamer" wasn't saami. Especially when things get put in chassis or simple stocks. But i've been through it a handful of times and know how to not eff myself over a little better.