Mojave
WKR
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2019
- Messages
- 2,250
I see a ton of post about re-barreling rifles, not just here on every forum. Same for "custom builds".
The only person that can make this decision is you.
1. Because, its your money, everyone has a finite amount for trivial things like an extra rifle, a different caliber, a bigger or smaller scope, cutting weight off, adding weight, an elk rifle, and so on.
2. You have to own it. Judging by the number of custom rifles for sale on these pages, and other forums and at gunshots and Cabelas and so on. Custom rifles are usually too custom to be as valuable to another consumer, or too specialized in caliber, weight or some other metric to be easy to sell. In the old days of wood stocked rifles, the caliber alone would keep a rifle in the fine gun room vault at Cabelas for years. There was a custom M70 from the 1980's done by one of the known named gunsmiths (I think Maurice Ottmar) and it was in 8x64 Breneke. It sat there forever. Looked like a classic American M70 that Al Beisen or anyone else could have built of the same era, but it was in the German factory 8mm-06. Who wants that for $4500 in 1999? My point is that if you build some contrived 6mm-284 Ackley on an action that isn't the flavor of the day with a McMillan stock that no one else likes (Lazzeroni thumbhole anyone?), it's resale value my be diminished. The good news is that most of the custom actions, barrels and stocks are all tradable to another action, barrel, trigger or stock, try that back in the Jack O'Connor days.
3. The intended outcome may not be the intended result. I listened to a pod-cast the other day by Ultimate Munitions on the problem with people changing their mind 1000 times on a rifle order. Because it is a lot of money, and it takes a long time. So this causes issues. I have done the same thing. I took a Ruger m77 tang safety to a gunsmith friend of mine and dropped it off. He was going to build me a 6.5-284 target rifle with a copy of a walnut Anschutz thumbhole. 2 years later I picked up a 375 Ruger with a thumbhole stock made by Bell and Carlson. I think we went through 3-4 iterations of changes.
4. Parts take a long time to get to the builder. Supply chains are what they are, everyone knows this. I was really excited to hear that when Beck bought McMillan and Defiance he did it with the intention of shoring up supply chains. Hopefully it bears fruit for all of us some day.
5. People build the soup of the day. They want a 22 Creedmoor, a 6mm PRC, a 7mm PRC or whatever. A couple of years later a new cartridge makes inroads and everyone craps their pants for it. To find that it does the exact same thing again as other cartridges already in existence. Ammunition and rifle companies make money by inventing reasons for you to buy ammunition and rifles.
6. People have existential mid-life crisis over rifle builds. They objectify them and think they will solve a problem that have in their life. We have gotten so good that the average $1000-1500 rifle is 97% as good as a ANY custom rifle for hunting. I am not immune from it, I have owned 8 Blaser r8s, and I currently went through the drama of buying one here in Germany, even though hundreds of other models of very interesting rifles are available and way cheaper. I also have built 15 custom rifles mostly on custom actions Bighorns and ARCs.
Here is my take on this:
1. I would not re-barrel anything that wasn't a Tikka or 700 based clone action. Because you might change your mind. Re-barreling because it is shot out or doesn't shoot is probably justified.
2. A new barrel cost about $400-800 and the work is $200-600, and the cerakoting or whatever you want to finish it is probably another $200. You can buy a really nice new rifle for that.
3. It might not shoot any better if you are using a hard to upgrade action.
4. Your gunsmith may not ever work on it, it might get lost in the mail. I lost a custom 416 Blaser Remington magnum barrel last yea. $2800.
The only person that can make this decision is you.
1. Because, its your money, everyone has a finite amount for trivial things like an extra rifle, a different caliber, a bigger or smaller scope, cutting weight off, adding weight, an elk rifle, and so on.
2. You have to own it. Judging by the number of custom rifles for sale on these pages, and other forums and at gunshots and Cabelas and so on. Custom rifles are usually too custom to be as valuable to another consumer, or too specialized in caliber, weight or some other metric to be easy to sell. In the old days of wood stocked rifles, the caliber alone would keep a rifle in the fine gun room vault at Cabelas for years. There was a custom M70 from the 1980's done by one of the known named gunsmiths (I think Maurice Ottmar) and it was in 8x64 Breneke. It sat there forever. Looked like a classic American M70 that Al Beisen or anyone else could have built of the same era, but it was in the German factory 8mm-06. Who wants that for $4500 in 1999? My point is that if you build some contrived 6mm-284 Ackley on an action that isn't the flavor of the day with a McMillan stock that no one else likes (Lazzeroni thumbhole anyone?), it's resale value my be diminished. The good news is that most of the custom actions, barrels and stocks are all tradable to another action, barrel, trigger or stock, try that back in the Jack O'Connor days.
3. The intended outcome may not be the intended result. I listened to a pod-cast the other day by Ultimate Munitions on the problem with people changing their mind 1000 times on a rifle order. Because it is a lot of money, and it takes a long time. So this causes issues. I have done the same thing. I took a Ruger m77 tang safety to a gunsmith friend of mine and dropped it off. He was going to build me a 6.5-284 target rifle with a copy of a walnut Anschutz thumbhole. 2 years later I picked up a 375 Ruger with a thumbhole stock made by Bell and Carlson. I think we went through 3-4 iterations of changes.
4. Parts take a long time to get to the builder. Supply chains are what they are, everyone knows this. I was really excited to hear that when Beck bought McMillan and Defiance he did it with the intention of shoring up supply chains. Hopefully it bears fruit for all of us some day.
5. People build the soup of the day. They want a 22 Creedmoor, a 6mm PRC, a 7mm PRC or whatever. A couple of years later a new cartridge makes inroads and everyone craps their pants for it. To find that it does the exact same thing again as other cartridges already in existence. Ammunition and rifle companies make money by inventing reasons for you to buy ammunition and rifles.
6. People have existential mid-life crisis over rifle builds. They objectify them and think they will solve a problem that have in their life. We have gotten so good that the average $1000-1500 rifle is 97% as good as a ANY custom rifle for hunting. I am not immune from it, I have owned 8 Blaser r8s, and I currently went through the drama of buying one here in Germany, even though hundreds of other models of very interesting rifles are available and way cheaper. I also have built 15 custom rifles mostly on custom actions Bighorns and ARCs.
Here is my take on this:
1. I would not re-barrel anything that wasn't a Tikka or 700 based clone action. Because you might change your mind. Re-barreling because it is shot out or doesn't shoot is probably justified.
2. A new barrel cost about $400-800 and the work is $200-600, and the cerakoting or whatever you want to finish it is probably another $200. You can buy a really nice new rifle for that.
3. It might not shoot any better if you are using a hard to upgrade action.
4. Your gunsmith may not ever work on it, it might get lost in the mail. I lost a custom 416 Blaser Remington magnum barrel last yea. $2800.
