Why build a custom for a max of 500 yards or less today?

[wildwilderness]

I have 2 kids that shoot left hand. Not many factory options, and definitely not in the exact configuration one would want.

Other than that it's just money. People spend it how they want. You can say the same thing about any consumer product.

 

[scooter25]

I just enjoy guns. Sometimes I'll have an idea for something and just want to try to put together to see how it works. Guns are like a hobby for me. I know I could probably buy a factory rifle that can perform just as well and be cheaper but that's just not as fun.

 

[tdot]

tdot you make a valid point, are the claims consistent for these factory rifles, sure seems like it.

I do know with my guns they are consistent, easy to develop a load for and as long as I do my part they’ll do theirs.

Really I’ve invested way more going down this rabbit hole and makes me wonder if it’s been worth it. The Cabelas experience is one day of frustration, doing a build has many many leading up to completion as I swear barrel makers, stock makers etc all have huge backlogs and never meet their estimated deadlines and that is all before the smith does anything, then we have to deal with that backlog.

Now I’ll say after all said and done, I’ve not had frustration with the final result. Now that has been my experience but I’ve seen others that have not had as good of an experience with customs and have had to get barrels replaced etc so there is still a possibility of having issues after the fact.

This discussion could also be had with regards to reloading as well. The ammo available now is far superior to what was available previously. Ammo keeps getting better, reloading equipment is becoming relatively more expensive. There are matches being won and animals being taken at greater distances then ever before with off the shelf ammo.

So why reload?

I know why I do, and it follows the same logic as why I build a custom. But if I sit down and draw up a pros and cons chart, it becomes a pretty hard sell. But I still do it.


(Also, no offense intended about your factory rifles or their accuracy. It was a general comment)

 

[tdhanses]

Yeah that is very true on reloading although I’ve yet to find factory 270wsm ammo with the Berger 170’s and factory 6.5 CM with Berger 156’s. Reloading is a tad different as it’s easy to experiment easily.

And no offense as I don’t own a factory rifle, lol.

 

[204guy]

Being LH as previously stated I need to build a rifle to get something I'm even remotely interested in. But even if it's a 50yd shot I get an extra level of satisfaction killing something with a rifle built to my specs. I also haven't hunted a wood/blued rifle in a long time. Building one, even if it's ss/synth to me, puts a little bit of that soul back into a rifle over say an off the shelf SS/synthetic t3.

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[idig4au]

Some people spend lots of money on hot rods and muscle cars. Some people spend lots of money on green fees playing golf. Some people hunt international or out of state whereas other stay in state and are perfectly happy with that. Whatever floats your boat and who am I to judge why people spend money on their hobbies and what brings enjoyment to their lives.

There is something to be said with a well built, tight tolerance custom rifle. Is it necessary...no, but its certainly appreciated.

 

[deadwolf]

Josh Boyd just posted a nice review of his Lane Precision Rifle, in the article he details some of the main reason he went with a custom, his reasons echo mine. I wanted a medium action to load heavy .284’s long in a 7 saum. And being able to pick each and every part going into the rifle was key as well. Ended up with exactly what I wanted.


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[Azone]

Out of the people I know who have gone full custom for lots of money, only a couple of them can shoot pretty good. Smacking a gong over and over at 200 to 300 yards with a gun designed to 1500 yards is pointless to me.
Working up a good load for factory gun that will shoot moa is pretty doable, unless the gun is just possessed by demons. Also factory guns are leaps and bounds ahead of what they use to be anymore. This definitely brings the Mean Income thread to mind.
I guess it comes down to doing what makes you happy with your money?

 

[Carlin59]

I'll throw my $0.02 in. There is probably a subset of guys who recognize their own limitations in terms of trigger time/range access/reloading access. Maybe they don't feel comfortable with their off the shelf .30-06 and 3x9 Leupy past 400 yards, but would like to stretch their confident effective range out to 450 or 500. Realistically, this could be accomplished behind more range time with their current setup. However, they have the means to build a new gun for this new "purpose". That same full-custom build might be a 1k+ gun in the right hands (especially with handloads), but for Joe Average he prefers to build a new gun for this purpose. The gun will likely be more capable than him, but maybe it has enough features to shoot factory ammo well enough that he can feel good to 500 via requisite practice. I'm somewhat in this boat. Standard hunting setups have done me well to 400 since I started hunting. I inherited a rifle in a "Long Range" caliber, so I'm making a project out of it. I'm sure the gun in factory dress is already capable at 500, but I want to put a few pieces together to learn it and improve myself out to that range.

 

[Cwordner89]

Sometimes it’s as simple as wanting a gun that’s 100% theirs


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[Northernpiker]

I love to fondle my new fully custom rifle...then put it in the safe and take it out every couple months to get excited again. Think I'll go down and take a look at them again. It's like Pat McManus said " They seem to Reproduce ".