Custom bolt gun options

[TN2shot07]

If Ken is the intended buyer, he has higher quality taste.

Building these with the intention of sale needs to be to tailored to the market he wants to sell in. The more expensive the build the narrower the market share.

This is a more a question of what is most sellable to grow my business.

You are absolutely correct, it depends on your target market.

What he listed would be a top tier rifle and probably not in my realm either yet. In my head if I’m looking at custom/semi custom options I’m after more than I can pick up off the shelf and would expect to pay more.

 

[mtmuley]

Hunting rifle? Keep it simple. No fluting, no extended box no rail just the basics. Solid stock, barrel and trigger. A custom action isn't required. Chamber a sensible cartridge with readily available factory ammo and components. I'm doing basically this right now. I have a Smith or would have sent it your way. mtmuley

 

[belshawelk]

For me I don't want anything that not super lightweight. Carbon stock and barrel, or fluted barrel.

I like heavy for caliber cartridges that move fast and have a crap load of energy. but thats just me.

 

[jt13]

Seems odd to make a "custom" rifle to random specs instead of being made to order.

 

[Dougfirtree]

Hunting rifle? Keep it simple. No fluting, no extended box no rail just the basics. Solid stock, barrel and trigger. A custom action isn't required. Chamber a sensible cartridge with readily available factory ammo and components. I'm doing basically this right now. I have a Smith or would have sent it your way. mtmuley

!?!?

 

[howl]

The underserved part of the market these days seems to be for guns that are lightweight and optimized for suppressors. Twist rates for longer bullets also seem to be in fashion.

 

[mtmuley]

!?!?

Hey, I have some sensible cartridges. mtmuley

 

[Dougfirtree]

Hey, I have some sensible cartridges. mtmuley

In all seriousness, if I were buying a custom rifle, I'd chamber it in .30-06, no question.

 

[std7mag]

Alas @p_ham, the custom gun route is not the everyday individual.

Going custom action, your probably going to have a base price in the $4,000 range.

Lowest priced customs that i can think of is E.R. Shaw with their Mark VII using a Savage action. $1,400+.


NULA starting at $3,600 would be the next lowest cost option for a fully custom rifle.

And those without optics.

 

[mtmuley]

Alas @p_ham, the custom gun route is not the everyday individual.

Going custom action, your probably going to have a base price in the $4,000 range.

Lowest priced customs that i can think of is E.R. Shaw with their Mark VII using a Savage action. $1,400+.


NULA starting at $3,600 would be the next lowest cost option for a fully custom rifle.

And those without optics.

Look at what Addicting said in post 17. Makes a lot of sense. mtmuley

 

[std7mag]

Look at what Addicting said in post 17. Makes a lot of sense. mtmuley

Very true.
But I don't own, or want a Rem 700 action.

Seems like if you buy a 700 action, to bring it up to what shooters want ( or expect) it to be, you touch everything on the action.

Paul would be less worked by using a custom action.

On the plus side would be that the 700 is the Chevy of actions.
Everybody & their brother makes parts for it.

 

[Hammsolo]

Alas @p_ham, the custom gun route is not the everyday individual.

Going custom action, your probably going to have a base price in the $4,000 range.

Lowest priced customs that i can think of is E.R. Shaw with their Mark VII using a Savage action. $1,400+.


NULA starting at $3,600 would be the next lowest cost option for a fully custom rifle.

And those without optics.

I’ve never understood this. It’s the hoopty effect. We’ve all seen the station wagon with a “vette motor” rollin’ on spinners. A custom rifle with a Savage action…?

 

[mtmuley]

Very true.
But I don't own, or want a Rem 700 action.

Seems like if you buy a 700 action, to bring it up to what shooters want ( or expect) it to be, you touch everything on the action.

Paul would be less worked by using a custom action.

On the plus side would be that the 700 is the Chevy of actions.
Everybody & their brother makes parts for it.

I don't want a Savage. You can't please everyone. A trued 700 is pretty cost effective. mtmuley

 

[BackofBeyond]

Paul would be less worked by using a custom action.

This gave me pause…

At what point does it turn from a custom made rifle and turn into an assembled rifle?

You can get pre-fit barrels for just about any of the bigger name action manufacturers (Bat, Defiance, etc.) so are you really “making” anything if your just ordering parts and putting them together?

Probably just pedantic AF, but a thought that crossed my mind.

 

[jt13]

I second @BackofBeyond 's point. Guns are like Legos now, putting together the same guns with the same parts as everyone else won't command much attention or a premium price.

I think @p_ham 's niche market may be putting fancy wood furniture similar to what he did to the Ruger #1 on more "modern" selections.

Picturing a short barrelled, fast twist, stainless, fluted, (insert caliber), threaded, with some fancy hand worked wood furniture.

 

[nhenry]

Alas @p_ham, the custom gun route is not the everyday individual.

Going custom action, your probably going to have a base price in the $4,000 range.

Lowest priced customs that i can think of is E.R. Shaw with their Mark VII using a Savage action. $1,400+.


NULA starting at $3,600 would be the next lowest cost option for a fully custom rifle.

And those without optics.

Alamo Precision Rifles has some starting slightly lower than the NULA, just checked when I saw that.

 

[millerkiller77]

All stainless. SA, CRF, 3 pos safety, full length fluted barrel, AG stock, Triggertech, no optic.
This is my next build,

 

[p_ham]

I'd suggest the 700 clone actions. A few more good ones, besides what you mentioned, Defiance, Zermatt Arms and Lone Peak Arms. I like both carbon fiber and fluted barrels, threaded for a suppressor of course. In stocks/chassis I prefer an adjustable cheek and an unnecessary but nice paint job.

Defiance is out of the running. They raised their prices and retail on them is $1700-$1900 now. I've used them before, they're not worth the price hike. Zermatt and Lone Peak are good options though.

For selling, I think you’d do well with the following:

Custom action of your choice, Game Warden style stock (McMillan, Manners or AG), 18-20” carbon fiber barrel threaded for suppressor, chambered in 7mm PRC with a TriggerTech trigger.

I would not install a scope/mount prior to advertising, as I think this limits your customer base. I would give the buyer the option to add optics mount and scope that you install prior to shipping.

I also think there is a substantial market for you to offer custom package build where you give an option for actions and barrels. That would give your customer the flexibility to choose from Tikka action or custom R700 footprint as well as the barrel material and caliber of choice.

When I do customer based builds we go through all their components and build to spec. There's usually a wait time involved for all the components. I'm thinking of doing a couple turnkeys for the people who just want to make a purchase.

hmmm, no one has suggested a 98 Krag yet? A 1903 is pretty passé, but you could really cut up the carpet with a custom Krag.

Those Krags are romantic. For some reason I want to do a Vetterli for myself.

I would shop on LRH classifieds forums and build from the parts I could source. Chamber it in the most mainstream caliber I could. Skip optics as that is just a way to loose money and alienate buyers. Chevy verse Ford problem

Remember this isn’t about your likes, it’s about furthering your business, and making a profit.

Also if you reach out to Pierce Engineering directly you can buy their actions in batches and save money. They are 700 CNC clones that are made to perfection.

If they have new parts on there that could be an option. I'm not selling used parts as new though. I can get most components at dealer pricing.
Pierce could be a good option, they do marking variances also.

Hunting rifle? Keep it simple. No fluting, no extended box no rail just the basics. Solid stock, barrel and trigger. A custom action isn't required. Chamber a sensible cartridge with readily available factory ammo and components. I'm doing basically this right now. I have a Smith or would have sent it your way. mtmuley

There are a few new actions I can get for the price of truing a Remington and I don't have to invest the time into it. I agree on the chambering point.

Seems odd to make a "custom" rifle to random specs instead of being made to order.

A lot of companies have "in stock" offerings.

I second @BackofBeyond 's point. Guns are like Legos now, putting together the same guns with the same parts as everyone else won't command much attention or a premium price.

I think @p_ham 's niche market may be putting fancy wood furniture similar to what he did to the Ruger #1 on more "modern" selections.

Picturing a short barrelled, fast twist, stainless, fluted, (insert caliber), threaded, with some fancy hand worked wood furniture.

Steel and walnut always sells. With the rise in popularity of suppressors, I am leaning towards a shorter barrel.

 

[longbow51]

Steel and walnut always sells. With the rise in popularity of suppressors, I am leaning towards a shorter barrel.

With Dakota gone and their replacement essentially full custom, and Cooper gone for the foreseeable future (and if Nighthawk's pistol prices are any indication, the new ones will be out of the reach of most), just an honest slick action with a good barrel and good, not exceptional wood with a test target would have you instantly busy.

 

[mtmuley]

Interesting what guys want. Some want every cool thing available. Some just want a rifle. Good luck p_ham. Whatever you decide it's a given the quality will be top notch. mtmuley