do it yourself custom rifle

[huntin' lunatic]

Had my heart set on a Howa Mountain Rifle but thanks to them discontinuing them I have narrowed down my choice to two rifles. I have only owned budget rifles but want to sell some of them and just get that "one" rifle I could use for North American Big Game. The Tikka t3x superlite and the Weatherby Wilderness in .308. I have never been one to take a brand new perfectly new rifle and start adding stuff to it. But I am thinking of dropping a Timmney trigger and swapping out the stock with a Mcmillan stock. Have looked at "real" custom rifles and are way out of my budget and just can't justify spending that much on something that will spend majority of time in the safe.

 

[brockel]

Curious what your budget is?

 

[BrentD]

and your dreams are.

 

[std7mag]

My custom build went like this...
Interarms Whitworth Mark X donor rifle in 270 Win. $250
Bell &Carlson stock. $250
E.R. Shaw 1.5 contour large ring Mauser barrel. 24", blued, polished, 11 degree recessed crown. Chambered in 284 Win. $272 delivered to my door.
EGW 20MOA one piece base $40.
Vortex Viper low rings $40
Sightron STAC 4-20X50 scope $400.

I didn't need to do a trigger, as the original Whitworth trigger is adjustable. Set at 2 1/2 lb.

Obviously optics system is up to you.

I ended up with a 10lb rifle. But one that shoots extremely well, that fits me, in a caliber/ barrel length that i wanted.
Had i to do it again it would be different.

Oh, wait....
I did...
Stevens 200 in 7mm-08. $200
Boyds Varmint stock. $200 by time LOP and some other things were done.
E.R. Shaw 24" Savage sporter barrel, polished, blued. Chambered in 250 Savage. Over run special $100.
EGW 0MOA one piece base $40
4-12X40 Redfield Revenge with Varmint Accuranger reticle. Special $112.
My go to coyote rifle. Want to try deer with it.

Also note i did not add gunsmithing costs. This is due to me doing my own work.

 

[pgidley]

There isn't much to gain by swapping out parts on the Tikka. The trigger is great, and the stock is decent. A wildcat composites stock would shave a bit of weight. I may go that route eventually with mine. If you want to build up a custom, I'd look for a donor action and go from there.

 

[Tjay]

Or just buy one of these.

https://barrett.net/firearms/fieldcraft/

 

[Bambistew]

There isn't much to gain by swapping out parts on the Tikka. The trigger is great, and the stock is decent. A wildcat composites stock would shave a bit of weight. I may go that route eventually with mine. If you want to build up a custom, I'd look for a donor action and go from there.

Buddy of mine put his Tika in a Wildcat, they are light, and nice, but are not any more/less rigid than the composite.

 

[noharleyyet]

Hard to beat a trued/squared 700 action married to a quality barrel actuated by a Timney bedded to an Edge.

 

[mtmuley]

Hard to beat a trued/squared 700 action married to a quality barrel actuated by a Timney bedded to an Edge.

Red Hawk rifles used to have package 700 kits with trued action, barrel, trigger and stock. Assembly required. mtmuley

 

[jryoung]

Hard to beat a trued/squared 700 action married to a quality barrel actuated by a Timney bedded to an Edge.

Been there, done that, and doing it again soon.

 

[gutshootem]

Or just buy one of these.

https://barrett.net/firearms/fieldcraft/

That's what I just did. Hoping to get it out to the range this week.

 

[homers]

or ER Shaw

 

[huntin' lunatic]

Thanks. Didn't know if anything could be gained by doing that.

There isn't much to gain by swapping out parts on the Tikka. The trigger is great, and the stock is decent. A wildcat composites stock would shave a bit of weight. I may go that route eventually with mine. If you want to build up a custom, I'd look for a donor action and go from there.

 

[huntin' lunatic]

HMMMM, i may need to look into those. thanks,

Or just buy one of these.

https://barrett.net/firearms/fieldcraft/

 

[ImBillT]

You won’t be disappointed in a McMillan stock. Personally I’d go with a Rem700 doner gun. It’s juts easier to find parts. Other would recommend Savage, and they certainly have an advantage in a smithless barrel swap. I’d also go with a Jewel trigger if you’re going to replace the trigger. They aren’t that much more expensive and they are that much better. I didn’t believe it till I finally bought one. They really are better than the cheaper aftermarket triggers. I have a Sightron S-TAC 4-20X on my current hunting gun, and it has excellent glass, excellent adjustments etc. and is an incredible value for the price, however, it’s stinkin huge. If you could spend more money, I’d buy a more compact scope. If you can’t, I second the recommendation. It’s a great scope for the money.

Don’t let my recommendation of the 700 or Savage push you away from a Tikka or Weatherby. It’s easier to find aftermarket parts for a 700 or a Savage, especially on the secondary market, but the Tika and Weatherby are fine guns. Another thing to consider is how you’re acquiring the gun you’re starting with. If you’re buying s whole gun and replacing the stock, trigger, and barrel, a base gun whose stock, trigger and barrel have value on the secondary market can get you into an action for less than a gun whose parts no one wants to buy. On the other hand if you aren’t going to rebarrel, Howa barreled actions can be purchased quite reasonably.

 

[coleslaw]

Lot's of guys been getting into the Tikka craze lately it seems. People seem to be really fond of their actions, but it is kind of hard to find a standalone action or even barreled actions for them. Howa barreled actions would be a great choice. Sometimes they go on sale at certain distributors for very low prices.
That Barrett looks nice, but it is a $1500 rifle if your budget can handle that.

 

[Fire_9]

You won’t be disappointed in a McMillan stock. Personally I’d go with a Rem700 doner gun. It’s juts easier to find parts. Other would recommend Savage, and they certainly have an advantage in a smithless barrel swap. I’d also go with a Jewel trigger if you’re going to replace the trigger. They aren’t that much more expensive and they are that much better. I didn’t believe it till I finally bought one. They really are better than the cheaper aftermarket triggers.

You can actually do smithless barrel swaps with the 700’s as well. Lots of places offer remage barrels and it’s the same concept as a savage swap. For a hunting gun I’d steer clear of a jewel. They’re sweet triggers no doubt but they’re no as robust as others. From what I’ve heard, go with trigger tech if you want the best of both worlds

 

[AssawomanGunsmith]

My go to actions for building would be rem 700, savage or a mauser 98. Depending on caliber you can go with a remage for the rem or a swap out on the savage and a short chambered barrel on the mauser that you can finish with hand reaming and gauges.

 

[BuzzH]

You can actually do smithless barrel swaps with the 700’s as well. Lots of places offer remage barrels and it’s the same concept as a savage swap. For a hunting gun I’d steer clear of a jewel. They’re sweet triggers no doubt but they’re no as robust as others. From what I’ve heard, go with trigger tech if you want the best of both worlds

I agree on the jewel...I don't like them at all. IMO, timney, rifle basix, and even a properly worked over Remington factory trigger are better for hunting rifles. Trigger tech are awesome, but only available for rem 700 and AR's IIRC?

 

[OhHeyThereBen]

From the looks of things, I don't think it could get any easier than a Savage if you're wanting to do a barrel swap yourself. If not, there's really nothing holding you back on any of the others. I will say that I now own a rifle with the AccuTrigger and the thing is amazing. I haven't shot any of the others mentioned above, but if you can find a Savage action with that trigger on it, you can forget about upgrading it. I did tune my Winchester 70 trigger to be quite nice. But it's still nothing like the Savage.