The Ultimate Custom

[Mrshmitty]

Then you have been a lucky guy and should head to Vegas with that luck. While working at a local gun shop my faith in the 700 with the issues I saw when they came back.

[Letzgoracin301]

Any factory rifle you are taking a chance getting one that doesn't shoot.

[taliv]

I am thinking about getting a custom precision rifle built & was wondering what specs others would choose if price was no problem.

What action, barrel, DBM & stock etc would you use?

MY practical goal is being able to reliably first-round hit a head sized (6", preferably 3") target as fast and far away as possible. for fun i shoot somewhat larger targets at impractical distances too.

so MY ultimate custom is actually what i already own (2 mostly identical). bighorn action, bartlein barrel, sentinel stock with integral DBM.

however, most of the other responses are high quality as well. I wouldn't turn my nose up at a defiance deviant action. or manners stocks (especially the super light ones). always been a fan of surgeon DBM. and of course krieger, brux, etc

GAP recently announced their new action, so you might want to check that out if you're into new stuff.

of course none of that may be useful if you were thinking about blackpowder benchrest rifles.... you just looking for something cool to own or did you want to do something specific with it?

i'll offer some unsolicited advice... the snipershide and arfcom rifles for sale forums are chock full of "custom" configs ordered by somebody who had no idea what he was doing. just thought it looked cool. or liked the logo. or posted a poll on the internet? half these threads should be titled "expensive lesson" or "i wasted 9 months waiting on this and another $1000 trying to get it to shoot" instead of "custom rifle!! l00k!" and most of these threads will get bumped every day for months, even though the rifles were put together by a big name gunsmith, while other guns in usable configurations by the same builders will get scarfed up in minutes.

before you order, make sure you talk to somebody who is doing what you want to do.

[Letzgoracin301]

GAP actions are defiance actions.

[taliv]

i'm not talking about the templar/v2 which are defiance rebel/deviant (which i've owned both the defiance and templar versions of)

[mark5pt56]

My suggestion is to ask yourself what you really want to do with it. Be realistic and consider all variables and that may help you decide and choose a better solution. I would be careful with heavy calibers unless you are talking really long range and a need to deliver a payload.

Be careful with "custom" while they are great rifle choices and plenty of good builders, the return on labor isn't there. Although attractive, "do all" rifles can be good ones if built properly-which includes caliber. What some call "hunting rifles" may work in area's where you have nice wide open spots that you may have rode to with your ATV but if you actually had to hump it, it's not.

I've done some custom builds and also have/had the AI line. My advice if take a hard look at the AI AT if the weight isn't an issue.

Use
Budget
Reload?
Options-such as aftermarket, stocks/chassis, "drop in", quick change barrels With the AT-you buy a barrel, no more gunsmith voodoo fees and bragging rights that Super Joe built it.

Some things to think about. While a 4k price tag looks steep, none of it is labor and you will always have a better return, sale or held value on your investment.

http://www.eurooptic.com/Accuracy-In...AT-Rifles.aspx

[Koshinn]

I kind of really want a 2014 AICS stock and proof research barrel. So you should get those so I can live vicariously through you.

[Devildawg2531]

My suggestion is to ask yourself what you really want to do with it. Be realistic and consider all variables and that may help you decide and choose a better solution. I would be careful with heavy calibers unless you are talking really long range and a need to deliver a payload.

Be careful with "custom" while they are great rifle choices and plenty of good builders, the return on labor isn't there. Although attractive, "do all" rifles can be good ones if built properly-which includes caliber. What some call "hunting rifles" may work in area's where you have nice wide open spots that you may have rode to with your ATV but if you actually had to hump it, it's not.

I've done some custom builds and also have/had the AI line. My advice if take a hard look at the AI AT if the weight isn't an issue.

Use
Budget
Reload?
Options-such as aftermarket, stocks/chassis, "drop in", quick change barrels With the AT-you buy a barrel, no more gunsmith voodoo fees and bragging rights that Super Joe built it.

Some things to think about. While a 4k price tag looks steep, none of it is labor and you will always have a better return, sale or held value on your investment.

http://www.eurooptic.com/Accuracy-In...AT-Rifles.aspx

That's great advice. I've looked hard at the AI, GAP and Desert Tech offerings. All get over the $4k before optics. The caliber conversion kits are particularly interesting. I haven't pulled the trigger on any yet as I keep going back to how would I actually use the rifle. Example AI $4k+ and over 10 lbs and maybe .5 MOA vs $1k and less than 7 lbs and less than 1 MOA example Sako A7. I don't want to have just a bench gun but something that can actually be carried used in the field.

[mark5pt56]

A compromise may be the Tikka CTR if carrying it a bit. .260 or .308. You can add the XLR Element chassis with or without folder. I would get that over a Remington any day of the week.

[Barn Side]

I’m hearing good things about the defiance deviant action, but will probably wait until the new GAP action comes out.

I’ll hopefully be using it for PRS style competition.