I am not into this game, but have often thought that very approach would be the smartest and also most economical way to do it. Complete customs when sold almost always sell at a big discount.
Maybe you get lucky and the complete rifle is exactly or close to what you want. Maybe it's some of what you want. Either way, you could either piece together rifles from leftovers or simply sell the leftovers - especially the actions.

Everyone (Big-Fitz) follows me like a redfish behind a sting ray. they are always waiting for me to buy "their" next gun

Once i buy the first part I get impatient and end up buying everything as fast
as I can. Its a sickness

Nice deal!

I usually order the McMillan and then piece everything else together while waiting. If I can't find a barrel in stock, I order one from somebody that has the same wait time as McMillan.

That would be a no. JG'S helping me build my first long range gun. A Bartlein barrel,McMillian stock, 200 pieces of lapua brass, Hornady dies, 200 Hornady.284 ELD 162 grain bullets all going to hit c.c. On same billing cycle and I'm not done yet. I hope to have it finished by the THF long range match this summer.

GOD please tell me you got a good action re; Defiance, Stiller, Borden, anything but a TIKKA


PLEASE

I'm not sure how to reply to that statement. It's all I could afford? It's all that was in stock? Per Red Chevy all it does is put the bullet in the chamber and we know he is the voice of reason.

Anything is cool a long it's not a savage

Buzz, I'm thinking you "want" a 6x47 Lapua for your next rifle. I'm also thinking you want it finished out 26" Heavy Palma, Manner's T-6A stock and a Defiance action.

Tikka's are fine, I saw that a week ago, I was kinda trolling all the Tikka, Vortex lovers on hear sorry . I wouldn't hesitate getting one at all.

^^^^^ Off camera he's sticking his fingers down his throat with the puke sign.^^^^^

Jason, it's all in the perspective...and the usage. Average Joe really has no use or no need to have the type of rifles you either have had built or built yourself. They don't shoot as much and their use is usually for hunting and perhaps light plinking...in my mind that simply doesn't justify the cost. And some of us simply love rifles, all kinds of rifles. Another reason is simply the cost...my custom/semi custom rifle cost over $6k start to finish, includes scope, and that's a lot of money to put into one rifle. Yes, I absolutely love it! I've put 5 rounds into just over a 1/4 inch and have hit steel out to 1200 yards but I just can't come to terms spending that much money on another rifle. I have thought about rebarreling and truing up a couple of my rifles but even then the cost is going to push $1k that will buy me maybe 3/8-1/2 of additional accuracy...for what I use them for. I simply haven't been able to justify it. BUT other than purchasing a few .22's and a .17 I haven't bought another center fire rifle since I bought my 6.5 CM AR which I bought just after I had my custom built. I certainly can appreciate the perspective you have but you shoot A LOT! And you have built a business off of all the shooting and the custom rifles so it stands to reason you would look at it this way but it is just not for everyone. I do wish you the best and I do appreciate all you offer!

Mel

Dangerous thing making a blanket statement like that. That us true for some people, and I can tell you with strong confidence that it is false for many others. There are plenty of shooters that are more than willing to spend more on a rifle that's great, but they've never had one in their hands, or shot one. They don't know what they don't know. Plenty of guys come to my range with plain vanilla rifles and mid grade scopes. And we push them to all they can do, and I never look down my nose at any rig. When a guy has had trouble throughout the day, I bring him my RH 7-08, and a box of ammo. "Get behind this one, dry fire it a few times and shoot a few rounds through it". They always love it. And, more often than not they end up building their own custom, or semi-custom very soon after that. Plenty of THF members that are on the list this has happened to.

Yes, $6k is a ton of money for most people. It is almost triple what I have invested in each rifle. I build mine for about $2400.

the "best" components will run around $2500 - $3000

action
stock
trigger
barrel

then you need someone to glue it all together, depending on the builders ego, you go from there

I save a bunch on the action. The rest cost what they cost.

For sure. Usually it takes me a while to even figure out what all I want to begin with. No reason not to spread out the $$ over some time.

I've got a pretty sick lightweight full size 6.8 AR project going on right now. Should be close to finishing it up maybe this month. Been collecting parts for a while now though.

Dangerous? I don't see how this could be in any way dangerous. Average joe is just that average joe...average joe isn't even on this forum or other shooting hunting forums and he only takes his gun out right before the season to "maybe" put 5 rounds down range to check zero...so why would he spend the kind of money you are talking about? In your initial statement is all inclusive...no real specifics so it includes anyone who owns a rifle...at least that how I interpret it.

As for your $2400 price...don't see it...not including a scope or one at least as good as the rifle you described, it would cost more.

Don't interpret "dangerous" as an insult.

Some average Joe's do in fact perform the exact method you described. And many of them sit in a blind, overlooking a feeder +/- 100 yards away waiting on a whitetail with a large set of vitals at that distance. Then there are plenty of other average Joe's that don't hunt that way. They move, they hunt out west where shots can be farther, they purchased nice mass produced rifles and buy ammo off the shelf, and the system does not ever perform they way they really want it to. Those are the ones that would benefit from building a rifle the way they want it.

In a round about way, you called me a liar.

Action, with trigger $550
Stock $550
Bottom metal $200
Barrel $350
Gunsmith $450
Pic rail $60
Stock pack $40

=$2200

(and you can actually take off $350 for the gunsmith, we trade work for each other, but not everyone can do that)

I don't see bedding or a finish coating which could add an additional combined $400 to $500 depending on the smith and finish.
Bead blast could be free or $30-$50 IME.

Your $2200 price should be advertised as an absolute minimum to get into a semi-custom, assuming only factory part is the action.

$265 for base and rings

$ $$$-$$$$ for scope

My Sako .300 WSM shoots better than I can. When I sighted it in, two were touching and the third shot was right there. Trigger is nice. It weighs 7 1/4 lbs. "all in". That is a big factor for me in mountain hunting. Way bigger than wringing out another 1/4 to 1/2" of accuracy with a "custom" rifle and all the time that would involve (which I am not even sure is possible-I'll find out exactly what I've got as I get more range time).

A "custom" or "semi-custom" rifle might improve on that, it might not. IDK. I hunt out west/up north a good bit. "Custom" rifles are becoming more popular, but most hunters and guides do not feel the need for them unless they plan to shoot at 400+.

Point is accuracy is not nearly the issue with most factory rifles as it used to be. Not even close. Now, the triggers can be - but that's an easy fix.

I always piece mine together over time. No way I can afford to take the hit all at once. I buy the best I can afford, and generally that isn't near as much as a lot of folks can spend. Yet, I have it pretty much the way I want by the time I am done.

For example...

I started my new coyote rifle about a year and a half ago. Bought one of those cheap Academy Rem 700 deals on a Black Friday sale for a little under $400. Sporter 243. Bought Forester BR dies, 150 pieces of brass, EGW rail, Burris Extreme Tactical 30 mm rings, and a SWFA 3-15x42 Mil/Mil Quad. That was all I could afford for a while, and that was actually spread out over 3-4 months. Had it chopped and threaded by Class 3 Machine so I could run my Sico Harvester on it. I floated and bedded it into the crappy factory stock myself. Just like that it shot pretty good, between 1/2 and 3/4 MOA with the 87 VMAX, which is the bullet I really wanted to shoot for coyotes. It does about the same with the 100 SGK.

Here and there over the last year or so it has gotten a Timney 510, and Omega, and a Stocky's LR stock. I bedded and Cerakoted the stock the way I wanted. Here pretty soon I will go ahead and have the bolt threaded for a knob. I'm still trying to decide if I want to have the stock inletted for DBM bottom metal or not. If so, I will go ahead and do that too. The goal is to basically get the rifle the way I want, then hit the next phase.

Ultimately the rifle is going to be a 6 SLR. As I am shooting out the factory barrel (about half way there already) I am saving money for the swap over. That will require a Bartlein barrel, set of custom 6 SLR dies, some new brass, and of course $500-$600 for a smith to true the action and install the barrel. That is about as big of a hit as I can take all at once so I want the rest of the rifle right before I take the plunge.

When I built my 6.5 Creedmoor the process went much the same way. It was built from a 40 XBKS in 220 Swift that I had owned since the 90's. Basically the stock, action, trigger were all there already, just needed a new barrel and have it trued and chambered.

Definitely not all top shelf parts, but generally when I get my butt handed to me (pretty regular) it is by a better shooter (lots of those, lol). Significantly increasing the cost of the rifle probably wouldn't have changed things very much. I am the weak link not the rifle.