So a 36” in barrel would be an extra $80.
The action isn’t that much more. The pawn shop gun appears to have a Mcmillan instead of the BC or HS precision shown on their $6000 models. I don’t see the extra money

Just trying to help a potential buyer spend his money a little wiser. No reason to get taken

Chad -

The OP is “considering” a custom build through Hill Country rifles

I think the price concerns are a valid consideration and some have added their perspective on clients who will give big $$$ for rifles without batting an eye

The link to the USED CheyTac is just another data point to set expectations on what is being “asked” for on these rifles.

Apples to Apples here is a 375 CheyTac from another manufacturer at 3k less than the used Hill Country

https://onlylongrange.com/elr-bolt-action-rifle/#product-tab-description

It’s just info to help OP know what is around and for how much for his consideration - if he goes with Hill Country then it’s all good ...

He didn’t say what caliber he is thinking about which would allow for more targeted price shopping of all manufacturers .....

OP - what caliber are you considering ?

I know that, and I think the opinions stated and data posted supporting those opinions is flawed. I don't follow the reasoning on the complaining I've seen so far. I find it very easy for people to dog someone or something when they have ZERO first hand knowledge of the company and what they do. I don't create all gun smiths and all gun shops equal. Some are better than others. Some smiths do things that other smiths don't do, and HCR has done some things with rifles that are very impressive to me. I've spoken with them on multiple occasions about rifles and what they do. I know them and they have been around a long time. You guys complain about paying a little more, then bitch when that cheap company goes out of business a few years later and they can't work on something you bought from them. Guess what, the only way to make money is to charge a little more for it. Who are you to complain about a company making money? If you are looking for an Amazon approach where prices are low and products are cookie cutter items, go shop at Amazon.

I rank HCR as a very good gun smith company. I've seen and shot many of their rifles. They do very good work and are very thorough. They make unique rifles in some very interesting calibers (Their 35 HCR round is awesome!). Their price point is whatever they want it to be, but the quality they put out is very good, from what I have seen. And their rifles shoot VERY good. So, what's not to like about that.

Chad - I hear you - I don’t have first hand experience with HCR so in many respects you’re right to question the bemoaning

BUT

Once you go past the ridiculous level of pricing it sort of comes with the territory from HCR’s standpoint

Example:

Folks that buy exotic cars and high performance cars but don’t have a place to drive them 160 mph plus .... what’s the “value” in that ?

I think that is sort of where I’m coming from - how can I realize 6K worth of value when shooting 150 yards with Remington CoreLok or Hornady Match ammo.......

Answer : I can’t , that’d be stupid to use a $6k rifle for that application

Well, from my experience working for a couple of billionaires over the decades, the people with a lot of money buy what they want and when they want it.

To get into that mindset, a fellow needs to consider what amount of money is meaningless to them. To my nephew, who refuses to get a job, maybe it’s $10. At one time, back in the 80’s when I was trading oil and minting money, $2000 or so was nothing, though that isn’t true anymore. So what I’m saying is that $6000 isn’t much money to some people. If they want a special rifle from Hill Country, cost is most likely not a consideration.

I used to do business with a guy that married a rich girl, whose Dad was a famous author. The guy called me one day, wanting to buy me lunch and show me his new car. I told him I had already seen it last week. No, he said, the new new car. His super wealthy FiL, who had terminal cancer, sent him, and all the rest of his kids and SiLs a card that said “go down to the Porsche dealership and pick out a Porsche, no limit on cost”. My friend had a red twin turbo 911.

That same guy that had the cancer told me one time that he was upset at the cost overrun on his new swimming pool. He said it was “a quarter million over estimate”. He was having it blasted out of the side of a mountain in Switzerland. It was to be a huge indoor pool. I just listened. What do you even say in response to a statement like that?

The last billionaire I worked for had a huge parking lot at his weekend house in the Utah mountains. The parking lot was heated.

It isn’t the same for them, regarding cost. It was interesting working in that environment.

it's a free market

The guys that own HCR are on our deer lease, visited with them a few times.
Seem like decent guys

I use to own a high end custom mountain bike shop in Austin.
6k for a bike 15 years ago wasn't out of the ordinary... most guys that bought them were seriously obsessed with riding and got tired of the mass produced stuff not holding up and wanted a hand built frame and the best build kit they could afford.

Occasionally the uber rich guy would want one, I learned they usually don't care about "value", they simply wanted what they wanted and they didn't care what it cost. I realized one day I probably should be advertising in Texas Monthly and appealing to the guys with private jets.

Yet every pickup truck you see is leveled and lifted 4x4 with 35+ inch tires and diesel yet they dont own a trailer. etc. etc. same song and dance.

Not every. Some, big difference, and I need my front end rebuilt againnn

If you guys pitch in and buy me something from HCR, I promise to use and take care of it.

Again it’s not the price, it’s the specs and the test targets for the price.

You rich guys and business one uppers buy what you want

I just went to their website and saw the targets you're talking about. What's not to like about showing you that they shoot well? Do you know how many "custom" rifle makers tell you their rifles are "guaranteed" to shoot 1/3 or 1/2 moa? They don't send a target or anything and often they don't even shoot or test their rifles before shipping them out. I've received a few of these rifles that were never tested and they won't hold a 2-3 moa group. The rifle had issues and needed to be fixed. So, again, what's the problem with that? They are showing you their rifles are shooting sub moa, and often in the .2 and .3 moa range. What's the issue?

Take a look at the cost of a rifle from D'Arcy Echols, Waffen Jung, or Hartmann & Weiss.

It's really simple. If you open a custom shop, and you're 100% booked, it's time to raise your prices. The 100% booking tells you that you're under market value. As you keep raising your prices, at some point the price/demand curve kicks in and lets you know it's time to stop, as your booking percentage starts to fall. Simple business logic.

This man took Marketing 101. He's right you know.

Mike Lindell kept his prices stationary, expanded his plant and hired more people. He didn't take Marketing 101 and he's a multimillionaire. Hmmm?

I lived in NB for four years, and went in their shop on a number of occasions. I saw with my own eyes a three shot target that had to be in the low hundredths of an inch. Could barely tell it was three shots. The older lady that works there (don’t remember her name) shot the group with a .300 Win Mag if I remember correctly. They made her reshoot another group (only slightly larger) because they thought no one would believe the smaller group. They do good work, and they stay busy. One can bitch and moan about their pricing, but obviously they have a customer base that is willing to spend the money. More power to them. I can’t afford a Ferrari 812 Superfast, but I don’t denigrate Ferrari for building one to sell to someone who can.

I had an HCR .224 TTH and was a awesome little gun. Regret thinking to this day that I needed bigger and better

Yeh, I get their rifles are pricey. They had a package deal on their website that when I inquired about it, the price went up about $1,000, them saying the costs had gone up and they needed to update the website. That was kind of discouraging. My plan was to empty out the gun safe to mitigate the cost with the stuff that’s been collecting dust over the past 5 years. They’ve been nice enough with email communication so far, answering all my questions without a $$$ commitment yet.

And what business are YOU in exactly? Hmmm?

I'm retired.

Guess it just depends on how you look at it, I bought a 6.5 creed about 4-5 years ago from HCR and it paid for itself with the winnings from competitions! Finally had to re-barrel but easily made some $$$ on that rifle

I own more than a few HCR rifles and while they are not inexpensive to me they are well worth the money. If you price the components ( McMillan stock, Defiance or Stiller action, Benchmark barrel , Triggertech etc.) they really don’t charge that much to build it. There is great deal of expertise that you pay for, I’ve had about five conversations with Matt regarding a 6.5 PRC build as to action length, magazine, chambering even ring spacing for the scope I want. In addition you call someone picks up the phone and answers your emails that is not always the case with gun builders. They have a first class facility with their own underground shooting range and all that costs. There are a lot more choices today than 10 years ago for that type of rifle and for sure some are cheaper picking one that stands behind his work and will still be there in the future is the problem.

does any $5000. gun kill better than a Tikka, Savage, ect?

no

but it is more fashionable

If you have never shot and compared a full custom rifle with tuned hand loads, how can you understand the true differences between a custom rifle and a Savage. You don't know what you are missing then.

It's kind of like asking Jeff Gordon to go race with a bone stock Camaro, even though the same car he's racing with on Sunday is still a "Camaro", right. It's still the same, right!?