Im getting interested in putting together a rifle. Im completely new at it and looking for some insight on what the order of operations are. Where to get the parts. What different options I have in the process. Can educate me on it and start the conversation about it for others too. Thanks.

Pick your bullet.
Decide how fast you want it to go.
Decide what barrel length you want.
That will all help pick your cartridge.

Barrel contour. Do you want a heavy barrel for extended shot strings, or a lightweight barrel for carrying and hunting? Or do you want something in between?

Look at actions that suite you well. If you're going all in, it makes more sense to buy a custom action, or for money savings and a great action, a Tikka action re-purposed. Unless it's a long action magnum. Their feed ramp can hand-cuff you.

You might as well plan on a great trigger. Trigger Tech and Timney are the only two brands I consider. What weight trigger pull do you want?

Look at stocks you like.

What type or magazine? Hinged floor plate? Detachable bottom metal? Flush mount mag? Or a 5 or 10 round A.I. mag that hangs down?

Brake on the muzzle? Suppressor on the muzzle? Nothing on the muzzle?

What Cerakote colors do you want on the barreled action and on the stock?

What is your budget?
What are you using it for? Multitasker rifles are seldom optional for anything.

I’ve never had a custom rifle built myself but my thoughts are why would you build a custom? I feel like unless you have an extra $4000-$5000 laying around, you probably can’t have one built that will out shoot some of the nice factory rifle.

Bergara Premier series, Tikka CTR with stock upgrade, Sig Cross chassis rifles are just some that are going to be hard to beat.

You most certainly can have one built that will out shoot a factory rifle. Which is why custom rifle builders are many months, if not years back-logged.

In a custom, you get every single detail exactly like you want it. You sacrifice no feature as "close enough". Which is why the first time a man goes down the path of the custom rifle, his eyes are opened. And that first one turns into more of them.

Budget and purpose are big questions here. Don’t be afraid to give a budget, I’ll give you a 10k build without any directions. Lol

I agree it can be done but at a cost, high cost. If you have a half moa rifle at $2500 what are you going to gain at $5000. Is it worth it?

This is an average shooter web site, most shooters are probably average at best with a few better than average and a couple exceptional. Without knowing what he’s looking for that’s the best I had.

Based on his title and post he’s not interested in a factory rifle.

One thing I gained was left bolt right eject. That’s without discussing accuracy, ergonomics, etc

Like anything, and I mean anything, generally, money can get you bigger better things. If he has it; go for it. That second thought, do you need it…that’s a big question. I’ve got some very expensive stupid things, that I cannot use to their full potential, but I’ve got that gene. He can filter and get some good advice from these custom gun guys.

Several factors have gone right over your head, without notice. As I mentioned before. Cartridge, barrel length, twist rate, flutes yes/no, muzzle device, weight of the rifle, type of bottom metal, stock color(s), barrel color(s). All are factors in the custom rifle build.

All of them are selected prior to ever squeezing the trigger. Those are taken care of, build to suit. As well as premium parts, machining, and finish work to ensure it also shoots exceptionally well.

Going back and forth when the OP hasn't returned to answer the build questions is kinda sad. Talking about what he needs before finding out what he wants is futile.

For anyone else looking at this thread - it's actually super easy to put one together (with the help of a gunsmith or lathe). In the style of J.G.:

Pick your cartridge
Pick your action (w/ correct bolt face)
Pick your trigger
Pick your stock/chassis
Order your barrel
Slap it all together and shoot!

Different actions offer various features, but the basic Remington 700 action is still a great choice. And in some cases you can grab an ADL on sale for a great donor action w/ basic trigger already installed. Your gunsmith can essentially just spin off the factory barrel and throw on your chosen replacement.

Most more expensive actions are machined to very tight tolerances and barrel manufacturers can offer shouldered, headspaced "prefits" where all you have to do is torque them into the receiver and your headspace is set perfectly. No headspace gauges necessary, just a barrel clamp and an action wrench. This is not possible with stock Remington 700 actions, so that's one possible ding against them. However, using a "remage" barrel is an easy alternative to this where the barrel is simply screwed into the receiver until the headspace is set, and then a barrel nut is tightened to hold it in place. Some people don't like the look of the barrel nut, but it really is a good solution as evidenced by all the Savages out there. I have a build using a Remage-style barrel that will shoot absolutely lights out.

You can get your barrel from all sorts of places like Patriot Valley Arms, X-Caliber, etc, etc. They'll chamber it, and you can specify what action you want it to fit, or if you want Remage/Savage. Choose your length, barrel profile, and muzzle threads. Wait a couple months, and then you can take it right to the gunsmith for installation. You can also buy a barrel blank from someone like Krieger or Bartlein if your gunsmith is capable of chambering a barrel, but I wouldn't trust any old yahoo to do that work.

Expect to pay ~$500 for a stock Remington action, $700 for one that is blueprinted, ~$650 for an Aero Solus, and $900+ minimum for a premium action like an ARC Coup de Grace, Impact, Defiance, or other. Expect to pay $500-$800 for the barrel, and a bit more for installation, or do it yourself with $200 in tools.

I'll be honest, though: It would be stupid to do this and then shoot factory ammo through it. When guns like the Savage 110 Elite Precision, Aero Solus, Bergara Premier series, etc all exist, you will likely not put together a custom/semi-custom for cheaper. And while there is something to be said for having the exact build you want even with superfluous bs like barrel fluting, the real advantage is accuracy. And to not maximize the accuracy potential through reloading is kind of silly.

Barrel twist, chamber caveats,overall weight, action types, balance etc. Also for alot of builders $5k would include load work up.

A lot of people dog on the Gunwerks, Redrock, MOA, etc $10k type package deals, but if you have the coin what’s wrong with one stop shop for everrrry thing to your spec. Grab, verify zero, kill

I'm on both sides of this slippery slope (not a roof).

1. Custom rifles are great but can get VERY pricey. If you have the budget and want to compete or hunt at extreme range, then a custom could be your answer.

2. For a +/- 400 yard shooter, there are many factory rifles which can do this with premium factory ammo.


your choice.

sorry, I don't have one for sale right now

A friend of mine had me build a full rig for an employee of his last year. We did cross the $10K mark.

However, every part was some of the best on my market. And when you do that, the ticker tape on the register adds up. Action $1400, barrel $450, stock $650, bottom metal $250, trigger $200, rings $175, scope $2000. Brass, primers, powder, bullets are more parts. No labor costs have been mentioned yet. What he went home with was a scoped rifle, with load development, DOPE to 800 yards, and 200 rounds of ammunition that had an ES of 12 fps. It's a system, and the system works perfect.

I bet most THF members can look in their safe and see ten one thousand dollar rigs.

Buying a custom 2nd hand is the best. Got my $3.5k McWhorter for $1500.

was it mine?

^^^ those deals are out there but you have to be really patient…there was an Origin in the classifieds in 6 Gaymoor this week for $2600, it was the deal of the week.

You can get customs done pretty easily for less than $4k. I have a brand new custom 7prc sitting in my safe right now built with top of the line products for $3800…I built it to sell. Defiance Anti, McMillan Game Hunter, Carbon Six barrel, Trigger Tech Diamond, Hawkins bottom metal. I’m not advertising, just showing you whats possible if you look around.

I don’t mess with factory actions…I’ve done more than a few but by the time I would charge what they are worth to true up…you might as well buy a decent custom around 1k…fortunately we have lots of options in that neighborhood…Stiller, Defiance, Zermatt, Kelbly, Mack Bros (in no order), etc.

I do not recommend the Solus it has a big mistake in my opine…dual ejectors. They are dumb and in my experience with dual ejectors, they pressure up faster.

Hicks and JG have the order of operations correct. I’d add that I factor in weight to the items I pick. Example, the 7prc above…weighs 6.5lb with a 22” barrel…for a hunting gun, I want it less than 7-7.5lb before I add scope and suppressor…obviously weight helps more with the big boomers. I have a 300wsm that fully rigged weighs right at 10lb…it’s a cream puff.

Good luck, for those saying you don’t need a custom…they are right but I’d bet most drive more vehicle or live in bigger house than they need…custom rifles is not about need, it’s about getting exactly what you want and stacking the deck in your favor for accuracy.

I will give you this free advice

If you go with one of the M stock which you do want you will probably have a hard time finding a sporter barrel inlet ready to go. You can find a ton of sendero contours ready to go including the Manners PH , hint.
If you do find a sporter in stock it will probably be a bdl.
So if you want a sporter I would get to ordering because of the long wait.

Look for in stock stocks at manners and McMillan

Exactly.

If a person wants a nice custom and can afford it, go for it.

Never seen the sense in stacking the safe with a bunch of overlap calibers in cheap factory guns. Higher end factory may give you ( it gave me) everything I was looking for, so a full custom build was not necessary but I won’t count it out in the future.

Some people just see rifles as tools. Some people see them as collectibles. Some see them as status symbols. Some really enjoy building exactly what they want and having something different.

There is no wrong way.

I'm down to:

1. one Deer rifle
2. one .223 bolt
3. one AR
4. one .22lr rifle
5. one shotgun

scaling back

I grew up around old people ( most are in their mid to late 70’s-early 80’s now) and it was uncommon for a person to own more than 1 or 2 rifles chambered in a centerfire caliber.

Many owned a combination of a .30-30 lever gun and a .270 or 30-06 bolt action.

These were all deer hunters, hogs were not nearly as common 25 years ago as they are today.


Now it’s common for a guy to own a whole battery of guns that all start with a “2” or its metric equivalent.

And they are still shooting the same deer and occasional pig as their forebearers.

Speaking of building a custom bolt action. I've been working on one for myself today.






Bartlein carbon fiber 7mm.
Kelbly's Nanook LH magnum bolt face, long action.

Neither of which will you find in a mass production rifle. Especially left handed.

No sir.