What makes a "Custom" rifle?

pyscodog

Active member
I was at the gunshow yesterday and saw a bone stock remmy in a Boyds thumbhole stock. It was marked "Custom" remington and had a pretty stout price. Just left another site and saw pretty much the same thing. IMO, a different stock doesn't classify a rifle to be "Custom". If thats the case, I got alot of "Custom" rifles.
 
See quite a few posts in the classifieds. "custom 700, custom m7)

Could have an aftermarket stock, one I remember just had a jewel trigger. IMO this does not make it a custom rifle, it makes said rifle have a custom trigger.


I call a rifle with upgraded triggers, stocks, some smith work, etc a semi custom.
Custom to me is a custom action (stiller, bighorn etc), custom tube, etc, all screwed together by a good smith.
 
Custom Rifle is pretty loosely applied on the internet. Same with a "Crisp" trigger. Seems that every rifles trigger is a "Crisp" 3, 2 1/2, 2, or whatever pounds.

All used brass is only once fired too.
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if it is in the classified forums on the internet, and has at least one aftermarket part, it is a custom rifle.
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I have been thinking about this for awhile now. I have a savage .308 i may list soon and since just about everything on it is changed or worked over except the stock, (which is modified as well i guess) i am wondering if i should list it as just a savage or a custom savage. blue
 
Custom starts with a bare action and built from there. Customized is mildly modified stock rifle, so new or worked trigger, hard parts, boyds off the shelf stock etc. most of my guns are customized, many have been customized by a multi billion dollar company. It's called krylon.



Having said that, all guns sold on the Internet are either rare in 98% condition or full customs.

Also, even though every x rifle you have ever laid eyes on was barely functional, every one on the Internet is sub-moa. You just have to remember to substitute mile for minute.
 
On the internet, any factory rifle, new or used, that has been touched with a screw drive and a can of Krylon on or near a kitchen table is a custom rifle.

For me, a custom rifle begins with a bare action that is modified and smoothed by a good smith and all of the work is done utilizing his creativity with your input to create a unique one-of-a-kind rifle. Using a true custom gun smith capable of metal work and stock work or one who at least knows how to do his part extremely well, and who gets the other parts done by comparable craftsmen helps. In contrast, Harley Hacker, the ace "I can order parts to fix any rifle" gunsmith, does not qualify as a custom gunsmith. In some cases, the Harleys don't even qualify as a gunsmith other than by the sign over the door or the business card they use to advertise their "expertise".
 
You will probably get a lot of different replies here as opinions will definitely differ, and none are necessarily wrong.

Custom simply means "made to an individuals own specifications". In that sense, a lot of rifles could qualify as "custom".

My thoughts are that what most here call "custom rifles", are merely semi-custom rifles. Meaning they are no longer in factory form and may have a number of changes done to them as far as gunsmithing and aftermarket parts are concerned. For example, take a 700 action and true it up, screw on an aftermarket "custom" barrel, bed it into a McMillan stock, and install an aftermarket trigger. What you are left with is a rifle that differs in every way from when it left the factory and is no longer acceptable to compete in a "factory class" shooting match(should you choose to do so). However, that said, what you are also left with is a rifle in which you can find 1000s of others that have used the same exact recipe, or darn close to it. Colors and finishes may vary, bolt knobs, etc., etc. Does this make them a true custom or not? I guess, in the purest sense of the term, that it does. But it is not what comes to my mind when I think of a TRUE custom.

In my eyes anyway, here are a few makers who produce true custom rifles to their client's specs. Not something in which you can buy all the parts off of SnipersHide in less than a week and have your local smith put together. JMO:

http://www.biesen.com/Biesens.html

http://www.jarrettrifles.com/index.html

http://www.echolsrifles.com/

 
I'm mostly in agreement with 2MuchGun...I look at firearms like I do cars, trucks and motorcycles...There is "Stock", "Semi-Custom" and actual "Custom"

Stock is just as it came from the factory or mass production builder...

Semi-Customs involve purchased, mass produced, parts that can be bought on the open market and applied to the owner's personal taste, even if installed by a competent smith or mechanic..From a competition standpoint, additional parts that come from the parent factory/company can keep it "Modified Stock", but those from any other source place it in the semi-custom class...

Custom is something that was built from the frame/action up and all the mechanical/artistic skills have been applied to make it a "one of a kind" piece of perfection for the use intended...
 
Originally Posted By: OldTurtle
Custom is something that was built from the frame/action up and all the mechanical/artistic skills have been applied to make it a "one of a kind" piece of perfection for the use intended...

Well that's a easy one! Just order a upper from a company out of AZ and that makes it a "custom" or so I had been told over and over again.

I agree with OT on his statement about cars. But the easy way to look at it is if I or anyone else can order the same parts/rifle it is NOT a custom! If you put new wheels on your car is it a custom? There is a guy that made a stock for a Savage Edge and it is more "custom" then anything you can find on the this site or Snipers hide! I don't care if your so called "custom" rifle cost you $8000 and you waited 2 years for some smith to build it. If it has a name brand stock, action, barrel it is not a "custom" rifle! It would be customized but is not a "custom rifle"

The word "custom rifle" is so loosely used any more everyone has a custom gun one way or another!

Custom is a one off item. So if you made your own barrel (not ordered one from a company) designed your own action, hand made your own stock, then you have the right to call it a custom rifle.

So yes in my eyes you see very very few true custom rifles!
 
I would consider my new build custom. It's a savage 10 action, but it is being worked over by the smith, customizing the action. Stock is a McMillan, customized with a loggerhead cheek. Most likely custom painted by me. Bedded by a good friend, further customizing the mating of action and stock.

New recoil lug, precision ground and trued by the smith, aftermarket trigger, barrel etc...on and on

About the only thing you can touch on the gun that is factory is the bottom metal and safety.

I can call it a savage if I want, truth is, it is far more custom than savage, if something goes wrong, it won't be savage that is liable anymore.

It isn't "purist" custom, as in a stock carved by me, action machined by me etc...

I think things become custom when they can't be described otherwise, I really couldn't sell this new gun as a savage, it isn't, won't even have the nut.

But I don't care, I just want it to shoot well, if it doesn't do that then it doesn't matter what you call it, it's just an expensive stick.
 
definition: custom (not comparable)

made in a different way from usual, specially to fit one's needs.

Like Tim said, it's all in the eye of the beholder. Some would call a Stiller or BAT or Kelby action a custom. Others would argue that they are made from the same CNC template day in and day out making them "less produced" than another action like a Howa or Tikka. The fact that a Remington or Savage was mass produced, torn down to the bare action, blueprinted and rebuilt with specially designed non-factory original parts specified by an individual and assembled by a trained professional to serve a specific purpose seems custom to me by the above definition. Like anything else, it can vary in degree according to the individuals definition of the term and is subjective. To me, if you have to specify something that isn't sitting on a shelf or you combine the parts in a configuration in an unconventional manner or not readily available to fit your needs, you have the right to call it a custom or semi-custom. Buyers also have the right not to buy your custom rifle for $3000 if you slap an aftermarket stock and trigger on a factory barreled action that you have $800 invested in. Custom, accurate, light, fast, durable, inexpensive, and good looking are all relative terms we see that vary according to the beholder. I believe I'll go back to admiring some of my "specific" and "customized" rifles a little more
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This link will provide a look into the world of true custom guns. Here you will find some of the best custom gun builders who will build a rifle, for example, made to fit your unique hand and arm dimensions with only the highest quality materials and workmanship. Membership for a smith is by invitation only after presenting some of your work for critical analysis by a membership board after being recommended by a current member.

http://www.acgg.org/find/

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately in some ways, some of the best custom smiths are not members of the ACGG simply because their level of skill keeps them in work year around producing only a few high quality rifles each year. Many feel that the "best of the best" is the combination of Dave Miller (metal) and Curt Crum (wood) who built several of the early SCI rifles dedicated to the Big Five in Africa in the 1980's, and who have together built what many feel are the finest custom rifles found in the world today. One of Miller's rifles brought a pricey $205,000 at an SCI convention auction several years ago, and IIRC, it has since sold again for even more money. Again, if my memory serves me well, it was built on a 1909 Argentine Mauser action.

If you ever get the opportunity to see this rifle in person, you will agree that it is indeed a work of art almost beyond comprehension in its finished form. It is tastefully unique in the metal work and stock work involved, but it is first and foremost a "practical" (but very pricey!!) hunting rifle in all aspects.

 
Originally Posted By: calling4lifeBut I don't care, I just want it to shoot well, if it doesn't do that then it doesn't matter what you call it, it's just an expensive stick.

Yep!

For some, custom = zombie sticker on the stock.
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Originally Posted By: Winny Fan

If you ever get the opportunity to see this rifle in person, you will agree that it is indeed a work of art almost beyond comprehension in its finished form. It is tastefully unique in the metal work and stock work involved, but it is first and foremost a "practical" (but very pricey!!) hunting rifle in all aspects.



Kinda reminds me of the Hooters slogan.
 


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