The Most Popular Cartridge In Custom Rifles?

17 March 2002, 15:26

<Don Martin29>

What is todays most popular custom rifle cartidge? About ten years ago it was the .280 Remington. I wonder what it is today?

Also for a custom rifle what cartridge would you choose?

17 March 2002, 15:35

Curtis_Lemay

quote:
Originally posted by Don Martin29:
...for a custom rifle what cartridge would you choose?

you know, the answer to that question shouldn't be a s disturbingly difficult to come up with as it is...Let's just say for any number of custom jobs, that i'll never in my life be able to afford, and sticking soley to medium bore rounds, it's still too many to count

------------------
When in doubt, do a nuclear strike.

17 March 2002, 17:52

Major Caliber

my gunsmith says it's .270, that could vary depending on your location.

18 March 2002, 18:01

<T/Jazz>

On a custom rifle, I would think that something different....not your average. Most people I have talked to like the 30-06, 270 or 7mm mag. I don't know to many perhaps 3 people that have a custom gun for hunting.
How about a custom .308 .......I have no idea!

18 March 2002, 19:19

McCray

I would just guess that in any given year it would be whatever that years hot-rock cartridge is.(7mmSTW, 300 Ultramag or the current crop of runt cartridges)

Year in and year out I bet it's probably something dull and boring like 270 or 30-06.

Wildcats can't get too popular or some manufacturer will adopt 'em. Then the mainstream gun buyers will buy them off the rack rather than pay a premium for a custom.

19 March 2002, 08:02

<eldeguello>

Last I heard, it was the .280 Rem., or the metric equivalent 7X64mm. But the 7X57mm was also in the top ten.

19 March 2002, 09:17

John S

The two custom gunsmiths that I use tell each tell me different calibers. The one says it's 300 Win. magnum and the other says he builds more 270s.
Most folks laying out some big bucks for custom rifles seem to stick with tried and proven calibers and not the latest & greatest hotrocks.

19 March 2002, 16:10

<DuaneinND>

In my shop #1 22-243 Middlested, #2 22-250AI, #3 257DGR #4 17 Rem.
out of the last 100 barrels I have chambered 66 were 22 caliber centerfire of some sort. I see a lot of varmint shooters.

19 March 2002, 17:09

<allen day>

It depends on which gunsmith you're talking about.

One gunsmith I know of probably turns out more rifles for a certain wildcat cartridge of his own creation than anything else. Makers who are tinkerers, and more of an experimental, theoretical bent often times build a lot of rifles for wildcat calibers, and they attract clients who embrace the same philosophy

Riflemakers who are from the traditional, "Classic" school tend to build a lot of .257 Roberts, 7X57, .300 H&H, and .416 Rigby rifles.

Craftsmen who are out to build high-performance hunting rifles, yet who are conservative by nature tend to build quite a few .300 Winchester, .300 Weatherby, 7mm Remington, .338 Winchester, and .416 Remington rifles.

It seems like gunmakers from the last two groups also share the same commonality in that they create a great many rifles in .270 Win., .30-06, and .375 H&H

19 March 2002, 17:36

Big_R

The smith I visit here in central Minnesota says the calibers he builds the most are 6.5/.284 or.338-06. He says he usually tries to talk people out of building rifles in common calibers and buying commercial since they can save money, although he's more than willing to build them one.

20 March 2002, 04:08

<allen day>

This gunsmith claims that people will SAVE MONEY by investing in some off-beat wildcat caliber instead of standard commercial cartridges? Am I reading correctly? How the bloody hell does THAT work???????