Hi Guys:

I am putting this here because this is the forum that I most frequently visit.

About once a year, I try and save up a few bucks and buy a new rifle to add to my battery. I have loved firearms all my life. I have only two or three shotguns, mainly for small game and bird hunting. I have about 15 handguns for both target pratice, conceiled carry and hunting. But my biggest love is an accurate Rifle. From 22's to 458 Lott I love em all. At last count I have around 25 give or take.

I live in Northeast PA and the one thing I have noticed in all of the gunshops, including Cabelas, Bass Pro, Gander MT. and three or four local shops is that Big Bores, even 338 calibers are hard to find or purchase.

I was recently at Cabelas in Harrisburg and they had just one 338 Win Mag on the rack, and one or two in the special gun room in 338/378 Weatherby. Bass Pro had none in the whole store, and forget real Big Bores. Gander MT. didn't fair any better.

Now I have four custom rifles, one AHR by Ed Plummer, and three by a great gunsmith called Lester Knipe from the Varmint Shop. All of these customs shoot sub MOA, but so does 95% of all my stock or semi stock rifles.

What I am going to get or have built is a 338 RUM for a distant future Alaskan bear hunt. I want a synthetic stock, ss Fluted barrel, removable Muzzle Break with cap, Remington 700 action, good recoil pad.

I was checking GunBroker, Guns America, naturally ARBay, and other sites for a good used custom rifle that some one wanted to part with, but alas none was available, at a reasonable price, or they hacked up.

I want the power of the 338 RUM, so I was looking at the custom Weatherbys in 338/378 but the brass is a pain in the butt. I was looking at stock rifels in 338 RUM the XCR from Remmie, but I wanted a better stock and fluted barrel. The 338 RUM on the Alaskan and the like run $2200.00 ...I looked at custom 338's that were on the market but they lacked most of the items that I was looking for.

I know what I want, but I also know I will be in the $2500.00 + range before I am done.

What do you think, but a stocker and redo to the best of my ability, or just say the hell with it and order another custom rifle and get what I want.

Regards... Jim P.

I think you are always beter off the get what you want, the first time, otherwise you will never be happy.

Go custom. It is always cheaper to get what you want thet first time around.

Jim,

I too would go with a custom job.

It costs more, of course, but there are few things in life more satisfying that getting something, especially a rifle, just the way you want it to be.

With the Remmie, you could get a Sako extractor fitted, replace the bolt handle and get a decent trigger and safety fitted too. (Hope I didn't step on your toes with those suggestions!)

Plus, the stock can be made to fit you, with your precise length of pull, rather than being some off the shelf compromise.

And as you say, you can get the barrel you want, in the length you want, with the profile you want, etc., etc.

BTW, I know a fellow who talked his Tanzanian PH into letting him shoot a buffalo with a .338/.378 Wby. He shot it face on, in the chest just through the top of the heart with a 250 grain Nosler.

The buff did a back flip and died right there! The bullet was found way back in the paunch. Just to say that those high velocity .338s will indeed get the job done.

Good luck, my friend.

Jim
Or you could go to the WILD SIDE and get a Blaser R 93.

WARNING.... WARNING.... WARNING....

If you get a Blaser R 93 it will cause you to view all your other Bolt Rifles with distain.

Would a Rem 338RUM in 700 Sendero work? It's not a mountain rifle but the added weight will absorb more recoil than the light models. Mine shoots very well and it's out of the box. LDK

Hi Guys:

Thanks for the input. Hey Lex nawh you didn't step on any of my toes. I have been shooting Remmies for close to 40 years. I thought of the Sako extractor but I have never ever had a problem with a Remmie bolt, extraction or otherwise.

I love the RUM's... My stock Remmie in 300 RUM, nothing but a trigger job by Lester. It has accounted for 14 African plains game, from Steenbuck to Giraffe... a bull Elk at 250 yards and some ultra long range coyotes. Yep those ultra fast RUM's with tough bullets like the Aframe and Nosler partitions are deadly medicine.

One of the customs I had made up is a 416 Remmie Mag, with a beautiful custom laminated stock, shillen barrel, custom NEGS sights and yes a 700 Remmie action. I shot my 46in. cape buffalo with it, and followed him into the long grass to finish him off. It took three fast shots to keep him down and out.

As you know Lex both our AHR's are the massive CZ action, and that 458 Lott is a hammer in it's own right. My other two customs are a 375 H&H and a matching twin in 270 WSM, both model 70 control round feeds.

Yeah what I will probably do is a McMillan stock, with the Shillen barrel. I have a couple custom ideas about the flutes on the barrel, and a matching cap.

Regards... Jim P.

Re; Remington extractors.

I have been around Remington rifles in a fairly large quanity for over 30 years.

As a competition shooter in Metalic Silhouette, High Power Rifle, and 23+ years of instructing Police SWAT Snipers I have only seen a few Remingtons that had broken the extractor.
These rifles had fired thousands of rounds each.

Baised on the number of Remington rifles I have seen fired, and the number of rounds I have seen them fire, I must say it is not a common problem, and does not worry me.

Now the feeding of Belted Magnum cartridges in Rem, and most other actions....

My next rifle will be a 338 RUM also. I had a browning abolt in the 338 RUM but sold it in a fit of practicality a couple of years ago when I was getting married, I some how convinced myself that my 300 win would do everything I used the rum for cheaper. I still haven't figured out which was more foolish move, selling the rum or getting married. Well at least I can get another RUM!

I will probably go with the remington 700 action either the xcr or an SPS. I would rather go with the sps if I can find one, can always get a 300 rum and rebarrel it to 338 rum. It will be in a mcmillan stock, and have the AR15 style extracter installed. I like this a lot better than the sako style. Its more durable and easily replaceable if it were ever to break. It will have at least 26" of barrel and I'll top it will a 4-12 scope. Shooting for a overal weight of around 8.5-9lbs max.

It seems we all have the same dilemma to a degree..... We can have a few very nice guns or a lot of production guns made just the way Remingchester wanted to make them!

Had I known when I bought my first .270 what I know now, I'd have been able to afford four "Echols quality" customs for what I've poured into other rifles and money left over for a couple more African hunting trips.

But Monday morning quarterbacking is always a lot easier.

I guess a guy has got to do what he's most comfortable with. I've never bought a custom gun. For what I wanted to spend I've preferred the flexability of having more guns and calibers to having far fewer custom guns. I think chasing accuracy in guns is like chasing that last bit of performance in anything else. You get 90% of the solution with the first X amount of investment. To get 95% you're likely to invest 2X and for 99% you'll pay 3X. I've bought new Remington, Ruger and Winchester factory bolt-action rifles in the last twenty years. With lightened triggers all of them shot under an inch at 100 yrds, seveal of them shot much better. I bought an a used Browning, Kimber of OR, and a Cooper 57, all of which shot similarly well. The Cooper and Kimber didn't even need the trigger work. Any money I save with the strategy I've piddled away on better optics.

Reading your post , I would certainly go custom.
But If I were off to Alaska for a big mean bear, I think your 416 Rem would be about as good as it gets for the job. With a 1.75X6 VX3 Leupold or somthing similar, and definatly in QD mounts with a good back up...tj3006

The exhilaration of having a custom rifle made, the way you want it, is awesome!!!

Don

Why not go "custom" with an old fashioned rework using an old GI action such as a VZ-24 or K98? I hunt with one in 9.3x62mm, with a PacNor barrel and glass bedded into a Royal Arms (second grade) myrtlewood stock with a lot of cast off. I call it my "ugly gun" because it was only built as a camp rifle, however, it is accurate, easy to shoot, and speaks with great authority. It is NOT a fancy custom rifle, just a working gun for the field. It's all a matter of what you perceive a rifle should be.
LLS

I've had several custom guns over the years, but have only held on to one of them. I have come to the opinion that, excepting benchrest or similar quality varmint rifles, the Kimber Montana and Remington custom shop rifles are just as accurate, reliable, etc. as a custom and half the expense. If you can find what you want. I have wanted a 7mm Rem Mag in the Montana since they came out, but one is not offered. The Remmy custom shop 7 mag I bought this spring is giving me 3 shot groups of just under 1/2 inch. I am happy with that.

I agree that having a custom rifle built exactly the way you want it is exhilarating.

Also, though, the disappointment can be pretty deep when it doesn't come out the way you want. I've only built one custom rig. The slab of wood didn't look as good after completion as it did before it was trimmed down, plus, the accuracy level never measured up. We put 2 barrels on it, but it still doesn't shoot like it should.

To make the rifle completely satisfactory, I would need to start from scratch with a new wood blank and another barrel. That is starting all over, and not very practical.

What I've got is a one of a kind, pretty darn nice rifle, very expensive, but still disappointing.

According to the HS-Precision website, last time I checked, they had a Pro-Series 2000 Profesional Hunter Rifle ,in stock, which is chambered for 338RUM. The Pro-Series rifle has many of the same features of the Model 700 action plus a few additions that I believe are pluses; such as 3 position Winchester style safety, center feed design, and improved extractor. This rifle would seem to fit what you are looking for and may be worth checking out. I have a Sendero SF in 338RUM and really enjoy this rifle. It is sort of a load to carry sometimes, but ,as stated in an earlier post, the weight makes this gun surprisingly easy on the shoulder. Personally, I don't mind the extra weight, as the Sendero doesn't sport a muzzlebrake. If I were going to get a lightweight rifle in this caliber, a brake may be a good idea. In my opinion, if bare rifle weight is kept near 8#'s sans scope then I don't know if I would brake it. Good Luck and Good Hunting

Since you have a passion for rifles and the experience to know what you want hands down go the custom route.

As MikeG50 mentioned, The chief disappointment I have had with custom rifles has been the lack of accuracy, and I go for accuracy first. The one I still have has measured up to what the 'smith said to expect, MOA. One varmint rifle was a real tack driver, one bench rifle was also. Another tight-necked bench type varmint rifle never would shoot any better than an off-the-shelf factory rifle, and an ultra-light .338 was a disappointment both in accuracy and stock work. If I were to go the custom route again, I would go with someone like HS Precision, High Country Rifles, or Jarret, all of whom, I believe, offer an accuracy guarantee.

Hi guys:

Thanks for the come back. Fortunatley my gunsmith is also an accuracy nut. He is a master machinist, and his passion is 1000 yard bench rifles and ultra long varmint rifles, hence the name The Varmint Shop.

I have never had a problem with his work, with accuracy or fit and finish. If I wasn't pleased with something he gladly changes it, or modifys it to my likeing.

Yeah well, I guess I will have him build me just one more, it's always just one more custom.... LOL

Regards... Jim P.

Mine would be all customs if I could afford it, so if you have the $$ do that !!

PAHunter, I have 2 rifles with Shilen barrels and wouldn't trade them for anything. But, I thought Shilen voided any barrel warranty if you fluted their barrels.

Do you have your mind made up on Shilen no matter what?

I'd suggest a Lilja. You should call Dan Lilja and talk with him about his fluting technique. Although it is debatable, I think he flutes, THEN rifles the bore so there is no stress during fluting.

Just a thought.

Hi Doc:

Thanks for the info, I will have to look into that about Shillen barrels. I have used two Shillen, one Hart and one PacNor.

I want the rifle to come in about 9.25 pounds scoped with a Leupold 3X10. I was figuring a #4 contour fluted barrel. My gunsmith does his own fluting now and never had any problems.

Regards... Jim P.

I don't use "off the shelf" rifles. Mine all have barrel contours to my liking, lengths of pull, after market triggers, etc. It's the only way to go.

quote:

Originally posted by holzauge:
I guess a guy has got to do what he's most comfortable with. I've never bought a custom gun. For what I wanted to spend I've preferred the flexability of having more guns and calibers to having far fewer custom guns. I think chasing accuracy in guns is like chasing that last bit of performance in anything else. You get 90% of the solution with the first X amount of investment. To get 95% you're likely to invest 2X and for 99% you'll pay 3X. I've bought new Remington, Ruger and Winchester factory bolt-action rifles in the last twenty years. With lightened triggers all of them shot under an inch at 100 yrds, seveal of them shot much better. I bought an a used Browning, Kimber of OR, and a Cooper 57, all of which shot similarly well. The Cooper and Kimber didn't even need the trigger work. Any money I save with the strategy I've piddled away on better optics.

I've owned custom made rifles but I really pretty much share your philosophy. More deversity in my toys. roger

Bearing in mind I only have one Custom Rifle…. I have a MGA (http://www.mgarmsinc.com/) 338WM… it’s great, it is not one of his Ultra lites, by choice... I’m not wild about very lite rifles. He will build you whatever you want. I know he was building 338/378 10 years ago. I would get another one in a heart beat but I can’t seem to decide on a caliber.
Mine is about 10 years old but I had it restocked (my taste changed). I believe when you go to a Custom Gun Smith trust is THE issue… and I trust Kerry.

Go custom. Only trouble is, it's hard to go back once you've been there...


Hank

'I've owned custom made rifles but I really pretty much share your philosophy. More deversity in my toys.' beerroger[/quote]

Roger,
Yeah Buddy! I guess I'm more of a hunter than a shooter. I know it's hearesy to say so here, but the truth is using the guns' favorite factory ammo my M70 .270 shot the four round group that's my avitar at 100 yrd.s, my Rem 223 shoots 5/8" to 7/8" at 100, my M70 7mm Mag shoots 1.5 at 200 yrd.s, my second-hand A-bolt shoots @4" at 300 yrd.s and so forth. I hunt in the eastern US and they all work just fine. B.T.W I like composite stocks, stainless and I've never felt the need to spend the space, time and money it takes to reload either.

Maybe if I shot prarie dogs in WY I could loosen my grip on the wallet...$$$??!!