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Originally posted by stubblejumper:

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In other words, from what I understood, even though they had reliable function from the other rifles, they might not always be 100% reliable, 100% of the time- something that they felt that the Legend would provide.

No product no matter how perfectly it is made will perform perfectly 100% of the time.Take the space shuttles for instance.There have been failures despite the most rigorous quality control and very extensive testing.However a rifle built by a skilled gunsmith will usually be as close to 100% reliable as one can expect.Spending more money to have a better known gunsmith build the rifle may make the product visually more appealing,but it will not necessarily improve the reliability of the rifle.

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Originally posted by allen day:
Bigbull, some custom rifles are expensive, and they never do work right and are never made right by the gunmaker. This is much more common than you might think. How some of this expensive junk gets sent out to trusting clients is beyond me, but it happens. I could write a long magazine article sighting examples that I've experienced myself, as have some of my friends. Here's one example:

Some eleven years ago, I hired a recommended craftsman, a "dangerous game rifles specialist", to build a custom 416 Rem. Mag. on a Model 70 action. I visited his shop, looked over completed rifles, picked out wood, etc. He told me to send him a Model 70 Classic 375 H&H as the foundation. I asked about getting one in 416 Rem. Mag., but he said one in 375 H&H was good enough..........

In due course, the completed rifle arrived, and at first glance it looked very pretty. But I couldn't help but notice that the open sights were canted on the barrel. Then I opened the action and noticed that he had extended the magazine box via cutting and welding (and guesswork), but used the same magazine follower, and there has about a half-inch gap between the front of the follower and the front of the box, which I knew straight-away would create problems. So I stuffed the magazine full, cycled the action, and that SOB wouldn't feed worth shinola. I took a Model 70 416 follower out of my friend's factory M70 416 to test, and this change helped, but it still didn't feed nearly well enough for Africa, and I had a 21-day safari less than six months away.

So I called the gunmaker, complained loud and long, and he told me to send him the rifle. When I received it back, it fed even WORSE than before, the open sights were still canted, only this time some of the screws were buggered. Totally enraged, I decided to get going on another rifle and sort out the situation with this very pretty piece of junk after I got back from Africa.

So I found a Model 70 Classic in 458 Win. Mag. and took it to a very good local gunsmith to rebuild into a real-world DG rifle. This time I had what I thought was a winner, and this 458 fed perfectly, and shot extremely well. I put 260 rounds though it at the range without a hitch before my safari. It sounds like all should have worked out just fine, and it sort of did -- up to a point. In Africa, that 458 hammered a zebra, a buffalo, and a hippo. But after that hippo hit the ground, I worked the bolt hard and fast for a reload -- and the rifle went off! It slam-fired because my good riflesmith back home set the triggerpull too light. It worked great at the range, but when worked fast during an in-your-face DG situation, its true nature managed to reveal itself, and we got it to slam-fire twice more!!

This kind of BS, amature-built junk (the 416) would NEVER get let out of Echols' shop, ever, nor would a rifle be let out with a too-light trigger that could cause problems. You talk about price, well hey, baby, let's just make a habit of stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime why don't we? What's your safety and the value of your hunting investment worth, anyway? You can purchase health and life insurance policies alright, but if a buffalo catches up to you because you rifle mucks up at high-noon, you'll STILL be crippled or maimed or dead! Just ask Keith Atcheson's wife, who was beat-up and hospitalized by a buffalo last year if that is not all too true. Your money or your life, take your pick! Not to mention the fact that many hunting trips are increasingly EXPENSIVE (price 21 days in Tanzania, for example!). Why take a rifle that isn't 100%? Reverse-economy simply doesn't make sense.........

Yesterday my wife and I met up with Steve, who is one of our members here at AR and just a wonderful guy and dedicated hunter who we really enjoy and respect. This was at a Portland SCI chapter meeting and BBQ. Steve pointed out to me one of our chapter members who was badly beaten up by a buffalo just five years ago and who struggled with recovery for a long time, and right away I thought of my friend Bob Fontana who was killed by a buffalo just last year. These were not rifle-related episodes, but nevertheless, it is prudent to do everything possible to ensure that the rifle you carry is 100% reliable, and I mean ONE-HUNDRED PERCENT! It's the greatest single piece of life insurance you can possibly take out, and it's a 'policy' that you only have to purchase ONE time!

My current 416 Rem. Mag. is Echols-built and feeds so perfectly (solids, softs -- you name it) that you might as well be working the action empty, plus it SHOOTS, far better than you'd think a 416 could. What price should be set on that kind of insurance? There are certain things in this world that transend price, and giving your business to some good ol' boy gunsmith near home, patronizing the 'Mickey Mouse Club', thus purchasing because you saw it on the Disney Channel or the ODL Network where it was endorsed by a celebrity hunter, a special closeout at Sportsman's Warehouse, or because the cosmetically-gratifying work resembles that of a circa 1925 Rigby doesn't necessarily cut it. No matter what, the proof will be in the performance.

I learned this the hard way: When it comes to real-use hunting rifles, appearances can be totally deceiving. Pretty is as pretty DOES, every time.........

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