I am fedup being bent over with the prices of a custom rifle in this country "UK".
My needs are simple:
Remmington L/A 6.5x284
24" tube fluted/threaded
mcmillan stock
all metal parts to be matte
timney or jewel trigger.

now how diificult is that?
Does that sound like $4000 worth of rifle, thats what I have been quoted in this country.


if anyone can help point me in the right direction I would appreciate it

many thanks

griff

griff,
sounds like 2200-2500 here in the states (assuming the smith supplies everything but the action)...add vat, that's probably close

jeffe

I would reccommend Tip Burns.

Burns Gun repair.

Price sounds about right for a "not quite BEST" rifle. I would have no problem building one to your specs for around $2k. Might have a problem delivering it what with export and all, but, there are ways to do it.

Hey griff,

I thought about turning to an American gunsmith too. But then I got to a very good custom gunsmith who (hopefully) is buidling me a rifle right now. I can highly recommend him!

He is building me a rifle from the following components:

- Rem 700 short action, stainless
- Rem trigger and safety
- Lothar Walther Custom barrel, Stainless, fluted
- McMillan Sporter stock
- HS PRecision detachable mag conversion
- Picatinny Scope Rail, stainless
- TPS or Badger Ordnance Rings, stainless
- all metal parts coated dark with Aluminum-Titanium-Nitrite, the toughest and most rugged coating out there!
- total 2800 $
Including scope installation (I deliver scope) and zero in, with a three shot 100m < 1/2 MOA guarantee!

He is English and does lots of business within the UK, so import should not be a problem. He offers semi and full custom rifles.

Take a look at his website: http://www.roedaleprecision.com

Any more details, just PM me!
Send my regards if you contact him, all the best,

elwood.

Go to http://www.bryantcustom.com Mike Bryant builds a very good rifle at a reasonable price. He is one of the most honest guys that I know. For you other smiths and wannabes, he has a lot of interesting gunsmithing info on his website. Butch

Griff, the first issue you have to deal with, is going to be the intricacies of importing the rifle into the UK. If you know how to handle that part, and what paper work is needed, then you are a good step along the way.

It sounds like Elwood's smith in Germany (?) might be an option. At least he seems to be able to perform the export to the UK for you, or at least know how this is done.

If you decide to go with a US smith, of which there are many, many good ones, then you need to deal with the issue of export from the US. It is not impossible, just a bit of extra hassle and paperwork. You essentially need to have the gun exported by somebody with an exporter's license. There are commercial operations who will do the paperwork (State Dept) and initiate the shipping and customs clearing for you. Alternatively, some manufacturers have their own exporter's license, but the licences are getting more and more expensive these days... Figure export costs (not including shipping) around $200 with a commercial exporter, less if your smith/manufacturer is capable of exporting directly.

What you want done does not sound too exotic, and there are a BUNCH of smiths (large and small) who will do this for you in the US. Brown Precision MAY be able to do an export directly for you, so they might be worth checking. They do pretty decent rifles.

Other than that, I can wholeheartedly agree to the recommendation of Mike Bryant, who is one of the top BR smiths in the States. The only slight problem: Mike is pretty swamped with work right now, he even stopped taking in new work this year. But if he finds time to build your rifle, he is excellent. Mike posts over on www.benchrest.com if you are interested in seeing some of his posts. Mike does not have an export license of his own, so you'd have to use a commercial exporter if working with Mike.

One of the AR "resident" smiths is Kirby Allen (Fiftydriver on AR) from MT. Both StuC and myself have worked with Kirby, and found it a gratifying experience. Primarily because Kirby is willing to communicate with his customers. With a lot of gunsmiths, this can otherwise be a somewhat daunting task. You always have to walk the line of needing to communicate about your project, and letting the smith have time do do his work. After all, guns are built in the shop and not in front of the computer. But, in particular in long range projects, it is such a boon to work with somebody who is willing to talk to you. Kirby is into long range shooting, and builds himself and his customers some very nifty guns. You can catch some of his posts on the varmint hunting forum as well as over on longrangehunting.com. Kirby does not have an exporter's license.

If you need more information, both StuC and I have gone through a couple of build/export jobs, and we'd be happy to share our experience.

- mike

Thanks all!!

A lot of info to digest, I had considered the implications of export, but had found that if you don't mind the wait it will eventually arrive...
Elwood...
roedale sounds like the simpler solution, I would assume that being in the EU there would be less red tape..could even take a trip to pick it up..

Butch
thanks for the info.. will try and get info from the sources that you have all mentioned..



one thing is for sure it won't be a U.K gunsmith that builds my next rifle..

will let you know on what road I go down and when the new rifle appears will post some pics

many thanks

griff

quote:

Originally posted by griff:
Elwood...
roedale sounds like the simpler solution, I would assume that being in the EU there would be less red tape..could even take a trip to pick it up..

I would assume that Pete is the simpler solution. He is located in North-West Germany and exports rifles to the UK all time so he's been there and done that. He even visits Scotland on a fairly regular basis. He is a very nice fellow and goes out of his way to make just the rifle you want. Before we agreed on a contract, I sent him some 170 emails (!!!) with questions and he answered each and every single one of them! Ok guys, call me pedantic but when it comes to rifles I like to be involved in every detail...

Good luck with your decision, you shall not be disappointed with Pete,

elwood.

this is who i use.......http://www.cprifles.com