Custom Rifle Project Complete: Photo Gallery | LongRifles, Inc., Stiller, Brux, Manners, Jewell, Bushnell, Seekins, JEC Customs, Atlas

The rifle build is finally complete, and I was greeted to a gun case on my doorstep Saturday with a return address of LongRifles, Inc.

To say that the care in packaging taken by the folks at LRI was superb and left nothing to chance, would still be an understatement. Every piece, down to each piece of the scope rings, was in a ziplock plastic bag, inside a sealed paper bag, and wrapped in at least twice as much bubble wrap as would get the job done. The case itself was sealed with duct tape and had a zip tie through each of the 6 hasps for locks. Needless to say, everything arrived to perfect condition. The 2-day shipping was a bonus too!

I began putting some copper and lead into some brass today to work up to and find max pressure loads for this rifle, using H4350 of course. I also put together 10 lower pressure rounds to entertain myself a bit until I have the time for extensive load work-up. I’ll give a short update after I shoot it, but more in-depth shooting and reviews will be on hold until after my 3 week (hopefully less!) archery elk hunt set for the fast approaching beginning of September.

Here’s some eye candy, click each thumbnail for high-resolution pics as always.

Custom Bolt Action Precision Rifle Build (Part 5) | Gunsmith Selection: Longrifles, Inc.

I received my phone call yesterday that this rifle’s barreled action is complete at the gunsmith and headed back my way! I decided I needed to get this post together on my riflesmith selection before it arrives. Otherwise else I’ll be too ‘giggity‘ to write this post well, wanting instead to move on to other things like shooting instead of writing!

If you haven’t been following the series, the first post is here, and you can follow along from there. I have been chronicling just about every equipment decision in this build and if this is your first glimpse of it, you’ve started off near the end. So do yourself a favor and go back and check them all out when you are done here. Every installment in the series is linked at the end of this post.

GUNSMITH SELECTION

All these complementing pieces that I’ve gathered do a man absolutely no good if they aren’t properly assembled by a rifle artist/engineer, more commonly known as a gunsmith. I have taken up countless hours making sure I wrang out the exact performance standards I am looking for with each component selection of the build, but it is all for naught if your gunsmith isn’t up to snuff. This is not the place to just haul your gear down to the nearest guy with a lathe and bickering over price, though deals can be had.

There is really only one way to select a gunsmith, and that is on his reputation amongst discerning customers and shooters that have been around the sport long enough to have seen builders rise and fall and know what to look for. If someone who shoots for a living (at hajis, paper, or steel)  will give someone a recco, it’s a good time to start listening. That isn’t to say you need to pick the oldest, longest running rifle builder around, there are new people doing great things in all industries every day. But if you can garner the opinion of folks that shoot, see the results on paper or in the field of multiple builds from multiple gunsmiths, you’ll start to get an idea of the lay of the land. There are lots of quality gunsmiths for the picking, and as long as you find one of the good ones, you should be a happy camper.

Custom Bolt Action Precision Rifle Build (Part 4) | Jewell Trigger, JEC Muzzle Brake, and Accessories

Thank you to everyone who has been following this series, your loyalty makes me smile 🙂

In this week’s post, I’ll cover a few of the ‘small’ (not necessarily cheap!) pieces of the puzzle that wrap up the component selection for the rifle itself: trigger, muzzle break, bipod, and some accessories. Then I’ll share a few photos of the build ‘mocked’ together so you can get a feel for the final product.

But first, a few links to the prior pieces for those that are joining us late.

Part 1: Rifle Purpose, Platform choice: Stiller Action

Part 2: Barrel Caliber and Reamer Selection: Brux Barrels, 6.5 Creedmoor, Reamer Specs

Part 3: Stock/Chassis Selection: Manners T4-A Stock with Mini-Chassis and Paint

Alrighty folks, I’m sure your getting antsy, as I am, so onward we go!

TRIGGER SELECTION

Along with your rifle stock/chassis and optics, your trigger selection and setup will be your direct line of interaction with the rifle. The trigger is the happy switch, the piece of the puzzle that makes the magic happen, and an integral part of your platform. There is no other piece of equipment that can so quickly ruin your accuracy potential than your trigger, so care must be taken in selecting it and tuning it for the role you need it to fit.

Custom Precision Rifle Build (Part 3) | Stock/Chassis Selection: Manners T4-A Stock

Hopefully some of you have enjoyed the first two parts of this series. Part 1 is Here, and Part 2 is Here, for those that have somehow found part 3 without the proper introduction to the series.

In this installment I’m going to address my choice for a stock/chassis system with this build. I’ll save optics selection, the small pieces that round out a build, and my choice of gunsmith for later posts. Without further ado.

Stock Photo: Manners T4-A rifle stock.

RIFLE STOCK/CHASSIS

Selecting a stock/chassis system for this build was difficult for me. There are so many seemingly excellent options out there, and I have never, and had no access to, put my hands on any of them. I relied heavily on first hand user reviews, and crowd sourced reviews from forum posts and the like, mostly on snipershide.com. This choice was also an exciting one for me because I am a tall lanky SOB and have never really had a gun stock that fit right. My goose neck, and long arms just don’t jive with factory equipment built for the ‘average adult male’ client. So adjust-ability was high on my list of wants. The stock also makes the look and feel of the rifle, so in essence it is one of the most important selections for shoot-ability, repeat-ability, and likability of your system. If you cannot line up behind your weapon comfortably the same way every time and properly place your natural point of aim on target with a few tweaks of your body position, your results will show downrange. With weight not being a big factor in this build, the options were seemingly endless.

From Top: Whiskey 3, XLR, and Mcrees Chassis Systems

Plenty more after the break.

Building My First Custom Bolt Action Precision Rifle (Part 2) | Barrel Blank, Caliber, and Reamer Selection: Brux Barrels, 6.5 Creedmoor, Reamer Specs

This is Part Duex in my installment of my Precision Rifle Build series that I started last week. At the time, we went over the thought process of what role the rifle would fill and the selection of an action for the basis of the build. As the day gets closer that the completed rifle will show up on my door step fully assembled and begging for a range trip, I’ll take you a few steps farther along my journey. First up today, caliber selection.

CALIBER SELECTION

This is a tough one for most newbies, including myself. The sheer number of cartridges and wildcats can be mind-boggling, and often causes paralysis by over-analysis. In 6mm alone someone is looking at 243 Win, 243 AI, 6XC, 6BR, 6PPC, 6 Remington, 6/284, 6mm-06, 6mm-06 AI, and on and on and on. Choices can be difficult.

Continue reading after the break.

Building My First Custom Bolt Action Precision Rifle (Part 1) | Rifle’s Purpose, Platform Choice: Remington 700 Clone: Stiller Tac30 A/W Action

A few months ago, for no particular reason I decided I wanted to try my hand at true marksmanship. I have never been what I would consider “a good shot” but I get by. But I have missed enough times, that I have reduced confidence and assume a miss with every pull of the trigger. Sure, the ‘right’ way to go about this is to grab a quality 22 LR and head to the range testing and building your skills, but let’s be honest, we live in a NOW society and I want some instant gratification. This led me down the road of spending more money then I imagined on building a custom precision rifle.

The draw of building the rifle, selecting the goal, the intended purpose, the parts, the gunsmith, intrigues me as much as the rifle itself and the shooting to come later. I just simply love diving into a project like this with obsession-like motivation and learning as much as one possibly can while attempting to maximize the performance of each selection. In this post, I will outline some of those selections I made and my rationale for doing so. This doesn’t mean I did anything the way you should, or that my way is correct in any manner. It’s just my anecdote.

In no way to I believe this rifle itself will make me a better shooter, only proper practice and instruction will do that. But it is an excuse to let out my inner ‘gear junkie’ and spend some hard earned cash. Once complete, with no possible way to blame my equipment, we’ll see if I can build my marksmanship skills into something to be proud of, or not.

Interested?