Gunsmithing Limited to "stock" on hand?

[Goodwood]

What if you could only use the parts supplied by the manufacturer; how good a gun could you build?

This may be a dumb question, but how good could a gun get if you had to use only the parts provided by the original manufacturer. I.E. barrel, action, trigger group, stock, etc. you could machine what you want, bed stocks, true actions, set back barrels...

But, you could not replace a part with something not original to the manufacturer.

For instance, take a Remington 5r, and go to town - any labor you want, just no parts you didn't already have with the stock gun.

I know Remington, Savage, FN, etc..make some great guns " out of the box" but if you could gunsmith however you want on the stock gun, how close to a true custom could you get? It seems to be common place for a stock barrel to be scrapped for something "aftermarket" and recoil lugs to be replaced, and the like. Is there that much difference in these parts that can not be magically machined, trued, and gunsmithed from the stock parts?

Not that I would pass on the chance to use a ( place favorite manufacturer name here) barrel if I was going to pay a gunsmith to build me a gun, but I was just wondering how good you guys think a "stock car rules" gun build could get?

Anyone have experience they care to share?

 

[ARMED-PILOT]

Re: Limited to "stock" on hand?

In that case my manufacturer would be GAP.

 

[Goodwood]

Re: Limited to "stock" on hand?

LOL. Not fair, you have blown me out of the water on the first reply!

Like I mentioned, it may be a dumb question.

 

[ARMED-PILOT]

Re: Limited to "stock" on hand?

I have never been good at what if questions.

 

[270guy]

Re: Limited to "stock" on hand?

I think its a good question. But have to add, that there is always someone improving on the original. Otherwise we'd still be chasing animals with rocks and sticks.
I guess that the reason the barrel and stocks are "axed" for the start, is there are just better options, that are pretty much g'teed to work great. Where the factory parts are made to come in at a certain price point, that is acceptable to average Joe public. I guess what I'm saying, is if you are spending the $$$ to build, why take the risk that the factory tube, will shoot great out at whatever range your trying to build for.
Or replacing the factory recoil lug, I think is a economic decision. By the time you surface grind it, and re-bore the hhole for the barrel tennon, its cheaper to buy one already made true.
Most of my rifle is Factory improved (action / bolt / original stock / trigger), but then I wanted a different stock for the range vs hunting, and changed caliber when it was built....

cheers

 

[rdinak]

Re: Limited to "stock" on hand?

Well you could just start with something like a Sako TRG and be happy...

OR if you want something on a budget..this is what I would do.

Buy a used older Remington 700. Sell the stock and barrel to reduce cost. Send it to IT&D Custom Gun have Larry install a Douglas barrel and chamber it with a match reamer, drop it into a used PSS stock and clean up the factory trigger. It will be sometime before you wear out the barrel and can out shoot the gun. After that you can always upgrade the stock, trigger etc. Put twice the money you plan to spend on your rifle into your optics...

 

[Goodwood]

Re: Limited to "stock" on hand?

I think I'll refine my question a little bit...

In theory, what would the limitations be to building a "custom" out of only the factory provided parts of a common manufacturer?

Is it possible, again theoretically, to build as accurate a gun as a true custom, given these limitations? How close do you think you could get?

I am certain that I would opt for barrel replacement, recoil lug replacement, etc... If I was to have my gun rebuilt by a gunsmith.

I just wonder how good the gun could get if non-factory parts were not an option. Send the gun to any top builder and have them work their magic on a 5r. Does this gun have a chance at becoming a real "custom build"?

I did watch an episode of mythbusters, where they did a good job polishing turds... Is this what I would be doing if this build was actually attempted because of unsurmountable limitations?