Custom Hunting Rifles
We will start this article by telling you that custom rifles are far more popular in terms of sales in comparison to shotguns in North America which is a very strange situation. There are many advantages a custom made rifle has to offer, one of the biggest is the ability to specify an obsolete or unusual caliber that isn’t offered by the big rifle manufacturers. Ordering such a rifle will allow the hunter to specify the exact stock dimensions that he thinks are most suitable to his hunting style - this will minimize the effect of the recoil.
There is an entire list of what parts of a rifle can be specified: length of pull, pitch, drop at comb and heel, cheek piece, style and type of grip ( semi-pistol grip, full pistol grip, thumb hole, straight hand and others ) can all be specified. The owner can also specify the shape ( round, pear or squared-off ) of the forearm cross-section not to mention the length, tip style and taper. The future owner can also specify the recoil pad or the buttplate so as you can see when it comes down to custom rifles, there is no limit.
Of course, the hunter has the possibility to customize the design of the rifle to suit his own tastes. The hunter can choose the grade and type of stock wood or a laminate model can be specified. He can also choose the pattern, checkering lines per inch, coverage, decorations like stock carving or contrasting forearm tips, pistol grip caps and inlays, the list is endless.
The barrel producer, contour, twist or length can be specified in order to fine-tune the rifle to meet the desired handling requirements of the hunter. Other user options are the type of iron sights (or the lack of them), the type of scope/optical sight and others as well.
When choosing the configuration of a custom rifle, the hunter must take into consideration the following aspects:
• Don’t get the cheapest custom rifle you can find because you will get the performance you have spent for.
• For a working rifle a wood stock is recommended but a laminate wood is a good compromise between wood and chemical especially when you have a large-caliber rifle.
• Don’t get the biggest cartridge you can find, the medium-sized models should work just fine.
• Get less power because the less recoil you have, the more accurate your shot will be.
• Weight is very important so try to build a very light custom rifle so that you can maneuver and carry it easily.
• Barrel plays a major part in a custom rifle because it basically determines how well your rifle will shoot. Many of the gun builders use premium barrels as a matter of course but if yours doesn’t, spend the extra dollars and insist on getting one.
• When choosing the scope we recommended that you listen to the gun maker because he has more experience and he will find the most suitable scope for your custom rifle and assemble it also.
All in all, building the most suitable custom rifle for your hunting style can be a very difficult thing to do but taking things nice and slowly will bring you the expected results. After purchasing your own custom rifle don’t forget to practice with it because you know what they say, practice makes perfect and this rule is applicable in this domain.
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