Originally Posted by
goodsteel
That's it exactly.
Look, the reason we are having this discussion is because Americans got away from having just one rifle. We each want to have an assortment of rifles pistols and shotguns, but the amount of money we have to spend on these juicy nuggets has not risen in the last 50 years, and has actually gone down. What this means for the gun industry, is that whoever can deliver something that will go "bang" the cheapest, gets to stay in business.
So, they crank those babies out and put only enough quality in them to fool the average customer buying their product. After all, if it doesn't shoot very well, that will give them an excuse to buy another one, and so the cycle continues.
I wondered at one time, if I sold every gun I owned, how much money would I have? and if I spent all that money on one rifle, what would it be? Well, it became very obvious that I would be looking for a custom builder to sculpt a rifle per my specifications.
I ended up deciding to have my cake and eat it too, by becoming the guy that sculpts the guns LOL!
Still, the more I become immersed in extremely fine rifles and handguns, the more I tend to want something special. Something that will be perfect. Something that fits only me. Something that I will never get tired of, or want to upgrade.
I looked very hard at the pedersoli lever guns. I looked very hard at the bighorn armory 50's (seriously, you gotta see those babies!) I did buy a 45/70 guide gun, and I worked it over with a fine tooth comb. I believe I need to screw on a longer barrel, and extend the magazine tube, as well as do a decent bluing job on it, but for what it is, I like it pretty well. My only beef is that I have to use really short nosed boolits in order to get them to engage the rifling, or even come close to it. Most 405 grain designs will not feed or eject if they are long enough to fit the chamber. Of course, if I rebarrel it, then I have an opportunity to correct that problem once and for all.
When I get done polishing, sanding, grinding, threading, chambering, turning, buffing and praying, will it be my ultimate rifle? Maybe, maybe not. Theres only one way to find out, and it's a rather expensive and time consuming ordeal when compared to just buying a good quality rifle that was designed and made correctly.
Oh well, I'd be bored if I wasn't tinkering.