Looking for Value of Custom Rifle

[Riflman]

Moderators if this is not allowed or needs to be moved, please let me know.

A few years ago, I commissioned a custom sheep rifle to be built. It took quite a while to get all the parts together and have it done. I waited over a year to get of the proof ultralight stocks that were backordered, only to find out that they were not selling them to the public anymore and had to change to a AG just to get it finished. I just received it last spring, but by then, I had already changed my mind. I have too many guns that I barely use. Plus, I moved from California to North Dakota in June, where I could use ARs, Supressors and Thermals to hunt coyotes at night, so I'm thinking of letting it go to fund a rig I will actually use. I really don't know what it's worth now. I have never fired it, but the builder, Mike Bryant, test fired it for QA before he shipped it and sent the target which is his standard practice.

The rifle is an ultralight 300 Win Mag. It's right at 6 pounds without the low Talley 1" rings.

Here are the specs:

Defiance AnTi long action with the updated lower swept bolt handle and throw for lower scope mounting (black from factory)
Proof 22" Sendero Light Barrel with ultralight Ti brake (can't recall the make but will find it)
AG Arms Privateer stock with sling studs and spartan magnetic mount just ahead of the drop floor plate
Hawkins Precision ultralight Obendorf Bottom Metal and hardware
Triggertech Diamond Trigger
Threaded protector for barrel
Chamber Gage
Case

I cannot recall what the trigger is set at. I think 1.5 pounds.

 

[Riflman]

Apparently, Mike just picked a load from a loading book, loaded them up and went outside to test it before shipping. This was his group pictured above. There was not a bunch of load development. Just so you know this hasn't been fired a bunch. It was just for QA. Clearly the gun shoots.

 

[mt100gr.]

What did you pay for the materials and labor?

 

[Riflman]

I’d have to go through it all. Mike Bryant from Bryant Custom built it for me. I did a documentary about him in 2018. He does a lot of Benchrest guns and super accurate hunting rifles and used to write articles in precision shooting back in the day. After I did the doc, I had this idea for him to build an ultralight rifle for me. So this has been like a five year journey by the time I finally decided what I wanted to build, what parts, trying to weigh everything and calculate everything to get it as light as possible, source all the parts (through Covid) and finally have him build it and deliver it. I love it, and it looks and feels super cool and light and pretty, but I have too many that sit.

I just ran the numbers quickly but am going to double check tomorrow because the cost to build was much higher than I thought.

 

[LeftyWilbury]

you're not going to get what you want for it. sell some other guns. learn to love that one!

 

[Roadrunner1]

Looks like a sweet rifle, how's the recoil? It's hard to get your money out of a custom gun, I had one and couldn't sell for what I had in it so I traded for a different custom gun and the guy also couldn't get what he had in it but it worked out for both of us.

 

[z987k]

It's only worth what someone will pay.

For me, if I'm looking at a custom gun, there's about a 0% chance someone else did exactly what I want, so if I'm going to buy their custom gun there's got to be a pretty good discount so I can change what I want to have or live with what I don't actually ultimately want.

So that said, you won't get near what you have into it.

 

[eoperator]

I sold a very very similar rifle last fall took forever to sell only got $2900 with a bunch of accessories. Willing to bet the "fudd" forums would give the most interest.

 

[Axlrod]

Custom guns are like custom cars. I have a friend that had a 70' muscle car resto moded.
Had 300k+ into it, decided he didn't drive it enough. Took it to the Barrett Jackson auction last year and sold it for 170k.

Your options would be to sell it on a forum like this one. But with only a few posts you will not get anyone willing to send you that kind of $$. So you would list it FTF, which greatly limits your audience.

Find a local gun dealer to take it in on consignment or list it on Gun Broker for you. You would be selling at a discount and pay fees. The gun dealer here charges 20% of the selling price.

You could also part it out. You will have to discount everything down from the new price, and you wouldn't recoup any of the labor you have in it.

Not much good news i know. But an unfired custom gun has more depreciation than most things except maybe a 6 month old flagship compound bow.
Hope it works out for you.

 

[Riflman]

Custom guns are like custom cars. I have a friend that had a 70' muscle car resto moded.
Had 300k+ into it, decided he didn't drive it enough. Took it to the Barrett Jackson auction last year and sold it for 170k.

Your options would be to sell it on a forum like this one. But with only a few posts you will not get anyone willing to send you that kind of $$. So you would list it FTF, which greatly limits your audience.

Find a local gun dealer to take it in on consignment or list it on Gun Broker for you. You would be selling at a discount and pay fees. The gun dealer here charges 20% of the selling price.

You could also part it out. You will have to discount everything down from the new price, and you wouldn't recoup any of the labor you have in it.

Not much good news i know. But an unfired custom gun has more depreciation than most things except maybe a 6 month old flagship compound bow.
Hope it works out for you.

Yeah we'll see. I have no problem sending the rifle to a FFL and paying them a bump to facilitate a sale, IF I sell it. As I just told someone else, I could part it out and lose the labor and still be ahead some of the supposed values. I get it on the custom gun side, but Mike Bryant is super bust an kind of famous for his builds, and the QA target he sent shows the rifle shoots. Plus although I haven't posted much in a long time, I've been heavily entrenched in the shooting sports industry for over 25 years and have a lot of industry contacts, so I'll just put the word out with some of them for now. In fact my agency used to advertise on this and many of the other forums for a variety of brands. I was just curious about how BAD it would actually be, and this was a good exercise to get me thinking about it more, price it all out and decide what I want to do. When I was in Cali, I actually bought a few guns and recall now I did sell a couple using Calguns, and had a iTrader rating there, but it's just complicated to sell guns now online and it's been a while. That said if someone is interested and is out of my network, I will just ship to a dealer before payment is done and let them handle it for me.

 

[Maverick1]

 

[StupidLightweight]

Custom rifles are one of the joys of life. They're fun to build, exhilarating to use, and make you smile every time you hold 'em. The only negative with a custom build is the gut punch that results from trying to sell it. I see stock Remington 700s go for more than custom builds that have better actions, stocks, barrels, and triggers. God help anyone trying to sell a custom Savage!

 

[Riflman]

Just listed it for sale.

Will include your choice of escrow service at my expense.