(If this topic has been beat to death here or elsewhere, please direct me to that conversation and I'll go quietly....).
I wonder what constitutes a "custom rifle." Or is there just no really accepted definition?
Is a C. Sharps or Shiloh Sharps single shot rifle that I order from their extensive list of options--and which may well be "one-of-a-kind" given my odd tastes--truly "custom"? What about a similarly eccentric Model 7 or 700 ordered from Remington's "Custom Shop"?
Or is a truly custom rifle always made up from scratch or at least assembled from components by a small shop with the parts sourced and/or made to an individual's ('smith or customer) very personal specifications?
At times it seems the term is almost meaningless: a 722 with a shortened barrel and added recoil pad is "custom" as is the same rifle made into a work of art by a known master who threw away 85% of the Remington and substituted his own specially made components, a premium barrel, and "edible" walnut molded to the metal.
Maybe we should just describe the rifle's level of quality, once we've established that it is no longer "box stock"? Or is this just not a real problem?
