I also specified an 800 or under price, and would like interchangeable barrels.

If it *Looked roughly like* an older Stevens design, that would be nice, but that is far from being the primary criteria.

All of the information is in the original post.

There was a thread on the accurate reloading forum regarding making up new martini actions but in a slightly bigger size but smaller than the 577/450 caliber ones. No costs were mentioned as the poster was trying to get an idea of what kind of market was out there. Haven't heard anything regarding wether this will come out or not. If someone did a larger than cadet size with thicker sidewalls and larger barrel tennon most likely would be someone with a well equipped machine shop done as a one off. Some of the members here have amazed me with their machining skills when they make the complete rifle almost from bar stock. Labor of is what I call it. Frank

Interesting conversation. I would love to make a single shot for sale however, with that said there is no money in it for a commercial project. By the time I spend the money for design, tooling, insurance,marketing and all the other costs that go into making a small arm I could not sell it at the 800 range. Nice thought just not possible.

Quality is like oats.  If you want quality oats, you got to pay the price.  Now, if you can be satisfied with oats that have been run through the mule, you can get them a hell of a lot cheaper. 

Salvo wrote on Nov 15^th, 2015 at 10:47am:



IIRC, only the Stevens 44-1/2 was a falling block, the remainder being either tip-ups or swinging blocks (breechblock pivot located ahead of the rear of the chamber).

Neither Frank DeHaas, nor I (FWIW), think that the Stevens swinging block actions are viable for cartridges anywhere near as strong as the .250 Savage, etc.

FWIW, this week, (at a reasonable price) I acquired a very nice NIB Stevens (Savage) Model 71 Favorite from 1971, that looks to be a nice little shooter for my youngest Grandson.

(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)


.

A friend of mine bought (used) one of those programmable 5-axis machining centers for about ten cents on the dollar, got it fixed up and programmed it to make an old time single shot rifle action design.  This would never appeal to a mass market, as the extraction was typical of the vintage guns, not up to high intensity modern cartridges, and it would not handle rimless cartridges easily.  There would thus be no economy via quantity production by appealing to the everyday gun buyer.

He found he still had to outsource some EDM work as it would be too cumbersome to set his machine up for cutting the parts.  He had the trigger guards cast, by an outside foundry, as it would, again, take too much programming work and tie up his machine pointlessly for something that could be made more economically by other methods.

Last I saw, he had made maybe 7 or 8 completed actions, in the course of testing out small modifications towards the final design, from which he had made 3 rifles.  He had sold (I think) one of the earliest versions of his design to an importunate correspondent.  He had most of the parts in various unfinished states for maybe five more actions.

He found it impossible to set a price on these actions, which were in the white, needing final polishing and bluing or casehardening.  And, of course, being made into rifles.  Adding up his costs for equipment amortization, fixtures and tooling, programming, designing, research, materials, supplies, subcontracting and "thinking time" was more work for him than actually producing the action, and, more to the point, no fun.

I would say from my occasional visits to his shop that it would be uneconomical to price the actions alone at much under $3K a pop.  I watched him try to make a part once.  He bolted a piece of metal to the machine table, closed the doors and pushed a button.  Liquid sprayed in the compartment, the table lurched back and forth, in and out, the tool head plucked tools off the lazy Susan tool holder and chips flew.  And then it stopped.  Some kind of "bug" in the programming and the part was half done.  I left him in peace and quiet to sort it out.

I don't know how much more "modern" such manufacturing could get, or how much lower the overhead.  The guy is retired on a pension and doesn't need the money (or the hassle).  Maybe when 3-D printers that use molten metal and wood get as cheap as personal computers, we can all make our own.  Otherwise, I don't see it happening.

A lot of these types of businesses start out as hobby shops.
If they haven't been able to prove that there is a large enough customer base to keep paying ALL the expenses for at least a few years, it will either remain a hobby shop, or disappear.

Simple fact is, our sport is an extremely small segment hobby, and generates primarily a small segment demand for a very few "standardized" products, or a bunch of intermittent one-offs.

If it was economically viable to produce "the product", someone the resources to produce it would likely have recognized the opportunity and already be producing it.
But they aren't, and that should tell us something, shouldn't it?