Nicholson, Pennsylvania
Custom rifle builds
One rifle at a time, specified around what you actually shoot. Dave Wells is a former Kimber gunsmith, and the truing, chambering, threading and bedding are all cut on his own machines in the Endless Mountains.
Tuesday–Saturday, by appointment only. Call before you drive out.
Former Kimber gunsmith
Factory-trained before he opened his own shop
Accuracy standard
Agreed with you before the build starts
Typical turnaround
Quoted with your build — ask when you call
Cut in house
Chambering, threading, truing and bedding on our own lathe
The shop
What a custom build means here
Wells Custom Gunmakers is a family-owned business in the heart of the Endless Mountains region of Pennsylvania. Dave Wells, owner and gunsmith, is a former Kimber gunsmith.
A custom build here is not an assembly job out of a parts bin. The rifle is specified as a whole — action, barrel, stock, trigger and optic chosen together for the job it has to do — and then cut, fitted and finished by one pair of hands. This is a one-man shop, so the person who quotes your rifle is the person who builds it.
Our name goes on the receiver. Nothing leaves the bench until it is right.
Where to start
Two ways we build
Most builds fall into one of two families. Both start from a trued action and a match barrel, and both go through the same spec sheet. What changes is what the rifle is optimised for — and that decision drives every other choice.
Precision Hunting Rifles
Complete custom hunting rifles built to your specification — action, barrel, stock, trigger and finish chosen for the game and the country you hunt.
View service
Long-Range & Sniper Rifles
Precision rifles for long-range shooting and law enforcement duty, built around a trued action and a match barrel.
View service
The process
How a build goes
Six stages from the first phone call to the day you collect it. You will know what stage your rifle is at, because there is only one person building it.
Stage 01
Consultation
Call the shop or send in a spec sheet. We talk through what the rifle has to do — the game, the country, the distances, how far you have to carry it — before a single part is chosen.
Stage 02
Spec sheet and quote
Every choice is written down: action, chambering, barrel, muzzle, stock or chassis, trigger, optic and finish. You get a written quote against that specification, not a ballpark.
Stage 03
Deposit and parts
Custom builds require a minimum 75% deposit. Parts are ordered against the agreed spec, and the build goes into the queue.
Stage 04
Machining
The action is trued and the bolt lugs lapped for even bearing. The barrel is chambered, threaded to that action, headspaced and crowned — all cut on our own lathe.
Stage 05
Fitting and finish
Stock inletted and glass bedded, barrel channel floated, trigger tuned, bases and rings fitted and lapped. Then bluing or Cerakote to the colour you specified.
Stage 06
Handover
Headspace checked and function tested before it goes anywhere. You collect the rifle at the shop by appointment, and we go through what was done to it.
The specification
What you choose
These are the decisions that make up a build. You do not have to arrive with answers — that is what the consultation is for — but this is what the spec sheet walks you through, and each one is work done here in the shop.
Action
Remington 700 long or short, or a custom receiver. Trued, lugs lapped, bolt work as specified.
Machining & chamberingBarrel
Maker, contour, finished length and twist rate, chosen for the bullet you intend to shoot.
Machining & chamberingChambering
Cut to your cartridge and headspaced to your action, not to a generic reamer print.
Machining & chamberingMuzzle
Crowned, threaded, or threaded with a brake fitted. Thread protector supplied where you want one.
Machining & chamberingStock or chassis
Wood, synthetic or carbon stock inletted and glass bedded, or a chassis with the magazine system you want.
Bedding & stock workTrigger
Fitted and tuned to the pull weight you actually want, rather than left where it came out of the box.
Gunsmithing & repairsOptics
Bases and rings fitted and lapped so the scope sits true and holds its zero.
Gunsmithing & repairsFinish
Bluing, parkerizing, or Cerakote in the colours and pattern you choose, on barrel and action.
Finishing & CerakoteOut of the shop
Rifles from the bench
Work that has come off the bench at Wells Custom Gunmakers.
Straight answers
What a build costs
A complete rifle is quoted against your specification, because no two builds contain the same parts. What we can tell you up front is how the shop charges, and we publish the whole price list rather than making you ask.
Shop rate
$100–$150/hr
Minimum intake
$46
Deposit on custom builds
75%
Complete rifle
Quoted per spec
Individual operations — truing, chambering, threading, bedding, bolt knob conversions, fluting, Cerakote — are all individually priced on the price list, so you can see exactly what each part of a build contributes. Parts and labour require a 50% deposit; a full custom build requires a minimum of 75%. Military discount with ID.
Start here
Start your build
Fill in the spec sheet and Dave will call you to go through it, or pick up the phone and start with a conversation. Either way you will get a straight answer on what the rifle should be and what it will cost.
570-222-2213