"Old World Quality and Craftsmanship©"
BSR Custom Arms - A Division of
BSR GROUP, INC.

Also see sections:
"Custom Rifles", and
"So, You Want to Build a Custom Competition Quality 1911 .45?"
for additional prices.

The prices below reflect labor only; parts extra

 
General Shop Rates
Re-Barreling Service
Remington Work
Jewell Triggers
Metal Refinishing
Sight Work
Rifles
Shotguns
Handguns
Black Powder/Muzzle Loader
Stock Work
1911 .45 Services

Other Miscellaneous Services

General Shop Rates

General Gunsmith Work: $49.00/hr
General Machining Service (excluding parts): $85.00/hr

Re-Barreling Service

Shilen Chrome Moly Match Grade Barrel (Blacked): $525.00
Shilen Chrome Moly Match Hand Polished & Blacked: $625.00
Shilen Select Stainless Barrel: from $565.00 Border Stainless Barrel: from $565.00
Kreiger Stainless Double Cryo Treated (See Cryo-Accurizing - Use "Back" To Return) : $630.00
Kreiger Stainless Double Cryo Treated (See Cryo-Accurizing - Use "Back" To Return) – Fluted: $1001.00
Hart Stainless Barrel: $861.00
Hart Stainless Cryo Treated (See Cryo-Accurizing - Use "Back" To Return): $910.00
Chambering for Wildcats / Ackleys: Add $95.00
Fitting any of the above to Mauser 98's or Mannlicher:  Add $95 .00

For the above price we will:
supply,
fully fit,
chamber,
polish (or, bead blast), and,
proof barrel.
We will ONLY fit new match grade barrels!
              

Customers supplying their own barrel blank will be surcharged $70.00 in addition to the labor costs for fitting, and we will extend no guarantee beyond the proof test.

Remington Work

Complete action blueprint: including new recoil lug, firing pin & spring, re-thread action & bush bolt-body, and refinish: $497.00
Trigger rework: $60.00 Up
Please note that a Remington blueprint can only be completed as part of a custom rifle or re-barreling project, as we increase the thread pitch diameter as part of the process.

Rifles based on Remington actions have the following work performed:

1. The recoil lug is surface ground perfectly flat.
2. The front shoulder of the action is machined perpendicular to the centerline of the action.
3. The internal barrel threads are uniformed.  If you would like the threads straightened by re-cutting with a single point tool, this can be done at an additional charge.  If you were not supplying an action, I would recommend a custom action, if for no other reason than resale value.
4. The internal bolt lugs are machined perfectly flat and perpendicular to the bore of the action.
5. The rear lugs on the bolt are machined perfectly flat and perpendicular to the centerline of the bolt.
6. The bolt face is machined perfectly flat and perpendicular to the centerline of the bolt.
7. The bolt and action are then lapped to seat the two surfaces together.
8. The action is bead-blasted for a matte finish and various surfaces polished and stoned then blued.
9. Firing pin protrusion is checked and adjusted, if necessary.
10. The trigger is disassembled, stoned, and reassembled then adjusted to maintain a constant crisp trigger pull.
11. Barrels are indicated within .0002 TIR and then crowned.

All stocks are pillar bedded with aluminum pillars and barrels are free floating.  Muzzle breaks are muzzle-end bored after installation for perfect concentricity with the bore.

Other Miscellaneous Services

Muzzle Brake (Supply, Fit & Proof): $345.00
Vaime Sound Moderator – Centerfires (Supply, Fit & Proof): $385.00
Supply Fitted Thread Cap with either of the above: $50.00
Fitting of Customer's Muzzle Brake, Extension Tube or Sound Moderator (incl. Proofing): $238.00
Load Development including Chronograph Report: from $246.00
Action Threading (Mannlicher SSG): $175.00
Jewel Bolt Body: from $90.00  

Jewell Triggers
Remington Style Trigger (incl. Safety & Bolt Release): $315.00
HVR Trigger with Bottom Safety: $266.00
HVR Trigger (1.5oz to 4.5lbs): $255.00
BR Trigger (1.5oz to 3oz): $238.00

Bluing

 Nickel Plating - Handgun Only  

 Stripping Nickel - Handgun Only                          $55.00

Sight Work

 Rifles

 Shotguns

Handguns

 Black Powder/Muzzle Loader

Stock Work

McMillan Stocks
Hunting & Sporting Stocks (Ready to Fit – Not Pillar Bedded): from $553.00
Prone Stock with Adj. Cheek Piece (Molded or Marbled Finish): from $695.00
Bench-rest Stock (Graphite In-let Blank Only): from $455.00  

Pillar Bedding (in Marine Tex): from $275.00
Ruger M77 Mk I & II Bedding: $300.00
Varberger / Lakelander Pillar bedding incl. new recoil lug and trigger conversion: $455.00
Float barrel and reseal stock: $75.00

 1911 .45 Services

The Art of Metal Refinishing  

Bead blast
Hunter Finish
Deluxe Finish
Master Finish
Belgium (IM) Bluing
Parkerizing
Teflon-Moly Finish
Nickel Plating

The Bluing of Steel

The bluing of steel is not a coating or other form of protective film put on the surface of metal.  Rather, bluing is actually, what you are trying to avoid - rust.  By controlling the rusting process, the entire surface and all the pores of the steel become rusted and by that fashion, further rust cannot develop.  Only when the steel is scratched, worn, or otherwise exposes "un-rusted" steel, does new uncontrolled rust begin.

In the olden days, guns were slowly rusted in humidity chambers, requiring weeks or months to achieve a "blued" finish.  Although this old method is still available and performed by some custom gunsmiths, most gunsmiths and all manufacturers utilized an accelerated rusting process, commonly known as hot bluing.

Hot bluing involves the submersion of clean steel into a bath of caustic salts at a temperature of usually 292 deg. to 310 deg F. for 20 to 30 minutes, or longer.  The boiling salts act as abrasion that continuously takes off the rust as it forms, and special ingredients within the salts insure a uniform black-blue finish.

However, the bluing process itself is the easy part because the quality of the "blue" depends on the quality of the metal surface, not the bluing process itself.  Before bluing, guns must be manually stripped of all old blue, rust, and brought back to white steel.  The surface then must be polished to the desired finish using buffing wheel and various gradients of polish.  BSR Custom uses the following grits, depending on the desired finish: 140, 240, 320, 400, 500, 555B, 555G, and 555W.  Before proceeding to new grit, all polish marks from the previous grit have to be removed.

After polishing, the metal is cleaned in an organic solvent, such as tricholoethane, and a rust prohibiting agent, then sent to our out-service

BSR Custom offers the following grades of bluing:

Bead blast.  This finish is recommended for those wanting a low luster non-reflective blue on their hunting and/or military-style guns.  It is similar to Parkerizing in appearance and texture (except only available in black).  It is recommended for badly pitted or damaged guns. (Beads are actually very small, round pieces of glass – similar to sand, yet all perfectly uniform in size.)

Hunter Finish.  This finish is recommended for hunting guns and other firearms that may see harsh conditions and treatment.  It is a no frills type of blue; durable and attractive, but containing polish marks. Most of the time, the quality is better than the customer expected.  The old finish, rust, and pits (within reason) are removed and the gun polished with 140 grit on a loose wheel.

Deluxe Finish.  This finish is similar to the finish on most factory guns and is recommended for most guns that do not see the harsh treatment and abuse of a hunting gun.  The old finish, rust, and pits are removed and the gun polished with 140, 240, 320, and 400 grit on a loose wheel. All screw holes are protected and corners square.

Master Finish.  This is the finish for the gun enthusiast that wants a mirror finish on his firearms.  It is not for everyone and a gun must be in reasonable shape to even qualify for this finish.  Same as the Deluxe finish except that the gun is polished further with 500, 555B, 555G, and 555W, with all grit and polish marks removed to produce a mirror finish.

Belgium (IM) Bluing.  Most double barrel shotguns cannot be blued by hot bluing methods.  This is because the barrels are held together by solder that will melt and be dissolved by the caustic salts used in the hot bluing process.  Putting a double barrel shotgun into a hot bluing take will undoubtedly result in two barrels being removed!  Because of this, double barrel shotguns must be blued by an alternate method.

The Belgium Bluing process involves heating the barrels in a boiling water bath (220 deg F.) and then applying a cold caustic rusting solution to the hot steel (in hot bluing you add cold steel to the hot salts, this is just the opposite).  The barrels immediately rust and the rust must then be manually removed both by machine and by hand.  When all the rust is removed, the process is repeated repeatedly.  As the process continues, the rust will no longer come off and the barrels will begin to turn blue.  After 8-10 applications of the bluing solution and rust removal, the barrels will be blued.  Unlike hot bluing, methods which give a Black-Blue color, Belgium blued barrels are generally Blue-Black.

This process is required on all double-barreled shotguns.  Some people prefer the Blue-Black color over the Black-Blue of hot methods and have other guns blued by this method.  This procedure should not be confused with "cold bluing", which is a chemical coloring of the steel; IM bluing is a true rusting of the steel.

Parkerizing.  BSR does not offer Parkerizing.  We find that the demand for such is minimal and the quality of the finish does not generally meet our standards.  For those interested in the Parkerized-look of finish, we suggest the bead blast finish described above.

Teflon-Moly Finish.  A finish consisting of a Teflon fluoropolymer resin and molybdenum sulfide coating.  A finish that offers durability and friction fighting properties.  This is an ultra-modern, self-lubricating, thermo-set coating that is chemically bonded to a phenol-epoxy base making it highly resistant to scratches and abrasion.  A great alternative to bluing for restoring military rifles and parts, coating hard to blue stainless steel or aluminum parts, refurbishing hunting shotguns, rifles, and handguns, or refurbishing any metal that needs a durable, self-lubricating, rust-proof coating that lasts and will look great for years.

Nickel Plating.
Nickel-plating of firearms was in the past performed by electrolysis.  To accomplish this, a bar of nickel and the firearm (naked steel, surgically clean) were placed together in a special electrolysis solution whereby an electric current would pass through the two metals, one acting as the cathode and the other the anode.  Depending on your function at the time (nickel plating or removal) the firearm would be the cathode or the anode.  The problems with electroplating on a firearm, versus other objects, is based on simple physics - electricity, like everything else, follows the path of least resistance.  With all the corners, bumps, holes, caves, and other odd shapes of a firearm, nickel would be plated most heavily on corners and edges, and least where it is most needed, on the flat surfaces.  Additionally, nickel-plating by electrolysis does not work well with steel.  Therefore, guns must first be plated with copper (that is the gold color you see in old worn nickel) and then with the nickel, thereby compounded the caking problems discussed above.

Electrolysis nickel plating is now the preferred method of nickel-plating guns.  By this method, the nickel is bonded to the steel in a hot nickeling solution.  Since there is no current, there is no path of least resistance and the nickel is plated (without a copper pre-plate) evenly and smoothly throughout the firearm.  As with bluing, the quality of the nickeling is directly related to the quality of the metal preparation - all parts must be naked and surgically clean.  The difference between high and low luster is the quality of the polish.

BSR Custom uses only Electrolysis plating methods.

Nickel Removal
Guns previously nickeled (generally by electrolysis) must have all nickel removed for either bluing or re-nickeling.  The old nickel is removed by electrolysis (generally takes about 48 continuous hours) and the copper manually removed before the gun can be further cleaned, polished and processed for any other refinishing procedure.