The Whitetail Rifle
A bolt-action hunting rifle for Hill Country deer.
Typical range$3,800–$6,500
Lead time5–8 months
Indicative. Confirmed in writing before anything is ordered.
By conversation, not by cart
Commissions.
A commission is a rifle built or rebuilt around the person who will carry it. It starts with a conversation about what the rifle is for, and nothing is ordered until that conversation has been written down and agreed.Expect months, not weeks.
Four places to start.
These are starting points, not products. Yours will be written to suit you.
What this involves: The Whitetail Rifle
The rifle on the seal. Walnut or a quiet composite, a sporter-weight barrel, a trigger that breaks clean. Light enough to carry through cedar and live oak all day, and built to be handed down.
Includes
- A conversation, and a written spec you’ve agreed
- Your action, trued. A new one is transferred to you first, like any other firearm
- A barrel chambered, fitted and crowned for the cartridge you choose
- A trigger fitted and set
- The stock fitted, pillar and glass bedded, and cut to your length of pull
- Metal finished in blue or a ceramic coating
- Your scope mounted, lapped and leveled
- A test fire, a zero, and a card with the load it likes
Chamberings to talk about
.243 Win · 6.5 Creedmoor · 7mm-08 Rem · .270 Win · .308 Win · .30-06 Springfield
Indicative. Confirmed in writing before anything is ordered. On an action you already own, it starts lower.
The Long-Range Rifle
A precision rifle for distance.
Typical range$5,500–$9,500Lead time6–10 monthsIndicative. Confirmed in writing before anything is ordered.
What this involves: The Long-Range Rifle
For the shooter who wants to know exactly where the bullet goes at six hundred yards, and why. Heavier, stiffer and more adjustable than a hunting rifle, and proved at the range before it goes home.
Includes
- Everything in the Whitetail Rifle, except that a custom action needs no truing
- A custom action, transferred to you before work begins, or your own trued factory action
- A heavier or carbon-wrapped match barrel, threaded, with a protector
- A composite stock or chassis with an adjustable comb and length
- Detachable-magazine bottom metal and a 20-MOA scope base
- A longer range session and a written drop table for your load
Chamberings to talk about
6.5 Creedmoor · 6.5 PRC · 7mm PRC · .308 Win · .300 Win Mag · .300 PRC
Indicative. Stocks and custom actions set the lead time.
The Ranch Rifle
A working AR-pattern rifle for hogs, predators and the truck.
Typical range$1,800–$3,800Lead time2–4 monthsIndicative. Confirmed in writing before anything is ordered.
What this involves: The Ranch Rifle
The other rifle on the seal. Parts chosen with you, assembled to spec, checked properly and proved with live fire. A rifle for work, built to run and to be looked after.
Includes
- Parts chosen together: barrel, bolt carrier group, handguard, trigger, stock
- Upper and lower assembled to torque spec
- Gas system aligned and checked; headspace gauged
- A one-color finish, if you want one
- Function test, live-fire test, and a zero with your optic or sights
Chamberings to talk about
5.56 NATO / .223 Wylde · .300 Blackout · 6.5 Grendel · 6mm ARC · .308 Win or 6.5 Creedmoor in the larger frame
Standard rifles only, with a barrel of 16 inches or longer. The lower receiver is a firearm in law, so it is yours, transferred in person, before assembly begins.
Indicative. If you already own the parts, see “Assemble from your parts” on the price list.
The Heirloom Commission
A family firearm, brought back carefully.
Typical range$1,500–$5,000 and upLead time4–9 monthsIndicative. Confirmed in writing before anything is ordered.
What this involves: The Heirloom Commission
A lever-action, a pre-war bolt rifle, a side-by-side. The job starts with its story and a written plan, and sometimes the plan is to clean it, stabilize it and leave it alone.
Includes
- An evaluation and a written plan
- A conservation clean
- Mechanical work to make it safe to shoot
- Hand polishing and a period-appropriate finish, where the plan calls for one
- Stock repair, an oil finish and recut checkering
- A test fire, and a written record of what was done, for the family
Refinishing a collectible firearm usually lowers its collector value. We’ll talk about that first.
Indicative. Conservation alone costs far less. Period parts can add months.
How a commission runs.
Expect months, not weeks. That is the honest figure, and it is the reason the result is worth having. A commission takes a great deal of bench time, so only a few are taken on at once.
Stage 1: Send a request
Tell us what the rifle is for, how far you shoot and what you’d like to carry. The request asks the questions, and Philip reads every one himself.
You’ll hear from us here
A reply by email within 3 business days.
Stage 2: A consultation
If it’s work he can do well, Philip books a consultation with you, in the shop or by phone. You settle the cartridge, the weight, the stock and the finish, and what to leave out.
You’ll hear from us here
To book a time inside shop hours. As often as it takes after that. Nothing is decided in a hurry.
Stage 3: The spec and the order
Everything agreed goes on paper: parts, work, an estimate and an expected lead time. If you both agree, Philip accepts the order and emails you an invoice. Nothing is paid on this website.
You’ll hear from us here
The spec, then the invoice, by email.
Stage 4: Parts in hand
Once the order is accepted, the parts are ordered. The clock starts when the parts are in hand, not before.
You’ll hear from us here
When the parts are ordered, and again when the last one arrives.
Stage 5: On the bench
The work is done in order: action, barrel, bedding, trigger, finish. One step is checked before the next begins.
You’ll hear from us here
If anything should change. Nothing proceeds without you.
Stage 6: Proved and handed over
It is test fired and zeroed, and what it likes is written down. Then it is handed over in person, at the shop in Boerne.
You’ll hear from us here
When it’s ready, to set a time to collect it.
What it costs, and when you pay.
Nothing is paid on this website. Money is talked about plainly, in writing, and late.
| Term | What happens | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Consultation | No charge. | In the shop or by phone, inside shop hours. |
| Before anything is ordered | A written spec and estimate, agreed by you. | Nothing is bought on a handshake. |
| The order | Accepted by Philip once you’ve both agreed the spec. He emails you an invoice. | Nothing is paid on this website. |
| Parts | Ordered once the order is accepted. | What is paid, and when, is on your invoice. |
| If you cancel | Before parts are ordered, anything you’ve paid comes back. After, the parts ordered for you are yours. | Details in your written spec. |
| Optics | Not included in any range shown. | Mounting, leveling and zero are. |
| Lead time | Starts when the parts are in hand. | Some parts take months. We’ll tell you which. |
| Handover | In person, at the shop in Boerne. | A new action or receiver is transferred to you first, in person, with the federal form and a background check, before work on it begins. |
- Consultation
- No charge.
- In the shop or by phone, inside shop hours.
- Before anything is ordered
- A written spec and estimate, agreed by you.
- Nothing is bought on a handshake.
- The order
- Accepted by Philip once you’ve both agreed the spec. He emails you an invoice.
- Nothing is paid on this website.
- Parts
- Ordered once the order is accepted.
- What is paid, and when, is on your invoice.
- If you cancel
- Before parts are ordered, anything you’ve paid comes back. After, the parts ordered for you are yours.
- Details in your written spec.
- Optics
- Not included in any range shown.
- Mounting, leveling and zero are.
- Lead time
- Starts when the parts are in hand.
- Some parts take months. We’ll tell you which.
- Handover
- In person, at the shop in Boerne.
- A new action or receiver is transferred to you first, in person, with the federal form and a background check, before work on it begins.
What we ask of you.
Patience.
The lead time is real. It starts when the parts are in hand, and some parts take their time.
Clear answers.
What it’s for, how far you shoot, what you can carry all day. “I don’t know yet” is a clear answer.
A plan for collecting it.
It is handed over in person, at the shop in Boerne, inside shop hours.
Your say on changes.
If something should change mid-build, you’ll hear first and nothing proceeds without you.
A commission is work on a rifle or an action you own, so it comes back to you, the person who brought it in. If you need a new action first, it changes hands in person at the shop, like any other firearm, with the federal form and a background check, before work on it begins.
Firearms at the shop.
Every firearm that comes in for work is logged as federal law requires, and it goes back only to the person who brought it in. Nothing changes hands online.
Brought in.
At a time agreed, unloaded and cased. Logged as federal law requires.
On the bench.
Kept at the shop while the work is done.
Handed back.
To the person who brought it in, with ID.
Start with the conversation.
The request takes about ten minutes. It asks what the rifle is for before it asks anything else.
Replies by email within 3 business days.