My first deer gun was a surplus Short Magazine Lee Enfield bought for $30, trench scars and all. I ordered a walnut semi-inletted blank from Herter's for $7.50, and in the time it would take a junior high shop student to fashion a Garand from an ore mine and a tree trunk, I managed to finish my first custom rifle.

Killing a deer with that .303 whetted my appetite for project guns. I saved enough coin for a new Mauser Mark X barreled action in .264 Win. Mag., then ordered another Herter's blank. It was of Claro and had the reverse rosewood tip and roll-over cheekpiece popular then. There was also plenty of room in the recoil lug mortise for glass bedding, which I did not apply. My first shot, after months of hand labor, sent the tang back through the grip.

Resigned to spending my life in poverty writing about guns instead of spending my life in poverty building them, I still tinker from time to time. A few months ago I assembled one that not only looks good and shoots well, it didn't cost much either. Furthermore, it's a rifle anyone can put together for far less than the four figures custom guns command today.

Because my rack has several Model 70s and 700s, I chose a different mechanism for this project: a Legacy Mauser from Global Trading, an Italian firm (www.globaltrading.com) that appeared in 1995. A refined 98 Mauser, this action is fashioned of 32CRM04 steel and weighs a hefty 3.17 pounds. It measures 8.66 inches long, with a 3.11-inch ejection port that can easily handle long magnum cartridges.

An Oberndorf-style latch forward in the guard bow secures a hinged floorplate. The box holds five standard rounds, three magnums. You can order a deep-well, five-round magazine for magnum cartridges. There's a three-position Model 70-style safety and single-stage trigger that's hardened and adjustable for weight of pull, sear engagement and over-travel.

The Legacy features a pair of big front lugs, plus a safety lug. The long slab of extractor, with its stout, aggressive claw, is pure 98. So is the ejector. Flats atop the receiver ring and the bridge are drilled and tapped for bases designed for this rifle.

The author's project gun, comprised of a Legacy action, E.R. Shaw barrel and Boyds' stock, was easy to build and cost less than $800--a fraction of what you'd pay for a true "custom" rifle.

Standard finish on the Legacy Mauser is a sand-blasted semi-gloss that's closer to shiny than to matte. Deep blue metal finish is standard; gloss blue and Teflon finishes are optional. At the time, this metal retailed for under $500. Alas, prices have since risen, but you can still buy a Legacy action for less than the cost of a divorce or a 21-day elephant hunt in central Africa. And you can take delivery without changing your prospects for either. Learn more about Legacy Mauser actions at www.legacysports.com.

The world is full of good rifle barrels, but on the advice of colleague Jon Sundra I chose a 25-inch fluted barrel by E.R. Shaw, which chambers for more than 50 commercial and wildcat cartridges from .221 Fireball to .458 Win. Mag. in six barrel contours.