True enough.
But so is the flip side.
Put all that stuff on a 700 and you still have a 700 and valued accordingly. Put it on a BAT and you have a BAT which is valued accordingly.
By the time you go full monte on a 700 build and add up everything, ready to shoot, scoped, dies etc., etc., the difference between starting with a 700 and starting with a custom action isn't that much. It's still something and not trivial, but on a $5K build it's not a huge percentage either.
For me, it was always as simple as whether I had a suitable donor action in hand already, or not. If so, go ahead and roll with it. If not, order the custom.
But, that's not always necessarily smart, either. I have a Nesika T repeater that I wouldn't do the same way again. Didn't have anything suitable on the shelf. Had a couple single shot Nesika's from back when Glenn was making them in WA that are absolutely flawless and the foundations for extremely accurate rifles (genuine .250 aggs, not any of this shot one group one time bullcrap).
Decided to order a Nesika repeater for the project. Long story made short, and I've shared this with anyone who has asked, I wouldn't buy another Dakota/Nesika. It shoots great, but no better than a blueprinted 700 would. And for the extra money, it just isn't "that" nice, compared to the older Poulsbo Nesika's I own. Fine detail machining isn't as smooth. What I really did not like though, communication, customer service and delivery time vs. promised were all terrible dealing with Dakota. Very unsatisfactory experience. Don't ever want to deal with those people again.
The finished rifle does shoot like a house afire. Pleasing to the eye and all that. And if I ever wanted to part it out I could get a lot more out of it than a blueprinted 700. But, if I had that particular project to do over again, knowing what I know now, I would not have ordered that Nesika.
- DAA