We are off to a great start and have our first volley of submissions. First through the gate is Clay with his big game hunting build named “The Hulk”. I am very impressed that the first build is not YAAR (Yet Another AR). Note: I’m not hacking on AR builds, but this series would get old pretty quick with nothing but variations of a “black rifle”.

458 Lott Big Game

The Hulk is a beast of a rifle in 458 Lott. Despite only weighing in under 11 pounds, this rifle is meant to take on unruly game. The 458 Lott was designed as an answer to the “less than stellar performance” of the .458 Winchester Magnum against big game (though this rifle can fire the .458 WM in a pinch).

Clay did an excellent job detailing each component and included pictures for each item. He mentioned going through a learning experience with this rifle–he originally had a Trijicon 1-4×24 mounted and it was not up to the task, breaking down in the first 50 rounds. Check out this build and let Clay (and us) know what you think in the comments!

How “Build of the Week” works

We will feature a build each week (assuming we get enough submissions). After four builds, we will hold a public vote. The winning build of that vote will win a prize. A random voter will also receive a prize. We will repeat that same cycle six times after which we will hold a run-off and the winning build will get a much more awesome prize (remember the rifle from last time?). Second place will also win a prize. We will also pick a couple of random voters that will get prize packs.

The best submissions will include:

• A unique build you have done and the concept for it.
• A great overall photo of the build—James did an excellent primer on photographing guns.
• Component prices and weights.
• Individual item photos.
• Detail of why a component was chosen.
• Link to where that component was sourced (if commercially available).
• Staying involved with the post by answering questions the other readers have.

A few caveats:

• Do NOT just copy someone else’s build, change a couple of things, and call it good.
• Do NOT submit a build with a single line item which is the completed gun—we want to see the custom parts that make it up.
• Concept builds were pretty universally hated by the readers—we may still allow a couple depending upon circumstances but don’t be offended if you get torn apart in the comments.
• We will only accept one build per person, per six cycles. Make it your best.
• It does not just have to be a gun, though a gun MUST be the central focus.

How to submit a build

Go to https://theprepared.com/kits. You will see some other example kits that are more related to preparedness. Scroll down a little and you will see a banner with a link to “Create Your Own Kit”. If you don’t have an account (or are not logged in), clicking on that link will popup a box allowing you to do either. Once you are logged in, the “Create Kit” wizard process will start. Give the kit a catchy name and set the visibility to “Public”. Follow the steps and make your build. Everything is saved in realtime, and you can always get back to it on the main “kits” page.

Email the link to your kit (either copy from the URL or hit the “share” button on the editor) to tom.r @ thefirearmblog.com with a subject of “Build of the Week Submission”. I’ll check out the build and if it is good to go, it will be added to the queue. If it needs some work, I’ll help you polish it up.

May the odds ever be in your favor.