I've seen and handled one of the Pedersoli Gibbs, and it looked OK.
You say they look OK and you could build a nicer one, but looks are not the measure of these rifles. The Gibbs is a copy of an original Gibbs, so you can't improve on classic lines.
They are better than OK. The Gibbs is a world class rifle out of the box. It provides new shooters an opportunity to become involved in LRML without the expense of a custom or original rifle, and has brought a fresh influx of new shooters to the sport worldwide. They also provide the proper bullet mold. They also have a proprietary method to produce tapered rifling, larger at the breech, which allows the bullet to bump up for a tighter fit at the muzzle as it exits. It is the most widely used rifle in international shooting and has claimed numerous gold medals and new records. Having said all that, I can't shoot one because of fitment. My neck is too long and I have to raise the butt up to the point where half of the butt is above my shoulder, with resulting recoil pain.
It may fall from grace however. Two of its biggest supporters have passed away in the space of two weeks. Dick Trenk was the USA rep for Pedersoli and was responsible for the sponsorship of many LR events. He also provided a Gibbs, bullets, and powder free of charge at numerous events, so new shooters could have the opportunity to try one out. He also sponsored a special match that enabled those shooters to win a new rifle.
Joe Hepsworth was the captain of the International team and heavily promoted LRML. He sold all the Pedersoli accessories and sold a Gibbs package which included a platinum nipple at prices less than other retailers. He also carried a full line of high grade sights, paper patched bullets and other stuff for the shooter who wanted to upgrade his rifle.
If I was to get one (long range M/L), I think I'd get a Green Mountain cartridge rifle barrel blank, install a breechplug/hooked breech, and have at it. I'm sure I could build a nicer one . Track has all the stuff you need, except a decent piece of English walnut for a stock.
You might also find that problematic. While Track has a lot of stuff, it doesn't always fit together properly. Believe me, I've been thru it several times. It's very hard to build a "proper" English LRML from Track's parts, and it's an advanced project. They are complex in their simplicity. Since Don Brown passed on, there are no longer any sets of components offered to build a proper gun. Track's breeches are problematic. I have a Rigby in the shop now. The guy spent several thousand dollars in wood, components, a Badger barrel, and special machining to recreate the Rigby barrel profile, using a Track breech. However, he chose the wrong lock and drip bar resulting in the whole project ending up as trash. I'm waiting for the go ahead to start over and restock the gun with the right parts. Besides this gun, I now have 4 LRML's in the pipeline and I will build no more after them.
