I own a Dakota in 330 Dakota. Its plain jane... 97 Long Range model. No frills. Got it when I worked at the gun shop... set me back about $3K. Which is about as inexpensive as they get. Its an amazingly well built gun. In a fantastic caliber. I sold the first one I bought at a considerable profit, and decided I wanted to keep one for myself anyway. I'm glad I did.

It is personal, and everyone has different budgets. I bought a cheap rifle -- a Remington 700 ADL in .30-06 -- for less than $300 at a grand opening of a Bass Pro Shop. This is in a black synthetic stock. My use for this rifle is as a back-up and as a foul weather rifle. I don't like taking my nice wood stocked rifles out in rain. Maybe they would be OK, maybe they wouldn't. I don't know. I bought a $500 scope to put on this $280 rifle. I didn't want a scope that would let me down on a hunt or that would fog up. This makes perfect sense to me. My "nice wood stocked" rifles are custom rifles that my father made -- one in .30-06 the other in .25-06, both on Springfield actions. They shoot well and fit me very well. I'm 6' 2" tall and their 15 1/2" length of pull fit me much better than the factory standard 13 1/2" length of pull. These are beautiful wood stocks and since my father is dead, they are not replaceable at any price. Naturally I'm reluctant to use them in inclement weather.

Sometimes you need to buy a rifle or shotgun before the next season, and the budget just is not there for the higher quality firearm. That's just the way it is. I understand that. I'm fortunate I've never had to make that kind of purchase, but I understand this perfectly.

I am a big advocate of high quality. The difference in price is typically returned by longer life, and they are a bargain when considering the superior performance they give. Quality waders come to mind. The difference between $40 waders or $80 waders is very significant compared to $190 waders. How many more years of service do the high dollar waders provide? How much better service do the high dollar waders provide over those extra years of service? How much warmer are you in the high dollar waders? Whoe much more flexible during walking into the marsh are the higher dollar waders?

I don't look at price as something to make a firearm a good gun or something to pass down.I've shot dove with a single shot 410 and also hunted with a 16 gauge model 21 with Alvin White engraving (the engraving brings price into 5 figures) but it's still a gun or work piece!Why worry about hunting with a $10,000 gun when it's something we can control what affects it,but we don't think twice about driving a $40,000 truck down the road with morons next to us at 70mph!Get what you like,can afford,shoot well,etc! I don't shoot the hi-end guns any better than my LC Smith or Black Diamond Winchester...but I will drive my paid off 4x4 places posers wouldn't think of driving their H2's and King Ranch's!

It comes down to price VS performance and looks. I want a fine looking, well made rifle that shoots good. But IMHO, a person can achieve this standard at under $1,000 pretty easily. Beyond the $1,000 price tag, I think a guy is laying out a lot of money for very little real gain...at least in performance. I've got a sneaking suspicion that 3/4ths of the guns out there can outshoot the guys who own them. Me included, I'm afraid.[]

There are plenty of UGLY, black, bolt action rifles for more than most of the dakota rifles. If you really want to go hog wild for an expensive rifle, check out Accuracy International. They build world class Sniper Rifles. Somebody has said that more money does not get a better, or more accurate rifle, and in this case you are wrong. Check them out, I think that they start around 6,000-8000 for a .308 and go up from there. It is the only rifle that I have ever shot an honest 1/4 group at 100yds with. Factory demo rifle at a sniper competition, with a Nightforce scope. This is one that you really do get your moneys worth.
All that said, sure, this isn't the caliber that you mentioned. I am sorry for rambling there. Just had to make a short point to those who say it isn't worth it, or not worth the extra money. If you want a dakota, by all means get one. I looked at their Dakota Longbow a couple years back in .338 Lapua Mag. Dakota guarantees accuracy. That particular rifle factory guarantee of 1/2 MOA out to 1500 yds.
If you want the dakota. BUY IT. KEEP IT. AND HAND IT DOWN TO YOUR KIDS OR GRANDKIDS. It will last. ( that is the other reason to buy nice firearms. THEY LAST LONGER. long enough to give your kids.

good luck.

KDV, I'm not saying more money can't buy you a better, more accurate rifle. What I AM saying is that somewhere around $1,000 bucks I think one reaches the point of diminishing returns. In you're example, a person is paying $6-$8 thousand dollars for a .308 that will shoot a 1/4 inch group at 100 yds when most $1 thousand dollar rifles will shoot a 3/4" group at 100 yds with a good shot and good ammo. Not many people willing to pay an extra $5 thousand bucks just to cut half inch off their groups. That's what I call paying a LOT of money for damn little in return. I doubt there is an animal in this hemisphere that would appreciate the investment...and even fewer wives.[:-]

If your rich, or I guess really passionate about something I guess it isn't a big deal. However spending considerably more money on a rifle really doesn't get you anything other than self satisfaction. Or it might help your ego out if you like telling others how much you paid for something.

Now a days the extra money spent is going towards prettier wood and metal and a name. Functionally there probably isn't a whole lot of difference between that and something half the price, or more. There really hasn't been much revolutionary design in the standard bolt action design in a LONG time. They are all based on the same concepts and designs. As a matter of fact from what I have seen some of the more expensive guns don't shoot as well as some of the cheaper ones do. And I'm not talking ultra expensive custum guns either, I'm talking production guns you can go into a store and buy. You can drop thousands of dollars into any gun to try and make it more accurate if you really want to.

I would also assume the more expensive rifles would hold their value much better as well if you were thinking about an investment. However there are much better ways to invest your money.

When I first think about it for me spending a grand or more on a rifle seems insane, especially for someone of my income level. However I have around that much into one of my bows. And in 2,000 I paid that for a computer tower. Not a whole computer, just the tower![]. So I guess it boils down to what you want and where your priorities lay.

In the end though a factory rifle for around $1000 dollars probably doesn't shoot any better, or last any longer than a quality made rifle for less money. Most $500 Savages shoot pretty darn well right of the box and I am quite sure they will last generations. For that matter I bet a Stevens for 300 bucks will too.

I would love to have an expensive pretty gun, but it just wasn't justifiable for me. My $500 savage with synthetic stock and stainless metal with a $250 scope is more than what I need for my purposes. Spending twice as much on a rifle and scope would not have gotten me more performance in most cases, just a gun I was afraid to take out of the gun rack.

I don't think it really matters as far as being a family airlume either. I want all my dads guns when he passes away, and would like nothing more than to pass them down to my kids. None of them were really expensive guns though. A Marlin .22 lever gun, a SxS imported shotgun and a few others, but they are priceless to me because of the memories they hold.

Expensive guns are really only worth more if you intend on selling them at a later date. Maybe

My opinions anyway.

Paul

Do you think this is the only rifle that will do this? I know of plenty that will do this that cost much less money. I know of rimfires that will hold quarter inch groups at 100 yards. My stock $200 savage 17HMR with a mid priced 20 power scope could come very close to it. And that kind of accuracy out of a center fire has a lot less to do with how much money you spent on the gun. Don't think your going to drop 8 grand on a gun, slap an expensive scope on it and run to walmart and grab what ever rounds are on sale and shoot those kind of groups. I am quite sure there are plenty of custom guns out there that shoot just as well that have much less money invested in them.

Are you saying that gun will last longer than a browning, remington, ruger, winchester, howa, sako, savage or similar? Or that any of these guns won't last long enough to pass down to your children? They are all made from the same materials for the most part. I don't see where the one for twice the money will last considerably longer than any of the others as long as they are well taken care of. I know of some of those brands that have been around for generations.

Paul

I had a Savage bolt-action in 7mag that shot sub-MOA. I bought it a Wal-Mart on sale with a scope for $170. I have a friend with a really nice Robar in .308 that will shoot sub-1/2 MOA. I'm not sure, but I think he spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $3500 for it. Don't get me wrong, I am way jealous of that rifle, but that's quite a price difference for a difference of less than an inch. Since my hunting area rarely provides a shot of over 100 yards, I cannot justify the difference in expense. Maybe if I get into handloading and benchrest shooting it would be worth it, but not now.

Last week I had my hands on a 97 in 257 roberts(black synthetic stock) that was at my Gunsmiths place for work . I normally don't get excited about rifles but that one got the bp going. It fit and pointed perfectly for my taste and the caliber is as good as it gets for WD.