Denali pfui

[slabsides]

I'm sick of reading about the latest new wonder rifles. All the magazines are the same...pushing the (expensive) new and ignoring any chance to encourage shooters to get the best out of the equipment they have, or can obtain more inexpensively. In a current issue, the Rifleman has a review of the Denali...as tested, over $3200. Average accuracy 1.2" in .270 Win. with a hugely expensive Swarovski 'scope which may or may not be included in the 'as tested' price.
My old Model 77 Ruger (I've taken to calling it 'the Tamale', now) has had light barrel recrowning, fore-end relief, a trigger job and a nice camo paint job on the factory stock, all done by myself slowly over a couple of years. I have about $250 in the rifle. Average accuracy 1.25" in 7x57mm Mauser, with an old steel tube Weaver K-4 with fine crosshairs.
Anyone care to give a REAL justification for spending over $2900 more for the super-duper Denali rig? Not morale or bragging rights justification...Real Practical justification? Something more than a puny .05" difference in accuracy?
Stainless vs. blued chrome moly? The blued steel needs a bit more care, but a c-m action is stronger, and barrels last longer.
Kevlar/fiberglass stock, hand-bedding and an aluminum stiffener? Not any better than a well bedded, fore-end relieved and properly sealed wood stock. It's just a handle, after all.
Astronomical 'scope? The old K-4 gives me hits as far as I care to shoot.
Krieger barrel? It didn't shoot any better with AR's test loads than the factory barrel on my 77 does with my handloads.
Fancy trigger..a $200 plus option? The older 77 trigger can be adjusted to an excellent pull if you take the minimal trouble to learn how. So can your Mod. 70 or 700. The info is out there.
Pride of ownership? My camo job looks handsome and business-like, I'm proud of it. And it hits what it's aimed at.
In short...you can have the Denali...I'll have a 'Tamale' and pocket the difference.
Oh and yes....the 7x57 is a more verstatile cartridge with both light and heavy loads than the .270.
Ok, lads...there's the challenge. Fire away!

 

[Jim K]

Justification? The same reason people buy a Mercedes-Benz when a Camry will get them from here to there just as easily and at a lot less cost. Sure, the Merc will be more comfortable and have a better ride, but basically, they got it and they want to flaunt it.

Jim

 

[Airwolf]

I've got a Tikka Whitetail in .30-06 I got for a song on sale ($350.00). Added a Nikon Monarch 6.5-20x44 AO for $400.00 with Tikka rings and bases ($90.00) and a Harris bipod ($100).

This is my first "real" long-range rifle. First time out at the range my best groups were under 3/4" @ 100 yards, prone off the bipod. On 2 groups of 3 shots I managed to get 2 rounds in each group to overlap. The worst... well I won't mention those but "shotgun pattern" comes to mind.

Being a rank beginner at this, the rifle is FAR better than I am. For a grand, I'm thrilled with what I manged to put together. Why would I want to spend more and get less?

 

[Art Eatman]

I guess I've always had a raised eyebrow about folks buying "fancy". I'm happy for them to do so, if that's their deal, but that doesn't mean I respect their judgement or knowledge.

I guess I've always been sort of a reverse-snob. I'd rather build something myself that will outshoot Mr. Abercrombie&Fitch, or outrun some high-dollar showroom hot-rod play-toy.

I certainly understand a full-house custom rifle, more than I do something like the Denali. The custom rifle is in so many ways an expression of your own thoughts and ideas. You choose the action, the profile and length of barrel, the type of trigger, and however much engraving you might want. A Denali or a Mercedes is nice enough, but there's no sense of "unique"--all it takes is money, and there's a lot of that around...

, Art

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

I'm of the school that doesn't believe in dissing weaponry without a good reason.


The kifaru Denali does things other rifles can't, namely be stupidly light, and break down into a pretty tiny package.


If you really need a boltgun in a real caliber that is light and breaks down that small, then you might honestly have a need for a denali.

 

[BusMaster007]

I appreciate the rant. Really.
I can rant pretty well myself!
Bizarre as it is, the gun has something others do not.

That kifaru rifle is obviously a "niche" gun, and, as such, commands a price commensurate with its unique concept and features...something someone will pay any price to have, even if it's the only one on the block.

That's what I'm thinkin'.

 

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

I hear and commiserate. I absolutely love taking my $79.95 (US$) Swedish Mauser (ca.1898) to my local range and embarrasing the yahoos with the fancy Weatherbys.

Shooting with iron sights.

It's also probably a good thing for me that I don't own anything I've paid more than a grand for. If I did, it'd end up being a safe queen.


Regards,
Rabbit.

If you have faults, do not fear self-improvement. - Confucius, Analects, c.400 b.c.


"If we could just get everyone to close their eyes and visualize world
peace for an hour, imagine how serene and quiet it would be until
the looting started..."

 

[Wildalaska]

Stainless vs. blued chrome moly? The blued steel needs a bit more care, but a c-m action is stronger, and barrels last longer.

O really? Care to justify that statment?

WildcuriousAlaska

 

[cratz2]

I like nice guns as much as the next guy but very often, folks will buy better than they need thinking it will make them a better shooter. At the range I used to go to, on a normal, non-competition day, when someone pulled out a Wilson or Baer, I could almost guarantee he would be shooting 8" groups at 25 yards. Obviously not a reflection of the gun.

I think this applies to handguns more often than rifles but I'd be willing to bet that Art could outshoot most the folks I know that have $1500 heavy barrel rifles and big dollar scopes with that light weight 243 of his.

[Suck up mode off] Just kidding.

Equipment does not make up for skill and nothing makes up for practice concerning rifles at anything close to long distance shooting.

 

[Art Eatman]

Aw, I reckon there's a bunch of guys here who can beat me six ways from Sunday in the more formal modes of shooting. I seem to be pretty good at sorta wadding up around a rock or leaning against a tree and laying the crosshairs on whatever I'm interested in, and hitting it.

I've always been a tinkerer. I like to take somebody else's cast-off and mess with it and make it work. Cars, guns...Before I'd buy Mr. Factory's high-dollar critter, I'd find something similar in used-but-abused and see if I couldn't make it work better. Might not be purty, but it would be as near a tack-driver as I could get. Face it, I'm justa po'-boy cheapskate at heart.

Most folks don't have the time to build their own, or the knowledge to tell a smith just what they want in a custom rifle. For them, something like the Denali might be just the ticket. What the heck, folks buy Rolexes, right?

, Art