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Why spend money on a shotgun?

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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,759 ✭✭✭cookimonster


    'Good doesn't automatically equal expensive though' -:DVery True

    Quality control (QC) is a key component of manufacturing. If a company is producing limited numbers of a product under tight QC then it can be said that the end product will be of a high standard. Although modern technology has improved the quality of mass produced items some industries have experienced quality slip (since cars have been repeatedly mentioned here, I will highlight Mercedes and BMW). Most manufacturers will cover all market aspects and branding is a clever marketing tool that allows them to sell to a wider consumer base. Lexus is Toyota and there was a great deal of effort made to keep the two brands separate although this covered both the luxury and standard consumers it allowed the Lexus buyers to believe that the where buying a better quality.
    Quality is perspective; a Fast Food Burger Meal could be of poor quality compared to a Michelin Stared Meal. But one Fast Food Burger Meal compared to others of similar ingredients and styles can be considered to be of a very high standard and quality.


    Bored yet?:rolleyes:......... Basically Brownings / Brettas versus Baikels each one is for a different market / customer preference, just thank God that there is a wider market to choose from.


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,500 ✭✭✭tac foley


    Some folks are happy with a Lada, others are not happy unless they have a Rolls Royce.

    The world of shotgun anhd rifle manufacturers caters for both ends of the spectrum, within the pocketbook of the shooter.

    Many of the folks I shoot with admit to spending a 'lot of money' on a shotgun for their sport of trap or whatever, and then tell me that £3500 is expensive. Of course, it is not expensive by any means, the likes of Merkel. Krieghoff, Chapuis and others can begin to get interesting at this point, all the way up to 10-12K. After that, then you are moving into a different area of purchasing power altogether, and the sky is literally the limit for those lucky people for whom money means very little.

    A few years back I took an old friend, now gone, down to a rifle builder outside London to have the stock on his Rigby Mauser shortened. While we were there, discussing the work, I noticed a rack of what appeared to be a complete set of African calibre bolt-action rifles - eight all told - awaiting final finishing and delivery to a customer.

    As I gingerly handled one of them, I could see where the money had been spent - the actions were flawless in operation, and the wood was simply glorious. Just one of the stocks, I was told, had been made from a Circassian walnut blank that has cost £7,500. The whole set of guns, that had taken almost two years out of the life of the gun-maker, had cost the new owner just under £200,000, and he was very pleased with them.

    Certainly, if I had the money, I would like to have a custom-built Mauser that emulated my 1912 7mm favourite, for which I paid the princely sum of £120 back in 1990.

    Sure, it does the job, and I get real satisfaction from using it, as it has real history behind it that I'm reminded about every time I look along the barrel, and see where the bearer who carried it wore the blue off the underneath as he carried it on his shoulder, But just every now and then, I get a yen for gun made for me, and for nobody else.

    tac


  • Subscribers Posts: 4,076 ✭✭✭IRLConor


    The price tag on firearms is often misleading. It's probably more useful to look at the average cost of ownership over the lifetime of the gun.

    For example, if you spend €10,000 on a shotgun and have it for 30 years you're looking at a cost of €333 per year. Call it €400 per year to account for cleaning kit and an occasional small repair. Now look at the amount of money you spend on ammo and fuel going to shoot. Throw club memberships, license fees, competition entry fees (where applicable) on top. If you're hunting with a dog, add in the costs of the dog.

    After doing all that, it's a lot easier to justify spending serious money on a gun. It's still hard to get the money together in one lump to pay for it, but compared to your other costs it may not be as bad as it looks.

    My own rifle was - at least by .22 rifle standards - pretty damn expensive but I estimate I've already spent about a third of the price of it in ammo, travel and competition costs and it's not even 18 months old! (And it's been totally worth the purchase price. :))


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