I got to see and handle a Dakota safari yesterday in 375H&H. Now I got dakota fever bad! Whats the cure? The dakota was like a dream rifle,how much do they resale/devalue for after being shot? The rifle i looked at was priced over 5K, Whats the starting price a fellow could get into the dakota ownersclub with a wood stock bolttrash rifle?


I have seen many waydifferent prices,kinda like shopping for a new/used car,scary.Anyone got any thing good or bad to say about Dakotas?Customer service ok?Accuracy?Quality?Git one Yea or Nay?What caliber would YOU get in YOUR dream dakota rifle?
After hanging out heretomuch,mine would be 375H&H or 338wm,one rifle for everything/planet!
The 404 and 416/450 look like supercool rounds but a little tooo heavy recoil for me.
Everbodys gotta like something-some folks like cars,some motorcyles some bass boats,I like nice hunting rifles!Those Dakotas are Nice!
Thanks in advance!

Look at http://www.hendershots.net

last i knew they had a 375 97 green syn stock. I think around $2200. Not wood, but its a Dakota

Thanks Hikerbum,Thats a nice shop!Checkout the 405 single shot and the 257 bolt they have for sale...Nice rifles!
I would need a syn.stock anyway because with my luck i could jump in a rosebush and come out smelling like sh*** and my pretty wood stock would be trashed with scratches and clawmarks.I guess i could go with a syn.stock first and get a nice french walnut stock later on?How much does a synthic stock need to weigh in a hard kicking caliber?I never owned one before.....always wood/walnutstocks,Thanks

The Dakota 375safari I saw yesterday didnt have any extras at all except for the xxfrench walnut stock that is not listed on dakotas website.That would mean for over 5k they are getting some Quid $$ for the stock right?For the 2k on the synth stock thats a 3k difference on wood.........Dang,does this sound right or a little high,I hate to get tooken/rooked?French sell for that much extra over bastone or turkish?Could i get a cheeper grade/type of wood and get a lower price?What type of wood would that bee?Claro?English?How much would i really save and is french really worth it?Anyway i got the fever so theres no cure -except to go look/handle/shoot some double rifles .....Yea! ........

I dont own a Dakota (would like to though) so I am only giving my opinion. From what I have seen that is about right for the difference.

The synthetic may be lighter but a recoild reducer would take care of that.

I had called them about this gun a while ago asking about layaway. They would not go as long term as I needed to pay for it. I do know they have had it listed for quite a While, so if you have cash to deal, they may come down a little. Although probably not that much.

The synthetic stocked Dakotas at Hendershots are based on the 97 action. The one you handled has a 76 action. The 76 action is milled from a block of steel-the recoil lug is integral to the action. The 97 was designed to be a bit cheaper-it is turned on a lathe from bar stock,so the production costs are lower. Unless you take the action out of the stock it is difficult, but not impossible, to distinguish between the two. Consequently, the price difference between the two are based on both the action and the wood. A wood stocked 97 goes for about ~$3000. I own both, and both feed, handle, and shoot well. <In my opinion>, the 97s are possibly a better value, but the 76s are a better action. The synthetic stocked 97s have a blind magazine. This bothers some people, although I think it is just one less thing to go wrong. Dakotas are not true customs, but rather very well done production rifles. By shopping on Gunsamerica or Gunbroker you can probably pick up a garden variety 76 for about $2500. A used 375 Safari in good condition will go for about $4000-4500. Used synthetic 97s can be picked up for ~$1500. There are some new wood stocked 97s on Gunbroker right now that are quite reasonable.

blackbearhunter - if you like the dakota, you'll love the Hein rifles.

At about the same price, you'll get more hand-work and less "production work" with the Hein.

Karl Webber posts here and their website is
http://www.rifleactions.com

sorry guys, but a plastic stocked dakota just doesn't make it. Kind of like putting a 4 banger into a corvette

Thank you guys so much for your replys,I knew there had to be something to these rifles,I just couldnt see the forest for the trees.Makes good reasoning,Different actions-differnet prices. The onlyword that came to mind when handling the rifle was cadilliac!I did think if i get one of the rifles i would want to get a synthic stock to hunt in on those rough week long in the woods hunts That are hell on equipment.....i guess i could carry a beater rifle though instead?
This was the first time i ever held a rifle this nice before that was a bolt action!
Wally world dont carry Dakotas!
I will for sure check out the Heins as well!
Thanks again guys for the input and have a great one!Cheers

You can get a better gun built to your specs for a considerably less money...There are a ton of great custom gunsmiths that can build a better rifle than those simi custom guns of Dakotas IMO....

blackbearhunter

If your put a post addressed to Zero Drift he has a set of 4 dakotas that will knock you eyes out.

They are all Dakota calibres from I think 7mm, 330, 416 and 450. Real stunning rifles.

Mike

IMHO Dakota's are a good deal only if you get a good deal on one. Their Wood-Upgrades are vastly overpriced if you pay for it at retail. However I've seen several that could have been bought for way less than normal retail and were very nice rifles, I have 2.
But if you are starting from scratch I'm with Atkinson in that you probably can have the same made for less money or better made for the same money..................DJ

Blackbear,

Why don't you do what I did?
Buy the Dakota action, put a premium barrel on it in the caliber/length of your choice, and then have someone competent make you a stock from a nice blank.

You will come in at half the price of the new Dakota, and it will fit you exactly.

Also (and this is a good thing), each purchase is seperate, and therefore less painful than all at once.
This project will take you a year for completion, so if you need the rifle this fall, nevermind.

Garrett

quote:

Originally posted by blackbearhunter:
The rifle i looked at was priced over 5K,


After hanging out heretomuch,mine would be 375H&H or 338wm,one rifle for everything/planet!
Thanks in advance!

The rifle you looked at was very over priced, for an assembly line built rifle!

Addtionally, the 375 H&H is legal for game world wide, and is a true one rifle for the world, the 338 Win Mag is a fine chambering, but is not legal for dangerous game bigger than cats! SO, between those two, the 375 H&H is your only choice!

What I'd do is buy a RUGER MAGNUM rifle which comes chambered for 375 H&H, 416 Rigby, or 458 lott. Comes with a AAA Cercassian walnut stock, and the quarter rib, is intragal to the barrel, and it comes with rings for mounting a scope. The action is CRF with a fixed ejector, and sell for a MSR of $1695, and can be had for less if you shop! Add a $300 scope, and you still are only spending $1995. These are far better rifles than the Dakota IMO, and the $3005 you save will buy a lot of ammo for this rifle!

I personally would opt for the 458 LOTT, but if you are not used to heavy recoil the little 375 H&H may be a better place to start with a DGR, that will likely be used mostly in North America, but is still legal for everything up to, and including elephant!

If you want a Dakota be patient, look around a lot and carry cash. After 2 years looking I picked up an early mint 416 Rigby Dakota for $3,000 at a Houston gun show a couple of years ago. It is very accurate, feeds and ejects beautifully and even has a few of their bells and whistles like a checkered bolt knob, quarter rib with single standing blade, checkered skeleton grip cap and the little gold do-hickey in the stock awaiting my initials. The only thing I dislike is the stock comb is set up well for scope use but pounds me pretty well when I have to squeeze down on the stock to use the open sights. The same show had a M76 in 280 Rem for %1,900 as well. If you want a Dakota they are out there well depreciated just be patient.

Used Dakotas drop like a rock in value and are hard to sell.

500 - That is simply not true. Look at Dakota resell values over the past 10-15 years. They have increased. My Dakotas have increased in resell value over 20% from what I paid for them. Where most go wrong purchasing Dakotas is paying full till for them. In the past you could easily negotiate the price.

Damme! If you liked that one, handle the Dakota Model 10 SS some time!!

ZD,

I have talked to guys who paid $8500 for a higher end out Dakota and 3 years later can't even get a bite on an ad at $5500. That's the basis for my impression, but it is not a statistical reliable data set.

I offered one of my Dakota's for sale for about $3000 less than it would cost to order new. I posted on a few internet gun sites. I got a couple realistic trade offers but most of what I got were BS'ers and 2 fraud's that were trying to steal the gun.
I'm glad I've kept it but don't harbor any illusions about selling it for retail. My thoughts are that in the higher price range guns to make a sale what you have usually needs to either be a bargain or exactly what someone wants.
I've had 2 of the Ruger RSM's, still have 1. They are indeed fine guns for the prices. They are not however near as nice as a Dakota, but for less than 1/2 the price you shouldn't expect them to be...................DJ

500 - As I said, you can overpay for anything and get stuck. If you ignore isolated instances and consider actual gun values, Dakotas have increased in value. These are not high end British double rifles mind you, but Dakotas are a safe bet as long as you know what you are doing.

The real question is - Do rifles make a good investment? Answer - Only if you compare them against Enron stock...

Champlins had a fairly nice Dakota in 458 Win mag. Pretty good wood. It sat around for a couple of years with an asking price of $3900. Maybe the caliber was the problem.

I don't think this is restricted to Dakota rifles! I used to own half interest in a very nice gun shop till the 68 GCL, and I found the hardest to sell were the CUSTOM rifles, from any maker! The simi-custom ones were even harder to sell. I could move ten times the High end factory rifle, to every one of the customs, or simi-customs like Dakata.

Just like a custom car, one can rarely get back his investment when it comes time to sell. There are exceptions, however, but those are useally things like one offs, or something that is discontinued, and are of interest to COLLECTORS.

except for really top end stuff very few guns are investment grade. bought a dakota 416R for 2500 about 12 yrs ago ,took 6 yrs to get 3500. just found a griffin catalog from 1984,prices are about1/2 todays except for really top end (boss u/o 12b: 17850 ; boss 20b sxs 17,500) good deals are where you find them but rarely @ retail. my dakota was nice but back then 2500 would buy a screamer custom real gun.

I own 2 Dakota Rifles and am very happy with both. As a LH shooter my options are limited in any custom rifle so for me a Dakota is a good option. I did buy both as used guns and saves several $$ on each. As for a drop in value....you get that on almost all custom rifles. Look on Gun auctions and you will find custom rifles selling at half what they cost new. Dakota rifles are nothing different. My only problem with them is how they grade the wood. I hope some day they will update their grading system and quit calling xx wood exhibition quality.