The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Shooting Lefties Montana action or a dakota?Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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Im building a left-handed classic-type rifle in 300 h&h. what are the advantages and disadvantages of each action? I understand they are both basically pre-64 type actions. One is $700 (montana), and the dakota is $2100. Is the dakota worth the extra money? | ||
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| one of us |
I have a new Chrome Moly LH MRC magnum action for sale. I'll let it go for $550. PM me if you're interested. | |||
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| One of Us |
I have both. The dakota is a complete gun from the factory and is very nice. I bought it in 95 so I don't know if things have change for the better since the new owners took over. The Montana I bought during the first run and was rough compared to the dakota. I sent it to Mark Stratton to get worked over and cleaning the rails and feeding costed $400. Mark still has it so I can't do a side by side comparison. | |||
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The Dakota action is ready to go. By their own admission, the MRC is a 'starter' action and will require additional work to finish. George  | |||
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Ditto's George, the Dakota action is worth the extra money. Dirk "An individual with experience is never at the mercies of an individual with an argument" | |||
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I also own both. The Dakota is nice but the MRC's I own required no work what so ever. They are ready as it from the factory. If you are looking for a safe queen the Dakota's are sweet and they are smooth. But for a no nonsense hunting rifle I would choose the MRC in stainless. My biggest fear is when I die my wife will sell my guns for what I told her they cost. | |||
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$2100 for a Dakota action?? You have got to be kidding!! No way a Dakota action is worth $2100. I do not know what the marketers at Dakota have done. But they have sure pulled the wool over a lot of shooter's eyes!! I can remember when the Dakota first came out. You could buy a complete rifle for less than $1500. What have they done to the actions and rifles to command those prices?? Sorry for the rant, but that just pis*** me off. However I guess it does make my LH 280 Remington Dakota rifle that I bought around 1990 to be worth a lot more!! What am I complaining about?? Tom. WEST BY GOD VIRGINIA | |||
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Bullshit. For only slightly more than the $2100 of Dakota's action -- which is an action ONLY -- a pretty damned nice COMPLETE rifle can be built off of an MRC action. | |||
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| One of Us |
I have a LH Dakota 76 in 7mm Rem. I love it, but it only shoots 160 Federal TSX's. Dime size groups. Everything else, and I mean everything, including a half dozen different reloads, are an inch and a half. Blows me away. Had to get it rebarreled to get it to shoot well. (I bought it during the "troubles.") The action is poetry. Beautiful machining and works like a charm. I know they're pricy, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to buy another one, but this action is really smooth. | |||
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You could put together one helluva complete rifle with the MRC action for the price of the Dakota action alone. Buy the MRC, put a rifle together and spend the rest of the money on a hunt. | |||
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Why not a Neiska? For 1/2 the price you get a benchrest quality action. My 260Rem has a model K repater than shoots 1/2 easy and my model J in 6MMBR shoots in the .1's. I think the Dakota's are way overpriced. The old owner of Nesika started a new company making almost the same actions. I think its Phoenix Machine. NRA life member,Colt Armoror | |||
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one of us |
The Dakota VS MRC debate has always given some folks fits on this board. IMO both are fine actions but they serve different needs. There is nothing wrong with the MRC. It can be used effectively as is and be made into a nice rifle. Not unlike other actions, custom or factory, it can also be worked over and smoothed out to be even better in terms of final finish and smoothness. The Dakota action is a CNC machined action and in my experience if finished with tighter tolerances and has a better fit and finish. Some still can use a little work but ultimately the Dakota delivers a more premium product at a higher price. I believe to compare one to the other is similar to putting a Savage product to a Weatherby product. Both can shoot very well however if a person is looking for something with a little more flash then they may be willing to spend the extra $$. Ultimately it depends on what a person is trying to accomplish. ****************************************************************** R. Lee Ermey: "The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle." ****************************************************************** We're going to be "gifted" with a health care plan we are forced to purchase and fined if we don't, Which purportedly covers at least ten million more people, without adding a single new doctor, but provides for 16,000 new IRS agents, written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that didn't read it but exempted themselves from it, and signed by a President, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, for which we'll be taxed for four years before any benefits take effect, by a government which has already bankrupted Social Security and Medicare, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that's broke!!!!! 'What the hell could possibly go wrong?' | |||
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