...anyone know whether chapuis still makes a single shot rifle?...i recall they produced several grades of ss' awhile ago with standard break-open actions (like the krieghoff hubertus)...

Yes of course Chapuis have single shot rifles.
http://www.chapuis-armes.com/OURAL-Luxe,1364.html

Beautiful wood, but as usual with many Continental rifles, the scope is positioned W-A-A-A-Y-Y too far to the rear. The 'scope pull' should typically be around 1.5"-2" at most, for best fit and less risk of eyebrow scars. Insufficient eye relief?
Regards, Joe

YEs it's the problem with the German scopes with "rail" .

JHunter,

The Oural is an extremely good looking rifle. There was a high grade 7mm Magnum at the Cabelas in Michigan a few years ago. Gorgeous bulino engraving, cased, German scope for something over $10k I recall. It is one of the most memorable firearms I have seen in a long time.

It oozed class the way the Blaser K-95s next to it never could. Merkel singles don't compare either. For that price, the only things competing with it are the Krieghoff Hubertus and the rare Heym 44B. About the only thing the Krieghoff seems to offer over the Chapuis is lots of caliber choices for added capability.

Best wishes (and post pictures)!

quote:

Originally posted by MichiganShooter:
JHunter,
There was a high grade 7mm Magnum at the Cabelas in Michigan a few years ago. Gorgeous bulino engraving, cased, German scope for something over $10k I recall. For that price, the only things competing with it are the Krieghoff Hubertus and the rare Heym 44B. Best wishes (and post pictures)!

For something over $10K, I personally would far rather choose to commission a truly bespoke single shot custom by one of our better-known makers. Or, possibly/prefefably, find a best-grade vintage single shot that would serve the same purpose but with a lot more enduring class(G). JMO.
Regards, Joe

Griffin & Howe has a couple nice singles on their website www.griffinhowe.com go to Gun Room, then Used Rifles

quote:

Originally posted by J.D.Steele:
I personally would far rather choose to commission a truly bespoke single shot custom by one of our better-known makers. Or, possibly/prefefably, find a best-grade vintage single shot that would serve the same purpose but with a lot more enduring class(G). JMO.
Regards, Joe

I am not sure there is a ton of competition above Blasers and Merkels and below the Ferlach custom guns. $10K is 7,400 Euros. I do not know how one could get a kipplauf, in the US, with bulino engraving, a big name German scope, and in a nice case for that amount. That's new or used or vintage, production or custom.

For instance, here are some used Ferlachers in Germany:

A Borovnik for $10,700 before importation costs: http://www.egun.de/market/item.php?id=2710901

A Fanzoi for $13,350: http://www.egun.de/market/item.php?id=2690771

A Scheiring for $11,500: http://www.egun.de/market/item.php?id=2741611

For me, those are all pretty big prices for arms built to someone else's druthers. And new guns are a lot more from the same level maker. I'd be delighted with any of the three above--but none seem as nice as the Chapuis I saw a few years ago.

The three rifles referenced above are, I'm sure, all fine rifles with great workmanship and embellishment. However their styling leaves me cold and the big awkward Euro scopes with their inadequate eye relief are totally unsat for me. Frankly I personally wouldn't pay even half their asking prices for any of the three shown, too Euro for me.

Bulino? Probably not from Germany or Austria, at least not the best. For the best bulino I'd go to either Italy or the US but engraving is largely personal taste. I prefer scroll for most things.

For best accuracy it's America hands down, either Canadian Ron Smith or any of several US barrelmakers. The Europeans aren't even on the same page for the most part, Lothar Walther and occasionally Steyr being two exceptions that prove the rule.

Ditto the best stockmakers, they're mainly from the US and Canada. I still see all too many Euros with filler in the inletting gaps and poor checkering and for the crowning touch some of them even have white-line spacers and/or stock carving!

Guess it's a matter of taste, I don't like armpit hair on women or jewelry on men either.
Regards, Joe

Originally posted by J.D.Steele

quote:

Bulino? Probably not from Germany or Austria, at least not the best.

I've been seeing some prity nice bulino comeing from Ferlach the last few years Austria really is'nt all that far from Italy.

I don't think the gunmakers of Ferlach as a whole need to apolagise to anyone for the quality of thier guns.

As for barrels it was the Austrians who gave the rest of the world hammer forging.

I understand not liking the Germanic style. I like it OK but not all of my guns.

Many German gun builder specialize in building British style rifles. Actully some of the very best do just that. Hartmann & Weiss and Martini & Hagn would be a couple real good examples and on any given year you can see all of these guys ether displaying or attending at the U.S. custom gun makers guild show in Reno.

My friend Alois Mayr in Germany also builds most of his rifles British style. He builds Bolt actions but also a single shot of his own design. Here is one of his guns.

A couple more

Sorry, to me those levers are just plain ugly.

But at least the stocks on these last 2 don't look as crooked as a dog's hind leg...
Regards, Joe

I like the actions that Dakota offers. Either the Miller or the model 10. I don't agree with what they Dakota call exhibition or 3xxx wood though. Seems to me you could get a model 10, a custom stock by the likes of Duane or one of the other truly talented folks here with honest XXX or exhibition grade wood, some engraving by the likes of Scroll cutter (Roger K.) Your dimensions, your design for your engraving lots of cool stuff for your money. For a break action the Blazer high grades are nice and they put real nice wood on them. I don't know about the quality of the engraving, havn't seen enough of it. For me a classic American action, wood and metal done by true American craftsmen and all yours. DW

...appreciate the responses...

...can't seem to access the single shot section of the chapuis website...

...the krieghoff hubertus (which can be thought of as a 'one barrel' double) goes for about 1/2 the price of the krieghoff classic big-5 double...since the chapuis doubles go for around 5-8k usd, that would imply the oural should go for about 3-4k usd, using krieghoff pricing as a guideline???...

...besides cabela, i believe classic arms also distributed the oural (or, rather, featured the oural on its website, at one time)...

For $10k I'd get my smith to copy a K95 but in steel and work out a way to get a Jewell to work. Stainless barrel with standard dovetails (or a better way to mount than that nightmare saddlemount). Decent walnut more generously proportioned with longer forend and colour case hardened action with no engraving.

quote:

Originally posted by JHunter:
...appreciate the responses...

...can't seem to access the single shot section of the chapuis website...

...the krieghoff hubertus (which can be thought of as a 'one barrel' double) goes for about 1/2 the price of the krieghoff classic big-5 double...since the chapuis doubles go for around 5-8k usd, that would imply the oural should go for about 3-4k usd, using krieghoff pricing as a guideline???...

These two firms use different pricing strategies. First, there are three general classes of Chapuis rifles, Classique, Artinsanale, and Luxe. The lowest price group, Classique, features the UGEX, the double commonly on the US market. There is no Chapuis single shot at that level. The next level is Artisanale. They make very nice doubles and Oural singles at that level. If you can find a single for $5,000, you have figured out something pretty interesting. I kind of think they are $6-8K for starters (before scope and mount). And I'd expect to pay a premium for a special order (usually) for this gun--it is not on US dealer shelves very readily.

Free advice is worth as much as you pay for it. But here is something worth thinking about: You could order the gun from Chapuis. You could fly to St. Etienne for nearly the same price as the US excise tax on this firearm (10 or 11%). If you actually use it in the course of your trip (spend a day or two hunting), you pay no excise when it comes back in your checked luggage. And then you get it from the source and get it how you want it. That would be a great start to owning a firearm that will last several lifetimes.

Good luck and please let us know how this ends up!

This Oural has been for sale for years on this site. Now the price is 3200 Euros, $4,100 USD. No optics. http://www.armureriemartin.com...&code_lg=lg_fr&num=1

Here is one for 7,400 Euros, $9,500 with optics. http://www.dorleac-dorleac.com..._occasion.php?id=492

Here are all three levels at Armurerie Jeannot. Range from 3,900 to 10,400 Euros, $5,000-13,000. http://www.armureriejeannot.com/oural.htm It is interesting that the Ourals start slightly higher than the Ugex doubles do there. It was an Elite that I saw in Cabelas.

...appreciate the suggestions...would you know who markets the oural in the states?...i understand that sourcing sporting firearms overseas for domestic use requires the services of an importer and the payment of hefty customs duties...

...the oural seems like an excellent choice for a kipplauf-like ss at less than fanzoj/hofer prices...

quote:

Originally posted by J.D.Steele:
Beautiful wood, but as usual with many Continental rifles, the scope is positioned W-A-A-A-Y-Y too far to the rear. The 'scope pull' should typically be around 1.5"-2" at most, for best fit and less risk of eyebrow scars. Insufficient eye relief?
Regards, Joe

As you know the position of the scope depends on the position of the eye. But the position of the eye depends on the length of pull. If you have an off the shelf Ruger No. 1 or Browning B78 then the LOP is only 13-1/2". If you have an off the shelf Winchester 1885 BPCR then LOP is a measly 13-3/16". If you stock a Ruger with a custom stock for a LOP of 14-1/2" then you are going to have to mount the scope so it extends another inch to the rear of the action. Many big Americans need 15" if the rifle is going to fit as it should. So now you're talking an additional 1-1/2" of overhang. Better to have a gun look less attractive and fit properly than wrap yourself behind a stock that is too short just so the rifle looks a little better.

The ideal solution would be to get a scope with eye relief that is between that found on standard scopes and that found on EER scopes. I don't know of any scope made that meets that requirement.

Grenadier, thank you for the explanation.

Swarovski appears to have made an optic solving the problem you've identified. It has almost 5 inches of eye relief. http://www.swarovskioptik.us/e...ope_z6-z6i_1-6x24-ee

That is over an inch more eye relief than a Leupold VX-3 of equivalent magnification at full power.

quote:

Originally posted by JHunter:
...appreciate the suggestions...would you know who markets the oural in the states?

...the oural seems like an excellent choice for a kipplauf-like ss at less than fanzoj/hofer prices...

Kebco is a Chapuis importer who seems to have an excellent reputation and he posts on this site. I hope I have the opportunity to engage him at some point myself. http://www.kebcollc.com/

And just for what it is worth, Hofer in Ferlach is in another world as far as prices (and quality). I had the pleasure of speaking to him once and learned that the cost of an extra barrel for one of his kipplaufs was 8,000 euros. A full rifle was 80,000 before engraving.

Best wishes.