Of course you can buy off the shelf, but I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has ordered a Cooper through a dealer.
What was your experience?
Would you do anything different?
Recommended dealers?
How was your service from Cooper?
Thinking of taking the plunge on something wood and blue. One person recommended NOT custom ordering a wood and blue from Cooper, and instead - waiting to find one in stock that has wood character you like. Ordering puts you at the mercy of the Cooper builders and the wood they choose, which may or may not be unique.
Any input is welcome.
I have too many Coopers, if that is possible, and have owned at least another dozen that have gone down the road. Of these only two were ordered through a dealer, but I live relatively close to the factory and drove over to pick out the wood for them myself rather than relying on someone else's opinion for the wood. If I did not have the luxury of doing that I would not order one sight unseen. Opinions of what constitutes good wood vary to much from person to person, I have seen wood that some folks think is great leave me cold and I am sure that my preference in wood does the same way to other folks. I prefer to buy from dealers or individuals so that I can find a piece of wood that suits me. Opinions of wood figure is just too subjective to let someone else pick it out for me.
I have had good luck in dealing with First Stop Guns of Rapid City, SD and Whittakers Guns. Both usually have pictures of their in-stock rifles and both have always been fair on their prices, and transactions were done in a very timely and professional manner.
The only Cooper I have had to service on was one I had bought from an individual and it had a shot out barrel, Cooper rebarreled it for me at a very reasonable price and it only took about 7-8 weeks before it was back to me.
I have spent many years working on and re-working factory rifles trying to get them to a satisfactory level of accuracy (sub-MOA). Coopers are the only rifles I have been able to do nothing more than put a scope on, do a minimal amount of load work, and be able to shoot to their guarantee consistently (3 shots into a half-inch), generally I can do the same for a 5-shot group, the shooter is the weak link.
Coopers are not inexpensive but to have a comparable rifle built to the same level of fit and finish would cost more than what they generally sell for. Like automobiles though when you start adding upgrades the price can jump quickly.
drover
