Then why don't the young people of today want a quality rifle?
Bob may be right in that the majority today's hunters, for the most part, don't hunt all that hard physically, but do their hunting mainly out of stands. Yet it seems as if many of the hard core hunters that post here are willing to buy quality.
Back in the day, good rifles were not cheap. A Model 70 based on current dollars cost at least as much as today and maybe more.
Have small groups from Bic rifles taken the place of the desire for a good rifle that has proven itself over time? As if a 0.25in smaller group is going to save a hunt.
Have places like the fire, with its many nitpicking threads on this caliber vs another birthed a new generation that is willing to be satisfied with a throwaway rifle? It works for now, I'll want something else tomorrow. So what if it is only worth $50. 20years down the road?
I don't see it as a disposable income issue. At least not all that much from what I see here. Many go thru them like buying and trying different brands of boots.
Interesting change in values from back in the day.
Good is good, I'm personally not all that concerned with where it is made.
Addition: And who does make a great American rifle today? Many say Remingtons suck. Winchester the same with the trigger. Kimber roulette. Rugars are crude, heavy and should have left the safety on the tang. And those beetches don't always originate with the younger crowd. Maybe the back in the day boys are the reason.
A parallel situation, I believe exists with furniture. In the past, couples would make do for a while with cast-offs augmented with cheap stuff until they could save (!) for their real furniture, which was expected to last for their lifetime.
For ordinary (non-loony) shooters, it was largely the same scenario. Now, a lot of folks are using "Ikea" rifles.
I've gone the Ikea route on furniture, but still like nice rifles. The new Winchesters seem to be excellent. I don't GAF where they assemble the multi-nationally sourced parts as long as the final product is good. My Finnish Sako .30/06 has a Belgian FN action, Euopean walnut from somewhere or other, and a Finnish Sako barrel. My Japanese Browning "Winchester" single-shots are beautifully made and shoot as good as they look. I want stuff that works well and, if possible, looks good doing it. Right now, that requirement is being met by the stuff I mentioned, along with a few new-ish Ruger Hawkeyes, a Vanguard, and another FN put together by somebody, most likely before I was born. I still might buy a Bic rifle on a whim to play with, but it'll likely depart the same way when I'm done.
