Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Best country for rifle workmanship ?

I've heard stuff like the steel used in Europe is better but when it comes down to some of the most accurate rifles the Swed's and Norway seem to be high on the list, maybe germans with the Anschutz actions.

So who's workmanship is the best.

I thought the Japanese would be higher up there with the perfection they put into swords.

Best Mark V's are the HOwa manufactured ones . Sako deluxe for a factory rifle is pretty tough to beat. Cooper rifles are tough to beat.

I have rifles (22 rim fire) from Germany and US. Accuracy is better in
My rifles from Germany. Both east and west Germany. As for as craftsmanship
I think the anshutz 54.18 is best. As for as accuracy the suhl 150 is best. In my
Limited experience.

Are you talking about the old days? And factory offerings?
Never seen or heard of a disstifed sako owner... Pre baretta...
As for now it would be hard to compleat with the good ol USA . Namely Cooper Kimber Dakota. Leave out rem and win these days as they are owned by the money grubbers looking foe profit. Not quality..

German Sauer and Sauer 202s. Both are very fine rifles. Merkels are also top notch.

Here

Handled a zastava at academy the other day. It definitely is not the Serbians.

If talking custom rifles then US. I thought original post was about
Factory produced rifles.

Definitely not the U.S. when it comes to factory guns. Overall I think it would be hard to beat some of the European countries like Finland, Germany and others.

like my Steyr Luxus mighty well

I've got five CZ rifles that I've very fond of, and I think they're a good deal better made than most of the other rifles I own, possibly excepting an ancient Remington M24 .22 autoloader. That thing's workmanship is outstanding.

Hard to say. I guess it all depends on what you are looking for. If I had an unlimited budget I'd probably have a few guns from England, Belgium, and Spain that would be hard to beat.

Value for the money....the USA by far. Best rifles for the money in factory normal. Add in the custom market and it is no contest.

Spain has some really nice workmanship.....particularly in shotguns....maybe better than the US. No definitely better than the US in double shotgun form.

Germany has always had great guns....but they come at a price and have a definite european style that isn't always wanted by Americans.

The British have always been at the top of the heap if price is not a consideration (price must be considered when talking about British top rifles however), but they are the very best otherwise.

Overall, I'd say custom rifles made in the USA are the best of the best considering price and quality.

There is a big difference between the social role that rifles play here and in Europe. In Europe, both guns and hunting tend to be quite expensive and exclusive, so guns are really high quality. Here, guns are designed to be manufactured to an "every man's" price point. Their factory guns are better than ours because it is a Mercedes v. Ford comparison. And based on the relative prices after all of the taxes, I would not be buying a US-made gun in Europe.

Like TexasRick, I think our custom guns are better. They don't have the precision Remington clone industry like we have. I would also put the high end custom builder (Echols, Miller, Weibe, Hughes) against anybody in the world.

A very good observation Utah.....our "common" rifles are probably better than the general European rifles. However the "average" rifle available there is probably better than ours because of the "elite" status of their rifles in general.

When the "top of the line" rifles are compared....those made in the USA have nothing to be ashamed of.

For a factory production rifle under 2k, you're going to have a tough time beating a classic steyr.

^^^ this ^^^

Methinks Utah probably produces the best in the world. Probably the best the world has ever seen too.

I will go with Finland.

My Sako TRG and various Tikkas shoot better on average than anything I've shot from other manufacturers, including custom built guns.

Spotshooter;
Thanks for the interesting opinions that your thread has produced, it's made for fine reading on a cold Saturday morning.

Since no one from my country has suggested us yet, I'll post up a couple links here for any interested to peruse at their leisure.

These folks in Cranbrook make a fine, fine product though I'll admit it's beyond my current budget to begin collecting too many.

http://www.martiniandhagngunmakers.com/history.htm

On the other end of the custom rifle spectrum, these chaps in Manitoba make precision tools from all reports I've read.

http://pgwdti.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

As to whether they are the "best" or not I'm not qualified to say, but it does appear their work puts them up for nomination and discussion anyway.

All the best to you this weekend Spotshooter, do try to keep warm wherever this finds you.

Regards,
Dwayne