Thank you for contacting us.
Dakota rifles are manufactured one at a time through an assembly line. Each of our 50 employees specializes in a specific job such as machining, checkering, oil finish, etc. Most have been with us for 10 to 15 years. We start with a block of steel and CNC machine the receiver bolt and small parts. We make everything ourselves including the sling swivels. The only thing we buy are the barrels and some of the screws and springs. We make the action from hardened chromoly steel so there is no heat treating after the machining. The barrels are purchased from major manufacturers such as Lilja, Douglas, Lothar Walther, Kreiger, Pacnor, etc. Barrel selection can be from you or we can choose for you. All the metal work is done buy hand, fitting, feeding, extraction and the final finish. The bluing is done one barrelled action at a time in a hot dip blue system. The walnut is hand selected by either the client in person or by email or the stockmakers can make the choice for you . The initial shaping is done by CNC computers and then detail work and final shaping and sanding and bedding are done by the stockmakers. Again, one at a time. Sanding and oil finish is done by hand. It is a week long oil finish - wet sanding repeatedly. The checkering is hand cut - 23 lines per inch unless tighter checkering is requested as an option. Final assembly is again one rifle at a time. The adjustments are made and final inspection is done. The client sends their scope and it is mounted and shot. The barrel is broken in and a 100 yard target is supplied on every rifle. If open sights are chosen, they are filed in and a target is supplied for those as well. Each employee signs off on their portion on every rifle and the records are stored for future reference. The first round of brass shot through the barreled action is engraved with the serial number of the rifle and they are filed for future reference. When Dakota provides an accuracy guarantee we need a permanent record of the chamber in case someone has been in there. All screws are indexed so again we can tell if the rifle has been taken apart. The actual time to build a basic rifle is about 8 weeks. Our current lead time is running 8 to 10 months.

We make and use
One piece trigger guard assembly
Mauser claw extractor
CNC machined actions on hardened steel
No casting or forging
Model 70 style trigger, crisp
Three position safety
Dakota bolt release and gas shroud
We buy and use match grade barrels

Hope this helps. The 375 HH Safari Grade has out sold all other calibers for over 15 years. You have a fine rifle that will only increase in value through the years to come. A complete refurbish of both metalwork and woodwork is available for $500 when you are ready to make it look like new again. Some folks never do as each mark is a reminder of great times in the field. Let us know if we can help in any way. Be sure to contact us before buying on the second hand market as we can tell you if the serial number you are looking at was sold as an action and finished by someone else or if it was made here in the factory and when and who worked on it.

Regards,
Paulette