A DR in a 318 will never bring the same price, 'gun' for 'gun' (i.e sidelock, fully engraved, etc) as one in a 'Dangerous Game' caliber, but that has a benefit too, the cost of entry. You will always pay less, and if you pay the proper rate (and that is always a subject of debate) you can always 'get out' without being buried. On the other hand, I am planning on letting my heirs worry about that.

By the way, WR no longer has that 318 sidelock, its in my gunroom. When I got it for a look see/try out, the condition (bbls reblacked and otherwise cleaned up at WR before shipped over here) was as Kevin described it. Close inspection of the engraving and overall workmanship was very impressive. After the usual wrangling we came to an agreement and I am quite pleased. I passed on the droplock as it just didn't speak to me as clearly as the sidelock (and I have one in 476 that is just too damn perfect and seems to have left me with a very high standard for droplocks.) Plus, not a whole lot of WR sidelocks around.

Sinner is correct in his statement that a 318 is a true 'African' caliber. Too much focus on big boomers and not enough on the mid sized DRs that spent a great deal of time, and did good work in Africa. 318s just don't get enough respect. (On the other hand, 303s seem to fetch a very good price in a DR. Too good, as I missed out on the last two I tried to grab at auction when I was soundly outbid!)

Oh, you CAN buy reasonably at Cabelas, it just depends on who you speak to. BC in KC and Bob in Richfield are usually pretty realistic and BC understands DRs. The real questions are how long they have had it in stock and how much they paid for it. If they are buried in the purchase price, don't bother. (And that is something that can become apparent fairly quickly.) If it is simply priced too high, after it has been around for a bit they will usually talk sensibly. This one appears to be one they are buried in. Dave