500grains,

I agree.

The Krieghoffs I handled at SCI this year were all very easy for me to cock manually with my right thumb as I raised the rifle to my shoulder. The decocker seems much easier to use than it used to be. Of course, I am used to the Blaser R93 decocker, which is the stiffest of all to operate, and I don't find it the least bit troublesome.

A decocker is a wonderfully safe feature. I'm not too crazy about the looks of the big thumbpiece where it juts up above the top lever, though. However, I found the thumbpiece to be so easy to use, that I think that Krieghoff could safely reduce its size or reconfigure it a bit if they wanted to improve the rifle's aesthetics.

I also like that the Kreighoffs have non-automatic decockers (unlike Blaser's decocker-equipped double, the S2), so that if the thumb piece is left in the cocked position when the action is opened for reloading, the rifle will be cocked and ready to shoot when the action is closed.

I also liked how well the Krieghoff doubles fit me. I could have bought a nice new one in .500 NE for US$11,000, and that was very tempting, but I resisted.

Negatives for me on the Kreighoff are all aesthetic. As I have said, I don't like the size and shape of the decocker. I also don't like the schnabel fore end tip (easily fixed, though it is) or the machine engraving, and the wood I have seen is not much to look at.

Still, I would have to say that the Krieghoff is a great value and one could do a lot worse for a lot more money.