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Would the empire rifle be comparable with all the best rifles? What would be the difference name recognition, or true quality and or features?

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Absolutely not. THey are better quality than Dakota, but are still not always there with regard to feeding, fit and general workmanship, IMO.

Waffenfabrik Hein is another competitor in the under 10K price bracket and they are better done than EMpire based on the examples I have seen, again IMO.

D'Arcy Echols is going to charge you 10K to 20K, but his rifles are definitely superior in terms of function, feeding and overall finish quality. The same would hold true for Ryan Breeding (www.rbbigbores.com), Joe Smithson, Duane Wiebe, Gene Simillion, John Bolliger, Ray Branigan and about 30 other American custom riflemakers. Personally I feel that a guy should get a true magnum Mauser action for that price rather than a reworked model 70, but the customers are happy so the market has decided.

AHR rifles are in the under 5K class, and feeding can be hit or miss depending on the chambering. If you go the AHR route, be sure to get one with the single stack magazine box as that seems to resolve all feeding issues.

When I started building custom rifles and dangerous game hunting I made the grievous error of trying to cut corners on cost. As a result I ended up with several unsatisfactory custom rifles. I wish I had just written out a check for $15K right at the beginning and gotten a good one. Saving money on a custom rifle is no saving at all.

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