Now, presented as an engineering, or a history class, that is very interesting. I like stories about masters of their craft who can make such fine machinery.

But to imply that it is, under any remotely believable circumstances at all, necessary, or worthy of a year-and-a-half of my mortgage is inconceivable. (got that word from "The Princess Bride")

Before I get yelled at, give me a chance. I love nice engraving. I like fancy metal trim. But I am logical enough to realize that nobody I have ever known, read, seen, or heard has said; "Boy, that gun shot like crap until I got it engraved, now I hit dimes at 800 yards.".

So while this is a miracle of highly skilled labor, I fail to see any improvement that justifies the extra $12,000. An off-the-shelf action is still at the heart, that. You remain at the mercy of the suppliers and milling of that steel.

And before you say that engraving compared to mechanical changes is bogus, let me say that might not have been the best example. I was (I think) also trying to imply that the reason people spend such heinous amounts of money on what is at heart a standard action could be mental. (Not as in ill, but of the mind). I have known people who shot better with expensive rifles not really better than one they had simply because they thought they would. Maybe confidence helped. I have a fancy rifle, ergo; I will shot better. But I also had a few friends I didn't want to be in the same county with, even with one of these.

Last time I was out with my nephew, I put 3 rounds in a red dot about the size of a dime. I was using a 700, .30-06, with a plain Bushnell Banner scope. The range was 140 yards. The target used was one of the .pdf files from the Remington site; the one with the small red-dot bull.

So with this rifle, and my current skill, it is implied that for a mere $13,000 more than I spent, I can push this out a few more yards?

As for the safety enhancements, we all risk our lives more on the highways every single day than we ever would in a one-in-a-billion odds failure.

So as an example of skill, thank you. But some of us love your articles on things, like, the ones on Mossbergs the other day, or North American game, or something I might go to Bass pro and actually buy, rather than something You would fly your private jet to Egypt to pay a ransom for.

I apologize. I have quit reading others because it just got so out of touch with "us folk" there wasn't anything to learn. There are many fine contributors (and writers) here. More for us commoners, please.

I use to get the magazine "This Old House" a few years back. I gave up the subscription because all the talked about were $20k doors and $2 million remodelings. I just couldn't take it. Now you have a $14k rifle. Are you kidding me? I think I would rather be eaten. Guess guys with more money than sense gotta spend it on something. Guess I am still one of the poor folk.

Vic

I look at the law of diminishing returns. For $14 grand there is a lot of hunting I can do right here with the Savage I already have. Heck, for $14k I could pick up a cheaper gun and go to Alaska for caribou and grizzly. Sorry, call me cheap but it just isn’t worth it though I can value the craftsmanship.

Guy's maybe we all have this Mr. Echols wrong. He is obviously a very talented and highly skilled craftsman, and after some thought I believe that high level of skill equates well with his business sense.

He has this thing all figured out. You get overly wealthy magazine editors to buy your rifles for $10,000 to $20,000 each. Subsequently he has to produce fewer and doesn't need to work as hard. Less wear and tear on the eyes and other essential equipment. He also doesn't have to constantly reinvent himself nor his product. That my friends is efficiency at its finest...

Ok guys we've got it wrong.

I've seen DP put ridiculously overpriced guns on here before and get the same response.

He obviously does it because he;
1 Gets a kick out of stirring the pot
2 Gets a nice kickback from the gun maker for the advertising
3 Has no idea what a working man's budget is especially with the economy the way it is.

I would agree with some of the other posts, If you're going to show us a 14,000 dollar gun let's see Wyatt Earp's 45, George Patton’s Ivory handled 45s, or something that has a story behind it.
I wouldn't even compare this to one of the Booth Babes. It looks like any 400 dollar black stocked synthetic to me.

Tune in next week when we cover M-1 Abrams tanks for everyone!

I'd rather buy a standard Remington model 700 and good scope. Then after I'm done splurging on one of the finest guns ever made I'd still have enough money left over to make around 9 or 10 house payments and buy ammo.

Dave,

My friend has $500 bucks and wants a first deer rifle. Can you come up with a better idea than a Marlin bolt gun with a 4X scope and Leupold rings in 25-06 for a newby deer hunter?

For 14k I would insist on nothing less than an intricately carved 11,000 year old Mammoth Ivory Manlicher stock pulled from Siberian permafrost with gold damascining and niello, flawless Ceylon rubies in the front and back sights, platinum double set triggers on a perfect button rifled Damascus steel barrel as well as an Alpaca lined guncase made of Komodo Dragon leather with sterling silver fittings.
Kinda like the wheelock rifles used by Nobles of the Holy Roman Empire in the 16th century yo see in the Metropolitan museum of art, but modern...
Heck we could put the extension on the farmhouse for that kinda money!

To KJ: A second recoil lug has no effect on accuracy either way, but it's a very good means of keeping the stock from splitting.

To Beekeeper: Don't be bitter. It will cause you to age prematurely.

Hey Guys,

Send me $12000 and I'll pin the bolt, bed the barrel and weld on an extra recoil lug on TWO of your favorite rifles! All told, you'll have two rifles at the price of one!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Not to be picky but how much extra to install a barrel band and rear stud for a sling?

Remember that old thread about guns you wish you had kept. Well I once had a pre-war mdl 99 in 300 Savage that looked brand new. Left to me by a relative. Not a fan of those and sold it for 400 bucks 5 yr ago. Wonder what it was really worth.

I've never faced a charge from one of the white-tail deer or fox squirrels that I've hunted, so I haven't needed a "stopping rifle." I still like reading and learning about fine firearms, regardless of their price. Quality and craftsmanship come at a price.

There is going to be a Part 11 to this? Forgot to mention the gold-plated bore?

All:

I'm of a mind that for $14k, the gunmaker should literally craft each rifle to perfectly fit its future owner. And by "craft" I mean the gunmaker should determine his customer's specific preferences and measurements (bolt or double or single-shot action, length of pull, RH or LH, desired overall weight, type and shape of stock, etc.), then pick up a solid chunk of high-grade steel or titanium from the metal pile, activate his computer-guided lathes, put on his goggles and gloves, and begin. And document every hour and every minute of labor he puts into actually creating a custom rifle from scratch.

But simply taking a composite material stock made by somebody else for a few hundred bucks actual cost(if that), then taking a barrel and an action, each respectively made by somebody else for a few hundred bucks actual cost (if that), then "blueprinting" the two (just how many hours of labor does this really take?) together and installing a trigger made by someone else (for a few dozens of bucks actual cost, if that), all to "build" or "manufacture" a rifle that won't shoot any better, handle any better, be more reliable, or last any longer than a high-grade Kimber, yet costs about $12.5 more . . . smacks of utter foolishness.

Give me the Kimber instead. Or, if I don't mind waiting a couple of months, I can go to my local P.O. Ackley-trained gunsmith, give him a Model 70 or Model 700 action, tell him what I want, answer his acutely intelligent, born-of-experience questions, and 6-8 weeks and maybe $1000 later, I'll have a rifle that will do anything the "Legend" will do, just as well, just as reliably, and just as accurately, for at least my lifetime. $14k? For a "Legend" better known for its real title of . . . "Foolishness."

TWD

A couple of thoughts.

John Bolliger will craft you a super shooting rifle, and throw in a beautiful piece of wood and fabulous checkering that will put a lump in your throat and bring tears to your eyes for that kind of money.

Or, buy a Plain Jane, and spend the surplus on a plains game safari or a Rocky Mt pack trip.

....Needing a second recoil lug to inhibit splitting on the kevlar/glass stock don't speak well on McMillan lay-ups, do it?` A great trick on selling "Up" is convincing the customer that a great design is truly flawed and that your product, as proven by it's great cost alone, provides a fix.( see: Nitrous Button in your Ford Truck )

At a net value of $97.22/ounce...you could have an entire gun carved from pure Silver for your one-of-a-kind gun collections, and still have enough money left over to purchase that fine Krieghoff you've been drooling over- or that mint condition Holland & Holland .404 Jeffrey (the real thing, not a copy).

What's the saying? "A fool and his money are soon parted."

It seems to me that the cal. of the gun does a lot of damage to the price. If this same rifle was an 06 then the 14k would be a crime. Even on run of the mill rifles, if you put it in a 405 or anything "dangerous game" qualified, someone is going to pay thousands more for it and no one would think twice about it. In my life, I could maybe afford either the trip to Africa or possibly the rifle. I would rather take the trip, take some photos from a good distance and let the lawyers and bankers keep their damned rifle. My 800 dollar rifle will due me just fine for real life scenarios. Hunt where you are. If you don't have good hunting where you are then work towards creating good hunting habitat where you are. That will leave a positive mark far greater than some trophy that you bring back from some third world country and hang on your wall. I have a friend that was given a tiger rug with complete head mount. The tiger was state of the art tax. in the 20's or 30's and is now falling apart. The species of tiger is now gone. He has to be careful who he shows it to because people are as likely to be offended as they are to appreciate it for what it is.
Put it this way, if we were starving, and a few international companies made money off of rich Africans who paid to come here and shoot our deer in our back yards so that they could put a trophy up on their walls I don't think we would appreciate it much. Just a thought that I am sure is not a popular one. I'm more of a squirrel, rabbit, deer man myself.

who cares what it weighs I have not seen a synthetic gun worth $14000,now if it xxx walnut the we'll talk.

To Del in KS,
I'd go with a Savage "Package Deal" in 30-06. Great price, great cartrage, great rifle, and ammo easier to find.

14,000.00 for a plastic stocked Rifle! The only place that would happen is in his own mind! Whatever happened to the pride you felt and the warmth of a walnut stock? Who ever has that kind of money is welcome to spend it however they wish, I guess. And yes, I do mean plastic, all the word "synthetic" means is "man made".

This gun sounds like a marvel of modern engineering. What surprises me is that based on the picture the gun looks normal, but the old saying, don't judge a book by its cover, certainly applies to this situation.

Jim in Mo,

Yes, it is the Featherweight 99F. Yes, it was a steal not just a deal! I still feel guilty about it. I don't know the fellow I got it from very well, but I asked him what he wanted for it and he asked me what will you give me. My first offer was $225, which was what I had in my pocket. He said "sold" and I took my rifle and a written bill of sale! And he threw in a Bushnell Scope Chief IV to make me feel even more guilty.

I love nice walnut stocks but I think McMillan makes the toughest and best looking synthetic out there. If your hunting in rough dangerous terrain be it wet or dry the synthetic gets the nod for practicality. How that equates into the price of this gun I don't know. The Hope diamond may be embedded in the forearm. Waiting for part II.

At least your back. We were organizing a seach party, planning on checking out moonshine locations first.

Yeah Dave... if it's that damn high it needs to be pretty. Just like women. Function is great but I see a serious problem here with going waaaayyyy beyond the point of diminishing returns.

Not a good day sorry.

Sorry gunslinger, not a doctor... hell I'm not even a Ralph!

Echols makes a fine, reliable rifle, but it still a synthetic-stocked rifle. To my way of thinking, it is a $3,000 rifle.

If I were going to spend $14,000 on rifles, I'd buy two from Empire Rifles!

Echols’ dangerous game rifles sound as if they are “finished” although in the photo this 404 Jeffrey doesn’t appear to have express sights. I have two “dangerous game” rifles that I put considerable labor in to modify and enhance. One is a Winchester 70 458 and other is a 35 Whelen I built on a Mauser action. The Winchester is a pretty good product straight from the factory, but the action needed to smoothed up and drag eliminated. I was shocked to see this model 70’s feed ramp wasn’t polished. My Mauser I did a bunch of metal work to true and polish the action to eliminate drag..and I did the stock work.

These are very time consuming labors of love. I can see where having this work done by a custom rifle smith jacks up the price of the rifle.

BTW 60256 a 7-lbs heavy rifle doesn't sound like something I'd like to shoot.

I love it. If I could afford something like this then I would be hunting in more exotic places that I can right now and after some real "bada@@" animals that bite, gore, etc. back.

Sounds to me as if it's a dressed up plain old 70. If at l4K bucks, I would think the guy would make every part and not use another mfgers base to start with.Also, If the bolt handle is pressed to bolt, it needs a pin in the bolt to hold it. I would think he would make a bolt with the bolt handle part of the same piece of steel, so would not break offf. I got a Custom Mauser thatis beautiful Walnut in 06 and it has many of the features as this gun we talking about.It also has 3 locking lugs. Was made in Germany 20 yrs ago and shoots no better than my Custon Shop Rem 700 in 06and a 25-06 An I paid less than 2K bucks each for the 700's mounted and scoped with a Nikon Monarch/Leupold set up, it Will punch 2" holes at 200 yds all day if I can hold up. But, if you got that kind of $ to spend, so what. I just bought a PLASTIC MArlin XL7 in 270 and it looks better( looks as good as rifle in question) than most of the syn stocks on the market,even Remingtons's stuff. For a Africian hunt, I would never dream of a Bolt gun, it would be a double in some caliber and my PH would have enough additional guns between him and the gun bearers to keep me from being killed. As I ask once before, Remington bought some of the guns EAA mfgered for years, and one was a s x s dble bbl. in 30-06 and other calibers. Remington finally brought it back on the market,after trippling the price and it never sold.So now they don;t make.I sure would like one of the EAA's made in 06.Any you guys hear of one, post it please. The guns sold for less than $500.00 from EAA(wholesale) and were quality built. The left bbl has a Jack Screw to adjust the left bbl to shoot to same MOA as the right bbl.Dble trigges, sling swivels and beautiful wood as you will see on high $$$$$$ guns.Wish EAA could get the agreement returned and begin mfgering again. Ok, now we got this solved, what;s next to discuss? Me, too old to talk Women.

Dr. RAlph: Agree 100% on the CD's. I also should have pulled out my hunting account CD's and bought that Hunting Cabin and 25 A of land in Colorado for l/2 of what I've lost in past yr on the MArket. At least I would have the Cabin/land to say was mine, now the loss on the DOW all I can do is kick my own A-- for not seeing the handwriting on the wall.Or, if did not want teh property, just buried teh $$ and gone hunting till I die. At 73+ few hunts remaining. But I blame my Investment Councelor, he screwed me a Royal. Will be interesting to see what this week does to DOW. But willnever come back to l4k as was in Nov. 2007 and CD rates in the 90's of 8-10%. Wan't get into a no-win discussion on why we lost so much,but all you guys can read and see as well as I. Hope the person responsible, enjoyes his retirement in Texas.Shoot-um-Straight and often. Hey are you a MD? of what type Dr.?I need some Doctors input about some RX's.

Daniel Boone is said to have looked at a pioneer's ugly rifle and said something to the effect, "Thy rifle hath great power, but is exceedingly plain."

This focus on plastic stocked rifles is much the same. Only pretty booth babes are interesting...and, only handsome rifles, or historical rifles, may catch our eye. Can we see some of those...??

Blue

I guess if you have the $ more power to you. Any rifle over 600 starts to seem expensive to me. I guess if you are planning on facing charging lions and such on the plains of Africa, then you should spend what you can afford on a ultra reliable boom stick.

Custom rifles in magazines are like centerfold models. Most of us will never have one, but we still like to look at them. Go figure.

I am interested in reading the rest of the story. We hunters and shooters are inventive as can be in justifying our purchases, no matter whether true needs exist. Manufacturers of outdoor gear play us like fiddles and we gladly produce their kind of music. Mr. Echol's $14,000 rifles represent only a matter of degree.

OK DOC. Assume you were a Dr. but that's what one gets for assuming. I wish I was a true Gunslinger also, but do sling many guns over my shoulder come hunt time. Always wanted to be a Cowboy and a real Gunslinger. Supose that's why I chose that title. Carrying a Concealed at my age does give me a little peace of mind, beging handicapped, a pocket gun or holster does give me a tad of security. With todays crooks running wild, never know when gonna need to protect yourself. So I've eithe got a Kel-tec 380 in my pocket or a Uberti 44-40 in my Holster. If on my 4 wheeler, will be a rifle as well, as my hunting area is far off the beaten path and poachers abound on it. Shoot-um-straight and often.

2,100 fps!?!?! 400 grains!?!?!? Why not spend 1K on a rifle in the same calliber and spend the rest on hiring somebody to shoot it for you?