Dakota Arms 330 Dakota For Sale

@gprippers ... I think you got my point. The seller just didn't know enough about what HE owned and was selling which for me raised a red flag. That he asked 12000 for a rifle he sold for 6000 and He didn't know what a quarter rib were two flags. The confusing photos of two different rifles???
No I don't own a Dakota take down. My comment about a $2000 rifle to sell for $6000 was a comparison to the seller posting a rifle worth $6000 and he asking $12000 for it. Anyway, glad you made a deal and you are happy with it. I would have just stay away thinking it was some kind of scam.
Take care and enjoy your new rifle.
 
Gotcha! He actually sold all the rifles he posted to AF members! LOL! So he started off a bit rough as he didnt know what stuff was worth. He was left to deal with this stuff from his grandfather so he was starting from scratch. I think he got it figured out as far as what market value was. He had some very very nice rifles! In fact i wish i would have been a bit quicker on them and picked up a couple of the others! LOL!

Thanks!
 
I sure hope everyone involved in this transaction was satisfied. Too many questions for me in which the seller obviously didn't know what he had. (What's a quarter rib)? Next time I want to sell one of my $2000 rifles, I will gladly ask for $6000.
@gprippers ... I think you got my point. The seller just didn't know enough about what HE owned and was selling which for me raised a red flag. That he asked 12000 for a rifle he sold for 6000 and He didn't know what a quarter rib were two flags. The confusing photos of two different rifles???
No I don't own a Dakota take down. My comment about a $2000 rifle to sell for $6000 was a comparison to the seller posting a rifle worth $6000 and he asking $12000 for it. Anyway, glad you made a deal and you are happy with it. I would have just stay away thinking it was some kind of scam.
Take care and enjoy your new rifle.

Wow. I can see why newer members or those without decades of specialized knowledge don't bother posting things for sale on this site. One risks immediate (and in some cases, completely unfounded) accusations of being a scammer, and even when one proves themselves to be legitimate and actually executes a sale, they are met with salty comments like these.

Not everyone is a 65+ year old sportsman or gun trader with a lifetime of inherited and acquired knowledge. Try to take it easy on people. Didn't this seller pretty much say he inherited these rifles and didn't know much about them? I seem to remember him saying something along those lines on one of his listings. He listed what he knew about the rifles and put a price out there. In many cases, he was corrected and/or steered in the right direction. And then he went on to be transparent and helpful to questions/requests, and as a result he has sold like three rifles already. That sounds like a success to me--for both the seller and the buyers.

Also: The subjectivity of pricing and values notwithstanding, wouldn't a fair comparison be a $2K rifle listed for $4K? The 3x price comparison you tried to make is intentionally hyperbolic (and makes your post feel like "sour grapes"). He ended up listing and subsequently selling the rifle and accessories for $6K (or maybe even less); the original listing was for $12K, not $18K. And go ahead and list a $2K rifle for $4K--that doesn't mean you'll actually sell it at that amount, as evidenced by the fact that this rifle didn't sell for its original price, it sold for half of it. See, the laws of supply and demand work; the invisible hand has done its work for the day. Adam Smith nods with approval from beyond the grave.

I've greatly enjoyed my experiences with the AH "marketplace". It is a robust trading platform and a fantastic alternative to traditional retailers and auction sites. However, stuff like this can definitely damage it. As a newer member myself, I am apprehensive to list guns for sale precisely because of responses like this. If you all want the classifieds to remain an active and healthy place to buy and sell, try to be a little more level-headed and understanding.
 
The pricing issue was akin to car dealership tactics these days! A Dakota takedown (w/ a laminate stock.) Just NO (and no to the value.) Also quite under-scoped (w/ an old, dinged up model) for that cartridge! I'd bet he was hoping someone would just snatch it up. Also, who ordered a takedown sans the additional barrel (i.e. 330 for med game, 416 for DG) once you're laying out the $ for such a fine gun? 'Should've gone the extra mile and get that fine wood Dakota was known for, and the second barrel. IF you go to Africa for PG and DG (necessitating traveling w/ 1+ guns), the takedown qualities of that gun make entirely no sense. Perhaps its original intention was for hunting Alaska (but if you're carrying just 1 gun/bbl-just do that!)? -My 1,200,000 cents (i mean 600,000 sry.)
 
IF the post had read something like...."I have this X and I'm not quite sure about its value. Could those of you in-the-know please better educate me to this end?..." ;)
 
Congrats to both parties involved!
 
Wow. I can see why newer members or those without decades of specialized knowledge don't bother posting things for sale on this site. One risks immediate (and in some cases, completely unfounded) accusations of being a scammer, and even when one proves themselves to be legitimate and actually executes a sale, they are met with salty comments like these.

Not everyone is a 65+ year old sportsman or gun trader with a lifetime of inherited and acquired knowledge. Try to take it easy on people. Didn't this seller pretty much say he inherited these rifles and didn't know much about them? I seem to remember him saying something along those lines on one of his listings. He listed what he knew about the rifles and put a price out there. In many cases, he was corrected and/or steered in the right direction. And then he went on to be transparent and helpful to questions/requests, and as a result he has sold like three rifles already. That sounds like a success to me--for both the seller and the buyers.

Also: The subjectivity of pricing and values notwithstanding, wouldn't a fair comparison be a $2K rifle listed for $4K? The 3x price comparison you tried to make is intentionally hyperbolic (and makes your post feel like "sour grapes"). He ended up listing and subsequently selling the rifle and accessories for $6K (or maybe even less); the original listing was for $12K, not $18K. And go ahead and list a $2K rifle for $4K--that doesn't mean you'll actually sell it at that amount, as evidenced by the fact that this rifle didn't sell for its original price, it sold for half of it. See, the laws of supply and demand work; the invisible hand has done its work for the day. Adam Smith nods with approval from beyond the grave.

I've greatly enjoyed my experiences with the AH "marketplace". It is a robust trading platform and a fantastic alternative to traditional retailers and auction sites. However, stuff like this can definitely damage it. As a newer member myself, I am apprehensive to list guns for sale precisely because of responses like this. If you all want the classifieds to remain an active and healthy place to buy and sell, try to be a little more level-headed and understanding.

I think if you look back from the beginning of the thread, the OP was treated well with multiple members offering advice. Im a member of several larger hunting forums, I think without question AH is the most welcoming and least harsh of all of them.
 
I don't think there was any animus on the part of the seller, just ignorance to what he had.

I had my feathers a bit ruffled by the original offer because it bugs me when people ask record-breaking prices for things "just cuz". Then going out to do "comps" by looking at apples-and-oranges comparisons and new MSRPs for dissimilar new rifles will always create a pause in the buyers. The real questions that determine value were never initially asked or sought. What is it worth? FMV multiplied by 0.20% to 0.30% to a large dealer. They just won't pony up much cash for a rifle as it eats their free cash flow. What's it worth to a dealer on consignment? Well then the dealer will say any outrageous thing required to gain possession of the rifle. With zero skin in the game, they can start at $15,000 and work down on price all the way to $4000 with no hardship endured and no capital committed. Thus, "what can you sell this for" and "what will you give me in cash today" are vastly different questions. You can always go to auction sales histories to find out what a top auction house advertised guns to for the world to see and then see what the very best marketing campaigns yielded when they got two people that had to impulsively bid up an auction price. But that's not a real price either, because there is a 20% listing fee and a 20% buyer's commission. Which brings us to AH and to the private party seller-buyer. If the seller offers a gun for sale at 20% less than a high-auction listed comp, they are making exactly the same maximum as they could going to Holts/Morphys/RIA/Julias/Bonhams. The only difference is that money is uncertain and takes 4-12 months to obtain. So a reasonable price is always going to be some number less than -20% of an auction comp with money on the table today.

As the seller started to come down to the land of reality on value, honest offers started to roll in just as they should. I'm happy for the estate and I'm happy for the new owner as well because it worked out in the end.

In regards to $2000 dakotas. There definitely were some. There were even $1200 Dakotas. Every dakota must be treated as an individual because no two were or are alike. General rule of thumb is desirable calibers like 7x57, 257 roberts, 6.5x55, 404J, 500J, and 416 rigby carry a premium. Dakota proprietary cartridges carry a deficit. The 270/308/30-06/375HH/458WM sit right between those two categories of pariah and darling. Muzzlebrakes or carry wear factor heavily against the value of a dakota. Quarter ribs, 28lpi to 32lpi checkering, fleur de lis, exhibition wood, standing and folding sights, and case colors factor into the values as well.

In the end, this was a very strange dakota with a number of negatives and a single positive when listed. (stripped nothing-feature rifle = bad. Condition = good. Take down = very good. Proprietary calibers = very bad.) In the end, the discovery of the 404 Dakota second barrel and original case really helped the gun's total value. Will it be hard to sell for $6000 if someone wants to move it now? Probably not an instant sale, but it is reasonable. Would it be much easier to sell for more if it were 300HH/375hh/458wm with a walnut stock? Yes, a line would be out the door.
 
Plenty of internet appraiser's available on all forum's, congrat's to seller and the buyer involved!!
 
I will gladly take ALL of the Dakota Arms Travelall TAKE DOWN rifles you can find for $2000! In fact...i dont care what caliber they are or anything else at that price, Ill just take em! o_O Not sure where you are shopping but please...clue me in. LOL! Im VERY VERY VERY satisfied with the deal Lief made me on this TWO caliber take down Dakota Arms rifle set. After he made me a solid deal on the rifle advertised here, he found all the other parts and pieces to the take down Travelall African/Classic kit and made me a GREAT deal on them! Read on to see whats what.

To answer your other question: a quarter rib is that little piece of steel "rib" that the rear leaf sights are mounted on and they are usually approx 1/4 the length of the barrel (think thats where they got the name maybe?)...or as quoted from member BEEMA above: "A quarter rib is a piece of squared off metal from the front of the action to the rear sight (about 1/4 of the barrel length). It is said to help draw the eye to the express "V" notch rear sight for faster sight acquisition."

Lief made me a great deal on the original rifle listed for sale and then made me a great deal on all the other goodies he found about 10 days later. Im in the ENTIRE two barrel/caliber set up much less then the $6K ask, especially when you add in all the ammo that wasnt included to start. Breakdown on set up is as follows: Rifle with 330 & 404 Dakota takedown barrel/front ends (330 in classic 23" barrel with no sights and the 404 Dakota barrel in the African with quarter rib and leaf sights w/hooded & banded front sight, the receiver, the Dakota Factory hard/soft travel case, Schmidt and Bender scope, Talley QD rings and base, manuals, take down tool, 4 boxes of loaded factory 330 Dakota ammo, 11 boxes of factory new 330 Dak brass, 5 boxes of 404 Dakota ammunition, 11 boxes of 404 new factory Dakota brass and think there is a set of dies in there to boot. Im VERY happy with the take down set and Lief was happy as well and i think if you look at the other rifles he sold, everybody he dealt with more then satisfied with the way the deals went down.

Thanks for your concern...all went well. Of course when someone new to a platform offers up expensive custom rifles for sale without knowing too many of the fine details it can and should make folks ask a few questions to verify things and make sure all is good to go prior to making any deals. Communication is key and generally can sort out things when someone isnt quite sure as to whats what. And again, please...let me know if you come across any Dakota Take down rifles for $2000 as ill take them in any caliber at that price even without 2nd barrels/calibers etc!
What a rifle. Congratulations! Hope you give it some good use. I love multi caliber takedowns. Drooling on my shirt currently.
 
Rifle is in new condition and ive been putting 330 Dakota to use for Elk and bear for enough years to know I like it a bunch! LOL! Proprietary schmietary when it comes to cailbers when ive got enough brass and loaded ammo for 3 life times of hunting with that rifle and thats what ill do with it. That laminate stock was called the Westerner variant and still has beautiful checkering and is actually a rare variant to boot. It was built to actually hunt with as lots of guys out there dont like to beat up xxx+ or exhibition wood. All personal preference. As far as not being able to sell it for $6000 etc...you are WAAAYYY off! Ive already had MULTIPLE offers well above that figure so i guess your opinions are just that...your opinions! LOL! Had two different prominent dealers want to purchase the combo that supposedly nobody wants so i guess i should call them back and tell them they should smarten up cuz a forum member or two say it aint worth much.

I think its laughable when people get their minds set on what they like and forget that everybody likes something different. You know what they say about opinions...:unsure::LOL:

Ive never been a big AI fan...not saying i dont like them or dont think they are fine calibers that will do the job, but just not something i get all excited over. I think a 30-06 works just fine without having to turn it into an AI and the same can be said for folks that dont like Weatherby, or RUM chamberings or any of the hundreds of other calibers that could be seen as "out of the norm" etc. We like what we like and when we do, most of us that are self assured dont really care what somebody else likes or prefers. When i read the above couple posts, i couldnt help but crack a smile and laugh out loud as ive had a couple of DEALERS that were more then interested in purchasing the set at what a couple members here would say was a "crazy" price! LOL! Both were hard offers and both were well above what i paid for it. What i thought was nuts was that the OP calling around and talking to a couple dealers and mentioning it in a couple other places actually got some folks interested in it. There were a couple "others" from around these parts that were interested in it as well so seems its not just the OPs grandfather and myself that thought that this particular set up was/is a dandy. . I guess the OP wasnt/isnt the only guy that doesnt know what this rifle is all about...other then their personal opinions that is.



Thanks gents for your concerns and opinions. Oh ya...the purchasing of the Dakota set led to a Ruger Express Magnum in 375 H&H at a GREAT PRICE! Worked out all the way around i guess! ;)

OH YA...Ive never seen a take down Dakota Arms for $2k and Ill stand by what i said...Ill take all i can get in ANY caliber at that price.
 
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Wow. I can see why newer members or those without decades of specialized knowledge don't bother posting things for sale on this site. One risks immediate (and in some cases, completely unfounded) accusations of being a scammer, and even when one proves themselves to be legitimate and actually executes a sale, they are met with salty comments like these.

Not everyone is a 65+ year old sportsman or gun trader with a lifetime of inherited and acquired knowledge. Try to take it easy on people. Didn't this seller pretty much say he inherited these rifles and didn't know much about them? I seem to remember him saying something along those lines on one of his listings. He listed what he knew about the rifles and put a price out there. In many cases, he was corrected and/or steered in the right direction. And then he went on to be transparent and helpful to questions/requests, and as a result he has sold like three rifles already. That sounds like a success to me--for both the seller and the buyers.

Also: The subjectivity of pricing and values notwithstanding, wouldn't a fair comparison be a $2K rifle listed for $4K? The 3x price comparison you tried to make is intentionally hyperbolic (and makes your post feel like "sour grapes"). He ended up listing and subsequently selling the rifle and accessories for $6K (or maybe even less); the original listing was for $12K, not $18K. And go ahead and list a $2K rifle for $4K--that doesn't mean you'll actually sell it at that amount, as evidenced by the fact that this rifle didn't sell for its original price, it sold for half of it. See, the laws of supply and demand work; the invisible hand has done its work for the day. Adam Smith nods with approval from beyond the grave.

I've greatly enjoyed my experiences with the AH "marketplace". It is a robust trading platform and a fantastic alternative to traditional retailers and auction sites. However, stuff like this can definitely damage it. As a newer member myself, I am apprehensive to list guns for sale precisely because of responses like this. If you all want the classifieds to remain an active and healthy place to buy and sell, try to be a little more level-headed and understanding.
Thank you! I agree wholeheartedly.
 
Gprippers, now that it is all said and done, it looks like you got a hell of a good deal. I have to agree with others that I'm skeptical of new commers' posts selling an expensive rifle. Why, because I was scammed by a new AH member several months ago. I either need to get over that, or risk losing out on good deals in the future.

Leiftheviking, please don't take a negative view of AH members being cautious or skeptical. Their concerns were more of a "business" rather than a "personal" nature.
 
Nothing personal on my end. I understand the risk of trusting strangers with thousands of dollars. I’m glad there were people on here not only willing to offer advice for nothing in return, but also those willing to reach out and start dialogue to build trust and make deals. I still have a ton of bullets and brass that I will put up on here shortly. Hoping some guys can get a good deal on some bulk stuff during these crazy times.
 
Lieftheviking, I'll be looking for your brass and bullet sale.!!
 
Just posted some 460 weatherby brass. About to post 500 bullets and some jeffery ammo as well as some heat treated solids.
 
If one had a 330 Dakota and wanted to rebarrel it, what options might they have?

A rebarrel is a costly endeavor, particularly a correct one with sights, quarter rib, regulation, etc. take-down Dakotas may not be able to be rebarreled whatsoever.

Now to your question, all but one of the Dakota proprietary calibers was based on 404 Jeffery. If the barrel is thick enough for a rebore and rechamber, and the weight is acceptable, that is the least costly change that would deliver the most utility.
 

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