Do German's just do it best?

Sabine Schmitz "Queen of the Nürburgring". Absolutely amazing what she could do on the 'ring, regardless of what she was driving. And yes, she was German. Rest in peace.
 
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Stihl .. BMW .. Bosendorfer, endless, I'm sure.

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I think we are missing some important cultural points here.

Your average German hunter tends to be a bit more well to do than the average American hunter. It is certainly more difficult (and more expensive) to get a Jagdschein than your average American ticket. This carries with it some other follow on requirements.

With more disposable income, your average Jaeger is going to be more willing to invest in his equipment. Similarly, the companies making the arms will be working towards different price-points. And, of course, their target market is much smaller, so much more focused. And hand work is valued.

In the US, the average hunter wants reasonable accuracy, reasonable reliability, and more than reasonable price. Mass production is king. And you can find an incredibly accurate rife for a very low price. Pretty? Hand worked? No. Dead on balls accurate? In spades. Your American gun company needs to sell many more weapons to stay in business, and at a competitive price. Oh, and your average American hunter is probably not going to travel farther than he can drive, let alone to Africa.

When I was in Poland, my guide was very happy with his Ruger American in .308. It did not cost the bleeding eyes out of his head, and it was as reliable and accurate as some more expensive arms.

I find the car comparison also interesting. Having lived in Germany, I noticed things. For example, the starting price on a BMW is much lower there... but that BMW is NOT available in the US. US spec cars will have leather seats, larger engines, and all kinds of other "standard equipment" that is an extra cost option in Germany. The domestic target customer is much different than the export customer. Of course, when you're willing and able to spend more, you'll get much more. As far as Porsche/Aston Martin? One is a street legal race car, the other a GT. They are not at all the same thing. Every engineering choice is a compromise. The Porsche prioritized track performance. The Aston had some different things in mind.

The whole discussion is apples and oranges.
A lot of this comes from two influences. Historically, hunting in Germany and most of Europe was for the landed gentry. Poaching game on their property could result in a death sentence. Hunting for rich people produced a very expensive gun industry.

The Scotch Irish and Germans and other early settlers into America hunted for survival. Most of the land was unclaimed and game was plentiful. Hunting was for the common man. Guns had to be affordable and on target.

The factor IN MY OPINION, is that most Americans have become addicted to cheap goods. China, and to a lesser extent, Japan, did this to us. I know so many people with a safe full of $500-$2000 guns but few outside of these forums appreciate an expensive fine wood and steel gun - be it modern German or handcrafted Mauser/M70 based. (TX could be different)

Gun laws in Europe I think bred the modular rifle.
 
Unless I read all the wrong books, it was quite common.
Mike

Well, not really a Mercedes or German. Magna-Steyr and Austria.
 
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My primary interest in German rifles are schuetzen offhand target rifles. I have a dozen or so. I do have 4 hunting rifles, 2 8x57i Mauser sporters and 2 Mannlicher Schoenauers, one 243 and one 9.5x57. The Mannlichers are of course Austrian. I shoot all of the schuetzen rifles, 200 meter offhand, plane base cast lead bullets at about 1350 fps. Latest addition is a system Marrkolbe.
Mike
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I think we may have, officially, gone "off the rails" at this point...

But, I will give my honest opinion of who makes the best "things":

Double Rifles - Britain (if you can afford one), German, if you can't.
Bolt Actions - America (maybe not "factory")
Single Shots - America (not really my "cup of tea")
Shotguns - Italy
Off-road vehicles - Japan (unless the French-made Grenadier proves me wrong (using German parts...)
Sports Cars - The American Chevrolet Corvette is, by far, the best for the money. For prestige, I'd take an Italian car...

Just, MHO...
 
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I have one German rifle, a Heckler & Koch model 300, 22WMR. Purchased it right before the semi-auto import ban back in 1980 (if I remember right) for $300 dollars. That included the claw scope mount. Today, a used mount costs a lot more than $300 dollars.
It is a great shooting rifle.
 
I think we may have, officially, gone "off the rails" at this point...

But, I will give my honest opinion of who makes the best "things":

Double Rifles - Britain (if you can afford one), German, if you can't.
Bolt Actions - America (maybe not "factory")
Single Shots - America (not really my "cup of tea")
Shotguns - Italy
Off-road vehicles - Japan (unless the French-made Grenadier proves me wrong (using German parts...)
Sports Cars - The American Chevrolet Corvette is, by far, the best for the money. For prestige, I'd take an Italian car...

Just, MHO...

I'm Field28 and I approve this message lol!

On the single shots, i really do want a B98. Preferably 6mm Rem!
 
I think we may have, officially, gone "off the rails" at this point...

But, I will give my honest opinion of who makes the best "things":

Double Rifles - Britain (if you can afford one), German, if you can't.
Bolt Actions - America (maybe not "factory")
Single Shots - America (not really my "cup of tea")
Shotguns - Italy
Off-road vehicles - Japan (unless the French-made Grenadier proves me wrong (using German parts...)
Sports Cars - The American Chevrolet Corvette is, by far, the best for the money. For prestige, I'd take an Italian car...

Just, MHO...
I have yet to see a Japanese off road vehicle that can even go on the trails that I’ve taken my Jeep, just saying…

Off Road Vehicles - America
 
Yup! They wouldn’t get through the beginning of Holy Cross trail here in Colorado and Holy Cross isn’t that hard!
Are we talking about rock crawling?
If so I definitely would give that to the jeeps set up for that.

Given that the original LC's were born from Willy's, they are not rock crawlers.

However I have been amazed by the places that a Hilux with the 3.0 diesels will go! I would put my Tacoma TRD Off Road up against any jeep in mud or sand, rock not so much.

Meanwhile, there's a German guy with an AMG engine hauling ass somewhere!
 

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Grz63 wrote on roklok's profile.
Hi Roklok
I read your post on Caprivi. Congratulations.
I plan to hunt there for buff in 2026 oct.
How was the land, very dry ? But à lot of buffs ?
Thank you / merci
Philippe
Fire Dog wrote on AfricaHunting.com's profile.
Chopped up the whole thing as I kept hitting the 240 character limit...
Found out the trigger word in the end... It was muzzle or velocity. dropped them and it posted.:)
 
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