Hello everyone.
There have been a few mentions in various threads about how much more expensive rifles are in the UK than in the US. The US is for just about everything a pretty unique market just by its' size which makes economies of scale possible, and the fact that generally, VAT is very low. It strikes me that a more relevant comparison is with the rest of Europe. With that in mind, and having just taken delivery of the latest edition of Le Chasseur Francais's excellent equipment and guns supplement, which lists all available guns and their prices, I picked three random rifles and compared prices. Seems we don't really get that harsh a deal, considering:
Steyr-Mannlicher Classic fullstock:
Blaser K8 Professional:
Browning X-bolt hunter:
Now I realise that's just a random selection, but maybe other SD members from abroad could tell me whether in their experience, rifles are more expensive in the rest of Europe than on the UK. It doesn't appear that we have such a raw deal after all based on this.
There have been a few mentions in various threads about how much more expensive rifles are in the UK than in the US. The US is for just about everything a pretty unique market just by its' size which makes economies of scale possible, and the fact that generally, VAT is very low. It strikes me that a more relevant comparison is with the rest of Europe. With that in mind, and having just taken delivery of the latest edition of Le Chasseur Francais's excellent equipment and guns supplement, which lists all available guns and their prices, I picked three random rifles and compared prices. Seems we don't really get that harsh a deal, considering:
Steyr-Mannlicher Classic fullstock:
- UK: £1643.99 (SGC)
- Germany: €2231/£1769.64 (AKAH)
- France: a shade under €3000
Blaser K8 Professional:
- UK: £2395
- Germany: €3649/£2894.70 (Frankonia)
Browning X-bolt hunter:
- UK: £841.99 (SGC)
- Germany: €1185/£940
Now I realise that's just a random selection, but maybe other SD members from abroad could tell me whether in their experience, rifles are more expensive in the rest of Europe than on the UK. It doesn't appear that we have such a raw deal after all based on this.