"Guns can be a work of art ..... but a work of art is a liability in the field."
Do keep in mind that those lightweight upland German game rifles with the full-Mannlicher stocks and Shnaubel (not even trying to spell this correctly
) forearms were designed
specifically for use in the field. Cape guns could have all the fancy wood and engraving/inlaying in the world on them (and some do
) and it won't have one whit of impact on how the gun performs on a charging animal.
When a gun becomes too nice or dear to use,
that is the liability. And it can come from either cost or sentimental value. For guys willing to drop the coin for a safari hunt (either as a hobby or as a one-time event), going in for a masterpiece of a rifle over a bland field gun is small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. For many, if they manage to bring the gun home as a testament to their adventure, they would probably be reluctant to shoot it again (sentimentality, cost, and all the horrible PTSD flashbacks of tiger attacks, no doubt
), so for them, the extra fanciness makes it all the better as a museum piece.
"I am disappointed to read most like military guns and only one classic upscale rifle was mentioned."
As much as we complain and moan about military procurement practices, they do ultimately tend to settle on good designs, that work well, are made well, and stem from solid designs. Add to that that governments have historically been
far more willing/able to spend inordinate monies on infantry arms than most civilians, and you can readily see why military rifles are so popular. A K31 may be uglier than a commercial Mannlicher Shoenauer (itself a 'military deisgn'
), but it can likely hang with them in every other category, and probably cost more to produce in the first place.
The 'cheap infantry arm' of which we are acquainted today is actually a fairly recent phenomenon (i.e. 1960's). Prior to that, battle rifles and even submachine guns were cutting edge technology given very high devotion in terms of quality, workmanship, and innovation. It's no coincidence that rifle development has more or less stalled the last 50 years once we learned how to make them cheap but still 'good enough'
TCB