Just left a friends house who showed me his new toy, a Blaser R8 Baronesse.. It was a 308 fluted barrel, smooth action and the wood was beautiful!!! Out of curiosity I looked one up online and almost fell out!! OMG!!! Close to 15K!! So what makes them so $$$$$, does anyone know! Are they that good, super accurate?

I'm going to guess the quality of wood and engraving has a little to do with it lol. Just the craftsmanship on them is like a Bentley compared to a mustang being a remington.

A lot of engineering and craftsmanship in the those rifles, no doubt, but from a hunting/shooting perspective, IMHO, not worth the money. I think they are more for collectors and folks who like having nicer things or being different.

The general attitude about hunting firearms in Europe is far removed from what we in the US are used to.

Those guys won't blink at spending enough to buy a new car on a hunting rifle and scope - Because it will see regular use, be cared for very well, and will serve several generations. Hunting is not a "Joe Sixpack" pursuit there, it is taken much more seriously and your status among hunters is determined in part by the weapon you carry, the clothes you wear, and your experience as a hunter.

They look at us, shake their heads and wonder why we would have a safe-full of lower quality firearms instead of buying just a few that are of the highest quality available. - After all, you only get one go-round... Life is a one-shot deal.

As the population goes up in the US and hunting becomes progressively more expensive and difficult to arrainge, some of our attitudes may start to resemble European thought in this matter.

It won't be happening overnight though, it will take a while.

I will note though that since moving to west Texas, I have seen more Saurs and Blasers than I ever did in the Dallas/Ft Worth area - and I'm seeing them in the hands of hunters, not collectors.

Blaser is just a status symbol in firearms. They are beautiful handcrafted works of art,but they aren't any more accurate than any rifle I have in my safe. They are to rifles what a Purdy & Son's shotgun is to the shotgunner's.
They are the Rolls Royce of firearms.

I think if I were going to drop that kind of money into a rifle, I would buy a Holland and Holland. Or maybe thats not enough money...

Nowhere near enough. Also, bear in mind that the Blaser straight pull bolt system is faster to operate than a standard bolt action rifle. Since there are many legal and cultural reasons not to use autoloaders in European driven game shooting, it's a significant advantage in the field. The R8 is also a switch barrels system, which is more or less meaningless where you can own as many rifles as you can afford, but is a real advantage in jurisdictions that severely restrict firearms ownership. Finally, the Baronesse model is a deluxe model built with first-world labor; yes, it's expensive.

I own quite a few great shotguns. several worth north of 10k. I prefer a custom rifle that I had built. I have several of them, however, when it is time to hunt. I usually end up with the same old 270 or the same old 20ga that I use all the time. The Blazer is a good shooting system I just am not sure I would want to take it out in the places I usually hunt.

The Blaser R8 rifles are an amazing rifle system. It is a barrel changing rifle system. And there is no "action" really. The barrel screws into the stock, and the bolt is in a raceway in the stock. So, the rifles are extremely light weight. And most of all, they are one of the most accurate rifle systems I have ever seen. For a barrel swap, it is simply unscrewing 2 screws, screwing in 2 screws for the new barrel, changing the bolt face (if needed), and changing the magazine (if needed) for a caliber change. Also, each barrel has it's own scope mounted to it. So your rifle case can have 3 barrels in it, and change calibers very quickly.

I have completed a load work up on 1 Blaser rifle with 3 different barrels. All 3 shot amazing. One caliber was a 338 Win Mag pushing the 225 Barnes TSX at max speed. With a 4.5 to 5 lb rifle, it was also the most severe recoil I've ever felt. But it shot one hole at 200 yards.

I agree it's a not an inexpensive rifle system. But the quality is there.

YETI Guns.

Yep, it's the guys who have never owned one who will tell you how it won't do anything that a Ruger American won't do.

Sour grapes, etc..

What about my ADL 700?

I guess it depends on how you define what a firearm does. I agree with you, completely, but a ruger American can probably shoot just as well, but there is so much more to it.

Hmmm. If it'll shoot into one hole at 200, somebody would be competing with it.

They are set up and sold as hunting arms.

People that look at the Blaser and say, you can do the same thing with a Ruger American, are at the same level as the people that look at a Ferrari and say, well you could just as well commute in a Ford Focus.

yes, they're on beer budget , or just hate tasting that fine bitter Scotch that is 50 yrs old