I know some people don't care about this, but....:
If I'm going to spend
this much money, on what is basically a
toy (it's a tool for a
hobby, it's not a necessity of life) — then besides quality and precision
an ︎intangible element that determines my price cap is visual appearance.
⭓
If the gun is ugly (and there are truly some uglies out there!), I can still have fun hunting, but it shouldn't cost more than
a couple hundred bucks.
⭓If I'm paying
half a grand, the gun should like nice, with no obvious visual design errors like huge gaps between shroud and airtube/bottle, wonky proportions of the stock, etc.
⭓If I'm paying
a grand or more, the gun must be attractive, it must have a wow-factor.
Condem me for being superficial... it's
my nickel! (or, really my 20.000 nickels).
Matthias