Several variations of the Model 76 have since been introduced, all of them available in left-hand versions. Dakota added to the line with guns like its elegant Model 10 single-shot and mid-priced Model 97, a round-bottom, synthetic-stocked bolt-action. Too, the company has actively acquired other brands, including Nesika Bay and Miller Arms, and it also makes an 80-percent-scale 1874 Sharps. On top of that, Allen developed proprietary ammunition, which now includes 7 mm Dakota, .300 Dakota, .330 Dakota, .375 Dakota, .404 Dakota and .450 Dakota chamberings. For more on Dakota’s current offerings, visit www.americanrifleman.org/articles/dakota-arms/rifles.

Smart Money
Reinvestment in Dakota began under the succeeding ownership not long after Allen’s death in 2003. Moving the machine shop to relieve crowding worked out even better than expected when the new shop’s 10-inch-thick reinforced concrete floor cut vibrations so much that the CNCs were able to achieve closer, more uniform tolerances and maintenance on the centers was greatly reduced.

With its acquisition of Nesika Bay Precision, Dakota not only gained a cutting-edge custom bolt-action, it also gained know-how. Originally based near Seattle, Nesika keyed on materials and manufacturing techniques adapted from the region’s aerospace and technology industries. One important development was bringing electrical discharge machining (EDM) into the gunmaking process. These machines circulate fine brass wire that delivers an electrical charge capable of producing finer, more intricate cuts in metal than carbide bits in CNC mills. At the Dakota factory EDMs produce small parts such as triggers and bolt cams, but the technology is also used for big jobs such as milling bolt-lug raceways in steel billets that will become Model 76 receivers. “It’s vastly superior to the old method of drawing a long broach through the receiver blank,” Dakota’s Richard Spruill explained during my visit. “That stresses the metal and results in a ‘chattering’ surface that requires finish polishing. The EDM imparts absolutely no stress and produces very precise tolerances. Because EDMs operate at slow speeds, they require less operator oversight and there is no problem with tool breakage.”

Tapping into aerospace technology also brought manufacturing engineer Randy Miller, whose background in that industry led to Dakota’s increased reliance on virtual machining. Miller’s use of CAD software to continually revamp manufacturing processes has greatly improved efficiency. Where the CNC work on a Model 76 receiver once required eight fixture-change operations, that has now been reduced to two operations, thereby slashing two and a half hours machining time from each receiver.

Another upgrade strengthens Model 76 and Model 97 bolts. Previously the two-piece assembly was welded; now the bolt handle is “spun” onto the body at ultra-high speed (30,000 r.p.m.), creating a friction weld from extreme heat and pressure that actually fuses the molecules. “It’s so much stronger,” said machine shop supervisor Stub Dufek.“You can’t even beat it apart, and this way we don’t have to clean up the inside threads.”

Stockmaking at Dakota also has its high-tech touches. A precision optical comparator charts a series of barrel dimensions, which are then fed into a computer program that controls the inletting machinery. Accordingly, every stock is custom-inletted for the actual metal it will house, though the inlet is left slightly undersize to allow for handfitting of wood to metal. Also, stock-duplicating mill software can be tweaked for each individual piece to tailor length of pull, cast, drop and other features according to the buyer’s fit.

Handfitting
Reliance on computerized machinery has not lessened the traditional hand work devoted to every Dakota rifle. That was clear as I watched Greg Danielson’s sure-handed concentration while reaming a .375 H&H Mag. chamber, a job completed only after numerous alternating checks with go and no-go gauges confirmed the headspacing was perfect.

Nearby, master gunfitters Jesse Kaufman and Chris Ross fine-tuned a pair of unfinished rifles, meticulously ensuring that everything from stock lines to fire controls were essentially perfect. Interior receiver surfaces are hand-polished, and every extractor, ejector, and bolt-head bevel is inspected. Kaufman proudly showed us a logbook in which he has recorded details of every Dakota that has come across his bench, including number 1,050, the Model 10 in his vise that morning. Later I watched him artfully shape its butt to mate with a skeleton buttplate, a tricky task that required removal of all but a thin walnut outline with drop points. Make it a little too broad, and the delicate metalwork won’t snug down flush. But carve out a few thousandths too much and you’ll have gaps or worse—not enough wood to hold the screws. It took Kaufman about four minutes to get it just right.

In the stock-finishing room we found three ladies who “make our guns look like Dakotas,” explained Spruill. Each stock gets 10 coats of filler and finish oil, and it is hand-rubbed and lightly sanded between every coat—a process that takes 8 to 10 days to allow for drying time.

Karen Dufek was checkering a Model 76 stock, a job she estimated takes seven hours. After tracing a fine chalk outline, she roughed out a grid with an electric cutter, then finished every line and diamond with an awl. No machine checkering is done at Dakota, and no matter, as I have yet to see a checkering fixture any steadier than Karen’s hands.

On a rack along the back wall, completed stocks formed a display that belonged in a fine-art gallery, and the same was true in the finished-rifle room where blued or color-casehardened metalwork was finally mated with the exquisitely grained wood.

That walnut comes in four different species—English, Claro, Turkish and Bastogne—each of which is available in XX, XXX, Exhibition and Special Select grades. We saw racks full of blanks, and Spruill indulged his guests by rubbing a damp cloth across dozens of examples, then explaining how different grain patterns such as burl, straight and fiddleback can serve different shooting purposes. While that’s fodder for a separate article, suffice it to say Dakota now offers myriad choices, and in fact the sales team gladly sends out photos of numerous blanks it feels are especially well-suited to the customer’s desires and budget.

Gunmaking Tradition
Dakota doesn’t classify neatly as a production, semi-custom or custom gunmaker. You can buy a production Dakota right off a dealer’s rack, alter or embellish an existing gun, or have a custom-stocked and -outfitted rifle built from scratch. You can pick your wood and name your caliber. (“We have more than 200 reamers in-house, and if we don’t have what you want, we’ll get it,” said Spruill.) And you can pay a lot less for other perfectly fine production and semi-custom rifles, and even for some full custom jobs. Finding one in any category with all the style, engineering, high-tech machining and hand craftsmanship that come built into today’s Dakotas will be considerably more difficult.

Of course it’s important that American shooters and hunters have a ready supply of capable guns for every purpose and to fit every budget. It’s also important that an all-American factory is building rifles that rival “best bespoke” European extravagances, and in so doing, is keeping alive the grand tradition of fine gunmaking.