Info and comments from knowledgeable AR members would be appreciated.

I am in the market for a .375 H&H
My preferred option is to have one built to suit me and I want to have a rugged all weather rifle that will handle rough situations and hard use. So, likely SS barrel, carbon fibre stock and maybe parkerised or cerakoted action. Also prefer CRF and it needs to be a Left Hand bolt.
Talking to a couple of gunsmiths here they say either an action alone or a complete rifle that can be broken down for an action needs to be sourced as a basis for a build.
Such things cannot simply be plucked from a shelf here.
One possible option is purchasing a Zastava Model 70 LH rifle ex the USA and shipping to New Zealand. I know nothing about these actions apart from their origin in Europe ( Serbia ? ). Given my above criteria would this action be considered a suitable candidate ? Are there any pitfalls in using a Zastava action ? Is much work / modification involved in getting them to function with total reliability ?
I don't need a pretty rifle but I must have total confidence that it will perform every time.

Buy a stainless Ruger MKII in .375 Ruger with a syt stock.

Than never look back.

You will have the toughest go any where do anything in the worse conditions rifle.

I have two custom rifles made on these actions. One is a 240 Weatherby and the other is a 6.5-06. Both of these rifles shoot very well. I don't believe there are any known issues with these rifles.

Good luck!

The best financial option is to find one made from the factory in .375H&H. They made them. This way the bottom metal matches and ejection part opened. I have three that I customized. Two .30-06’s and one .338Win. Mag. Which I had to get the bolt face expanded for the mag cartridge. They are solid Mauser actions, all machined steel. No pot metal, MIM parts or plastic. They will last a lifetime and money well spent. They are accurate and to spend money on a new barrel is waste of money 99% of the time. The bluing on the barreled action is nice and the trigger can be simply adjusted to your desire. The safety is a two position safety which works and similar to many rifles out there. I prefer the three position safety similar to to the Win. M 70. I bought the safety from Gentry’s in Belgrade Montana and had them installed. My only beef with the action is the bolt to receiver movement is not smooth and needs elbow grease to butter out. I got auto engine valve grinding compound and spent hours working the bolt. Started with the medium and finished with the fine. Then emory cloth with little oil wrapped on a dowel and more elbow grease. I probably cycled that bolt 5,000 times. They are all slick now and worth it. If I were to do it again, I would pay a gunsmith to smooth it out. Feeding and extraction is solid.
The wooden stock came in two variations. Good solid Armenian Walnut. 14 1/4” lop, which is fine. You can always shorten if needed. I had the stocks all bent with a cast on for lefties. It is very well worth it. You can’t do it with tupperware stocks.
The checkering is terrible and final stock coat is also terrible. I had mine totally liposuchioned, reckeckered, ebony tip installed and refinished. It is worth keeping now. After spending four times what I originally paid for it. But that’s part of rifle looniesm. I have seen pictures of them made in stainless steel. They were never imported to the US. I believe Canada, Australia or both.
I would email Zastava and ask who are the distributer’s in your area. Also nothing wrong with a used. Australia had or might still have a large rifle classified section for lefties.

Other options for a CRF rifle is a used Win M 70. A now discontinued CZ 550 LH, Dakota 76 or Gma.
Find a used Ruger mk11 or Hawkeye in .300 win. Mag. And rebarrel to the .375H&H.
Best of luck to you.

mlfguns,
Great and helpful info. Thankyoufor taking the time to post that.
A question re the Ruger Hawkeye. I had considered the option you suggest of buying a .300 Win Mag and rebarreling to .375 H&H. Do you happen to know the internal magazine length of the Ruger, and is the bolt long enough for the 375 H&H cartridge ? Been trying to find that info online but no joy.
I assume from your suggestion that rebarreling a Ruger 300 WM to the 375 H&H works out OK...???

You are welcome. I don’t own a Ruger currently, so can’t help on the box dimension. Try the gunsmithing column, there are much more knowledgable individuals than myself.
Maybe a forum member with a ruger 300WM can provide the dimensions, right or left hand doesn’t make a difference.

The cheapest route is still the Zastava in .375H&H from the factory. No changes or secondary financial outlays. It will serve you well. I much prefer it to Ruger or MRC 1999. I never warmed up to the cast receiver feel. They are strong and functional but not the same. Always loved the machined steel that has been buffed to the nth degree.

Ruger originally shoehorned the 375H&H into their standard length Ruger 77 action, so it can be done. There isn’t a lot of room between the trigger and the back of the magazine and you’d need to consider how to reinforce that area. It would be a lot easier to simply build a 375 Ruger or a 9.3x62.

Ruger M77 Hawkeye Magazine is 3.42" in 300 WM.

I have imported and sold a lot of Zastavas, including 375s. All actions are the same length. The action for the 375 is opened and a notch cut in the rear of the front receiver ring for the loaded cartridge. The action is marked 375 on the bottom from the factory. most others made as actions only are marked 8X57. The magazine box is cut off at the front and an extension strap riveted to the front. They are built like military Mausers with designed-in tolerances with a certain amount of movement, yet still to always function. I would not make a benchrest rifle on one but it sure makes a reliable hunting rifle. I have one in 375 among others, and I also have a Ruger 375 Alaskan. If choosing between the two, I would select the Zastava because of the 375 H&H caliber. Either rifle would be fine.

Should have asked this on gunsmith forum.
Easiest way is to get a post 64 Win Model 70 in any caliber (not short and WSM), and make it not a 375. All post 64 long actions are made for 375. Just remove the block from the mag box and shorten the bolt stop and open the bolt face if it is a 30-06 size.
Easy; I have done many of them. Claw extractor? Not needed. Those were invented for untrained troops so they couldn't double load them.
Ruger did not make the original 77 in 375; And I have wanted to. Can't.

I recalled reading that a regular Ruger 77 was opened up to accept a 375 H&H so I did a search and found the following thread:

http://forums.accuratereloadin...=673101872#673101872

For clarity it was never released as a factory option and shortly after Ruger released the 375 Ruger.

In relation to Zastava actions I have a few and, overall like them, but with their poor QC I will not buy one sight unseen again. I did that when I bought a LH rifle in 375 H&H and regretted it.

It did not appear to me that it was opened up at the rear but maybe I didn’t look closely enough. A large section of the front feed ramp had been milled away to gain most of the length required and so was the front of the magazine box. The follower was still the standard length. All in all a very underwhelming conversion done by the factory.

My plan was to build a 404 Jeffry and my smith advised selling the factory 375 and buying standard action which he would open up properly. I was so annoyed I ended up abandoning the project and selling everything off.

If you have your heart set on building a CRF rifle in 375H&H I’d start with a standard length Zastava and have it altered by a good smith. To avoid the expensive mods look at building a 375 Ruger or 9.3x62 instead. I have a LH Zastava built in 9.3x62 and it is very slick and I’m very pleased with the result.

For reference I also have a LH Ruger Alaskan in 375 Ruger but I have difficulty warming to that rifle. It handles well and the ergonomics are good but the functioning is nowhere near as slick as the worked over Zastavas.

I read in the reference that Scovill had a 375 built on a Ruger 77. Nowhere did I see that it was a 375 H&H; in fact, the 375 Scovill is much shorter and smaller, being basically a 375-06. .
Come over and I'll show you why it won't work.
Also, the non CRF Model 70 Wins feed much smoother than the others. I have several of both.

With any luck 458win will see this post and clarify which 375 was built on the Ruger 77.

There was another reference in the same thread where a poster claimed the same smith built a 458 Lott for him on a LH 77.

I remember reading the Scovil article and do believe it was the h&h.

I found another reference to the conversions of Ruger 77 MkII rifles to 375 H&H and 458 Lott by Bill Atkinson.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com...in/64597/type/thread

The 375 Scovill(aka 9.5-06) was built on a VZ24 military action But Bill Atkinson, who was Bill Ruger's go-to gunsmith in Prescott,
Modified a 338 Win RUGER MkII to handle the longer 375 H&H case by adding a longer Ruger 375 H&H magazine box and grinding the bolt stop and ejector enough to allow it to function. It makes a great, handy 375 H&H but there is not a lot of metal remaining on the bolt stop. It certainly has worked well for the past 20+ years and the buffer spring on the Ruger bolt stop likely has a lot to do with that.
But I think that rifle was the inspiration for the development of the 375 Ruger.

Phil - thanks for clarifying.

For the what-its-worth category, my guides who have used Bill Atkinson's modified Ruger 375 H&H have named it "pointer" , because, according to them, everything it is pointed at dies ! It is now ensconced in one of Bill Ruger's favorite "canoe paddle" stocks and is light, lively and lethal.

Got a pencil? If you can find out the magazine length for the intended rifle, cartridge specs for many calibers can be found on Wikipedia. Just Google the caliber, click on the Wiki link and compare the cartridge overall lengths & widths. If no link comes up, do the caliber followed by wiki. Hope it helps.
CB

I have a Zasty 375 Wby bedded into a Ledgandary Arms works fiberglass stock. With a 2-7x loopy its 8.5 Lbs loaded ready to go.

Its a great rifle, dont listen to those who say the Zastys are shit, they are rough for sure, but a bit of elbow grease and emry paper and they slick up no worries. My rifle shoots 225, 235 250 and 270gn bullets to the same POI and under an inch for 3 shots.