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ALF,

My rifle weighs 9 pounds with scope and 3 rounds of ammo.

I don't like using a sling - I did try it once and did not like it at all. Carrying this rifle the way I do does not bother me in the least. On many occasions, I have carried for more than 12 hours.

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Alf,
This is an AFRICAN SHEEP RIFLE. They should be a little bit heavier and more powerful than a Kimber Montana in .308. One should not feel undergunned for elephant or cape buffalo when toting the African Sheep Rifle. Nine pounds and .375 or .416 caliber is about perfect. The .404 Jeffery would qualify if only tough light and pointy varmint and small game bullets were available for it.

They say that both the 76 and the 97 actions will be available in stainless about January 2005. Chips will soon be flying.

A stainless Lothar Walther barrel of 14" twist and 24" length is what I had in mind.

The 97 action is a little lighter than the 76, since the 97 has a cylindrical machined receiver and the Remington style/Tubb style recoil lug. The 97 is cheaper to make, maybe more easily made concentric and square, but not as stiff or heavy as the machine-work-intensive 76?

One can get the same floor plate, trigger, safety, CRF, and 3-down box with the 97, as with the 76.

Since this is an African Sheep Rifle, the 97 is the sheeper action. Not baa-aa-aad at all.

What barrel would be better? A fluted No. 5 sporter, or a smooth sporter No. 4? I am going with the 4. But I do wonder how much weight could be shaved off a No.5 in .416 caliber by fluting?

Sounds like the perfect hunting rifle!
The 416 Dakota is the full length 404 case necked down and improved.

In fact, I use 416 Dakota brass for my 375/404, by just running the cases through my 375/404 sizing die.

I get a case with two shoulders, and I do not bother fireforming them. I just load them with full loads and take them to Africa and hunt with them.

Mr. Charles Kokesh, the president fo Dakota Arms, was kind enough to pay us a visit when he was in the UAE, and we had the pleasure of spending a very enjoyable few hours with him.

My friend Roy Vincent and his family were staying with us at that time, and as you can imagine, the conversation around the dinner table was about Africa and African rifles.

Please don't kill the messenger, just FYI, and for some fun:

Yep, since Nesika Bay moved in with Dakota Arms, they brought their stainless steel tooling and know-how with them. Dakota will be offering the Dakota 76 and 97 Hunter models in stainless steel. I may be the first to order one of the stainless '97's, and just to get away from the freakish aspects of the .404 Jeffery, it will have to be in .416 Dakota. Stainless and synthetic, and no acoutrements cluttering up the barrel. KISS.

Saeed has been using African Sheep Rifles in .375/404 caliber for years to slay everything in Africa.

They are more efficient than any old compromised-antique-express rifle, but not for the nostalgic.