I'm looking for a rifle to use for a buffalo hunt. I am not married to a particular caliber but I like the ballistics of the 416 Rigby, the 450 Dakota and the 458 Win.

I would like to keep the cost of the rifle (not including optics) to under 2,000 - closer to 1,000 if possible. I like the idea of a double, but I am pretty sure those are well out of my price range so a controlled feed bolt action is fine with me. Not interested in a single shot! Cost of ammo is not really a consideration as I reload and plan to work up a load for this gun.

I was looking at the CZ 550 Safari and it seemed to have nice features and is within my price range.

Does anyone have feedback on the CZ 550, or any other ideas that I should explore?

Please keep in mind that if you buy a new factory rifle in the CZ, Winchester, Ruger price range, you will very likely have to spend some more to get it Africa ready. Maybe $200-300 or more. I recently spent $600 to remanufacture a 1990's M70 375 safety, a victim of sloppy tolerances in the last years of the old Winchester.

Check Gunsamerica or Gunbroker. Your best bet may be a reworked CZ or a CRF M70 in 458. Also if you will excuse the hearsay a M700 or other push feed would work too.

crud. Looks like I posted this in the wrong section. If a mod can move it to the right forum, that would be great! I looked for a way to do it and could not see an option to move forums, only delete the thread.

I will research that forum as well-thanks for the pointer. Funny how you get in the habit of checking one or two sections and forget that there are a dozen others to look through!

I am confused on the remanufacturing comments. What exactly is being remanufactured to make them Africa ready?

Rob,

We can talk about this later today but I highly recommend a 375 for your first DG safari. It will work very well for the buffalo and all your plains game.

As Brice said you'll need some tweaking for any off the shelf big bore and particularly the CZ's which often can be very rough right out of the box.

If I had to have something bigger than the 375 I'd look for a Whitworth mauser in 458 on one of the gun sites. They are great rifles and already have the features a safari rifle needs. I also think it would definitely fit your budget. You might als ocheck t oseewhat is available here on AR in the Classifieds.

Mark

Rob --

PM sent.

I seem to recall that Tim Herald has a new Winchester Model 70 in 416 Rem Mag that he was willing to sell for $1000.

How's this from the Classified posted Dec 4?

Hey Guys,
I've an Interarms Mark X in 458Win that I'd like to sell.

This one is in the original stock, with one crossbolt from the factory. In addition to that, a second lug has been added to the barrel with a corresponding recess in the stock. Then it was all nicely glass'd together.

This model does have the open sights, and the Oberndorf style release in the bow on the bottom metal.

Condition is better than good, with a bit of honest use. You'll not be disappointed. I'll try to get some pictures up over the weekend if they are needed. Off the top of my head, I believe that there is a scope ring base on it right now, but I'm sure I have a set of bases/rings that can go with it.

Price is $799, plus $26 to get it to you. If you're local to the Puget Sound region of Washington State, you're more than welcome to come by and inspect it personally. Thanks!

I think a CZ in .375 H&H would be hard to beat given the criteria you articulated. Honestly, I think that would be a better choice than the Mark X in .458 Win Mag.

Ruger Alaskan in .375 or .416Ruger.
Rifle and rings plus a Leupold VX2 2-7x all for about a grand. Rifle is a great platform, the stainless barrel/action with Hogue rubber stock is pretty much fool proof.

Great value for your money!

Some may think not too pretty, but right off the shelf and good to go would be a Savage 375!

That is the way I did for my Buffalo and one shot dead on the ground at about 15 yds.

Find a Browning Safari Grade (Long Extractor) in 375 H&H or 458 WM and do not do nothing but bed it, add a decelerator and tune the trigger if not to your liking. All the bells and whistles and a real quality gun. Search Guns International. You should be able to locate one for about $1,500.00. Make sure it does not have a salt stock.
I own one is a 458WM and it will shoot 450 swifts all day long into 1/2" @100 yards at 2270 FPS. Light weight to boot!
The cats meow!

Rob, check your PM's

A high grade new or second hand Winchester in 416Rem or 458Win would be my pick and just get a Smith to double check the feeding and bedding.

Thanks everyone, I have replied to all the PM's. I do feel I should clarify that I am in the early stages of my research and looking to see what options are out there. I plan to buy something in the next 4-6 weeks so that I can spend some time at the range over the next year or so playing with loads and getting accustomed to the recoil.

I agree with ozhunter get a Win Model 70 in 416 and have it bedded and you should be ready to go.

BigB

There are a few factory guns in addition to the CZ that fit the bill.

(The CZ has a 25" barrel and that's not to everyone's liking, and the bedding usually needs some work).

Remington makes a Comml Mauser rifle with honest to goodness CRF (actually made by Zastava, who made the Interarms Mk X and the Daly before Rem got into bed with them. I like the laminated stocks, they are hard as nails and have built-in camo. But you can get a "Delux" version. The Daly version could be had with normal trigger or double set trigger, but those are NLA. They had walnut stocks, mostly gloss finish, but some were oil finished.

Winchester 70 CRF Safari is a more classy gun than the Remington Mauser, and more expensive, but still well under $2K. It has all the "safari" styling cues.

Rem 700 is available in 375. One version is stainless with a racy two tone composite stock. Too light though unless you are climbing mountains.

We offer our Bad Boy IV kit based on a Comml Mauser with the Hogue stock, any bbl you want, can do it in 458 length as well as 375 length. Ruger stole that look from us. We have a fat magazine box so we can do a 470 Capstick as well.

We also offer a unique Bad Boy VIII, which has an 8 round capacity, using a Steyr action, in 375 length.

As somebody else said, Browning offers their A bolt in 375, nothing wrong with that rifle either.

The Rugers are sweet, particularly the Alaskan, if you want a Ruger proprietary ctg.

I think that about covers the under $1500 class. There are tons of semi-custom and full custom rifles available above $2K, all the way to $15K and beyond.

Nope...mine is gone. An AR member bought it the week I posted it...

quote:

Originally posted by Rob H:
I'm looking for a rifle to use for a buffalo hunt. I am not married to a particular caliber but I like the ballistics of the 416 Rigby, the 450 Dakota and the 458 Win.

I would like to keep the cost of the rifle (not including optics) to under 2,000 - closer to 1,000 if possible. I like the idea of a double, but I am pretty sure those are well out of my price range so a controlled feed bolt action is fine with me. Not interested in a single shot! Cost of ammo is not really a consideration as I reload and plan to work up a load for this gun.

I was looking at the CZ 550 Safari and it seemed to have nice features and is within my price range.

Does anyone have feedback on the CZ 550, or any other ideas that I should explore?

I have nothing involved, but came across this: Auction Arms #10104284,a FN/Browning Safari in .458 offerred by Gunrunner in Anchorage, Alaska. It is in your range and if it doesn't thump you and the animal hard enough you could have it punched out to the Lott cartridge by a 'smith.

I took a look at this posting. It is an early 60's vintage gun. You can tell by the rear sight. That means it will not have a salt stock and will have a long extractor. Real nice deal. $300-$600 less that what you might typically find this gun on the shelf.

EZ

quote:

Originally posted by AfricanHunter:

quote:

Originally posted by Rob H:
I'm looking for a rifle to use for a buffalo hunt. I am not married to a particular caliber but I like the ballistics of the 416 Rigby, the 450 Dakota and the 458 Win.

I would like to keep the cost of the rifle (not including optics) to under 2,000 - closer to 1,000 if possible. I like the idea of a double, but I am pretty sure those are well out of my price range so a controlled feed bolt action is fine with me. Not interested in a single shot! Cost of ammo is not really a consideration as I reload and plan to work up a load for this gun.

I was looking at the CZ 550 Safari and it seemed to have nice features and is within my price range.

Does anyone have feedback on the CZ 550, or any other ideas that I should explore?

I have nothing involved, but came across this: Auction Arms #10104284,a FN/Browning Safari in .458 offerred by Gunrunner in Anchorage, Alaska. It is in your range and if it doesn't thump you and the animal hard enough you could have it punched out to the Lott cartridge by a 'smith.

I have just about everything mentioned. I have two Whitworths (375 & 458) that I love, but glass bedded, double bolted, new recoil pad, changed trigger and safety to a Timney, both are very accurate and a dream to carry. I also have a Browning Safari in 458, also a dream to carry, also very accurate. I have a CZ in 416 Rigby and 9.3x62 both again very accurate after glass bedding, trigger work, etc. However, I would not buy a wood stocked Magnum CZ again and have replaced the wood stock(club) with the Kevlar stock and now feels much better. I have several Model 70s but only one in big bore (375). If i were advising a hunter new to DG and buying their first DG rifle on a budget, the new Win Model 70 Safari Express gets the nod. You can buy them all day long on the web for around $1150 and can probably get by doing next to nothing to it.
Just my two cents.

quote:

Originally posted by eezridr:
Find a Browning Safari Grade (Long Extractor) in 375 H&H or 458 WM and do not do nothing but bed it, add a decelerator and tune the trigger if not to your liking. All the bells and whistles and a real quality gun. Search Guns International. You should be able to locate one for about $1,500.00. Make sure it does not have a salt stock.
I own one is a 458WM and it will shoot 450 swifts all day long into 1/2" @100 yards at 2270 FPS. Light weight to boot!
The cats meow!

I have to agree with eezridr. No current factory rifles are close to the quality of these old Browning FN long extractor rifles. I have both a 375 and a 458 and love them.

Of the current factory rifles, I lean towards the winchester...they are available in 375 H&H, 416 Rem., and 458 win mag.

If this rifle is strictly a "Buffalo" rifle, I would lean towards a 458 or 416 but if you are going to include PG then I would lean 375 or possibly 416. I would go out and handle as many different rifles and if possible shoot a few....see what works best for you.

Best of luck with your search....

I can provide a bit of a break down comparing the Mod 70, Browning safari and CZ 550 as I also own all 3. All have had work done to them and are extremely reliable and functional.

Wt Browning 8 lbs; Win +9 lbs; CZ +9.5 lbs
Safety; Browning 3 pos; Win 3 pos; CZ 2 pos
Foreward recoil lug; All; CZ Cheesy
Irons; All acceptable
Capacity; Win 4; Brown 4; CZ 6 or 7
Handling; Browning 1; Win 2; CZ 6 Club
Bedding; suggest all
X bolts; Brown 2; Win 1; CZ 2
Trigger; Win 1; Brown 2, CZ 3
Out of box accuracy. Win and Brown excellent; CZ OK.
Control round feed; All
Reliability; All can be made to function flawlessly
LOP; Brown 13.5; Win 13.75; CZ 14

I have both the Winchester Model 70 and the Ruger RMS. For the money, I really love the Ruger RMS, not the Alaskan or African.