If you had a budget of $3000 to spend on a single rifle that you would use for 99% of your safari hunting over the next several years, what would you buy?

$3000 is for the rifle only. Scope not included.

What if the budget were expanded to $5000?

Ruger RSM in .458 Lott, 500 grain bullets for the big things and 350-400 grain bullets for the smaller things.

Either the Ruger RSM or The CZ American... plenty of nice calibres to choose from.

Winchester M70 CRF in .375. Use the extra cash to top the gun off with a nice piece of glass.

I found a Mauser 416 Rigby in Sweden for around 4k(NEW) I have taken everything from Steenbok to Elephant with a 416, a perfect weapon IMO !

or Bailey Bradshaws 22LR

For 3,000

Blaser R93 pro syn in 375.

For 5,000

Blaser R8 jager or Mauser M03 safari--in a 375,

All out Mauser M03 in a 8x68s safari, and a second barrel in a 404 jeffery.

Here is a pic of one of the M03 out at canyon sporting arms www.canyonsportingarms.com

If it was left handed it would be mine!


By coachsells, shot with i1037 at 2010-02-12

Ed

Ed

A Mauser actioned rifle in .375 H&H.

Although a Kimber Caprivi would be just great if I couldn't find the right Mauser.

And I also recently bought an H-S Precision in .416 Rigby for $2999; it is the perfect rifle except it ain't CRF. Oh well.

CZ Safari Classic in 500 Jeffery. I have just under $3000 in it, including the AHR CZ #1 Upgrade (3 pos M70 type safety, single stage trigger, straighten and fill bolt), rebarrel job to 500 Jeffery and my Leupold 1.5 - 5x and Talley QR rings. It shoots sub MOA with 570g TSX's at just under 2300 fps. That being said, if I was happy with a 375 H&H I'd be thinking very hard about one of the new Model 70s coming out of South Carolina.





Chuck

quote:

Originally posted by Scottyboy:
Winchester M70 CRF in .375. Use the extra cash to top the gun off with a nice piece of glass.

safari-lawyer,

That's some good advice above! Probably worth $250 per chargeable hours!

RSM for my dollars, but if you were to increase budget to 5,000.00, you may well be able to have three RSM's in 375HH, 416Rigby, and the 458Lott. Quite a trio of firearms for the bucks.

MJines has it correct. The Ruger RSM in .458Lott is probably the best buy on the market today for a safari rifle retailing under $3k. Current MSRP is $2404.

It will need a quality recoil pad and some work on the open sights. The Ruger recoil pad on mine, circa 2004, is a POS and the rear sight needs white or silver in the vertical slot and the front sight will be better with a decent white bead. Maybe Ruger made these changes since mine was produced. I did recommend them to Ruger while Bill Jr. was still in charge.

$3K, that's an awkward price point. It's a ways above the standard factory rifles by Winchester, Remington, CZ, and the like, but a bit short of the semi-customs, like the HS Precision, Rifles Inc, Sauer 202, Mauser 98, Blaser Luxus Safari, Dakota, McWhorter, etc

If used rifles don't count (but they're the best buys...lots of nice African rifles out there that are sitting in safes for years as their owners dream "Some Day"), then for new I'd say:

Blaser synthetic Safari in 375 or 416
Sauer 202 Standard grade in 375
Kimber Caprivi 375
Dakota 97 375 (being discontinued)
Mauser M03 Arabesque 375
Hill Country synthetic in 375 or 416

Will, please don't buy a CZ. Contact the custom rifle makers like Duane or Kobe and see what they have to offer.

If I were starting over, I believe, I would buy two Kimber Caprivis, 375 & Lott, and be done. They can be bought on the web for around $2,700.00 and occasionaly cheaper.

Martin (MFD) hit the nail square on the head - if $3000. then Ruger RSM in .375 & .458; if $5000. then add the .416 Rigby. You can probably come close to getting glass for each of these quotes if you do some Internet shopping.

In the $3K +/- range, you can pick up a CZ and get AHR to breathe on it quite a bit. In the $5K +/- range you can just about get one of their built-themselves CZs.

AHR CZ Upgrades.

AHR DGRs.



Hard to get a full-custom for that kind of money, at least to my way of thinking. You might find a discounted Dakota. Getting someone good to work on a Model 70 is not a bad idea either, if you can get into it at the right price.

I do not have a Ruger RSM so no experience there.

The Remington 798s are being closed out and they (CDNN) had some .375s and .458s, but it would take some gunsmithing dollars before I would take one to Africa. Maybe a lot of dollars. Your mileage may vary.

Blaser R 93 Safari in 416 Rem Mag, or 375 H&H.

For $5000, the same with both barrels...

I'd buy one of the M70 safari classics in the caliber of your choice and use the rest of the money to have it worked over by a good gunsmith to insure perfect operation. There are plenty of safari classics still around on gunsamerica, although they have upped the asking price since they went out of production.

No question--HS Precision takedown in either 375 or 416. Just around 5k and easy to travel with anywhere in the world. If your budget allows later, add a barrel in another calibre.

These guns are nail drivers and the take down system is excellent. Compare to Blaser, Dakota, Empire take down systems. After you check it out, HS will be hard to resist. As for the push feed. You are not a PH living in the bush cleaning your dusty rifle once a year. I have never had a problem with my HS after three solid weeks walking the dusty trails of Africa and not cleaning my rifle until back home in the USA. Nor any problems in the crap of Alaska.

For my money a sauer takedown in 9.3x62 best rifle I have have owned

You see the 416 Rigby by Wisner in the classifieds for 2200 and some change? I don't think there is anything you can'd do with that. slap a scope on the top and you're sitting pretty.

I'd buy an RSM 458 LOTT, and spend a little more for smoothing, and a recoil pad, spend the rest toward a trophy fee!

quote:

RSM 458 LOTT, and spend a little more for smoothing, and a recoil pad, spend the rest toward a trophy fee!

That is good advice
The Bruno second to that

I would load the Lott with 450Gr GS or NF for big game and GS/Barnes 300-350gr HV/TSX for everything else up to Buffalo first shot.

I really think that the Lott is the worlds most versatile rifle. Its just a better 375 but you need to hand load to get the best out of it.

Rechamber and bed a Husqvarna model 98 in 9,3x62 for WELL under $1000 and use the rest to pay trophy fees or airfare. If one must spend $3000, I think one can do worse than having a CZ worked over by AHR.

Spend $1300 on a Ruger Hawkeye African and a Leupold 1.5-5. Then put the leftover $$$ towards a safari.

Mine would be a 416 ruger African, could not go wromg for the money
Daniel

How is it possible that I am the first to suggest the really excellent Ed Brown Express?

My suggestion is to find a used model 70 custom safari express. They have the krieger barrell and slicked up action. They have a nice dense piece of walnut on them, some of very nice figure.

I like mine about as well as the two dakotas I have. It is a bit heavier than a dakota, but lighter than the Ruger RSM (416) I once owned.

They can be found on GUN BROKER, or Guns America.

The Rsm has changed to a 23" barrell and I like the 24" on the win. I wish the dakotas had the 24" tube as well. ( mine is 416, the dakotas are 375 and 404J) Have fun deciding.

That would be nice I guess, except that Ruger doesn't make a 416 African.

Larry Sellers

quote:

Originally posted by M 98:
Mine would be a 416 ruger African, could not go wromg for the money
Daniel

Will, like others on this forum I think the best all-round cartridge caliber is the .416. You can shoot basically everything with it, especially if you like to make your own loads. The first thing to think about is which .416 cartridge. Don't even think about .375. In .416 cartridges you have a selection to choose from: Ruger, Remington, Rigby and Weatherby. My suggestion might be to look seriously at one of the first two. From this list there are several different muzzle energies. Select one with the kind of muzzle energy you can handle. Weatherby is not for everyone. Once you decide the cartridge, then look at gun manufacturers in that cartridge.

I definitely like pure dangerous game guns like the Lott and the various double rifles, but that is getting away from the question you asked, since those calibers require you to have another gun for long-range work. Thanks for asking. Bill

does an animal know if he got shot by $3K rifle versus a $5K or more gun?

buy a reasonable factory gun & reasonable or better optics --then got huntin'JMO

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
That would be nice I guess, except that Ruger doesn't make a 416 African.

Larry Sellers

quote:

Originally posted by M 98:
Mine would be a 416 ruger African, could not go wromg for the money
Daniel

Correct, the Hawkeye 416 Ruger only comes in the ALASKA stainless synthetic model. The AFRICAN only come in 375 Ruger, 338 Win Mag, and 300 Win Mag!

quote:

Correct, the Hawkeye 416 Ruger only comes in the ALASKA stainless synthetic model. The AFRICAN only come in 375 Ruger, 338 Win Mag, and 300 Win Mag!

That doesn't even make any sense? I would consider purchasing one if it came in 416?

quote:

Originally posted by mauser93:
How is it possible that I am the first to suggest the really excellent Ed Brown Express?

These are nice rifles, well over $3000. I recently saw one in 458 Lott, and it was near $5,000.

Don't know if it is of interest, but this is a poll I posted on ranking rifles:

Ranking the Rifles

quote:

Originally posted by Slider:

quote:

Correct, the Hawkeye 416 Ruger only comes in the ALASKA stainless synthetic model. The AFRICAN only come in 375 Ruger, 338 Win Mag, and 300 Win Mag!

That doesn't even make any sense? I would consider purchasing one if it came in 416?

Don't tell the Ruger Alaskan it's in Africa and it won't care and shoot just fine. It might think it's summer and wonder if the game is in season.

I have one of each .375 and .416 Ruger's. Like them both and would take either to Africa.

For anyone that is interested, I have a 416 Rigby and a 416 Taylor for sale in the classifieds for a hell of a lot less than $3k.

One of the elements missing from this discussion is...what does your safari rifle mean to you? If shooting an animal is the only requirement, certainly a push feed Winchester or Remington, or a Santa Barbara Mauser, or a Savage Express, all chambered in 375, 416, or 458, would do the trick for well under $1,000. Are you buying this rifle for this hunt, and then unloading it afterwards? Or are you buying a life companion that you will use and care for until the end of your safari days, and then pass down to your children?

With rifles in general, and probably safari rifles in particular, it is apparent that to many, the rifle is a key part of the trip, and future trips. Why else would someone spend $18K for a Searcy DR, $12K for a Duane Wiebe custom on a pre-64 action, or even $85K for a Marcel Thys sidelock DR, when one of the above $1,000 rifles would accomplish the same task? Must be a good reason. There is, because we love our rifles, and they are a part of the experience itself.

So, picking one's safari rifle has some objectivity to it, but it is also a decision loaded with subjectivity. Do you want the best-of-the-best, from a performance aspect? Then maybe a Jarrett, Echols, Ed Brown, Bansner, or something along those lines...a state of the art "machine" will do it for you. Or do your desires run towards the traditional, where an H&H, Westley Richards, or London Rigby in a classic caliber like 416 Rigby or 505 Gibbs, will greatly add to your safari experience.

We can post all the options we want for Will or any of our other hunting "brethren", but only they can achieve the balance of costs versus individual desires in selecting their own rifle.

Biebs: Very well said ...... I totally agree.