Hi, my name is Rip. I am a riflecrank.

Here is my new old pet, revived by a change of stock and scope, and same old backup scope.
It is a 500 Mbogo, a CZ 550 Magnum that weighs 9.25 pounds naked, after the stock transplant operation.

The "Aramid" stock, formerly known as the "Kevlar" stock from CZ-USA, took 4 ounces off the weight in hogback walnut.

Scopes in OEM CZ steel rings:
Leupold 2.5x20mm with German 4 type reticle, in 1" CZ rings, weighs 12 ounces.
Nikon 1.1-4x24mm with "R4" German 4 type reticle also, in 30mm CZ rings, weighs 22 ounces.

Barrel is 23" long, a No. 6 contour sporter from Pac-Nor, 1:9" twist.

Wisner bottom metal, will hold 4 down in magazine box, which has been reinforced at front.
Lapour safety.
Timney trigger.
Sights and barrel bands are parts from from NECG.

This rifle blends antique and modern features, fun and functional.

I need to go shoot it soon.







Old Reliable, Leupold 2.5x:



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quote:

Originally posted by RIP:
Hi, my name is Rip. I am a riflecrank.

Here is my new old pet, revived by a new stock and a new scope, with backup scope.
It is a 500 Mbogo, a CZ 550 Magnum that weighs 9.25 pounds naked, after the stock transplant operation.

The "Aramid" stock, formerly known as the "Kevlar" stock from CZ-USA, took 4 ounces off the weight in hogback walnut.

Scopes in OEM CZ steel rings:
Leupold 2.5x20mm with German 4 type reticle, in 1" CZ rings, weighs 12 ounces.
Nikon 1.1-4x24mm with "R4" German 4 type reticle also, in 30mm CZ rings, weighs 22 ounces.

Barrel is 23" long, a No. 6 contour sporter from Pac-Nor, 1:9" twist.

Wisner bottom metal, will hold 4 down in magazine box, which has been reinforced at front.
Lapour safety.
Timney trigger.
Sights and barrel bands are parts from from NECG.

This rifle blends antique and modern features, fun and functional.

I need to go shoot it soon.







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Cool! Is that scope made in Africa?

Dopplegangster,

Your handle reminds me of some dopple rifle nuts I have known. No DRs allowed in this thread, but comments from any DR nuts are welcome for debunking.
You are fast on the post. Do you shoot that fast too, even without a dopple rifle?

The scope is a discontinued Nikon, offerred until a year or two ago.
Apparently Nikon is doing better biz with the 1"-tubed Monarchs.
This scope went the way of the Concorde, even though not prone to crashing and burning.

I could go on forever, but hope some other riflecranks will share their pets, factory or custom.

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quote:

You are fast on the post. Do you shoot that fast too, even without a dopple rifle?

I are purdy qwik wit a auto-gun but not so much wiff a bolt one. Rekon I need some practice or more barrels, like a doppel-doppel-gonne, a quadrabanger perjaps?

If I had to have a rifle for game that was going to charge me then it would need to be:

1) Inline or centreline feed.

2) Push feed.

3) Bottle neck case and the more bottle neck the better. If case was straight sided or close to it like 450 Ackley then I would want pointed or at least semi pointed bullets.

Offhand that would be Mark V Wby in one of the 378 based calibres or an HS Precision.

This is my 500 MDM, built on a CRF Winchester Model 70 action. The 500 MDM is a full-length 300 RUM blown out to 50 caliber. It will do a 570gr bullet at 2,420 fps, but doesn't need to go that fast to be effective. The rifle is about 9 lbs with the short barrel and Nikon scope.



Another is my 505 Gibbs on an MRC 1999 action done by Bijou Creek Customs. It is being checkered now.




And lastly is my 585 HE, Ed Hubel's proprietary reincarnation of the 577 T-Rex. It is built on an Enfield action, with a Douglas barrel, an MPI A-Square Coil-Chek stock, and open sights only.

At this time, it's most likely my VZ-24 actioned 404 Jefferys. Ten-point-eight pounds with its Leupold VX-3 1.75 to 6X 32mm QD rings and Express sights. The front sight is the NECG H&H-style flip front sight. Flip forward and it is a .078" silver bead. Flip it back, and it is a .150" Mammoth Ivory bead.
Most people, even experienced AR DG hunters do not realize that it has the same velocity with a 400gr bullet, as the 416 Rigby, and allows an extra round (four) in the magazine. Many of the game departments during colonial and later days issued it to their game control field officers.

Yeah, it's pretty close to perfect. In XX Walnut.

My CZ in 500 Jeffery, apologize for the bad pics. Wayne's CZ #1 upgrade (3 pos M70 type safety, single stage match trigger (2 1/2 lbs), straighten and fill bolt. Leupold 1.5-5x scope. My favorite rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael McGuire:
If I had to have a rifle for game that was going to charge me then it would need to be:

1) Inline or centreline feed.

Yep, that is smart for no right versus left feeding bobbles. Straight up and forward every time.

2) Push feed.

Say what?

3) Bottle neck case and the more bottle neck the better. If case was straight sided or close to it like 450 Ackley then I would want pointed or at least semi pointed bullets.

Back to making some sense again. Something like this?



No, maybe not?

Offhand that would be Mark V Wby in one of the 378 based calibres or an HS Precision.

Reductio ad absurdum, sic semper cum insania Weatherbian.

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Biebs,
You are a sick man. Bravo!

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Idaho Sharpshooter,
Excellent!
Why so sensible today?

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Chuck375,
Thanks for the reply.
500 Jeffery?
I am sworn off that one.
A step toward recovery, no?



Please ignore Smurf bullets and round nose bullets for dummies only.
I have to find some use for obsolete leftovers!









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My favourite DG rifle is my custom shop CZ USA 550 Magnum in 505 Gibbs, closely followed by my custom built CZ 550 Magnum in 416 Rigby.
Both have express sights, barrel band swivel and original trigger.

Cheers.

My favorite now is my Dakota Safari 404 Jeffery. It has a fluorescent orange banded/hooded front sight, with a quarter rib rear. It does not wear a scope and weighs only 8.5 lbs.

My second favorite is my Dakota Safari 458 Lott, set up like my 404 except for a rear peep sight, which also wears no scope and likewise weighs 8.5 lbs.

Life is good.

I guess my 416 Taylor on a stainless sty stock Ruger MKII with the stock and trigger work done by myself. With Leupold 1.75x6 all for 1200.00 dollars is just a light weight among these others

But she well put every thing from 325gr to 400 gr bullets into the same ragged hole.

.375 H&H FN Browning Spent it's first 15 years in Africa as a loner rifle.

This one I guess, since I spent the most money on it. Brevex, 500 A-2, Robert Schuck builder:

Forrest,
Plenty of reasons to value that 500 A2 besides the price paid.
Ditto the hand-polished .375 H&H of scutalatus.

Possible back-up for the 500 Mbogo No. 2, if not 500 Mbogo Numero Uno, depending on the whim or sentiment of the day,
irons sights only for this one:
450 Dakota Magnum Mauser 98
9 lbs and 8 oz empy/dry weight
24.5" barrel length, and muzzle diameter exclusive of band is 0.668"
1:14" twist





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Ron, I have my eye on a 416 like yours above.

Forrest,
You are surely an advanced riflecrank, in the best sense of the disease.
Here is a little history of of the Prechtl-actioned Mauser 450 Dakota above:

I worked in South Dakota for a year, 2004-2005. Summer of 2004, one weekend off, on impulse, I decided to go check out the Gun Library at the original Sidney, Nebraska Cabela's, location number one, ground zero.

They had this basic model Magnum Mauser 98 gathering dust. New. made in 2000. Still sitting there. Chambered for 450 Dakota. Was that why it had not sold? No pinky finger appeal in the cartridge? Well, it was love at first sight for me. I even talked them into knocking $500 off the price.

Having previously visited Dakota Arms in Sturgis, SD and First Stop gun shop in Rapid City, SD, I much preferred this rifle in 450 Dakota to any I saw elsewhere, plus the price was very right.

Also it came with a factory target signed by G. Prechtl. He built the action AND test fired the finished rifle for Mauser? Is that routine or special?

If you get access to any factory test targets please do share.





Gottfried Prechtl is pictured below, he is the one on the right in the picture, and that is not a rifle he is cuddling:



All sorts of special editions and various custom touches are available on these rifles. Mine is the basic Mauser.
Superbly functional, not bad on the eyes.
The rosewood forend tip tells me she is a redhead.

My serial number is MM 0016. The sixteenth rifle made of this Y2K-turn-of-the-millenium, basic edition.
Sweet Sixteen, same as my wife's age when I met her, over 40 years ago, and I am still married to her AND this rifle.



















Compare brass specs from ammoguide.com, case capacities there are algorithm generated from external specs, not measured water capacity of real brass:

460 Weatherby Magnum:





450 Rigby:

Ammoguide drawing is incorrect, deleted here.
See C.I.P. specs, where the 460 Wby is also found.



450 Dakota:









They say Art Alphin of A-Square helped designed the 450 Dakota with Don Allen of Dakota Arms, about 1991, released with the proprietary Dakota Arms cartridge line in 1992.
The 450 Rigby Rimless Magnum from Paul Roberts was concocted in 1993, announced in 1994, the first new cartridge from Rigby since 1911's .416 Rigby, and hit the field in production 1995.

The 450 Dakota is very like a 460 Weatherby minus the belt and with a 26-degree shoulder instead of double-radiused, only 0.013" shorter brass length, and no rebated rim.

It must have been conceived when .416 Rigby brass was scarce as hen's teeth but 460 Wby was plentiful for turning off the belts.

Shockingly, the 450 Rigby is only 2.894" long in the case. This shows it must have been made up by fire-forming .416 Rigby brass and settling on the shortened length which that produces.

At ammoguide.com calculated capacities serve as a relative comparison only, not real:

460 Weatherby: 128.5 grains H2O
450 Dakota: 127.1 grains H2O

My actual 450 Dakota brass measured by me to nearest grain: 139 grains H2O

Pierre van der Walt lists relative case capacities in his book, African Dangerous Game Cartridges:
450 Rigby: 133.0 gr water
450 Dakota: 137.0 gr water
460 Wby: 141.1 gr water



Most amazing thing about this Magnum Mauser 98 model is that it is offered in 500 Jeffery, "at extra cost."


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Certainly some beautiful rifles here.

My entry at this time is a CZ-550 .375 H&H, worked over by Wayne at AHR with his number 2 upgrade package, 23" barrel, in an CZ aramid stock, topped with a Leupold Euro-30 1.25-4x in Talley QD's. She's currently enjoying 270gr TSX's over 72gr RL-15 for 0.75" groups at 100 yds off the bench. I'd like to make my 458 Lott in it's image, but with a Delta Point or similar in Wayne's QD mount and a 21 or 23" barrel dependent on balance.

Excellent, Brandon. I like your style.



But are those rings Talley or Warne?

Also, you should never have one QD lever pointing up and the other pointing down.
Recoil will tighten one and loosen the other, if they both tighten when turned clockwise, as most do.

When levers are on the right side of the rifle, and they tighten clockwise, then they should be pointing upward, relative to the long axis of the bore, when rifle is horizontal.

On left side of rifle, levers should point down.

Just my lever-checking-compulsion (OCD) rearing its ugly head.

On the beautiful .375 H&H CZ 550 Magnum of yours, you should be safe with either Talley or Warne QD-lever rings, even with that 30mm-tubed scope.

But on the 500 Mbogo CZ, I would not even consider any weaker alternative, espescially with the 30mm-tubed scopes.
The OEM CZ steel rings are the only way to go on the 500 Mbogo, with the two main mounting screws torqued to 65 inch-pounds.
However, those slotted head main mounting screws can be replaced with socket-head metric screws, so the QD-QD lever can be stowed in pants pocket.
Less likely to snag brush and clothing there.







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Two more pages from the MM98 brochure, extras for DGR wish list:





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I enjoy my Brnos too, best value in a big game rifle:

I need one of those new Mauser or Rigby rifles in 416 Rigby.

RIP, you are correct, those are Warne rings. I've Talley's on the brain, storming up ideas for a rebuild of a rem 700 223 heavy barrel into something light weight....

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
I need one of those new Mauser or Rigby rifles in 416 Rigby.

... Me too, like I need a hole in my head.
But I would rather have a rifle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.

Forrest,
The pop-up peep is neat, offerred again by CZ-USA lately, and I need some of those too, just like Biebs probably does.

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quote:

Originally posted by RIP:

offerred again by CZ-USA lately

Really??? Integral?

This is me, 44 years ago, looking very serious after taking my first elephant and me again, looking very relieved after my first (and last) rhino charge. Then, a year later in Tanzania, the result of three very fast shots into a herd of buffalo in the Selous.
The rifle is my 8 3/4 pound .505 SRE (Short Range Express), based on a shortened .460 Weatherby case necked up and firing a 570 grain bullet at 2150 fps. The rifle is a highly modified P-14 Enfield with a Lyman 48 receiver sight and a sourdough front sight. This is the cartridge:









In the meantime I have acquired a number of far more impressive rifles, including a Lon Paul .505 Gibbs on a Granite Mountain action and a Dennis Erhardt .416 Rigby on an original Mauser single square bridge action, but this is the rifle I actually used to take one rhino, three elephants and five Cape buffalo.

416 Rigby Ruger RMS. Rounded and reduced the stock as much as I could while retaining the checkering. Added a real recoil pad. Installed second cross bolt. Relieved inside for a complete stem to stern Devcon bedding job.
Slicked up the mag well, feed ramp, follower, rails, ejector slot, trigger. Added a home made ghost ring site.

Fired 100 or so full patch rounds and had taken a bottom of the book Shris moose when the rifle was dead stock. No issues just wanted to slick it up a bit.

My Lon Paul .505 Gibbs:



And my Dennis Erhardt .416 Rigby:

I love Lon's style.

Rifles beats alcohol anytime.

quote:

Originally posted by FFemtRN5287:

quote:

Originally posted by RIP:

offerred again by CZ-USA lately

Really??? Integral?

Yes, from the 2015 CZ-USA catalog:



The only thing I find disturbing about some of these rifles is that some seem to use a peep rear with a fixed, standing, open, rear express sight.

Not you xusa, as you were.
All fold-down leaves or no open rear sight at all is paired with a sourdough/patridge front sight and a peep rear sight. Excellent.
Yes Lon Paul is great, and the less well-known Dennis Erhardt too, eh?
Thanks for adding some class to this thread.

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The peep sight on the .505 is part of a Smithson scope mounting system and is easily removable to mount a scope. Here is the same rifle with the scope mounted:

quote:

Originally posted by fla3006:
This one I guess, since I spent the most money on it. Brevex, 500 A-2, Robert Schuck builder:

I know, I know RIP. If I had to do it all over again I probably would've gone with a different cartridge, but once you get a 500 Jeff that's accurate, and functions flawlessly you have an awesome rifle.

Happy New Year to all,

My .500 Jeffery, also by Lon Paul, on a BRNO ZKK 602 action, with a highly modified factory stock:

xusa,

And the Lon Paul .505 Gibbs has no fixed standing rear express sight for use of that Smithson peep, eh? All rear sight leaves fold down?

Lon Paul does 500 Jeffery and you asked for it?
At least you have your Talley QD levers pointed in the right direction, up on the right side.
Get some CZ rings for that BRNO when the Talleys break.
You can carry the QD-QD lever for those in your pants pocket.

Chuck375,
You are a good sport, thanks.



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I have 2 ZKK 602s...both with polished actions and restocked. One in .375H&H with a S&B Zenith 3-12 X 50. The rifle weighs in at 11 pounds scoped...heavy, but a charm too shoot and it fits me like a glove..

The other is a similar polished and restocked 602 in .458Win. with a Leupold european 30, 1,25 - 4 on an Alaska Arms quick detachable mount. I shot two bull elephant in June with it. It is modified with a M70 safety (wich will happen to the .375H&H in a near future..).

I will rechamber it to .458 Lott and add some weight in the stock.

A Ruger M77 RSM in .458 Lott. Restocked by LeRoy Barry of Canyon Creek Gunstocks in Darby, Montana. Not my most exotic rifle, but one of my favorites. Cheers. Chip.

ChipB,
Surely about as sweet as an RSM .458 Lott can get, 100 proof!
(I used the edit function to crop off some carpet.)



I know you have some extraordinary rifles, 190 proof or more.
Thanks for sharing.

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