Hello everybody,
I have been around here some time now, reading silently in the background and enjoying the usual friendliness and expertise. Now I have registered, to ask my first question:

Which rifle would you consider more feasible for a first "big bore" in .375 H&H?

- a 98 Mauser, made from a selected and reworked military surplus action, classic stocked, but with only 3 rounds in the magazine (might be increased to 5 with a Rigby mag-bottom) for $ 1300 (Euros exactly, but almost identical in value)

- a CZ 550 (I noticed a lot of fans here!) used, but like new for $ 600, with standard stock. A new classic type stock and recommended action/trigger work would certainly raise the total cost above the $ 1300 for the Mauser rifle but would give me 5 rounds instead of 3. I read, the standard CZ stock should be replaced (too much drop), and I want the look of a classic British express repeater anyway

I am not a hunter, but want it for an "armchair safari" and informal 50 m shooting at the range. And if a buffalo escapes from the zoo, or a big ox from the slaughterhouse, I am prepared...

Thanks in advance!
Sincerely, Jake C.

[ 10-08-2003, 13:21: Message edited by: Jake Cutlass ]

Jake,

I am a cz fan so thats the way I would swing and you get a 6 shot capacity with the cz. Also the stock for me and some others works well, I love my humpback stocksjust get them properly bedded and attended to and ther fine. Classic mauser also sounds great.

What PC said.

Karl.

I like the classic Mauser and thats what I shoot...A drop box from Ted Blackburn will solve the three down problem, if you consider that a problem, I don't......especially since your not hunting dangerous game with it....

@PC, Karl, Ray:
thanks for the info guys!
Regards from Old Europe,
Jake C.

Additional question:
does the CZ 550 action have an inherent advantage over a 98 Mauser action, apart from its lower price and its 5 round capacity as standard configuration? Or the other way round, to the CZ fans: if you had an unlimited budget for a hunting rifle, would you still choose the CZ or something else?
@Ray Atkinson: in another post, I noticed, you are quite fond of the 9,3x62 Mauser cartridge (?). That is also one of my favourites, so I wonder if that caliber might be an alternative to the .375 H&H? At least in my country, 9,3x62 is much more available and more reasonably priced. It would also allow a 5 round capacity in a standard action, but is a little (20%) less powerful. It doesn't even qualify for "Big Bore" in this forum...
Let me hear your opinion, please!
Thx in advance!
Jake C.

I have a 375 550 Safari, in mint condition, or above. It's been through two gunsmiths to bed and make sure it works, and, it's got a Bushnell 3200 Elite scope on it. Gun was a display model for a CZ rep(came with no firing pin).

It's also got a muzzle brake on it, along with
a screw on thread protector.

I would like to sell the gun, and move to a CZ with a 510 wells, based on a 416 rigby.

Why? Simply since my gunsmith is an expert in 500 caliber guns, and I want a pistol/rifle combination.

Is the 375 H&H inadequate? Yes, if you hunt blue whales...

gs
PS make an offer...

Excuse me, my cat and I are having fetching, and hunting problems, and the catnip in the fake mouses is getting to me.

Later...
gs

[ 10-12-2003, 10:31: Message edited by: Socrates ]

Jake you can also get a cz in 9.3x62 I have one and I love that rifle.

I would still probably get a cz and just go town on it with the help of my smith, but then again if funds were unlimited I might opt for a few granite arms actions

CZ's do not have the split in the lug but I think M98's do maybe thats one advanatge of a cz I am not sure someone else may be able to clarify that.

Jake,
I am a huge fan of CZ rifles and the 375 H&H. But with that said, there is very little that the 375 can do that the 9.3 can't do. And you said the ammo was cheaper and more available.
If you went the 9.3 and CZ route, the rifle would be a little lighter and some would argue that it was bedded a little better than the .375 CZ.

If money was not an option, NO I would NOT buy a CZ I would buy the 400 H&H, Holland and Holland rifle featured in this months Sport's Afield Magazine for around $35,000 - $45,000.

If I was to spend only $2,000 or less, I WOULD buy a CZ and spend the rest of the money buying bullets and powder and taking the gun out to shoot game.

CZ .375H&H on left Win M70 XTR .300 win mag on right for comparison

David

[ 10-13-2003, 02:43: Message edited by: David Thomas ]

Jake
The inherent advantage of the 550 is that the action is longer than the 98 and therefore more suitable for a long cartridge like the 375. Most 375HH 98's that I have seen have the magazine lengthened by removing metal from the feed ramp which also weakens the abutment for the lower locking lug. They can be opened to the rear but is a little more complicated.

Hart

David si correct when he states the bedding is better on the cz 9.3 than the .375 cz.

I own both and the 9.3 has a regular barrel lug as well as action lugs and also has two cross bolts before and after the magazine box.

That said a proper bedding job on the .375 & bedding the forend lug on the barrel will bring it up to scratch.

The cz .375 has some nice flip up express sights which I personally love the 9.3 does not have those, you also get a pachmeyer deaccelorator pad standard on a cz 550 safari.

My smith when handing over my .458 Lott the other day said "did I also put a pad on for you ??" I said no the "Pachmeyer is standard" he thought I was trying to rip him off I think

By the way, the stock is good size, and can be cut to a straight recoil configuration, if you are about 5'11" or less.

gs

As much as I love the 375 H&H, I'd hate to have to choose between it and the great 9.3x62...Guess thats why I wouldn't be without both...

I can't tell any difference in killing power on Buffalo, they both get about the same reaction and death occurs about the same...after a short run, like most big bores...