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Real World Weight of wood/blued Win FN M70 Alaskan .375 H&H

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18 May 2015, 08:50
PC
Real World Weight of wood/blued Win FN M70 Alaskan .375 H&H
Hi Folks,

wanting to know the real world weight of this gun. It states 8 pounds on the Winchester website which in my view is about perfect for a .375 H&H
18 May 2015, 11:31
ozhunter
On my last Safari I had to site in a fellow hunters Sako 375H&H. It sure did have a sharper recoil to my heavier 9.3x62 BUT for hunting with a scope on it was fine. not sure of their exact weight But that Sako would be as light as I'd want it.
18 May 2015, 17:29
Brice
Yeah, weight saved by cutting the barrel a couple of inches is minimal. As to V, about 30 fps/inch.
18 May 2015, 20:21
Ongwe
To answer PC's question, RIP claimed 7.625 pounds out of the box. That seems reasonable for a 375 bare, naked and empty.
http://forums.accuratereloadin...561017881#8561017881
18 May 2015, 21:57
Atkinson
They weigh about 7 to 8 lbs out of the box depending mostly on the density of the wood..That's about what I would want a .375 to weigh, so the addition of a mounts, scope, ammo, sling and whatever brings them up to 9 to 9.5 lbs..That's about perfect, and a half pound changes nothing IMO..Best not to get too technical, it makes you crazy! Roll Eyes


Ray Atkinson
Atkinson Hunting Adventures
10 Ward Lane,
Filer, Idaho, 83328
208-731-4120

rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com
19 May 2015, 04:55
PC
Thanks folks so 1 pound lighter than the safari classic then.

cheers pc
20 May 2015, 15:48
PC
Just an update I think this is perfectly weighted for a factory .375 h&h as is the sako hunter but the m70 suits me better for this calibre. As such I ordered one. In the past I owned a cz 550 in .375 but felt it was too heavy for the chambering and I felt the safari classic is as well. The Alaskan looks have grown on me as well. This could be the best off the shelf .375 h&h rifle available currently.
20 May 2015, 19:24
Dogleg
Mine is right at 8.5 pounds with a leupold 3.5-10 mounted. My African express in 458 is about 10.25 with a 2.5-8 Leupold mounted, so in .375 would be 2 pounds heavier than the Alaskan. That's heavier than it needs to be for a .375.

I don't know where Winchester found the numbers on their site.
I'm taking my Alaskan on a BC brown bear hunt in Sept. Being that it's in the rain forest it might be better to take one of my stainless rifles, but if I leave it home that calls into question the whole reasoning getting it in the first place. Really, if I go on a west coast bear hunt and leave it home I might as well just sell it now. If it comes home rusted solid at least I can say it happened while hunting coastal brown bear.

As an aside, I have a 230 grain ESP Raptor load that essentially duplicated the trajectory of a .300 Win Mag with 180s out to 500 yards. That really expands the nature of the beast for general purpose North American hunting. Most light bullet loads start fast and slow down just as fast. This one seems to be an exception. That's telling me that the published BCs are way off, but you can't argue with targets.
20 May 2015, 19:48
Fjold
My Model 70 Classic Safari Express (New Haven) with the 25" barrel, weighed 9Lbs., 2 Oz. bare out of the box.


Frank



"I don't know what there is about buffalo that frightens me so.....He looks like he hates you personally. He looks like you owe him money."
- Robert Ruark, Horn of the Hunter, 1953

NRA Life, SAF Life, CRPA Life, DRSS lite

21 May 2015, 02:01
PC
That's all great information folks thank you.

Dogleg you could have your Alaskan metalwork cerakoted and put some wax inside and out on the stock perhaps ? It seems McMillan ALS make a stock for the Alaskan if you felt the wood would get damaged.

Great information on that Raptor bullet too. I'll look into it.
21 May 2015, 03:27
Sarg
I made up a 375H&H on a Weatherby Mark V Ultra Lightweight for jump shooting Big Sambar stags, it was 6 3/4lbs in 300Wby Mag & lost a little weight as I cut the barrel to 21in (a mistake as it turned out) & it was Pacnor's lightest 375 barrel, I didn't weight it's all up weight, it wore a VXIII 3.5-10 in Leupold take off rings, it was very light, in this Weatherby the recoil off the bench was very tolerable, other than the barrel lift that would cause the scope to touch my cap peak most shots & on one occasion did give me a "Weatherby Eye Brow" on firing on a Big Stag running straight up a steep grade & was tricky shooting in tight awkward positions, it needed Magna Porting, I only moved it on as I didn't like the bulky grip & huge action, also the gunsmith had given it excessive headspace for the shoulder, this is before I started head spaceing my belted magnums on the shoulder .
21 May 2015, 04:03
Dogleg
quote:
Originally posted by PC:
That's all great information folks thank you.

Dogleg you could have your Alaskan metalwork cerakoted and put some wax inside and out on the stock perhaps ? It seems McMillan ALS make a stock for the Alaskan if you felt the wood would get damaged.

.

Great information on that Raptor bullet too. I'll look into it.


A good protective coating of rust will add to the authenticity of the rifle, if what I've seen of Alaskan's rifle is any indication. Wink I'll just lay the G-96 to it and hope for the best