OK, there are some of you who may need to sit down for this, as I have committed sacrilege.

I now Own a 416 Hoffman built on a
(cringe) REMINGTON 700 action.

Before we restart the CRF discussion, let me give you my reasoning.
I chose this for a future Cape Buffalo hunt (2-3 years) and I prefer the same set up I use for all my other hunting.
I shoot a 300 Win Magnum from Match Grade Arms (An accurized 700 action).
And a Sendaro in 25-06.
I do a lot of shooting and we have a very long and liberal season in Alabama So,
As a result, I get more practice on game than most.
(I shoot 12 does minimum per season)
On the farm, we have a range set up out to 300 yards and its located just steps from the reloading bench.
George Hoffman has provided some load data to get me started.

The preference on the action is based on this simple fact: If things were to get ugly,
I would like the controls to be the exact same to prevent any �stress related confusion� I.E.: Familiar.

This Rifle seems to be a custom of sorts,
I has a shilen barrel in a heavy taper, express sights, A PERFECT 2.5# trigger and the stock has been upgraded in wood.
It does not appear to have ever had a scope mounted (no obvious marks)

In the past I have heard mention of installing a sako extractor to assure safety in that area. Any & all recommendations are appreciated on improving this new addition to the family!

Oh yes, I want to go ahead and get it set up to see if this caliber is really a stopper
(on our smallish white-tails) hehe.

Thanks all,
JB

JB,

Familiarity with your firearms is more important than accuracy (within reason).

CRF is preferable, of course, but many thousands of buffalo have been shot with push-feed rifles.

Between you and the PH, you should be able to sort out any ugly situations.

BTW, when following buffalo spoor, I keep a round in the chamber, and the safety on. The muzzle is pointed in a safe direction. On final approach, or when buffalo are within spitting distance, the safety comes off.
The only things I'm going to have to operate are the trigger and the bolt!!!

George

JB Florida,

As I am in Australia, I am not sure what they do in America, but to convert a magnum Rem 700 to Sako extractor will require the bolt faced to be bushed. This might be done by filling with silver solder and then machining out. Bench guns are a bit different as they often mean opening up a 223 bolt head to PPC or 308 case head and fitting Sako extractor.

If your current extractor is OK, there is no real gain. However some Rem extractors seem to position a bit low and catch the rim and tear a small piece out and also cause some resistance to chambering the round. Often a new Rem extractor won't fix this as it is caused by the shape of the inside of the bolt head.

The Sako extractor in most cases is more of a nice addition, and it usually results in a lot less brass shavings getting in the bolt head after a lot of shots have been fired.

It also allows the cartridge to be seated deeper in the chamber.

Also, in the case of the Rem magnum action, you could not replace an extractor in the field as it is rivoted in. You could do this with the sako extractor.

However, if your current extractor is OK, I think I would leave it there.

Mike

[This message has been edited by Mike375 (edited 07-27-2001).]

One thing for sure. You started off with the correct chambering ( hehe.) I would not worry myself to much about the Remington extractor.. I used one for many years without any failures. The only reason I left the Remington, was, the magazine capacity. I have had a Harris, Tallon action (simular to m 70) with drop magazine and my current DGR 416 Hoffman is a Dakota whick holds 4 down and one in the chamber. I would be happy to use a factory Rem. if they would make one that would hold four down.
I am sure you will enjoy your safari regardless how many rounds the magazine will hold.
George

If you are able to search the benchrest.com archives, you will find much discussion of Sako extractors in M700 bolts. I believe that a sensible person who reads them all will come to a conclusion similar to Mike375's and George Hoffman's. It is pretty clear that the M700 is safer in case of case failure with the original extractor setup, although perhaps not critically so. Why fix something that works?

Thanks for the opinions Guys,

I have to agree, and it does not seem to be broken....Now I just need to get loading some rounds, I wonder if the recoil is higher than my 25-06.

Mr. Hoffman,
How many rifles out there are chambered for your cartridge? I'm not aware that is was ever commercial so I assume they are all in custom chamberings.

I'll report back after I get a few down the tube!

JB
I have no way of knowing how many 416 Hoffmans were built, but I woul guess several hundreds. I took chamber reamers to Africa and several were built there. I do know after the orginal artical that I wrote for SAFARI Magazine, I had over 300 calls and letters wanting information on the procedure of how to have one made.
I had 13 rifles made up at one time for Hunters Africa, that they want to use for client rifles in Africa. These were to be used for hunters that did not own, or wanted to bring a heavy rifle to africa.
Good Shooting
George