Yes, I admit it...I'm a gun monkey junkie and I love the gadgetry and fun aspect of buying a new rifle.
Simply stated, my choice of the Browning A-Bolt II w/BOSS in .375 H&H is to have the most modern twist in a platform to shoot that cartridge.

Two Gentleman of the Board, QSL & Ted Davis, previously posted re their Browning A-Bolt II Stainless Stalker rifles in .375 H&H in this thread:

http://www.nookhill.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=16;t=001733#000001

I recently wrote to Browning about special ordering the A-Bolt II to see what options I could get before making a final decision and contacting my dealer.
Depending on the answers I get from Browning, I won't know exactly which configuration/model I'll be getting.
In the meantime, would someone give me an idea of the pros and/or cons of nicely polished blued steel vs. stainless steel, even stating the obvious ones?
If the two Board Members mentioned are reading this, would you Gentlemen tell me of your experiences or knowledge of the Stainless version, please?
Keep in mind this gun will be mostly for the sheer pleasure of ownership, but, may be used in the field 'someday'.
Another humble thanks to the collective knowledge here.

You can order an A-bolt, Medallion or gold medallion and you might be able to get it in the TROPHY CUSTOM: octagon barrel,gold engraved,beautiful wood. I picked up one in 7mm mag.

No I haven't fired it yet. To me its so good looking all I want to do is hold it . I have to quit drooling over it then brake it in gently. Until I get my custom built this is the most beautiful rifle I have ever had.

I also own a Browning A-Bolt stainless stalker w/ Boss in .375 H&H. It's been to Africa twice and to OZ once for water Buffalo. It's a UGLY UGLY gun but is light enough to carry all day long and will print 1 MOA groups at 100 yrds with 76 grs of ww760 ans a 300 gr woodleigh. It's a Damn fine gun IMHO. One thing to be aware of is that these guns are tough to impossible to rebarrel as the Stainless steel appears to gall easily and be extremely difficult to work with. My friend and I literally "tweaked" his action trying to get the barrel off. We actually never did.-Rob

Sounds like I'll be going with the blued gun...
Now, if Browning will give me their blessing on building a 'Stalker' version for me in .375 H&H, I'll have close to what I want.
My BAR has better than average wood with some fiddleback figure on the buttstock. It came off immediately in lieu of a Bell&Carlson unit to save the wood.
This will be interesting to find out how Browning deals with oddball requests, which I'm very good at!

A Stainless Stalker w/no sights #035-008132 (right hand); w/BOSS #035-008332. You know that it comes with a 1-12 twist right?

Now if you need a lefty w/no sights #035-009132 and w/BOSS #035-009332. Let me know which one you get.

I also have been told by two gunsmiths that the Stainless barrels can be a pill to remove. Another gunsmith said he used a special penetrating oil and had solved the galling with that. But; My Browning Stainless 375 ( left hand ) shoots like no tomorrow. I have no plan to touch the barrel. Fore end on the stock could be wider and had to take the front sling swivel off due to my hand hold position. Barrel sling now. Will hunt in any weather and not worry about scratching an expensive stock. I know some on this forum don't like brownings; But mine has given me no problems.

I received a call from Glen at Browning concerning my questions...

It appears that I'll be ordering the Medallion model in beautiful blue and wood.
Glen said Browning has no Custom Shop (here in the USA, I'm guessing) and they wouldn't be able to accomodate my requests.
I can't say I'm thrilled, but, I'm not sad about owning a nice wood stocked and polished blue rifle, either.
Somehow, the shine of the stainless leaves me a little cold. I suppose I could have it 'blackened', but, that would be a sin.
As it stands, I could order the synthetic stock from Browning for about $200-300 and put the bbl'd. action in it, but, that idea doesn't seem right when I could use that money towards an appropriate scope and mounting system.

This information is what I needed to procede with a plan, and that will be to just get the Medallion and shoot it!
I'm going to use the Conetrol Custum polished rings and 1-pc. base.
I might as well go ahead and get a Leupold scope in gloss finish, too. I'm wondering if I should go with the 1.5-5x20 or 2.5-8x36 for the A-Bolt II. My thought is to leave room for the Butler Creek flip-up covers to clear the rear sight.
I am not going to concern myself with 'game spooking glare'...

I will then return the nice wood to the BAR/7mm/BOSS, which is wearing a Leupold 4.5-14x40 Vari-X III in Millett 'engraved' rings and 1-pc. base.
I'll also get the Browning Travel Vault to carry the guns together in.
This will give me two excellent rifles by Browning in their original state to shoot and enjoy!

So, that's where this project is at.
I rather like the idea of having a set of Brownings that share a 'theme' with the finish and scope mfg.
I have a Brownells kit for 23K gold fill for carefully selected sections of the 'engraving' on the rifles to enhance them a bit.
They won't really be HotRods after all, I guess.
I'll have to save that for the AR's!

Any recommendations on the choice of scope power?
Any ideas on how to get a sight hood on that front sight?
What would you recommend in the way of a bbl. band swivel, if I find need of it.
Thanks for the help everyone.

[ 08-22-2003, 02:54: Message edited by: BusMaster007 ]

Why don't you just order the HIGH LUSTER FINISH RINGS AND BASES from Browning?

1" rings STD-#123-01, MED-#123-02 and HIGH-#123-03. The base-#123-51. Sorry to hear that you can't get the TROPHY CUSTOM. Now if you want to keep a wood stock on it and not have to worry about check with Rod@ACARABOND, he'll laminate wood stock for you if you find a blank that you like. Just an idea that way you won't have to look at an ugly stocked rifle that looks good.

Thanks.
Your suggestions and researching the numbers are appreciated.

Looking at the Browning setup, I noticed the bases, by necessity of design, wrap over the top of the "A" shaped action.
Out of curiosity, I'm going to contact Conetrol and find out if their 1-pc. does the same thing or if it meets the edge evenly.
I've always wanted a Conetrol setup on something, so this will be the one.

The extra cost of an additional stock will cut into the budget for this project.
I'm about whipped into submission to get the rifle as it is and settle for having the pair of Brownings pretty much the way they came from the factory.
Way off line for me and my admitted propensity for changing things...

Not a problem, I had just gotten the new Browning catalog last week and had been looking at it.

Who knows down the road you might find a pair of matching blanks and get two guns with the same stock