Many years ago, back in the 1970's, I meet a man who would play a large part in my life as a friend and as a role model.

Born in 1911, Tyler Berry, Jr. was old enough to be my father, and had, in fact, a son about my age, who unfortunately did not share his interests, although he was, like his father and me, a lawyer.

My friend came from a prominent local family. His father and grandfather had been lawyers and important in their community. His early plans did not include the practice of law. In fact, when the Tennessee Highway Patrol was first organized in the early 1930's, he was one of the first members of that organization.

He did, however, become a lawyer, and by the time the Second World War began was County Attorney for his home county.

He did not serve in the Judge Advocate General Corps of the Army, as his legal training would have entitled him to, but in the Artillery. As battery commander of a 155mm “Long Tom” division artillery unit, he served in the Philippines and was there at war’s end.

At the end of the war, because of his legal background, he was assigned as part of the legal team representing Japanese Generals Yamashita and Homma before a military commission. He was adamant in his belief that the trial was a travesty of justice and that the two generals were unfairly convicted and executed.

When I first knew him, we shared a common interest in the law, in hunting, in rifles, and in Model 70 Winchesters in particular.

He had hunted widely in the lower United States, in Canada and Alaska, but not in Africa. After my first two trips to Africa in 1971 and 1972, we decided to make a trip to Kenya together in 1973.

At the last minute, Kenya issued a ban on elephant hunting, and I elected not to go, but he went on alone. He travelled by way of Egypt, and departed Cairo the day before the onset fo the Yom Kippur War, luckily for him.

His three weeks in Kenya turned out satisfactorily for him, and he returned with a good selection of trophies (but no elephants). These he added to his impressive collection of North American trophies, which included black and grizzly bear, mountain goat, all but one of the various species of wild sheep, moose and caribou. The desert bighorn, the one species of wild sheep he had been unable to bag, continued to elude him.

Like me, he loved to experiment with rifles. Among the Model 70's he passed on to me were a .300 H&H, which he had had rebarrelled with a .30-‘06 factory barrel, which he then had rechambered for the .300 Winchester Magnum cartridge. He felt that the .300 WM suffered from confinement to a .30-‘06 length magazine, and that the longer .300 H&H magazine would allow bullets to be seated far enough out so as not to impinge on the powder capacity of the cartridge.

Another rifle was a pre-64 Model 70 in caliber .375 Taylor (.375-.338). He liked the idea of duplicating .375 H&H performance in the shorter cartridge.

Still another was the 6.5-‘06, very similar to the obsolete .256 Newton. He wore out a barrel in that caliber and then changed to a Hart barrelled .25-‘06 on (of course) a pre-64 Model 70 action in a Winchester Marksman stock.

Tyler died in 1996. His finest rifles, the Griffin & Howes, passed on to his grandson, Tyler Berry IV, a high school classmate of my oldest son, but his experimental rifles, including the ones mentioned above, ended up in my hands, where they have been held against the day that they would be passed on by me. Two are in the same condition I received them in, but the .300 Winchester has been restored to it’s original .300 H&H caliber. The .300 Winchester barrel is still available, should it be wanted.

I am posting pictures of these three rifles here, to determine if there is any interest in them. If there should be, they will be listed in the classified section.

This is the .300 H&H, equipped with a Redfield Widefield 4X scope in Redfield mounts. 26" factory barrel, 14" LOP to Pachmayer pad





This is the .375 Taylor, fitted with a straight tapered Douglas barrel, 24" long, .800" at the muzzle, 14" LOP to Pachmayer pad.





This is the .25-‘06 with a 27" Hart stainless steel barrel, .750 at the muzzle. The barrel measures .2500" bore diameter, .2570 groove diameter with a 1 in 10" twist.

Beautiful rifles xausa, then again I'm partial to M70's. In one of your sentences, you used the term pre-74, I think that a slip of the fingers and you meant pre-64.

I personally am a bit loaded up in Winchesters with three of them. But I personally would like to know what you'd be asking for the .300 H&H. If you had any targets you shot with it or for that matter any of those rifles, that would sure help people to make a decision.

Thanks for your comments, 7MMNut. I corected the typo, and I will see about shooting some sample targets with all three rifles, if the present heat conditions allow. I think I will hold off on quoting a price until I post the rifles in the Classified section, assuming enough interest.

I'd like to see them listed, the .375 Taylor is intriguing. Thanks!

Very interesting story, and very interesting rifles, too, xausa.

Interest, as far as firearms are concerned, does depend to a significant extent on price, however.

I wholeheartedly agree with the restoration of the first rifle to the H&H chambering.

I would most likely want to refit the Taylor to .338 if it were mine.

The .25-06 is a rare varmint rig in that chambering. Most don't want such a blaster for volume shooting of varmints these days.

I say post them with prices and let the chips fall where they may - if, as it seems, you are inclined to put them back into wider circulation.