I bought a CZ 550 American Safari in 375 H&H with the intentions of having the stock sealed, barrel bedded and barrel/stock protected (coated)for use in AK on brown bear. 4 months later the gunsmith said he had not started it yet. I went and picked up the rifle and will never use him again as he is totally unreliable even though he is good. I am close to being out of time and need to decide which path to take. So my delima is what to do now or more accurately what do I need to do.

My CZ 375 H&H is NIB so I can sell it or keep it. I am wondering if a laminated stock will fair much better in AK than the standard solid wood stock and if any sealing of it would be required. The blue barrel while I prefer SS isn't as big a problem I don't think. I am not totally sure about the need to bed the barrel.

I have found a few synthetic/blue and synthetic/SS in Weatherby 375 H&H and 340. I have also located a NIB 416 Rigby with laminated stock and blue barrel. If I was going synthetic/SS I was leaning towards a Winchester as the Sakos are absolutely too hard to come by.

Beside using it for brown bear I want to hunt moose and cape with this gun. The 375 I think is great for smaller bear, plains game and elk, but am now wondering if I wouldn't be better off adding the 416 caliber to my collection.

As always I appreacite any and all input from member of AR.

If the recoil will not affect your shooting, then personally I would take the .416 any day for dangerous game like buffalo and grizzly, but only in a controlled feed action. If this rifle is going to double for sheep, then I would pick .375.

BHW,

If moisture/water and the wood stock is an issue for you, you might want to consider doing a disassembly of the gun. Paint all of the wood surfaces that touch metal with Marine Spar varnish. This includes the area where the recoil pad and stock mate together. Put on several coats allowing each to dry well before application of the next coat. Assuming the fit of stock/bbl/action is ok to begin with, you wont have any problems with it. Being out in days of rain (Alaska and elsewhere) will cause the outer wood on the stock to discolor a bit but it wont swell and warp on you. The Marine Spar varnish works to prevent moisture and water ingress to the wood.FWIW.

Since you have an excellent rifle/cartridge to start with , I would just "weatherproof" the wood like Dungbeetle described. A laminated stock will not warp like a walnut one either, so that is a valid option. If you are only going to hunt a short amount of time in Alaska, take some paste wax to the metal and coat it a few times. A 375 Hoot and Holler is plenty of gun for anything in North America.

If you're hunting coastal bears, either the .375 H&H or .416 Rigby will be fine, but the later isn't necessary.

If you want a good out-of-the-box rifle the synthetic-stocked Weatherby is excellent. If I were choosing that option for myself I'd likely go with the .340 Wby. chambering. If you can't kill a brown bear with a .340 Wby., you aren't going to kill him with anything else.........

AD

Both are good calibers, the 416 is bigger and if bigger is better then the 416 is the better or something like that...For Brown bear or Cape Buffalo I would opt for the 416 every time, but the 375 will get the job done.

I would love to be able to do your trip and I would say that the .375 will do the job but it's a darn good excuse to add the .416 any way's

BHW ----- I have killed both Brown Bear and Cape Buffalo and if I were you I would go for the .416 Rigby without a doubt. I took my Brown Bear with a .300 Win mag and the experience taught me to pack something larger next time, I took my Buff with a .416. I respect the .375 greatly, but the .416 more when dealing with the fighting back kind of game. Good shooting.