I am seriously considering buying a takedown rifle in 416 Rem. I used a Blaser 416 for many years but some technical failures forced me to abandon it. I will probably go to Zim next summer to hunt Buffalo and some plains game and I am only going to take one gun. Anybody have any experience with big bore takedowns ? Any recommendations?
Thanks Nech

No recommendations, but I think that you may be able to get such a thing from H-S Precision, as amore or less stock item. Some people have had bad service from them, I believe, but I was very happy with the one "pistol" I got from them.

The Dakota Traveler is considered by most as the highest quality takedown rifle on the market. Expect to shell out $6500 for the African Grade and another $2100 for the second caliber.

www.dakotaarms.com

Nech,

I have bought a take-down rifle from H-S Precision each of the last three years for our local Safari Club fund-raiser. The only drawback is the lead time for an order -- it has been up to one year recently for their take-down. It was a lot shorter before 9/11, but more people want to travel with a case that doesn't look like it has a rifle in it.

You are looking at around $2,000.

jim dodd

nechaev Please eleborate on your problems with the Blaser 416. What about a scoped 500/416 double rifle? Or you could take a conventional bolt rifle but take it out of the stock for travel. With proper bedding it should go back to zero with no problems. A good rifle smith could set one up this way.

While it is heresy to admit it here, a switcharrel on a M700 Rem is easy to build and will suffice easily for a 1 gun safari. I have a recipe for such a M700 that takes a 450 Ackley, 300 win, 257 Wby and 338 Utlramag on the same bolt. The gun has a second bolt for a 30-06 and 270 win barrels. I built it on a HS precision stock. It will switch between barrels and bolts and still shoot within 1 inch of zero. I use separate scopes for each barrel.-Rob

Did anybody see the new Sauer 202 Take Down model at SCI? They looked great.
The upgraded models they had at the show were in the $6-7K range but they said the plain Jane model would come in around $2500. It will be 6 - 8 months before they hit the market but I believe they will offer it in .416 Rem.
They didn't require tools to change the barrel and there are no threads involved. The barrel is tapered into the receiver and the bolt locks directly into the barrel.
You could change caliber in under 20 seconds and the scope stays on the action. With a quality scope you may be able to just write down your settings for the various barrels (personally I'd be a little nervous about trusting that without trying it but you could probably get away with it).
Kyler

Thanks guys, for the info on takedowns. I like the idea of a Dakota but the turnaround is long and its' expensive (although maybe worth it) Ditto the HS. I have a friend who has one and really likes it. The Robgunbuilder has a very interesting idea-something to think about. I've always liked Sauer and I'm going to explore that possibility very seriously.

NE 450 has some specific questions. First, re Blaser problems. The first problem was the endemic light firing pin strike. Many Blasers have (or had) this. The firing pin refused to ignite the primer on the first shot about fifty percent of the time. You had to recock and try again-this problem hit me in the Spanish maountains, hunting Ibex. In addition, we had to take the guns apart for travel at the end of every hunting day and I lost the dammned clip. My hands were cold and i dropped it down the side of a mountain. I finished the hunt with a single shot which frequently failed to fire. Let me add that that I was using a 300 win mag barrel. The coup de grace for the Blaser occurred in Zim, hunting cats and Capes. I shot an Impala for bait and when I slammed the bolt shut, the handle broke off in my hand. This left me with a round in the chamber and no way to extract it and effectively ended my hunt. See what I mean. The Blaser had lots of very strong points too,of course: the trigger was fantastic, if handled and pointed well, it cycled very quickly and was accurate in 416 although not so great in 300. I'm trying not to sound too terribly negative because I did use the gun successfully for a number of hunts and they have probably solved these problems. Anyway, re the double rifle idea-geez I've never considered a double. I do think they look weird with a scope but I could certainly get over that. I'm not real strong on aesthetics. The last idea about just taking apart a regular gun has lots of meritand could end up being the way to go.

Thanks for your time and ideas Nech

If I was only going to take one rifle it WOULD be a double with two triggers. That is about as close to having two rifles as one rifle gets.
A scoped 500/416 would be a good choice.
A scoped 470 Chapuis with 350gr. Hawk.035jkt for plains game and 500gr. Woodleigh soft and solids for buff would likewise be a good choice.

[ 02-16-2003, 00:40: Message edited by: N E 450 No2 ]

NE 450 No2

I am interested in your scoped double concept for plains game, but how do you get around the regulation issues?

If the 500/416 has been setup for 400 grs, and you want to shoot say a 300 or 350 gr spitzer style bullet how does that work?

My guess is you will say sight the scope in for the lighter "plains game" bullet and use the double as a single shot unless one is lucky and gets some sort of good groupings with both barrels. (??)

Great idea if this would work. Very convenient take down with the double. Good calibre in a 500/416. Plains game capabilities for longer range with effectively a single shot with the scope, but perhaps a second barrel for closer. Good game stopper with open sights with heavier bullets (??)

Do you have a Krieghof .500/.416?

Thanks for any info.

[ 02-16-2003, 07:38: Message edited by: NitroX ]

Take downs sound great on the surface and in theory but if actual field use I found out pretty quick they always had the wrong barrel on them for the situation so I abandoned mine..Also for the most part they do not share the accuracy of a one piece gun, nor are the really that handy except for spies in the movies....but all this is only my opinion and certainly argueable...

NE 450 No2 you have a PM

I can take the action out of my Ruger M77 and fit it and the stock in my Samsonite two suiter hardside. It returns to zero nicely too. Serves my purposes for a takedown rifle. (I shortened the barrel an 1.5" to fit my suitcase)