Two rifles, one 25 years old, and one is 23 years old.

Both are on Dakota 76 action.

One has a Shilen barrel and one has a Lilja barrel.

Both have been going to Africa every year, and used by several hunters to hunt with.

Non of them have been pampered - they are working rifles.

Both are chambered for our own 375/404.

Years ago we used Barnes X bullets in them both - 300 grains.

And since we made our own Walterhog bullets, we have been using these exclusively.

Every year, after we come back from our hunt, they are both cleaned, ready for the next safari.

Before each hunt, I load my new ammo, and fire a few rounds in each to check the zero.

And every year, I get the same results.

This year, I got groups of 0.583 in one, and 0.540 in the other, 3 shots at 100 yards.

Same load, same bullet. 85 grains of H4350.

Only Walter complains they do not shoot so well!







The following targets were shots years apart.

Need an upgrade to a blaser r8

Trust Walter he knows the way forward is the blaser way


Mike

Saeed
You need to bring those two old wrecks out to NZ and have a go at our Tahr up in the Alps. With groups like that you should be able to reach out and and drop some of the very best trophies from their high perch.
Don't bring Walter though, if he complains about conditions in Africa, life in camp here would be sheer misery, has he ever worn snow-boots and gloves

Hooray!
So, odds are they might survive another expedition.
Same Leupold 2.5-8x36mm on the 26"-barreled one?
Why the switch to the Nightforce on the 23"-barreled one?

Rip ...

quote:

Originally posted by RIP:
Hooray!
So, odds are they might survive another expedition.
Same Leupold 2.5-8x36mm on the 26"-barreled one?
Why the switch to the Nightforce on the 23"-barreled one?

Rip ...

Yes.

Friends here asked “are you going to try a new load?”

I say “ why mess with something that works?”

When are you going to invest in a few cans of spray paint and give those stocks a new look?

Have they been rebarreled? If not how many rounds have they fired?

Cannot argue with success, or performance. Who else has built Saeed's .375-404?

They have the original barrels.

Only thing we changed on one is the scope.

Instead of the Leupold 2.5-8 we put a Nightforce scope on it.

I prefer the Leupold.

I have no idea how many shots fired through them.

At a guess I would say around 1500 each.

quote:

Originally posted by eagle27:
Saeed
You need to bring those two old wrecks out to NZ and have a go at our Tahr up in the Alps. With groups like that you should be able to reach out and and drop some of the very best trophies from their high perch.
Don't bring Walter though, if he complains about conditions in Africa, life in camp here would be sheer misery, has he ever worn snow-boots and gloves

For longer shots I built a 30/404.

It is on a Sako action, and I think 27 inch barrel.

It is extremely accurate, and shoots 180 grain bullets at close to 3500 fps!!

Barnes or Walterhog? Saeed, that is simply a laser.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
Cannot argue with success, or performance. Who else has built Saeed's .375-404?

Bill,

There have been a few similar to Saeed's rifle built on this side of the pond.
These are throated with the CIP .375 Weatherby throat specifications:



The throat specifications of Saeed's rifle are Cosmic Squirrel Secret.

Hornady Custom dies were made that seem to work for both the ".375/404 Jeffery Saeed of 2012" (reamer by Dave Manson)
as well as the original ".375/404 Jeffery Saeed of 1993." That would be 25 years old.
The "2012" version was reverse engineered from the "1993" version.
It was pictured in a 1999 internet snag when I was searching for cape buffalo hunting info,
about the first thing I ever did on the internet.

Throating might be the only significant difference between the two chamberings.
Only Saeed knows for sure,
and he ain't talkin' about it.

Whatever. Saeed could hunt cape buffalo with a .22-250 and make out pretty good, as long as the bullet is tough enough.

Rip ...

Consistency in a hunting rifle is a wonderful thing.

Saeed, please post some pics of the rifles. I have always been envious of the one rifle you have whose stock is missing about 50% of its paint as it means it has gone on lots of adventures.

Hoping one day I have a rifle that looks similar for the same reason.

The 49-Inch Buffalo with broken horn, circa 1997 in Zimbabwe,
and that is the original, oldest, .375/404J Saeed rifle that has been relegated to Walterization.



No year be needed to specify the original's chambering, which has Cosmic Squirrel Secret throating.
The year of origin is understood to be about 25 years ago, about 1993.

From "Rifle Collection 18" in the Photo Galleries of the opening page of this website:

"This is my favourite rifle. It is based on a Dakota 76 action, and chambered for our own wildcat, the 375/404. It has a 23" barrel and a Leupold 2.5-8 scope."
("Last updated August 18th, 2000")



That looks like an early McMillan stock that was painted instead of having the color moulded into it.
IIRC, the barrel on the original rifle is a Shilen barrel, and Saeed's second rifle has a Lilja No.6 Sporter, stainless, fluted barrel that is 26" long.
The fluting on the Lilja barrel makes it very light, about like a No.3 Sporter.
I copycatted that Lilja barrel for my CZ 550 Magnum .375/404JS-2012 Rifle-Numero-Uno pictured above.

As Saeed said, both of his .375/404J rifles have Dakota M76 African actions,
and I am guessing they have .416 Rigby-length box magazines with .404 Jeffery bolt faces.
The second rifle appears to be a stainless Dakota M76, but I never knew those to exist,
so I am assuming it is an unspecified metal finish/coating/plating on the chromoly action.
That is Cosmic Squirrel Secret too.

Pictures of both rifles with even more wear on them are to be found on his latest Tanzania Expedition thread (2017).
Hopefully Saeed will include some more pictures of both rifles in the Tanzania 2018 reports.

Here is a favorite picture of that second .375/404 Jeffery Saeed rifle, not even Walter can break them:



Rip ...

quote:

The 49-Inch Buffalo with broken horn, circa 1997 in Zimbabwe,
and that is the original, oldest, .375/404J Saeed rifle that has been relegated to Walterization.

That is not correct my friend!

Walter needs all the help he can get, that is why I gave him my rifle that has had years of experience.

I use the new one to train it to be as good as that one.


I have several Dakota 76 actions, all stainless, straight from the factory.

I still have some, in different lengths.

I built a 375 Dakota on one for my brother, as a present for him winning the GOLD in trap in the Sydney Olympics.

I remember him sitting in my lap shooting doves with a 410. He used to put the stock of the shotgun under his right arm, with the stock on my shoulder, and he pulls the trigger.

My training Ahmed worked, and he became a WORLD CHAMPION.

Sadly, nothing seems to help with Walter!

Well, hopefully Walter never sat on your lap to shoot anything!

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by eagle27:
Saeed
You need to bring those two old wrecks out to NZ and have a go at our Tahr up in the Alps. With groups like that you should be able to reach out and and drop some of the very best trophies from their high perch.
Don't bring Walter though, if he complains about conditions in Africa, life in camp here would be sheer misery, has he ever worn snow-boots and gloves

For longer shots I built a 30/404.

It is on a Sako action, and I think 27 inch barrel.

It is extremely accurate, and shoots 180 grain bullets at close to 3500 fps!!

Wow, that would be good Tahr medicine, not sure with that long barrel it would fit in the chopper skid pod (just kidding)

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
Well, hopefully Walter never sat on your lap to shoot anything!

I think Walter got closer, physically, to our good Dr here than he ever did to me.

They shared a bathroom - with no door - and their beds were not that far apart either!

I will leave it to Ron to explain the rest!

Hello Saeed, Didn't Michael Diamond win gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the trap event?
Cheers Malcolm

Didn't one of those had pink barrel at one time - what is the story behind painted barrels?

P.S. Malcolm I believe it was double trap in 2004 (Athens), he coached Peter Wilson (GB) who won DT in 2012 Olympics (London).

quote:

Originally posted by malcolm:
Hello Saeed, Didn't Michael Diamond win gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the trap event?
Cheers Malcolm

He might have.

My brother won the Double Trap.

quote:

Originally posted by mouse93:
Didn't one of those had pink barrel at one time - what is the story behind painted barrels?

P.S. Malcolm I believe it was double trap in 2004 (Athens), he coached Peter Wilson (GB) who won DT in 2012 Olympics (London).

After extensive testing, we found that certain colors work best on shooting certain animals.

And as animals are not that stupid, their preferred barrel color changes.

Hence me changing the colors on the barrel!

When do you apply the colour before or after the kill then ?

Saeed,

What velocity are you pushing your 300gr with the 85 grs of H4350?

Thanks!

Depending on the lot of powder, I get 2720-2780 fps in the long barrel one, and roughly 40-50 fps less.

I settled on this velocity as it works so well on our hunts.

Saeed,

That is why Walter calls me "The Ugly Americano."

So Arab Sheiks can buy stainless Dakota M76 African actions?
Are they hiding them from the rest of us?

Where do I find one?
Please! Sumbuddy who know?

The Ugly Americano

quote:

Originally posted by RIP:
Saeed,

That is why Walter calls me "The Ugly Americano."

So Arab Sheiks can buy stainless Dakota M76 African actions?
Are they hiding them from the rest of us?

Where do I find one?
Please! Sumbuddy who know?

The Ugly Americano

We had quite a bit of hassle getting these from Dakota originally, because they did not sell actions on those days.

Brownells used to sell a chromoly Dakota M76 action.
I got one about 10 years ago and turned it into the .395 Tatanka I took to Tanzania in 2010, thank you.
But Brownells offered only CZ 550 and Remington 700 actions last time I got a catalog from them.

I visited Dakota Arms in Sturgis, SD in person a couple of times, when I worked in SD, about 2003-2004.
Like a moth drawn to a flame.
There was never a stainless M76 action to be found.
Nor would they build me a rifle with a synthetic stock unless I also paid for a wood stock to go with it.
Maybe the stainless M76 was an early 1990's item that they have since discontinued?
Maybe Saeed used some "pull" to get hold of them back then, without having to buy the wood stocks to go with them?
No, not the kind of "pull" used when Walter asks you to pull his finger!

Rip ...

Perhaps they were Electro less Nickeled??

Saeed, is spray paint not available in Dubai?

I personally can testify to Saeeds ability to shoot as well as anyone Ive known, and that's many..sometimes its a bit aggravating as he may well shoot a buff out from under you, and you will hear that cackling laugh!!

That 375/404 is deadly on buffalo for sure, all you have to do is stick the bullet in the right spot and you have tender loins for supper.