I'm in the market to buy a 375 H&H in either a Kimber,Ruger or Winchester. The reason for it to be these three rifles will be to stay under a price point. I cant afford over $2200. Has anyone had experience with any of these guns?

I though the Kimber was $3k and I heard several complaints.

IMHO, If you can wait - The Winchester is the most reasonable weight and best dollar value of the three you mention. They were out of production for a while, and should be a fine gun, once the safari comes back out.

I have a Winchester in 375 and Ruger 416. I like both in those specific calibers. If you said 458, I would pick the 458Lott by Ruger. Same reason, weight. Now the extra pound is a plus. And the M70 is in 458Win, not available in the Lott.

In addition to the gun, there will be other costs. Another plus for the Winchester.

CZ all the way! Of the three, Winchester M70.

quote:

Originally posted by fourbore:
I though the Kimber was $3k and I heard several complaints.

That is the wood Caprivi. The fibreglass Talkeetna is about $2100US.

I like my Ruger Safari Magnum in 375 H&H. It is accurate (You can cover five shots with 50 cent piece at 100 yds) and well made. It is also heavier than the Winchester or Kimber, but that does wonders for recoil reduction. You will need to do a trigger job but that's easy on the RSM. If you watch the internet you can pick up one in good condition for ~$1400.

if you can handle a break open single shot 12 ga, you can handle a 375 ..

of your choices, if all of them were on hand AT OLD PRICES, thw winchester was the price performance leader

today, the mix actually is kimber, cz, ruger and ruger RSM ... it will likely be a year before winchester has the bigbores on the shelf at stores, rather than sold out at distributors.

i'll only say it once - get a 458 lott, as bullets are cheap, its easy to reload, and you can easily do 300gr at 2500 with it... though that's a low SD load, it will smack hogs and exotics ...

kimber -- too many name/owner changes, too many complaints on customer service -- no deal for me

cz - good price point .. send to AHR, have the barrel bobbed to 23", recrown, barrel band sling, bedding, xbolts, and safety if you like , i suggest a new pad... about 1500 bucks all in .

ruger - 375 ruger african, $800 or so, $200 for bedding and recoil pad -- includes easy off rings

ruger rsm - 375 hh -- 1400-1800 used or new, and usually has great wood. a 375 on an rsm is HEAVY includes easy off rings .. add 100 for recoil pad

for a BIG BORE commerical rifle, for me, its the rsm in 458lott, as i consider the 375 to be a medium

I'd second what Jeff is saying. I was very disappointed when I shot my 1st 375 H&H RSM and thats why I converted it intoa 500 Jeffery. I Now own a 375 H&H in a Kimber BGR89 & Win 70 Safari CRF, RSM 416 Rigby, RSM 458 Lott, RSM 500 Jeffery and Rem 700 416mag that I'm selling. Out of all on them I find the 416 Rigby then best of the bunch as far as being fun and practical. But for a true big bore experience you should go for the 458 RSM since its easy to reload fun to shoot and you won't want much more unless... If you want a hunting rifle the 416 Rigby is great. If you want a bargin buy my 416 RemMag. The 375 H&H is just too mild to be a true blaster IMHO. Good luck and enjoy. The great thing is these Big rifle hold their value so you can always trade them around expect for the new Kimbers that seem to drop $500 out the door.

Brad

quote:

Originally posted by fourbore:
I though the Kimber was $3k and I heard several complaints.

IMHO, If you can wait - The Winchester is the most reasonable weight and best dollar value of the three you mention. They were out of production for a while, and should be a fine gun, once the safari comes back out.

+1
I've heard of more than one Kimber owner who has had more than minor problems with their new rifles, for that kind of money you should have none. IMO Win. M70 best choice, Ruger is too heavy in the 375 caliber for me.

I've heard good things about the Kimber Talkeetna and would like to try one. IMHO the Mod70 and RSM are just too heavy. The Mod70 needs work - mine will feed a fourth round under the left rail and that's where it will stay until you drop all the rounds out the floorplate, plus to me the stock is a club. I know it is a three down only rifle, but in a stressful situation....

My old H&H 375H&H at 8 1/4lbs is lovely to shoot, but iron sites only.

The 375H&H is a pussycat and anything over nine pounds is more than I want to carry.

Try and check each one and see what you like.

Cheers, Chris

I like the Model 70 myself. I have two of them that I've had customized.

FYI There are 2 Win CRF 375 H&H's on GB right now that are less than $1100. Yes they can be found at a fair price you just have to look.

Brad

Brennan, I've owned all four in .375, I would take the Win or CZ rifles.

quote:

Originally posted by Brennanc9093:
I'm in the market to buy a 375 H&H in either a Kimber,Ruger or Winchester. The reason for it to be these three rifles will be to stay under a price point. I cant afford over $2200. Has anyone had experience with any of these guns?

You can get a CZ custom made safari style for $1500, a Ruger for $2000, or A Winchester for $1300 I believe.

quote:

Originally posted by eurocentric:
You can get a CZ custom made safari style for $1500, a Ruger for $2000, or A Winchester for $1300 I believe.

the cz custom will be about 2K, the ruger RSM is about 1600, and you can't buy a new production winchester safari for any amount of money, as they haven't made the FIRST one for sale, yet .. will be midyear at the soonest

I'll double check the CZ, I got both of mine for 1500

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:

quote:

Originally posted by eurocentric:
You can get a CZ custom made safari style for $1500, a Ruger for $2000, or A Winchester for $1300 I believe.

the cz custom will be about 2K, the ruger RSM is about 1600, and you can't buy a new production winchester safari for any amount of money, as they haven't made the FIRST one for sale, yet .. will be midyear at the soonest

I would give some serious though too waiting for the Winchester M70. I see a lot of the new models out, these Super Express or Safari(?) guns should be along soon enough.

My choice was the CZ Safari Classic. I found one at Gander Mountain a couple of years ago and lucked into ther $150 off sale, bringing my cost to $650. This is a standard grade, but the wood looks like one of the upgraded models.

The only thing I did not like was that the bolt handle was bored for weight reduction, and the hole flared, leaving moderately sharp edges making in uncomfortable to operate. I just picked the handle up from the local gunsmith. He machined a plug then welded and contured the handle round, much like a Swedish Mauser which is the way I like them. Cost there was $50, making my total $700 for a fantastic rifle.

I had seen this rifle, went home and thought about it, talked to the wife, then called GM and had them hold it two days until I could get back up there and pick it up.

I may never hunt with it, just enjoy shooting larger bores.

I have the .375 H&H in a Weatherby Sporter and a "new" .375 Ruger. I prefer the Ruger over the Weatherby and I am a Weatherby guy.

Yes, but when the dust settles you have a rifle chambered for the 375 Ruger. If you want a 375R why not just go to Cabela's and buy one of the thirty or so they have that have been returned?

Rich