Hi Folks,

I'm Looking at buying a Chapuis Brousse in 375, what do you guys think of this Rifle? It's used but is as new, chap who had it before cut his eye with the scope he had on it and then got rid of it. Dealer reckons it's not fired more than 100 rounds. It's on sale for £3000.00 sterling.

Gerry,
Welcome to the Board. Some knowledgeable folk here will readily share their views. My own are that you basically want a used, reliable British-made double in .375 flanged, rather than some tarted-up continental rimless harridan.
I use a Gibbs-made .350 No. 2 boxlock and would be delighted to find a reasonably priced (aye, there's the rub) .375 flanged. You should know that two years ago I used a seemingly marvelous Austrian best gun in .375 rimless and the thing wound up failing to eject, with the little pawl ripping through the rim and making it impossible to even close the rifle to use the unfired cartridge. Worse is when the cartridge slips by the pawl, leaving a round stuck, not an uncommon occurence so the literature would have you believe.
Was admittedly many years ago (1985)that I phoned Chapuis just before a posting in Pretoria to ask if they could make me a .375 H&H. The chap replied that 9.3x74R was the biggest bore they (then) made, "parce que du point de vue de longevite, ca donne pas de satisfaction..." (because from the point of view of lasting, the .375 did not give satisfaction).

Now clearly Chapuis believes it has figured it out, and a few howls from other Board members will seek to underscore that no doubt. But, do the right thing and get a serious double gun fundi in the UK and find something by a third-tier Brit gunmaker at a shop or on auction.
Regards, Tim

You need to be wary of rimless cases in Double rifles.

The best work without a hitch but some give unrelenting trouble from what I've read.

Mt double rifle is in 458wm and it has been flawless. But I bought it knowing that a simple and relativelt cheap rechamber to 450NE 3 1/4" would cure ejection and extraction issues if there were any.

Unfortunetely, the 375H&H case is larger than the 375Flanged case in critical dimensions so there is no easy fix if the rifle gives trouble.

I would buy a 375H&H double rifle, but only after the chance to fire it a bunch to make sure it functions reliably.

JPK

Thanks for the replies guys,


unfortunately over here in the uk if you are buying a normal rifle from a gun dealer as opposed to custom build you will not get to test fire the rifle. Not enough ranges and too many laws and restrictions. Plus at the price it was on sale for was excellent, so needless to say I've purchased it and I'm having it shipped to my local gun dealer; so all being well I should get my sticky paws on my first double rifle tomorrow afternoon.


Guys ammunition is a real pain in the butt over here, it's very expensive and can be a pain to get hold of, I will reload but it still won't be super cheap, I just love my own custom ammo.

Gerry
Welcome to AR and to the DRSS.

New Guy has a 375 Chapuise. io shot it at the last DRSS event.

We were shooting at about 40-45 yards.

Not wanting to shoot up all of his ammo I fired a few rounds of some 375 H&H I had federal factory 300gr Nosler Partition.
The rounds would nearly touch, and this is shooting offhand and kneeling.

The warnings about rimless cases in doubles are a concern. However a double in 375 H&H [ammo that is probably the easiest to find in BIG big game country] just might be worth the risk.

Keep us posted on how she shoots.

I have a 9,3x74R Chapuis double [scoped] and it is one of my most favorite rifles.

Took possession of my Chapuis .375 today; it is a superb rifle, can't wait to get it to the range!

Most factory loaded 375 H&H run the 300gr bullet at about 2470fps (I know the box says 2525 fps but chrono it and you'll see) and this is a fairly low-pressure round as another 100 to 150 fps is usually doable, before you see pressure signs in a bolt-action, if you handload.