I carried my .260 Mexican out for it's initial foray to our ranch on opening day of the Texas gun season. About 4:45 this nice nine pointer stepped into the sendero and I am pleased to report that he dropped to the shot! Bloodied the new rifle and put some meat in the freezer. Life is good!


The metalwork on this rifle was done by David Christman and James Anderson stocked, blued and finished the rifle for me. I am having James build something similar to this rifle for me on a Model 70 action in .300 H&H.

I am taking the rifle to south Texas this Friday and hope the bucks are starting to kick around and chase does through the brush!

Let's see this year's pix of your custom rifles in the field!

Great pic!!!


Glad to see some blood on it.

Pretty buck and knockout rifle!!! Congrats Russell, went out myself today, have not pulled the trigger yet!

Ed

Ed, you've got to work on your scent control :-)

You had a couple outstanding craftsmen working on your custom.
Nice buck.My latest, a 250-3000 by Mr. Jim Kobe.

Nice bucks, super rifles.

Amen! +1!

Beautiful rifle!

Makes mine look like an outcast!

I will find a photo and post it later.

Man Saeed that Eland is a Toad!!! Makes mine look like I need to wipe the milk off his lip...mine livingston Eland was old and worn--but huge bodied--well over 2000 lbs--took him with my copy of your rifle 375 RUM Wiseman Texas Safari Rifle--built by Bill Wiseman.

Both are great animals....I still need a great Eland for the Trophy Room.

Some very nice animals and beautiful rifles.

I've done the custom work myself on quite a few of my rifles.

Here's a Kilpspringer that I shot last July in South Africa with my custom .300 Weatherby Vanguard. I had a local gunsmith install the KDF muzzle brake, then I polished and set the trigger. The wood is a AA Fancy Claro walnut semi-finished stock from Richards Microfit that I fully glass bedded than floated the barrel, installed a mechanical recoil reducer in the stock, installed a Limbsaver pad, then I hand checkered it in my favorite multi-panel pattern. It only took me between 80-100 hours to do it.

It shoots 168 gr TTSX bullets sub moa, and the recoil is less than my .270 Win.

Yes, this was a very big eland.

In fact, the PHs I was with said they have never seen one as big.

But, the most amazing part is that this was the easiest eland hunt I have ever been on.

During this safari, on two seperate occasions, we saw twobulls and followed them for hours. But we never managed to see them again!

We were having lunch in the shade of trees by the river bank. There were quite a few animal feeding, including a large herd of eland. But, they were far away on the other side, as teh river is very wide, and the water was on the other bank.

We were getting ready to go, and I thought I would take one final look - and take some photos.

I took my photos, and got onto the truck.

Alan, my PH, was helping put tgings back into the truck. Then he went to the edge to have a look, and saw this eland with a herd.

We just walked a couple of hundred yards in the tree line, and shot him.

Reminds me of the 49" buffalo I shot a few years ago in Chete, Zimbabwe.

We were on the way to sit on a leoprad bait. And saw two bulls walking right next to us.

We all jumped out, shot both, and went to the leoprad blind.

I'm not done working on the custom stock for my Winchester .270 yet but already tagged a deer with it this past Sunday evening.



A nice yearling for the dinner table.

My 7x57 Swede. Wisner metal, Speiser wood currently being reshaped/checkered by Dean Zollinger.



FN 9.3x62 with metal by C-D Gunshop of Wiesbaden.



Pre 64 358 Win with unknown maker.



















Erfurt carbine 8x57 with unknown maker.

Did you shoot your dog also?

Some nice trophies and even nicer rifles! Saeed, that has to be the biggest, bloody eland I have ever seen. That would do a Lord Derby proud!

Gentlemen,

The rifle is about 47 inches long, just to give you an idea of teh size of that eland.

Also, as some of you have posted photos of such beautifully made rifles, I would like to tell you how my rifle came to be made, and looks such as it does.

My original 375/404 was built by a master gunsmith, Dwight Scott.

I got the same reamer from him, and decided to build myself another one.

I got all the required parts together, a few weeks before my next safari.

As you can see, teh stock is not really made for that action - you can see part of the magazine box sticking out.

Anyway, as this was going to be a hunting rifle, it has to be functional, looks took a back seat.

I made two brass bedding blocks to fit onto the screwholes, and used Devcon Titanium bedding compound.
I left the barrel at 26 inches - it is from Dan Lilja - who as far as I am concerned, makes some of the best large caliber barrels. We have used barrels from him in many rifles we have built. And without exception, all shot extremely well.

The action is a Dakota 76, just as on the rifle built by Dwight.

The scope is a Leupold 2.5-8x, in Dakota mounts.

The otherr ifle has teh same setup too.

The amazing thing is, these two rifle have been going to Africa for so many years. And despite all the knocks and shaking they get on safari, I have never had to adjust anything on them.

Every year, after our hunt when I get home, I take the stocks off, and give them a thorough clean, ready for the next adventure.

Saeed, is that action stainless or in the white?

Hunted with? Yes; two elk seasons. Just no kills yet darn it.

Alan

Not near as sexy a rifle as GSSP's, but here is a Mule Deer that I took this year with a 300 Weatherby that I built on a Model 70:

Chuck,
If that rifle of Saeed's has action in the white, how does he keep it from rusting?
It should be well pitted after 15 years of annual 4-week safaris,
including the annual camp shooting contest where it gets passed around to "competitors."

We have not gotten the answer as to whether the action is stainless, or not, in several previous queries.
If it is a stainless M76 Dakota African action, when did Dakota ever offer such?
Maybe it is satin nickel or other finish on chromoly?

Nice rifles and game, to all above.
But my youthful exuberance and lust for gun porn has faded.
I tend to like Saeed's approach now, as I am but two or three years younger than him,
and old men know what counts in the "hunting rifle."

I had two ballistic machines completed recently.
I took them out about a week ago. In a 4 day period I shot 4 deer.
Where I am, they allow 4 deer for the year to any deer hunter with no special permits.
They allow only one of those to be "antlered."
Deer are thicker than ever in these parts, so they want us to kill the does, to better reduce the herd,
for a healthier herd and less road kill.
That is just great for me, as the does eat better.
Sometimes the elderly get tired of chewing on a tough old buck that is nasty with rut.

.375/404 Jeffery Saeed of 2012:
Notice no sling. Though I do have sling attachment capabilities,
I did the "African Carry" on 11/13/2012, on a 1-mile walk to my stand.





400 Whelen on 11/17/2012, two days after I took delivery from Rusty McGee, another tack driver:

Butch, your Jim Kobe .250-3000 is drop-dead gorgeous.
Saeed, I didn't realize eland could get that big. What a trophy!

Ron,

My Dakota action is stainless. But, my sweat seems to turn it black!

Roy wasasking if he could borrow some of my sweat, to use in his gunsmith shop!

I have used my Lon Paul built 30-06 on moose, elk deer and bear hunts

If you don't use your custom rifle you might as well have bought a painting.

Not an exotic hunt but mine get out and about all the same.

All of those rifles are outstanding! I have many custom rifles and they all have been hunted with many times! Here is a sable that I shot in Dande South in Zimbabwe with my custom 375 H&H by Canyon Creek Custom Gunstocks of Montana: Here's another one of my favorite custom rifles in thumb hole and in 300 WSM as made by Cecil Fredi using Fiddleback Myrtle Wood for the stock: Love all of the pics! Saeed: You'll never top that Eland!

Saeed, I like how the floorplate on your rifle doesn't even lay flush with the stock.

280 Remington:

TAC300 Action by Stiller, 24" Shilen barrel I bought from Butch Lambert (thanks Butch)! Jewel trigger at 1 pound, McMillan Edge stock, Zeiss Conquest 4.5x14x44 with target turret, 150 Nosler Ballistic tip, 57.5 gr VV N165, Norma brass, Fed 210M primer, 2750fps.

My 2012 CO mulie alive chasing a couple of Does the day before my season, then me with him:







3 days later my KY whitetail meat buck. You have to click it. It's a video:

Of course, I already filled my buck tag in KY, then yesterday morning this guy walks by. Sorry it is blurry. I didn't give my iPhone time to focus before hitting record. He's a decent 9 point that walked up at 12 yards. I'm standing behind a bail of hay. Click on it, it's a video also as are the rest:

Hey Doc,
Nice rifle, but the hunt is most important.

Love that Mulie!

Thanks. He's not my biggest mule deer but my hunt needed to be short so I did it in one day. The rifle shoots superbly. I had a lot of 150 Btip seconds I bought from the Nosler proshop. I was using them to break-in the barrel and they shot so well I just fine tuned a load with the VV N165. Not exceptional velocity but I could care less. The groups are amazing at 300 yards and beyond and I've killed 2 bucks with this combo already. The btips blow through the shoulders for me, as usual.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Ron,

My Dakota action is stainless. But, my sweat seems to turn it black! ...

Noted: Dakota made at least one stainless M76 African with a 404 Jeffery bolt face and a .416 Rigby box length,
and that one belongs to Saeed.
Excessive amounts of Tabasco-sprinkled lime snacks consumed by Saeed might be contributing to the sweat-blackening "patina" ... Or Walter's chocolate covered fingers have been fiddling with the rifle when Saeed wasn't looking.

Nice deer, Doc, all of them.
On the way home from my last meat hunt, bagged out, I was driving along a road in some river bottoms farm land, near the Green River, about 3 PM.
Lo and behold a monster buck chased a doe across the road about 50 yards in front of me.
They were both flying along at about Kentucky Derby speed, but the buck was gaining on her ... too funny ...

quote:

Originally posted by butchlambert:
Did you shoot your dog also?

No, my son did.

He was probably rabid anyway. You do have a good sense of sarcasm.

quote:

Originally posted by 458Win:
I have used my Lon Paul built 30-06 on moose, elk deer and bear hunts

If you don't use your custom rifle you might as well have bought a painting.

+1

My .458 Lott on a ZKK 602 barreled action. The metal work and stock were done by Roger Ferrell.