I foolishly sold my clean OM 70 in 300 H&H to a good friend. I regretted that about six minutes later.

Now, I need another one. Just because...

I bought a very clean VZ-24 action, so I could do it on that.

Standard medium sporter contour barrel, 26" long, quarter-rib and three leaf express sights of course.

Question:
Is it in good taste to build a 300 H&H using anything other than an Old Model 70?

Choices:
1. Sacrilege! Nothing else is suitable
2. A good 98 Mauser will be just fine

 

Why would putting an English cartridge in anything other than an American action be sacrilege?

I was just today shooting my mid 50's M70 300 H&H what a joy, it just seems right to stick with the old model 70's.

I think A good m98 Mauser was the first in which the .300 H&H has been built so....?

If not for the Model 70 and WW ammo the 375 H&H (and 300 H&H) would be dead as doornails.

And the M98 is German. Didn't we fight two WWs where Americans, English, Australians and many others were fighting Germans.

And as a bonus the M70 action was designed with a bedding configuration in mind.

I love the M98 about as much as anyone but unless it's going to be a cost no object build I would bypass it for a M70.

Rich, here's my 300 H&H on a VZ-24 with a blank from Luxus Walnut. I wanted a bit of the old British look. It will soon be joined by near-identical rifles in 7 Mauser, 338 Win Mag, 404 Jeffery, 458 Win Mag, and 505 Gibbs. I will be my worldwide hunting set :-)

quote:

Originally posted by TC1:
I love the M98 about as much as anyone but unless it's going to be a cost no object build I would bypass it for a M70.

If I lived in America and had the Money I would get a 300 H&H from D'Arcy Echols or David Miller in wood and of course the M70 as is their standard.

I am conflicted a bit. I was down in NM about a month ago, and purchased a very, very clean VZ-24 action. The gentleman I bought it from also has a nice OM 70 action that was originally a 300 or 375 he would sell me.

It is about $700 more than the VZ to start, but by time I have someone drill and tap the VZ for bases, do something with the bolt handle, it is nearly a wash, cost wise. So, then I get to thinking; the VZ would be a perfect choice for a set of square bridge extensions, and become a classic Pre-WWII.

quote:

Originally posted by BaxterB:
Why would putting an English cartridge in anything other than an American action be sacrilege?

..no more sacrilegious than to have Americans driving European cars or having europeans driving American cars...

Or a 9.3X62 on a M70

Really a very nice rifle Mark.

I have a 9,3x62 on a Brazilian M98 1908 barreled action sitting here waiting for me to make a run to Walnut Grove and pick a blank.

From the standpoint of a true "nostoligist", of which I are/is one, the Mauser 98, fully converted, would be the ultimate 300 H&H or 375 H&H without a doubt, and they rule the tables at SCI and around the world.

The mod. 70 Win. is only the adopted bastard daughter of the the queen of rifles, the 300 H&H. and therefore slightly less nostalgic, as is the king, the .375 H&H..both children of the crown (Bloody ole England)

That said, Paul Mauser, had a good bit of say so in any mod. 98, and he was a Kraut as I recall, but had nothing to do with the 300 H&H caliber, as he only procreated the womb of the rifle itself..

98 without a doubt. Just a suggestion. There is a nice 98 Mauser in the classifieds in .300H&H with octagon barrel and three position safety etc..
Install an Oberndorf straight handle, color case the action, recontour the stock to your dimensions. Refinish with a dark alkaneet oil and hand applied natural dark brown stain. Checker to your desire and you'll have a first class set up for under $2,000.
What are friends for if they can't help you spend your money.

I currently own two .300 H&H's, the best cartridge of all time. One is a custom Mauser 98 with a custom Rigby styled stock in fantastic wood. The other is a Luxus Model 11 single shot that is the best handling / carrying / accurate rifle I own.

The VZ is very appropriate. It's a British cartridge. If you wanted a .300 Win!ag, then yeah, do a model 70.

As much as I like the Mauser, there are no flys on a mod. 70 in 300 or 375, and almost the same amount of nostalgia, as it was the first American rifle to come out wit both calibers. Many a PH chose the mod. 70 Finn Aagard, Harry Manners, and a host of others jumped on that band wagon with the advent of the mod. 70 in 300 and 375 caliber.

Also and much overlooked is the mod. 70 action is more suitable for the longer 300 cartridge. Its not an easy choice..I have owned both and still only lean to the Mauser about a 1/4 of and inch and that ain't much...

Back in the late 60's in my starving graduate student days, I used to buy an occasional Model 70 from a gentleman in Texas whose name I forget. One day he mentioned that a Model 70 collector had his collection stolen and recovered. However, the thief had simply thrown the rifles in the trunk of his car, so that the stocks were quite beat up and he was selling them off and replacing them with pristine models. Among them was a .300 H&H at a very reasonable price. I jumped on it and found it to be a super accurate rifle, despite its beat up appearance.

On my first trip to Africa it went with me. I assumed that my rifles would be pretty beat up by the treatment they would receive, so that starting with a beat up rifle made sense. I ended up taking that rifle on every hunt I made in Africa and brought down a total of around 90 head of plains game with it. I still have it in the condition I received it in and it is probably among the last rifles I would ever part with.

After all the sound advice I have gotten here, a 300 H&H is on the far back burner.

I got a pretty good deal on a pair of 1909's and a pair of gorgeous blanks from Walnut Grove, and with a little help from John Farner they will be 6,5 and 8mm X68S's by late summer. A bit of Pre-WWII Mauser custom look.

thanks for all the help gentlemen.

Rich