Cosidering a 375 H&H with a low varible scope with quick release rings. Which rifle would be an excellant choice for alaskan hunting , and should it have a synthetic stock?

Blaser R93 Off Road (Synthetic)

ysnthetic stock is a must have.

consider .338 w.m. instead of .375, more versatile.

look at win pre 64 with claw extractor

or rem model 700

all metal stainless steel

This question's only been asked about a million times.

A million times yet you have no answer R.Walters

If you can find one a winchester M70 Stainless classic is about as good as it gets. I had mine lightened for extended carrying in rough country. Another good choice is the Remington 700 but I"m not sold on the factory remington sights and perfer a sako extractor or better yet a AR15 style extractor installed. Make it as light as you can stand it and mount a 1.5-5 leupold on it. Mine weighs in at 6.4oz with scope detached and just over 7.5lbs scoped and loaded. As for rings its hard to beat talley quick detaches. THe warne are also pretty nice but much heavier.

quote:

Originally posted by Tanoose:
A million times yet you have no answer R.Walters

If I started answering every silly "which gun" question that some forum idiot wannabe hunter asks, I wouldn't have time to do the things I really like to do. Like hunting.

If you dont like the post then just go to another who the hell do you think you are.

Tanoose, considering what you intend to hunt and where would help some. For the most part a .338 and a finish other than a bluing is par on the norm. I wander around the northern interior of the state wherein lies the Brooks Range. Wood stocks here do well except for the fall season where rain can go on for a week or two.
Phil on the other hand can mention what he prefers since he hunts quite often down in "wet" part of the state. I as well like quick release with irons and low power scopes. Also I very often tend to load heavy bullets and try to stay within 150 yds of taking any animal. I am not a guide but a meat hunter and like what works without going for a heavy weight rifle and carry meat a long ways.
hope this helps.

regards,

Tanoose
I agree with your reply to Shit For Brains R. Walter The ass should mid his own bussiness.

I'm looking at buying a rifle for Alaska I have decided to go with the Rem 700 XCR in 338 RUM. The same rifle in 375 H&H or 375 RUM would be a great choice. The sights are easy to change if you don't like the Rem sights. The only problem is the 700 is not Control Rounf Feed, which is more of a hypothetical diffrence. I have shot Thousands of rounds through 700s and have never had a jam.
Good Hunting
DR B

Actually, It comes down to which species you are pursueing. If you are an avvid hunter, live and breath hunting you probably have a few smoke poles hanging around. Now, if I were to choose a battery for Alaskan hunts I could limit it to two caliber rifes. A flat shooting 30 caliber and a 338 WM or larger for moose and browns. I personally like two makes of rifles, the Winchester with controlled round feed and the Sako's. Dependability, reliability and accuracy is a must when hunting, regardless if it is prairie dogs are browns.

Thebear_78
I really like the rifle you've posted. What caliber and is that a sling swivel on the front of the fore-arm?

quote:

Originally posted by Tanoose:
Cosidering a 375 H&H with a low varible scope with quick release rings. Which rifle would be an excellant choice for alaskan hunting , and should it have a synthetic stock?

The bear has my vote as well!

I also am fond of the stainless mod 70's. I carried a .375 around AK for years till I got tierd of the weight. Still use them for bear but more often carry a .338 or.300.

I carryed a model 70 stainless .243 deer hunting on Kodiak for several years ignoring the possibilety that it would be way to light in the event of a bear encounter. After a couple of scares I got back to the magnums and think I should buy another stainless win while they are still around.

Thanks for the replies , i have a hs precision stock for a remington 700 long action that i was thinking on building on i to like the light weight rifles so i guess the ruger magnum is out of the question but i do like the looks of the win. classic stainless. I was thinking of 375 or maybe even a 416 or 458 i do want a big bore and i would want a rifle good to about 200 yards max for moose and bear. I have a 35 Whelen and a couple of 30/06's for a back up rifle.

Tanoose ----- I originally took a .300 Winny to Alaska using 200 grain Nosler Partitions for a Brown Bear and 180 grain Partitions for everything else. A close encounter with multiple Bears that trip prompted me to pack a .340 Wby for a Moose the next time I went to Alaska. My hunting experience there is limited to those two hunts plus another for Caribou and Wolfe, for that hunt and any in the future I have gone too a pair of .358 STA's, both stainless Model 70's. One has a beautiful Walnut stock that has seen many hunts and is dinged appropriately, the other a H&S Precision composite stock. I shoot 270 grain North Forks in both, one at 2850 fps and the other at 2950 fps. I consider these two rifles an excellent battery for anything Alaska has to offer. I would be comfortable with from .338 Win up, my experience when I was armed with the .300 Winnie (although I got a one shot kill with good shot placement) left me feeling my rifle was a little short in the britchs. Just my .02 worth. Good luck and good shooting.

That rifle in my post above is a 375 H&H. The forend slants up and the sling swivel is in the front so it doesn't hit you in the supporting hand while shooting. At 6lb 4oz the recoil can be quite stimulating if your not used to it. I also really like the 338 RUM for when ranges stretch a bit further and have a browning (gasp) abolt with a 3-12x50 ballistic plex on it. 225gr accubonds at 3150fps and 250gr TSX at 2980fps are go to loads, I've actually stuck with the accubond for all my hunting with it. Its great for the big open swampy areas for moose and tundra for bou. I also have a 9.3x62 scout and marlin guide gun for closer work. Stainless and synthetic all around cept for the 9.3 scout which is hard chromed.

Tanoose,

As Cold Zero suggested a 338 WM of some make in stainless/synthetic is really the all-round Alaska rifle. Personal I'd mount a 1.75X6 or 2.5X8. I hunted a lot in my time in Alaka with a 375 and other calibers but if I only had one rifle it certainly would the 338 or a 340. As suggested you might want to lighten it a little for portability and just live with the recoil.

Mark

What about the model 798 bolt action remington is now advertising they say that the 375H&H has a 26" barrel and a laminated stock and they told me it weighs 7 1/2 lbs.And ialso was told by a friend at gander mountain that the cz550 safari was a nice rifle and that Mcmillion sold a synthetic stock for it

Heres the reply I gave the guy in the other which rifle post. these should cover all of your bases.He was asking about a Ruger so thats why it starts talking about Rugers.The Rugers are solid dependable guns, a 300WM or a 338WM would do anything you need it to. If one of those were lightweight they would even work for sheep/goat hunting. Ammo is also readily available in a variety of loads. I have no use for pistols except for self defense on the highways or at home.The 12 gauge will work for waterfowl/grouse and Ptarmigan and a varmint caliber (22-250, .204,.223) for Fox,Lynx,Coyotes and Wolf.

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Tanoose,

As Cold Zero suggested a 338 WM of some make in stainless/synthetic is really the all-round Alaska rifle. Personal I'd mount a 1.75X6 or 2.5X8. I hunted a lot in my time in Alaka with a 375 and other calibers but if I only had one rifle it certainly would the 338 or a 340. As suggested you might want to lighten it a little for portability and just live with the recoil.

Mark

i think mark makes some good points here. i think he will also agree that if need be, you could do all your ak. hunting with just one gun. the best choice being a .338 w.m.,wthby or r.u.m., you pick the flavor.

perosnally, i only use 2 guns for all ak. hunting. a .340 wthby with 2.5-8x as mark suggests. i used this for moose and big bears only.

for everything else i use a skeletonized .300 w.m. with a 3-10x44mm, because yes it does get heavy. that .340 is like a howitzer without the wheels, it weight about 12.5lbs.

better to use and know just one or two rifles and shoot them well, than use a different rifle that is not intimately familiar to the shooter for each different animal.

the 1.75-6x is an excellent and versatile choice for most ak. game.

I hear an echo....
Blaser R 93 Synthentic.

o.k. guys lets simmer down.

the gun should be a bolt action for reliablity and accuracy.

if at all possible it should have a synthetic stock and stainless steel metal.

really, the only question is whether the s.s. should have an additonal protective coating over it? mine does....

tanoose, send me a p.m. with your location.

For years when my gunsmith was alive I saw custom built along with otc blue steel rifles with walnut stocks being brought into his shop to be cleaned and checked out after hunts worldwide including alaska ,none were rusty,none of the stocks were warped.All of the stocks had been sealed by the gunsmith and all of the steel & wood had been coated with trewax.If one learns how to take care of their weapons properly one needn't buy synthetic stocks or stainless steel barrels and receivers.My walnut stocked blue steel sakos have been hunted in the desert dust and heat and in rain,snow,sleet,40 below zero in Colorado w/o any problems of rust,etc.BTW SS will rust and pit.I get tired of reading all of the crap about large bore rifles needed to hunt in Alaska or Canada. In 1924 a Griffin & Howe custom 30-06 with a Springfield action was used to take every species of big game on the North American Continent but I speculate that the owner was an excellent marksman something that's not been stressed enough IMO.

quote:

Originally posted by scr83jp:
For years when my gunsmith was alive I saw custom built along with otc blue steel rifles with walnut stocks being brought into his shop to be cleaned and checked out after hunts worldwide including alaska ,none were rusty,none of the stocks were warped.All of the stocks had been sealed by the gunsmith and all of the steel & wood had been coated with trewax.If one learns how to take care of their weapons properly one needn't buy synthetic stocks or stainless steel barrels and receivers.My walnut stocked blue steel sakos have been hunted in the desert dust and heat and in rain,snow,sleet,40 below zero in Colorado w/o any problems of rust,etc.BTW SS will rust and pit.I get tired of reading all of the crap about large bore rifles needed to hunt in Alaska or Canada. IMO.

i have hunted in colorado as well as the desert several times. there is a big difference between those areas and hunting in a maritime ak. environment. no one said that stainless steel does not rust, it just takes longer than chrome moly steel. hence my recomendation to get a protective coating on the stainless steel. i have seem many chrome moly guns deeply pitted and severely rusted with swollen wood stocks while hunting the ak. coastal regions. i have met guys while hunting in ak. whose experience was in the lower 48 states and never had problems with rust before either and their rifles were ruined.

have you hunted in alaska? why would someone buy a rifle for hunting in ak. and gamble the success of a $10-18K hunt on his wood stock not swelling and shifting his zero? that makes no sense at all. especially since in some areas it rains heavy every single day. if the wax does not wear off, then my metal won't pit/rust. i want to eliminate as many variables as possible, not hope for the best. i don't wax my kitchen sink and it has no rust on it either.

use the right tool for the right job. stainless and synthetic for ak. , use the chrome moly and wood stocks in the desert. i.m.h.o.

y.m.m.v.

quote:

Originally posted by cold zero:

quote:

Originally posted by scr83jp:
For years when my gunsmith was alive I saw custom built along with otc blue steel rifles with walnut stocks being brought into his shop to be cleaned and checked out after hunts worldwide including alaska ,none were rusty,none of the stocks were warped.All of the stocks had been sealed by the gunsmith and all of the steel & wood had been coated with trewax.If one learns how to take care of their weapons properly one needn't buy synthetic stocks or stainless steel barrels and receivers.My walnut stocked blue steel sakos have been hunted in the desert dust and heat and in rain,snow,sleet,40 below zero in Colorado w/o any problems of rust,etc.BTW SS will rust and pit.I get tired of reading all of the crap about large bore rifles needed to hunt in Alaska or Canada. IMO.

i have hunted in colorado as well as the desert several times. there is a big difference between those areas and hunting in a maritime ak. environment. no one said that stainless steel does not rust, it just takes longer than chrome moly steel. hence my recomendation to get a protective coating on the stainless steel. i have seem many chrome moly guns deeply pitted and severely rusted with swollen wood stocks while hunting the ak. coastal regions. i have met guys while hunting in ak. whose experience was in the lower 48 states and never had problems with rust before either and their rifles were ruined.

have you hunted in alaska? why would someone buy a rifle for hunting in ak. and gamble the success of a $10-18K hunt on his wood stock not swelling and shifting his zero? that makes no sense at all. especially since in some areas it rains heavy every single day. if the wax does not wear off, then my metal won't pit/rust. i want to eliminate as many variables as possible, not hope for the best. i don't wax my kitchen sink and it has no rust on it either.

use the right tool for the right job. stainless and synthetic for ak. , use the chrome moly and wood stocks in the desert. i.m.h.o.

y.m.m.v.

I hunted CO for 16yrs and N. Cal for 33 yrs.I'm not a head hunter learned a lot from my instructors in fishery & wildlife mgt while earning my degree so I've never had a desire to head to AK .Obviously you haven't had the same experiences or training that I've had,there are many individuals who were trained by Ellis Simon on the proper care of their weapons wherever they were and it payed off none of their weapons rusted there stocks were bedded and sealed.I carry Trewax paste with me when I go hunting and use it on the walnut and steel as protects it from the elements.If I hunted AK I'd use the same Sako rifles I've used everywhere else.Long before SS & Synthetics came on the mkt all weapons were blued or parkerized steel and the stocks were wood in all of the wars in every type of climate and they survived,the M2 carbine assigned to me in 1952 in the service was WW2 vintage no metal pitting very operable with a selector switch.I have an early 1940's Springfield Parkerized M1 Garand that was used in battle & it's still intact.

How much $$$ do you want to spend?
Which 375?

Remington XCR in 375 UM- adjust the trigger and go hunting.
Win Model 70 in H&H- minimal work
Remington 798 in H&H- will probably need some work. Probably pretty rough.
Cz in H&H, I owned one, and they are heavy.

Thanks for all your replies i like the looks of the remington xcr and the winchester shadow elite i also want to take alook at the sako 75 stainless synthetic. Again Thanks Later Tanoose

tanoose;

sako 75 stainless/synthetic is worse looking at as well. you get what you pay for, sako's are good.

They ALL work. Stainless is great. Blued steel can work just fine as well, just need to prcatice a little common sense. Tape the muzzle and use some good oil and wipe the gun down in the evening.
Something i wonder about stainless guns that can be a problem....as it can with ALL guns. The trigger parts can rust????.
At the end of the hunt i do not care the slightest if i have some light rustng to steel wool off a blued gun, (it will not pit faster than i can wipe it all off).
However, if the trigger parts have a problem....well then the hunter can have a problem. I have talked to guys about this who have never seen or heard of it happening.....I have seen it.
Two years ago in Wyoming after three solid days of rain my good friends model 700's trigger took a bad trip, scared the hell out of him and me. Well. luckily for him he is the sort that brings a backup rifle, all ended well.
When we returned home he tore his 700 down to find the trigger was rusted up some.
Now i do not know if stainless guns have stainless triggers...but i would want to know if i were buying one.

Don't own one though. I own all crome-moly rifles with a few that have stainless barrels.

Just my 2 cents.

You might check this guy out High Tech Customs Rich built my .338-06 have nothing bad to say about the rifle.

I have a Pal that has a Sako 75 Synthetic and was lucky to have found one in 300 RUM. The only thing I can say about the rifle is I've been looking for one just like it since I first saw his!

quote:

Originally posted by scr83jp:

Obviously you haven't had the same experiences or training that I've had[/QUOTE]

since i don't know you and your meaning is not obvious to me, can you clarify your statement?

quote:

Originally posted by scr83jp:

all weapons were blued or parkerized steel and the stocks were wood in all of the wars in every type of climate and they survived,the M2 carbine assigned to me in 1952 in the service was WW2 vintage no metal pitting very operable with a selector switch.I have an early 1940's Springfield Parkerized M1 Garand that was used in battle & it's still intact.[/QUOTE]


hmmm, last time i checked all u.s. mil' issue stocks including u.s. military sniper rifles have synthetic stocks, because they go into battle in every type of climate. weapons are no longer parkerized they are phoshated.

i have a parkerized remington 11-87 that is rusted and pitted from my first ak. trip. in a maritime environment almost anything will rust if given the chance , regardless of coating. personally, i would rather carry a little gun oil than a can of tree wax.

Ive had both 700 Rem stainless syn and a mod 70 syn in 375. 700 rem very carriable, even for a 60 year old at 10 grand in colorado. Mod 70 a good bit heavier, due to barrel contour, but I carried it a long way elk hunting at 10 k. Alternatives - flute or rebarrel the Mod 70, or put a better extractor on the 700. Both very accurate, reliable rifles. Put a 2x7 Leupold on both and liked it much.

Again, if you haven't hunted maritime Alaska, you don't know what it means for a gun to rust up before your eyes, and that goes for some "stainless" guns as well as the blued ones. Actions and triggers can be rusted to the state that they are inoperable in a days time. You can sit in the cabbin and rub your gun with oil, or you can go out and hunt.

As far as wood stocks, most wood stocks aren't properly sealed. If you have a stock that is completely sealed in epoxy before applying a finish, it will be weather stable. But if you're not going to build your own and properly seal it, a good synthetic stock is the way to go.

My AK or anywhere else go to rig is a stainless M-70 .375H&H. Somebody mentioned a pre-64 M-70 all stainless. Sorry there is no such thing. I would assume he meant a pre-64 style claw extractor action.

My M-70 is cut to 20" fluted and stocked in Mac Millian it is topped with a Leupold 1.75X6. I've had it out in the rain in AK for weeks on end without a hint of rust. I have all my stainless guns stainless blued by DRC in Arlington TX. This is a really nice finish for a stainless rifle IMO.

This is without a doubt the most bomb proof rifle I've ever used. It has taken hundreds of head of game from Ak to Africa and many places in between. It's never shifted zero and weighs about 8.5 lbs combat ready.

The .375 will do anything a .338 will do and it is DG legal for Africa which is why I have one over a .338. As far as power, tajectory and kill-ability are concerned these two rounds are so close in all of the above that any argument over which is a superior round is pretty much a mute point.

The .338 has a very small tajectory advantage the .375 has a very small power advantage. Both can be had in a equally light weight rifle as the .338 needs a longer barrel acheive max performance than does a .375.


Here is the rifle.


Here she is up on the Aggieshakshak 9-13-2001.


Here she is in Zimbabwe 2004.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by surestrike:
My AK or anywhere else go to rig is a stainless M-70 .375H&H. Somebody mentioned a pre-64 M-70 all stainless. Sorry there is no such thing.

surestrike;

the pre 64 or mauser action was reintroduced by winchester in 1995. this is not push feed, but controlled round feed with claw extractor. winchester refers to this as the "classic". I bought one of the first to roll off the line in 1995. pre 64 classic synthetic stainless in .30-06 with boss system. the stock is injection molded, the boss although accurate and a muzzle break at the same time, was later dropped as they were not selling enough of them. so the boss, the classic synthetic stainless and of course winchester are all no more.

i still have the gun, it shoots 3 shots with fatcory ammo at 5/8". very robust and well put together and has served well after a trigger job and bedding. it does exist.

nice pig b.t.w.

quote:

Originally posted by surestrike:
I would assume he meant a pre-64 "style" claw extractor action.

Cold Zero,

As my post indicates I am aware of the classic action.

This is simply a matter of semantics. What I meant was there were no stainless rifles built before 1964. The term pre-64 assumes this vintage. I own 4, M-70's which are stainless classic actions just like the one in the picture, I bought that .375H&H in 95 or 96 as well. It is of course a classic stainless gun just like your 30-06.

These "classic" actions of course are a pre 64 "style" action with some minor differences including the length of the action and the pressure relief system. They are not however a pre-64 Winchester as far as classification or valuation are concerned, my only point, just a minor communication difference

Thanks for the compliment on the pig he was that was my first good one in 5 African hunts the darn things were becoming my nemesis.

surestrike;

i was not sure whether you were saying i don't know what i am talking about or if it was a difference in terms. we are on the same page again.

i think we both agree that a pre 64 action, stainless/synthetic/classic if you will, is a fine set up for ak.

ideas for ak. calibers....338w.m., .300w.m., .30-06