Thanks for all the wonderful advice. As soon as I make the jump I'll post what I get.

I am on a quest for a relatively lightweight .375 H&H with controlled round feed, that I can take DG hunting in Africa and to Alaska for caribou/moose/bear hunting in lieu of a .338 Win Mag. I'd like to end up at not more than 9 or 9.5 lbs with scope, and I'm don't want to pay an arm and a leg. I have heard of problems with quality control with Winchesters and problems with ejection with Rugers. The .375 H&H from CZ is about a pound or pound-and-a-half too heavy for what I want. I also won't mind some stainless for the Alaska stuff. Therefore, yeah I know - let's get to the point, is it feasible (mechanically and monetarily) to get a CZ 550 American in 9.3x62 and rework it into a .375 by replacing the barrel with a #5 contour stainless barrel, replacing the magazine box, and "hollowing out" the action? Any advice on who could do the action work would be appreciated - I have considered E.R. Shaw for the barrel work. Other options I've considered is just taking a chance with the Winchester or getting one of the new CZ 550 American Safari rifles and trying to lighten it up somehow - perhaps hollowing the stock, cutting 3 inches off the barrel, fluting the barrel, cutting holes in the magazine box, etc. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Not really a cheap proposition. But you could take a light FN Mauser or Husqvarna and rebarrel to 376 Styer or any light 30-06 class gun and chage to 375 Hawk or Scoville and have about the same gun.

I purchased a standard contour 24" SST Remington barrel in 375 H&H for a similar project. I screwed it onto a 700 Magnum action I had floating about and then dropped the barreled action into a Houge stock to make the stock quietly brush resistant. I'll weigh it when I get home and drop you an e-mail.

When You say you don't want to spend "an arm and a leg" what do You mean exactly?

A 9 pound 375 on a standard Mauser is really not a problem at all. But You can't buy it "over the counter"

If you can find a Whitworth 375 used, I think it'll fit the bill. I haven't weighed mine yet, but it's trim and handy. They are fairly available on the used market if you search around. Bob

I guess I'm looking for a working rifle, not a full blown custom rig. I figured the rifle would cost around $500 and the barrel replacement $300. I just don't really know if I want to spend $500+ for the action work.

Red,
what tigger said... get a mexican mauser, a pacnor PENCIL barrel to 22", and stock/scope it.

376 steyr

jeffe

$500 for action work? Not necessarily!!

Any good smith will be able to open a Standard model Mauser up to 375 H&H, including the box,the feed ramp, the feed rails and the bolt/extractor for about $150. The barrel instalation should be about $100, chambered and headspaced. (That's what I used to charge anyway) Heat treatment is $80 from industrial Heat Treat in Salt Lake. So the whole thing should be $330 excluding the parts and polishing.

You can buy a Shilen barrel for $145 and a VZ-24 Mauser for about $80 You'll need a new bolt welded on (should be about $40) and a new safety ($20-$150 depending on what You want to spend) You may want scope bases ($25-150) and iron sights ($50-$300) So You can get into the work very affordably. You can spend a lot on this kind of gun, but you don't have to. It depends on how much of the work You can do for Yourself.
The Idea of finding a Whitworth in 375 is a good one. If you wanted to make up the gun even lighter, you can change the barrel out for a lighter one, and then sell the Whitworth barrel to help with the overall cost. Stocks of GOOD HARD wood can be had for only about $150 in semi-inlet form. You may also want a recoil pad ($16-$35) and swivels ($12-$75) Then you'll want to have the steel blued ($75-$350) So, as You can see, there is a lot of variance in the prices, but you won't have to spend a kings ransom if You don't want to.

I don't know what you have heard about the quality of Winchesters. Perhaps the newest ones aren't very good, but I think that the ones made a few years ago are quite good. I have had two, one in .338 and one in .270 (both Stainless) and the metal was very very good on both. Stocks weren't worth beans though.

That is not to say they were perfect. The trigger is wobbly on almost all of them. You can get a larger pin to put in the trigger slot. Best solution would be to use a custom sized reamer there and the exact size pin, for absolutely no wobble at all.

Also, Winchester magazine boxes are basically sheet metal, although I must say that my rifles both fed real well. You could of course get a blackburn box and follower.

The advantage of a winchester is of course that you already would have the 3 position safety, and a nice trigger. The bolt would already have a magnum face on it. it would be stainless, which is what you want for Alaska. YOu could easily have it barreled with the stainless barrel of your choice.

All in all, more than likely the cheapest route to go as so much of the work will have been done already, and scope bases and stocks are readily available.

There must be a reason why David Miller and Darcy Echols make most of their top of the line rifles on Model 70 actions. Sure, they do a lot of extra work to them in order to justify the price they charge for them. But many of them work just fine right out of the box, and again, they are available in stainless!

Blue

Hey Redlander,

I just thought I'd ask if you had considered the 9.3X62? It is nearly the equal of the 375, and You would have to do a LOT less action work. Brass is easily made from 30-06, and it's easy to load for. Speer makes a .366 bullet in 270 gr..

Might be an inexpencive way to get what You want, and still have a high quality rifle

The M 70 Classics they are making now don't weigh all that much. The one I shot had a 24" barrel of medium weight.

That rifle is made in SS as well. If you do go for it check out what Win. is putting on them for stocks. If it's the injection molded one then that's junk. You will have to spring for a replacement.

I see no point in buying a DGR in a Remington.

charles daily mausers they come in 375, stainless and withor without stocks your choise or just the action and barrel it yourself Mine is improved with douglas barrel and weighs 9 lbs. fully loaded and ready to pack

Suntiet,

That is a sweet-looking rig. From what I can tell on their website, the Charles Daly stuff is in very limited supply, especially the stainless stuff, and I've found nothing really in .375 that is available right now. I'll keep checking though. And, since I finally clued into what MRC means (Montana Rifle Company), I'm considering purchasing one of their barrelled actions to go with a Boyds laminated stock.

Just weighed my Rem 700 375H&H with a H-S stock. Without bases and scope it weighs 7.6 pounds.

At Shot Show this year I seen a MRC in a stock at I want to say Lagacy International's booth. But don't quote me. The Charles Daily stuff they had in their booth looked cool too. I built mine almost two years ago got the action thru Brownells but I don't see them there any more. Good Luck

If I were going to build a working rifle, particularly something as big as a 375 H&H, I'd buy myself a Charles Daly action and the thinnest barrel I could buy or have turned down. The Daly actions are Czech made and based on the old VZ-24. According to the NRA article I read, they are your basic no frills mauser action and they're fairly inexpensive, especially if you've got a buddy who's got an FFL and will order it for you at cost. I've seen these actions for sale new for under $400. Add to that a new Lothar Walthar barrel (under $200) and a synthetic stock and a Nikon scope and you've got yourself a hell of a rifle. Not to mention one that will let you know it every time you touch it off.

Just my $.02

If you want a M-70 , pick up a used gun from the early Classic production , before they moved to North Carolina . I believe those rifles on avereage function much better than these late ones . They made the stainless version in .375 with open sights , they are not as heavy as the Express wood stocked versions . If you can't find one of those , pick up a .300 Weatherby or 7mm Shooting Times Westerner from the same production years. Those actions are .375 length ready , you would have a usable stock ; then just re-barrel with the contour of your choice .

The factory .375 s that need wheels are a pet peeve of mine also .

Yeah , that's just my opinion . But you didn't hear near the complaints about feeding , barrels screwed into the action crooked , out of alinement scope mounting holes , non-level action bridges , and the like from the earlier production .



They also didn't need (or have , to the best of my recollection) those wierd looking scoops and scallops machined into the follower . I am highly suspicious of reasons why those would be needed to make the gun feed...........

If you want a lightweight 375 that is guaranteed to work get a Blaser R 93 with the short 19 3/4" bbl.

SD,

I read those reports and they are of concern. My 2002 SS WSM was looked over by a top manufacturing engineer and he said "I like this rifle". A collector of M 70's said it's as smooth as a pre war Super Grade.

I had slicked the safety. The stock that came with it was NG.

Sweed 96 saw me shoot that rifle a couple of weeks ago. I only fired two shots at 200 yds. The rifle was sighted right on and the bullets hit very close together.

For less than a grand this is as good as it gets.

Suntiet,
Would you mind telling who did the work on that rifle for you? I love that gun!

What brand of stock is that?

Thanks in advance!

Huntr