Norwegian big game rookie - 3500 dollars to spend on a rifle!

Hello from Norway everyone!

I too dream to see the elephant, and smell the smoke of africa! Thus I need a tool for the job! This is a bit further down the pipeline, yet I would like to buy a rifle quite a bit in advance and get to know it, its shooting characteristics etc.

Now, I AM on a budget. Additionally, Im left-handed. So the selection of available left-hand rifles are close to zero...
Here in Norway the amount of rifles found in scandinavia and germany/france combined is in the two digits, whereas you would be lucky to find a single left-handed weapon..so I am forced to look the the US.
At the gunsinternational site I found one within my budget who seems decent.

J. P. Smithson Custom Rifle Left Handed .416 Rem. Mag. - Left Hand Rifles

Caliber seems adequate, left-hand, nice bolt-action... however, Im not familiar with the "This rifle was built on a Harris Gunworks action".
Seeing as the weapon is quite alot cheaper than other smithson rifles, is this a inferior action? Or is this rifle simply "modified" a bit by smithson?

I would still need it exported from the U.S to Norway with a 24% import tax and some export taxes probably in the region of 500-800 dollars, hence my budget...

Thanks in advance for any advice and reflections on this rifle!

Regards,
Axel Nikolai

Norway

Axel,

Wow, that 5 - 800 bucks for import fee seems a little steep but you may be in luck and have clearly come to the right place, I can save you some real money here.

There is this guy in Washington DC, please don't use my name, that just loves foreign nationals. I bet if you gave him a jingle he might be able to "walk" one around those nasty custom and import officials.

Name is Eric Holder, don't have his number (but I am afraid he has mine) . Works at the Department of Justice, they're in the book.

Good Luck

wow, thanks a bunch! I will definately get in touch with him! Yeah, its a papermill getting things sorted, and everyone is getting paid!

Another question: Is there any room for haggling over the price at Cabelas? If so, how much could you realistically hope for?
Being Left-hand could possibly make them a bit more eager to get it off the shelf?

The rifle is obviously worth the asking price, doesnt hurt leaving a bid does it.

Axel

Yes you can dicker with Cabela's on the price at the Utah store.

Always ask to speak to the manager of the gun library, he has the final say and some wiggle room.

As a beginner, on a budget, why spend that much on a rifle? Why not buy a used CZ or other quality gun and put the rest of the budget on a plains game trip? Just wondering......

Originally Posted by James.Grage

Axel

Yes you can dicker with Cabela's on the price at the Utah store.

Always ask to speak to the manager of the gun library, he has the final say and some wiggle room.

Good to know. I assumed they were like the other mega-stores, take it or leave it.

well, as my dad use to say: "buy cheap, buy twice"

On a serious note, that has been considered also. However I must admit I like this rifle. Additionally, with the export,tax and handling it is never going to be dirt cheap anyway. It would be a bit pointless to buy a 1000 dollar rifle and spend the same on shipping handling and taxes+export fees. Might as well find something a bit more expensive while Im at it. Not the most rational of opinions I know, but then not everything is I guess..

Buy a Blaser R-8 Professional in .375 H&H. Special order one WITHOUT the detachable trigger/magazine. You can either order it left handed, or the dealer can switch the right handed bolt to a left handed bolt in his shop in less than 2 minutes. Get a good rail mount scope with the Blaser detachable saddle mount, so you can quickly switch to open sights if you need them. When you put the scope back on (takes a minute), it will return exactly to zero with no problem. Blasers are made in Germany and are readily available in Europe. Without the mount and scope, they cost about $3K U.S..

I would avoid buying a used rifle without having the chance to personally examine it first. Especially so if the rifle is thousands of miles away. You won't be disappointed with your Blaser and you can add additional barrels/calibers without any gunsmithing as the need arises.

I already have a Blaser R93 so an R8 would be too similar.

Alas, there is a small update here. I decided to go down in caliber and instead go for a plains game rifle.

The choice landed on a Rigby-style Sporter rifle in the venerable caliber .275 Rigby. The rifle is without a scope, instead it will be fitted with a Ghost sight.

The manufacturer is named Dorleac & Dorleac and is situated in france. It was a bit more expensive than anticipated but hopefully it will be worth it. Estimated time of delivery December 2013

username, check gunbroker.com, some of the guys on there ship internationally. Good luck and keep us posted on your future hunt.

Originally Posted by .416 Rigby

Buy a Blaser R-8 Professional in .375 H&H. Special order one WITHOUT the detachable trigger/magazine. You can either order it left handed, or the dealer can switch the right handed bolt to a left handed bolt in his shop in less than 2 minutes. Get a good rail mount scope with the Blaser detachable saddle mount, so you can quickly switch to open sights if you need them. When you put the scope back on (takes a minute), it will return exactly to zero with no problem. Blasers are made in Germany and are readily available in Europe. Without the mount and scope, they cost about $3K U.S..

I would avoid buying a used rifle without having the chance to personally examine it first. Especially so if the rifle is thousands of miles away. You won't be disappointed with your Blaser and you can add additional barrels/calibers without any gunsmithing as the need arises.

Totally agree, I have a R93 with 375 HH, works like a charm. The great thing is that you can start with one piece, then add another one etc... A bit like a lego, as your budget increases.
With the new R( on the market, you can expect to find second-hand R93 at very good price. Only difference with R8 is that they do not have a charger (but hold 4 shots).. and if the game is not down after four shots....

why not go smack in the middle and get the best of both worlds? Buy a .375! It can then do both jobs very well! There are many many .375's around!

Originally Posted by username

The rifle is without a scope, instead it will be fitted with a Ghost sight.

..not quite sure I follow you here. Why have a ghost sight fitted on a PG rifle..?

And why not? Would be quite fun below 100 yards I reckon? :P

Originally Posted by username

And why not? Would be quite fun below 100 yards I reckon? :P

you are limiting yourself seriously by not being able to use a scope. i love using iron sights , but on something like a .275 you should give yourself the option , so have express iron sights with a quick detachable scope. you will find that, for example an impala kill zone at 80yds becomes a very small target with iron sights, regardless of type. the front sight will be bigger than the area you are trying to aim at. i am not saying you cant do it, but you need to be very experienced with the rifle and the target areas of the animals you are hunting. as you say you are a rookie so why limit yourself, and its also not much fun when you wound an animal and then have to find it. you will be surprised at how far even an impala can go with a bullet in the guts or on 3 legs.

I agree with Spike set the gun up for a scope if hunting PG you will find that most spot and stalk shots are over a hunderd yards and if going for a Vaal Rhebok plan on over 300 yards you may get lucky and they'll all be waiting at the gate for you but I wouldn't count on it. on my safari in 2010 3 of my animals were within 75 yards the other 6 animals ranged from 150 out to 320 yards, why limit yourself?

I totally agree with the others. I don't see the point of putting a ghost sight on a 275 Rigby for PG.
You limit yourself a lot, both when it comes to shooting distance and having problems to shoot in low light conditions.

But if that is your thing, then why not

I limit myself by hunting with a bow
When I hunt with a gun, I like to have the advantage of a good scope.