Best US made Africa Rifle

I like the Winchester model 70, but
I would also look at the Weatherby dangerous game rifle. Has open sights, removable brake, 54 degree bolt lift. Available in .375 H&H

Major Khan said:

My personal preference goes for the " Rifle Man's Rifle " - A Winchester Model 70 Safari Express , chambered in .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre ... With a bull barrel and a super grade stock .Old school American craftsmanship at it's finest , great values for the money ... And as reliable as a faithful spouse . What is there ... Not to like ?

Among bespoke makers ... I am partial to the works of Griffin & Howe .There also used to be another extremely popular bespoke rifle maker in the 1960s ... Who built several of the the custom bolt rifles brought by my American clients to India , for shikar . His name was Fred Wells . He even manufactured his own magnum length Mauser 98 actions ... Although , he preferred using the Enfield Model 1917 action the most .

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exactly as the Major says- esp a 1949 -1951 heavy barrel like the ones Harry Manners used to hunt 1000 odd Elephants in his career as a professional Ivory hunter in Mozambique.

John Telford said:

exactly as the Major says- esp a 1949 -1951 heavy barrel like the ones Harry Manners used to hunt 1000 odd Elephants in his career as a professional Ivory hunter in Mozambique.

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You read that book , as well ... Mr. Telford ? I absolutely love " Kambaku " ( Although I felt really sad upon reading about Carmen's death ) .
Mr. Manners actually used 4 pre 64 Winchester Model 70 bolt rifles , chambered in .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre ... through out his career . Only the very 1st 1 ( a pre World War 2 variant ) had a " Bull Barrel " . He later donated this rifle to his assistant , Chisulo . The other 3 rifles all had standard barrels .

Harry Manners and Wally Johnson are 2 of the only African White Hunters ... who relied exclusively upon the .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre ( namely pre 64 Winchester Model 70 bolt rifles ) ... Even for guiding clients on safaris for hunting African elephants . This was because they were both former ivory hunters ... Who were accustomed to aiming for the vital organs of an African elephant with pin point accuracy .
Harry preferred brain shots . Wally preferred heart shots .
A lot of times , they needed up to 5 cartridges to drop a single bull elephant . And Wally eventually got gored by a client's wounded Cape buffalo which his .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre 300 grain ICI Kynoch solid metal covered bullets had failed to stop . But generally ... They were extremely successful .

375Fox said:

I really like the Winchester model 70, but they are actually made in Portugal now.
http://www.winchesterguns.com/support/faq/where-are-winchester-firearms-manufactured.html

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This is so sad , 375Fox . They used to be made in New Haven , America ... During our time .

Dakota 76

or Kimber Caprivi

CZ given a good rework by Wayne at AHR would also be on my list. And not much wrong with the Model 70 either, especially the feel of a pre-64 model.

Dakota Model 76, if we are talking factory rifles.

Major Khan said:

This is so sad , 375Fox . They used to be made in New Haven , America ... During our time .

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I think so too. From what that says no Winchester is currently made in the United States. Winchester Mod 70s were made in Connecticut then moved to South Carolina and now apparently Portugal. Still great rifles though.

Just "best US made" Africa rifle? No qualifier?
Full custom, or very limited series, rifles built on Granite Mountain actions.

Best US made factory Africa rifle?
Factory rifles built on Winchester 70 action or one of its clones (Dakota 76, Kimber Caprivi, Win 70 Safari Express).

Best US made rifles built on foreign action?
Full custom rifles built on magnum Mauser 98 or highly tuned CZ 550 actions.

Honorable mention...
If the Montana Rifle Co PH action survives Chap 11 restructuring, it would be - in my opinion - superior to all other Win 70 action clones because it includes scope mounting dovetails in double square bridges. This eliminates the issue to scope bases often shaking loose after 100 rounds or so in .40+ DG calibers.



Yes, it is a cast action, and traditionally forged actions are more desirable, but there seems to be enough evidence that modern cast actions are strong enough...

PS: the current Win 70 is assembled in Portugal, but I seem to remember reading somewhere that the action is machined in the US (?) Can anyone confirm based on facts?

American made as in here in the USA is pretty limited now, but in 375 H&H I’ll have to go with Kimbers in either the stainless/synthetic Talkeetna (great for Alaska! IMO) or Kimber Caprivi as mentioned by others. Sadly Winchester’s aren’t made here, but my experience with a couple of Portugal manufactured ones has been very positive.
My MRC has been a very good Winchester clone, but again they are no longer in business.
Personally I haven’t been able to get a warm fuzzy from Rugers.

Best of luck finding what you’re looking for!

One Day... said:

PS: the current Win 70 is assembled in Portugal, but I seem to remember reading somewhere that the action is machined in the US (?) Can anyone confirm based on facts?

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My 416Rem M70 has „Made in USA assembled in Portugal” stamped on the barrel.

Opposite Pole said:

My 416Rem M70 has „Made in USA assembled in Portugal” stamped on the barrel.

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What year is the rifle from? I wonder if they weren’t using up their remaining stock of barrels? Their website says made and assembled in Portugal.

Major Khan said:

This is so sad , 375Fox . They used to be made in New Haven , America ... During our time .

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I concur Major Khan. It is sad, no matter how their corporate players want to spin it.

I am completely befuddled by how anyone could describe the Win Model 70 as the "Best US Made African Rifle". It is literally the intro model. It's like the Honda Accord winning car of the year every year but we all KNOW its not the best car.

Win 70 may be the best you can afford, the best you have shot / handled, or the best you can think of but it is not even close to what I would think of as a "US Best" gun.

Admittedly "best' is open to wide interpretation but I would say a good qualifier is "if someone were to offer you one of these for free, would you take X or M70" . . . I could think of a ton of X in front of a Win 70.

What about custom jobs by people like John Bolliger of Mountain Riflery or David Miller or semi customs like Kilimanjaro Rifles?

Here’s one of Mr. Bolliger’s gorgeous creations in 416 Rigby

AES said:

I am completely befuddled by how anyone could describe the Win Model 70 as the "Best US Made African Rifle". It is literally the intro model. It's like the Honda Accord winning car of the year every year but we all KNOW its not the best car.

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A very fair argument . But is not the word " Best " subject to personal interpretation , Mr. AES ?

And yes . They are not flawless if that is what you mean . The pre 64 Winchester Model 70 bolt rifles had their flaws to be sure . The stocks were prone to splitting , due to the lack of a 2nd recoil lug . They needed to be reinforced with cross bolts .Many of them would not feed soft point round nose cartridges flawlessly ... Unless the operator took a file to the feeding rails . The stocks would need to be re bedded with fibre glass from auto body shops .

Fellow forum member , @Captain Nwz recently purchased a brand new .458 Winchester magnum calibre Safari Express bolt rifle ... Which has a ridiculous amount of bolt play in it .
He was having to bring the rifle down to his hip ... every time that he wanted to cycle the bolt . If he tried to cycle the bolt , while keeping the rifle raised to his shoulder ... Then , the bolt was " Locking Up " . This could potentially lead to an extremely disconcerting outcome , in contexts where dangerous game is involved .

Yet , I still like them . I firmly believe that hunting is not something , which should be restricted to elitists ... But rather some thing which the ordinary working class gentle man can afford . A hunter can purchase a great control round feed action rifle for not a great deal of money , have a few modifications made to it and then .... he has a rifle which will provide him with years of hard service in the bush . To me ... That is " Best " .

Of course , as I 1st noted ... " Best " is a matter of what each hunter interprets the definition of " Best " to be .

Ruger RSM 375 H&H BEST VALUE FOR THE MONEY.
(Factory but CUSTOME GRADE) . ALSO HAS HEAVY BARREL WITH BARREL BAND.
The quarter rib alone is a selling point. Also CRF.

375Fox said:

What year is the rifle from? I wonder if they weren’t using up their remaining stock of barrels? Their website says made and assembled in Portugal.

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2014, purchased in Europe.

Someone who has all the gritty details may be able to clarify, but with regard to "American made" it's true that current Model 70 Winchesters are not actually made in America. However, they are made to the same design as the pre-1964 CRF models. I think the actions are machined in Belgium by Fabrique National (sp?) (parent company of both Browning and Winchester) and then the rifle is assembled in Portugal.
It's a global economy. Toyota pickups are made in San Antonio. BMW SUV's are made in Alabama, I think. A lot of Ford and Chevy vehicles are composed of system assemblies made in Mexico and other countries.
I've posted before about comparing my American made pre-1964 Model 70 30-06 to my current Model 70 300 winmag assembled in Portugal. There is no discernable difference, except that the current model has a better trigger. It's still the Rifleman's Rifle. Kimber and Dakota are custom versions of the Model 70.

Speaking of Kimbers, can anyone confirm that Caprivi is no longer made in chamberings above 375H&H?

AES said:

I am completely befuddled by how anyone could describe the Win Model 70 as the "Best US Made African Rifle". It is literally the intro model. It's like the Honda Accord winning car of the year every year but we all KNOW its not the best car.

Win 70 may be the best you can afford, the best you have shot / handled, or the best you can think of but it is not even close to what I would think of as a "US Best" gun.

Admittedly "best' is open to wide interpretation but I would say a good qualifier is "if someone were to offer you one of these for free, would you take X or M70" . . . I could think of a ton of X in front of a Win 70.

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I will admit I'd take a Bailey Bradshaw under those circumstances.