Big bores for big boars

[aus_Rob91]

I'm currenyou looking into quality bolt action and single shot rifles for my next purchase. I have increased my appreciation for the finer things in life over the past few months, with single malt scotch and straight razor shaving and all of a sudden synthetic stocked stainless steel bolt rifles aren't doing it for me.

I live in Queensland Australia and mainly plan on hunting feral pigs, deer and goat, with the likely possibility of water buffalo in the near future and an African PG safari on the bucket list too.

It is obvious for my uses, I do not need a big bore rifle, but this purchase will be something I want purely because I want it. I have played with the CZ 550 Safari, Winchester Model 70 Safari, Sako 85 Deluxe and Bavarian and have looked online at other options too including Voere and a few other basic euro rifles.

The CZ was very hefty and the timber and magazine finish was average, the Winchester looks good but limited cal availability, the Sako are beautiful and are currently my pick, however there is something they are lacking that I can't put my finger on and only go to .375

Other options on the internet also seem to top out around .375 but this may end up being a chosen cal anyway

So, what rifle and cartridge combo would you recommend for my purposes, that fits the bill of an attractive rifle, that is middle of the range in price for factory rifles, chambered for a big bore catridge that won't break shoulders and is going to be fun medicine on those big crusty pigs?

Any input is welcome, as well as suggestions from left field.

Cheers
Rob

 

[AkMike]

There's a dandy Ruger #1 in a 577 3" NE 'down under' if you want the biggest for the baddest! I might be able to track down the owner from here if you're interested.

 

[aus_Rob91]

Mate, that definitely sounds like an impressive rifle and something to own, but I will admit that perhaps that would be a bit too much for me

I was thinking around the .416 Rigby, .450 Rigby, .450/400 level of power was about as high as I would want to go. With even lower a possibility in the .458 WM and other such lower velocity rounds. I don't have a lot of experience with these, but the older cartridges appeal to me more so than modern variants and the lower velocity cartridges appeal to me more than the turbo charged reincarnations

So .416 Rigby is up the top of my list, but it appears only CZ chamber for it in the production rifle field. Perhaps I need to sell organs and go a custom rifle?

*Edited this post to fix mistake calling up the .416 Rigby instead of .458 WM above

 

[AkMike]

I've got a 450 NE Ruger #1 and with the stock hole filled with lead bullets it's balanced better and the recoil is good. I also have a 600 NE in a Dan'l Fraser style action and with it's light weight it's a handful. BUT since these are single shots you don't need to run them full throttle all the time.
The 450 NE gets regular plinking loads with 350 grn bullets and the 600 get's gentle loads with 550 or 650 grain cast bullets. Any of these with less than full nitro loads will poke a hole and flatten a pig.

 

[peras]

Mate, that definitely sounds like an impressive rifle and something to own, but I will admit that perhaps that would be a bit too much for me

I was thinking around the .416 Rigby, .450 Rigby, .450/400 level of power was about as high as I would want to go. With even lower a possibility in the .458 WM and other such lower velocity rounds. I don't have a lot of experience with these, but the older cartridges appeal to me more so than modern variants and the lower velocity cartridges appeal to me more than the turbo charged reincarnations

So .416 Rigby is up the top of my list, but it appears only CZ chamber for it in the production rifle field. Perhaps I need to sell organs and go a custom rifle?

*Edited this post to fix mistake calling up the .416 Rigby instead of .458 WM above

Dont forget to add the .404 Jeffrey to your list,relatively low velocity and a bigger diameter than the .416.

 

[bebo]

Hello,
What's your main game ?
From big boar to water buf ... it's wide ...
I have
- 9.3x62 Mauser CZ 550 synthetic stock for big boar Scoped Hawke (Japan) 1.5-4.5x24 IR
The action must be .. polished, but it's a good tool!
- .375 H&H Winch Safari Express, superb ! (reliable, accurate .. perfect!) PG scoped Leupold VX2 3-9x40 :victory:
- .416RM Winch Safari Express (id) for the fun : scoped Leupold VX3 1.5-5x20

:thumb:Think to the .338WM or .338LM a very multipurpose ammo : (Boar & PG)

Sako is quite good they offer their 9.3x66 Sako , known as .370 Sako so : between 9.3x62 and .375 H&H but .. it's a proprietary ammo.
The Ruger ,proprietary ammo, .375 Ruger ... with their "short" rifle .. seems good ..
:tired: Not easy to choose ...

 

[colorado]

You can get a CZ with really nice walnut sometimes. They do seem a bit too big in 375 H&H, but once you go up in caliber (450 Rigby or higher) they seem just right ...

 

[Rob404]

I,ve read on CZs website that the High Caliber rifles come with Better wood,,,when I recieved my 375 American i was surprised at how nice the stock actually was

 

[BigSteve57]

I opted for the Blaser system. Interchangeable barrels, interchangeable scopes and MOA accuracy.
The straight bolt and bolt decock are great features.

Get the Blaser with a rail mounted Zeiss Victory HT scope and you may not even need to zero it.
Mine was 1 MOA off in windage but perfect in elevation at 100yds with the scope at its factory settings!
Perhaps I was lucky but I never came close to that with any other rifle.

PS: my rifle is the Blaser Kilombero in .375 H&H; Safari barrel.

 

[Norwegianwoods]

The Ruger African in 416 Ruger is a great rifle in a great cartridge at a good price.
The newer model has a removable muzzle brake system and the older model don't have one.
Ruger® Hawkeye® African Bolt-Action Rifle Model 37185

Personally I hate muzzle brakes and would either buy the older model or remove the one on the new model as soon as I got my hands on it.

 

[PaulT]

I'm currenyou looking into quality bolt action and single shot rifles for my next purchase. I have increased my appreciation for the finer things in life over the past few months, with single malt scotch and straight razor shaving and all of a sudden synthetic stocked stainless steel bolt rifles aren't doing it for me.

I live in Queensland Australia and mainly plan on hunting feral pigs, deer and goat, with the likely possibility of water buffalo in the near future and an African PG safari on the bucket list too.

It is obvious for my uses, I do not need a big bore rifle, but this purchase will be something I want purely because I want it. I have played with the CZ 550 Safari, Winchester Model 70 Safari, Sako 85 Deluxe and Bavarian and have looked online at other options too including Voere and a few other basic euro rifles.

The CZ was very hefty and the timber and magazine finish was average, the Winchester looks good but limited cal availability, the Sako are beautiful and are currently my pick, however there is something they are lacking that I can't put my finger on and only go to .375

Other options on the internet also seem to top out around .375 but this may end up being a chosen cal anyway

So, what rifle and cartridge combo would you recommend for my purposes, that fits the bill of an attractive rifle, that is middle of the range in price for factory rifles, chambered for a big bore catridge that won't break shoulders and is going to be fun medicine on those big crusty pigs?

Any input is welcome, as well as suggestions from left field.

Cheers
Rob

G'day Rob.

After having read your opening post I gather the main incentive for this next purchase is to get a rifle that will later be used on an African hunt for game animals that will be larger than your currently hunted game.

I fully endorse your intention to use it on your "every-day" hunts for deer and pigs, there is no better way to gain familiarisation with a new rifle than physically using it is much as practical.
This is also an excellent way to acclimatise oneself to an increase in recoil when up-sizing in calibers.

I've never been one to get hung-up on "overkill", and in my buffalo camp we regularily hunt and shoot game as small as wild boars with regular buffalo rifles, and have excersised the full compliment of buffalo calibers from .375 up to .50 cal for this purpose.
It gets the job done and gives hunters more "trigger-time" with their big bore rifles, something which is a valued commodity.

In my opinion I beleive you should give strong consideration towards the current release Winchester M70 Alaskan in .375 H&H.
This is a particularily well made and well balanced rifle, not too heavy nor light and built with an excellent controlled feed action.
A proper hunting platform !
Loaded for your specific purpose of hog and deer hunting loads the rifle platform itself will not hinder those pursuits and yet at the same time it will give you constant familiarisation with a rifle you can eventually hunt 90% of the World's game animals with, with a basic change in loads.

The .375 is a wonderful, versatile and effective round, easy to use, easy to reload for, accurate in most rifles and very, very handy to have chambered in a rifle such as the M70 Alaskan.

Good luck with your quest, keep us up-dated on your decision.

Cheers,

Paul.