Cogswell and Harrison bolt action rifle

[Quaticman]

I came across this Cogswell and Harrison rifle for sale at my local gun store. It is chambered in .375 H and H magnum, has a Mauser action with a 26" barrel and express sights. I am not very familiar with this manufacturer so any information you could provide would be very much appreciated.

 

[Tom Leoni]

Cogswell & Harrison was one of the most respected "second tier" makers. Essentially, you'd be getting a perfectly good English Mauser without paying the premium for a name like Rigby, Westley Richards or H&H. Jump on it.

 

[thi9elsp]

Price? Many on here would know the range depending on quality. Any additional photos?

 

[Quaticman]

Here are a few more pics. They are asking CDN$3,995.00.

 

[rdog]

I am far from an expert, if the barrel& bolt face are good i think it not a bad deal for a classic rifle

 

[Hunter-Habib]

These rifles were made until 1952. Generally good rifles. But the “light alloy” (in reality, a cheap aluminum) magazine is something which I don’t like. I used the .404 Jeffery variant (loaded with RWS 400 Gr round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solids) to hunt a hippo (on land) in Tanzania (photo can be seen on my “media” page), although the thin steel jackets of the RWS FMJ solids ruptured all too quickly and severely impacted penetration.

Please check the interior magazine walls prior to purchasing these rifles. I have seen more than one example which had visible dents on the interiors of the magazine walls. This would be caused by the noses of FMJ solid rounds repeatedly hitting against the aluminum magazine wall during recoil.

 

[Sika98k]

View attachment 448789View attachment 448790

These rifles were made until 1952. Generally good rifles. But the “light alloy” (in reality, a cheap aluminum) magazine is something which I don’t like. I used the .404 Jeffery variant (loaded with RWS 400 Gr round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solids) to hunt a hippo (on land) in Tanzania (photo can be seen on my “media” page), although the thin steel jackets of the RWS FMJ solids ruptured all too quickly and severely impacted penetration.

Please check the interior magazine walls prior to purchasing these rifles. I have seen more than one example which had visible dents on the interiors of the magazine walls. This would be caused by the noses of FMJ solid rounds repeatedly hitting against the aluminum magazine wall during recoil.

Prior to going to Namibia some (6) year’s ago the PH specifically asked us not to bring RWS ammunition. They had had bad experiences with clients using it. Admittedly some shots can be attributed to “ the mutt behind the butt” but they didn’t like its performance. Sako or Norma was the best in their opinion.

 

[sierraone]

This rifle has a great reputation and history. Am not expert enough though to know if the rifle is worth the price...but I suspect it is. How much in U.S. is $4000 Canadian?

Just checked and it's $3175 U.S. I say buy it if you want it.

 

[Flipper Dude]

Got $3995 Canadian? Like the rifle? Buy it. It’s a classic.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Prior to going to Namibia some (6) year’s ago the PH specifically asked us not to bring RWS ammunition. They had had bad experiences with clients using it. Admittedly some shots can be attributed to “ the mutt behind the butt” but they didn’t like its performance. Sako or Norma was the best in their opinion.

And they are smart guys, whose opinion has been formed by field experience. Those .404 Jeffery round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solids made by RWS used very flimsy jackets. Finally, in 1993… RWS finally gave up using their own bullets and made a few batches of .404 Jeffery ammunition by loading them with the excellent Woodleigh round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solids. But these were discontinued by 1996.

 

[318AE]

That’s a great looking rifle. It’s a little odd to me that the front sling swivel is on the stock and not on a barrel band, but that wouldn’t distract me from a purchasing and enjoying it. I’d be tempted to install an orange/silvers recoil pad, but that’s just me…

Do you have a picture of the bottom metal and the screw in front of the magazine floor plate? The back of the tang almost looks like a H&H style take down, but it’s difficult to see from the photo.

 

[Jeffrey]

Killed my first cape buff with a Cogswell & Harrison 404 with 400grn RWS solids of unknown composition. Did OK, but wish i had had AFrames on hand.

 

[rookhawk]

My most accurate rifle is my 1951-1953 era C&H .375HH Mauser. Longest shot I’ve ever taken was with that rifle. 345 yards off sticks on a bushbuck.

They are wonderful rifles. Adding a Griffin & Howe scope mount is about the only way to prevent obstructing the iron sights. Also a 3-position safety is in order. About $1600 to get that sorted out and you have a world-class safari rifle with a long length of pull at that.

Buy it.

 

[sierraone]

@Quaticman ...You have @rookhawk 's blessing. That is all you need on a rifle such as this.

 

[rookhawk]

Here’s my 375HH Cogswell & Harrison. The finish on these guns can be fairly poor but the grain quality of the wood can be quite good. A proper english finish applied or added to can make the grain really pop. This gun has been with me to Africa at least half a dozen times. Scope mount and 3-pos safety done by G&H.

@Red Leg has owned a few of these guns too without any negative feedback I can recall.

About a month ago I put a C&H 375HH for sale in Canada in the “Good Gun Deals This Week” thread, it may be the same gun you’re after right now.

The gun at the top of this post has an upgraded feature most do not, a quarter rib. It also has the odd feature of the front sling swivel stud located on the stock rather than the barrel. While odd, I’ve seen a couple C&H rifles done up this way.