Do you have your ideal rifle or are you still looking for it?

[Green Chile]

For the sake of this discussion, I will focus on a practical working African rifle in .375 caliber. I've got a great .300 win mag for PG that is my Blaser R8. It's killed a lot of stuff and I'm very comfortable with it. It needs no changes at all. I've got bigger calibers than .416 for DG but I've really settled on my Dakota African model in 416 Rigby. It too has killed a lot of DG. Between me and the previous owner it has several rounds of Big 5 accounted for. It really is perfect and needs nothing. Here it is...

The thing that stirs me up is that I've owned and sold at least 2 perfect 375s...past tense. I still have an older Sako 375 and a 375 barrel for my Blaser R8 but I just don't think they are everything I'm looking for. They are great mechanically and I can't even hold the accuracy of the R8 barrels in the field...but I still miss what I think were the ideal working 375 rifles that I used to have. One was a Champlin Arms custom build and the other was actually sold to another forum member and is being used in Africa...a custom Zkk-602 in .375 that is pictured here on what was a perfect one gun safari a few years ago...

How many of you have that rifle that really covers you well or are you still looking? It feels like I'm still looking for the perfect .375 and remembering fondly the TWO that I sold and are being enjoyed by others. By the way, I've got the perfect scopes for the .375 but that's another subject!

 

[Rare Breed]

Interesting. I have owned two 375’s but sold both just not satisfied with them

 

[Green Chile]

The 375 is a favorite for me as it's really the best answer for a one gun safari that includes DG and PG. Yes, the 416 can cover it but it's a bigger hammer, whereas the 375 is about perfect.

 

[Papabear55]

I've owned and sold a few 375s over the years myself and every time I sell one I regret it. I currently have what I think may be the best one ive owned and im planning to hold onto it.
Its one of the win mod 70 stainless classics that I threw a McMillan stock on.
Its a little more picky with ammo than the other 375s I owned (all mod 70s) but sufficiently accurate to hunt with. My only point of contention with it currently is the scope I have on it and trying to decide if I should leave the barrel stock length or cut it to 20". So far it has only accounted for one elk since ive owned it.

This rifle is for all intents and purposes, my ideal do all rifle, I can think of others better suited to specific tasks but this is and will be my jack of all trades.
Next on that list would be my 50 alaskan but thats only because I adore how well a good lever action handles

 

[Green Chile]

Photo of your 375 stainless?

 

[Russ16]

I have what you describe. A Model 70 Safari Express that shoots frat and fits me.

But I don’t have my “ideal rifle” for me that’s a laser fast small bore. Probably a 220 Swift for nostalgia. I’m fascinated by such gins for some reason.

DG rifles are cool and I love them but they aren’t what I dream of when I think of an ideal rifle.

 

[mdwest]

I came full circle…

Started with a Win 70 375 H&H… transitioned to a 416 for a while .. toyed with a 458….

And now my DG rifle is a Win 70 375 H&H again..

It just works for me.. it feels right in the hands.. shoots straight.. recoil is easily managed… and I’m a buffalo guy, not an ele guy.. so it’s just about perfect medicine with a 300gr TSX… which also makes it versatile.. it’s also my primary PG gun that can serve me for everything between dik dik and eland…

Mine is also a classic stainless… I ditched the original stock and dropped it into a Bell and Carlson with a longer LOP, installed a Timney trigger, and topped it with a zeiss optic…

It’s about as ideal of an Africa rifle as I’m ever going to own I believe (although I have to admit I am jealous as hell of my wife’s double lol)..,

 

[RR 314]

I have a couple perfect (to me) .375s, but also the same in larger chamberings. I certainly hope I am done buying, but I still seem vulnerable to looking at nice rifles.

 

[Papabear55]

Photo of your 375 stainless?

My internet apparently doesnt like uploading photos today

 

[mdwest]

I have a couple perfect (to me) .375s, but also the same in larger chamberings. I certainly hope I am done buying, but I still seem vulnerable to looking at nice rifles.

Every time I tell myself I’m done… I come up with a new application and discover I have a void…

There was a great deal on a 22-250 recently… I didnt own any 22 center fires other than a handful of .223/5.56 AR’s…

I realized if I ever go prairie dog hunting that out of the 60 odd long guns that are owned between me and the wife, that we don’t have a single appropriate rifle in a proper chambering…

So I bought the 22-250..

Mind you that in 56 years I’ve never hunted p-dogs… and I have no future plans to hunt them…

But by God I’m prepared now! lol..,

I did the same thing with a shotgun a few months ago…

I’ve got a safe full of 12 and 20 ga options… but I had recently been on a dove hunt where the guy next to me was shooting a wonderful little 28 ga… so I decided my 20ga was no longer adequate… and went on the search for a nice 28…

I didn’t find one that day… but did come across a great deal on a 16ga sxs… and thought to myself “that would be a perfect pheasant gun! I don’t own a 16ga!”

So I bought it…

Been killing pheasant all my life without ever owning a 16ga before… but by God now I’ve got a 16ga pheasant gun lol..

 

[RR 314]

Every time I tell myself I’m done… I come up with a new application and discover I have a void…

There was a great deal on a 22-250 recently… I didnt own any 22 center fires other than a handful of .223/5.56 AR’s…

I realized if I ever go prairie dog hunting that out of the 60 odd long guns that are owned between me and the wife, that we don’t have a single appropriate rifle in a proper chambering…

So I bought the 22-250..

Mind you that in 56 years I’ve never hunted p-dogs… and I have no future plans to hunt them…

But by God I’m prepared now! lol..,

I did the same thing with a shotgun a few months ago…

I’ve got a safe full of 12 and 20 ga options… but I had recently been on a dove hunt where the guy next to me was shooting a wonderful little 28 ga… so I decided my 20ga was no longer adequate… and went on the search for a nice 28…

I didn’t find one that day… but did come across a great deal on a 16ga sxs… and thought to myself “that would be a perfect pheasant gun! I don’t own a 16ga!”

So I bought it…

Been killing pheasant all my life without ever owning a 16ga before… but by God now I’ve got a 16ga pheasant gun lol..

Yes sir. I commonly vow to be done. . . and am then at my FFL picking up a rifle. I need to work on my selling skills as I have buying mastered. .

 

[RR 314]

See if this works. Here is a .375 that fits the category for me. . .

R

Thread 'Near perfection in a .375 H&H?'

Aug 17, 2025

Well, @Red Leg will hate the leather covered pad , but to me the rifle is near perfection. Produced by Asprey, by the likes of Mark Sullivan, Colin Orchard and Stephane Dupille (formerly of H&H) and Mick Kelly (formerly of Purdey). My photography skills are admittedly poor, but the craftsmanship is spectacular. For an interesting twist, they built the few magnum bolt rifles produced on an action sourced from the US. Very un~English. . Standard offerings were generally on Mauser or Mannlicher actions.

Stock is beautifully done and inletting is as nice as one can imagine. Same...

• RR 314
• Replies: 33
• Forum: Firearms & ammunition

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[Aiden204]

I do indeed have my absolutely perfect plains game/deer & moose rifle. Its a Lefty Heym SR20N in 300 Win Mag. As a lefty its nice having a left handed rifle & its absolutely beautiful. I can confidently say ill have it until I die. the SR20 (Havent tried the SR21) is a very smooth rifle and mine shoots sub MOA

the best part is I found it on a used rack with a 900 dollar leupold and claw mounts for 950 USD. the deal of a lifetime.

 

[Sabre]

I have long been on the search for the "perfect gun" but not in large bore or DG category.

For me I don't think they make it yet.

So much of it comes down to how it fits the individual and also each gun. A certain gun can look perfect on paper, have all the right features, have a great reputation for accuracy. And then it doesn't fit you well. Or, despite a great reputation, the one you got might not shoot as well as the reputation or as well as other guns you have.

I have found many guns that work very well and I wouldn't trade them. But, if I could find the "perfect gun" they would all probably get a lot less use.

 

[BryceM]

For North America, yes. I had a remarkable fellow build me a .300 Win Mag on a Stainless Rem 700 action with a 21" threaded barrel. It is married to an Ultra 5 ThunderBeast supressor and a nice Leupold Scope. McMillan Stock. Jewel trigger. It is a tremendous shooter and it is the first rifle I've absolutely trusted to put bullets exactly where I tell them to go.

The only reason that it isn't a great PG rifle is that a 21" barrel makes zero sense without the suppressor and travelling abroad with those things introduces a few new problems.

For DG........ no, probably not yet. I'm currently using a CZ550 in .416 Rigby which IMO is at a sweet spot in the "value for dollar spent" department. I like everything about it, except one thing. If I fill it up, the first round off the magazine is tough to feed and the action gouges the case wall a little bit. I'm sure a good gunsmith could clean this up, but for now, it's "good enough." As long as I remember to carry it 3 down and 1 up, there's no problem. Some sort of rifle upgrade here would be welcome, but it's pretty hard to find something that is definitively better than the CZ.

Lately I've been playing with an old Browning Safari rifle in .375 H&H. What a fun rifle to shoot! There's a good possibility it will come with me to Africa someday.

I kinda sorta think I'd like a double, but not because I really need one. I certainly can't afford the one I'd really want, and I there's no way on earth I'd use it enough to justify having it.......

 

[DLSJR]

My newest rifle is that perfect .375 H&H we’re discussing here. I was looking for a good pre-64 model 70 in .375 but not finding one. One day I got a call from the fellow who loads my ammo and builds damn accurate rifles. He found a deal on a pre-64 custom in 7mm STW, and other than the barrel it was everything I was looking for. 1940’s era model 70 express action designed for 375 H&H, Brown Precision fiberglass stock, Timney trigger, all components I prefer. So we bought it, put a 24” Shilen Stainless Select Match barrel on it, chambered in 375 H&H, Talley Rings/bases, and topped it with a Leupold VX5HD in 2-10x with a Firedot/CDS reticle. Without ammo, it weighs 8.9 pounds, handles very well and is very pleasant to shoot. The first load we tried, 70.0 grains of Reloader 15, Federal 215 primer and 300 grain TSX shot 3/4” groups so we’ve never tried any other load.

The first hunt I used it on was in Cameroon, and the first animal I shot with it was the Lord Derby in my avatar. Alan Vincent immediately fell in love with this rifle and told me that if I ever decide to part with it, he wants it. I do have a problem with it though; everyone wants to use it so I have been lending it to friends for their buffalo instead of me using it. My son wants to use it instead of his 375 and when I go to C9 in September a good friend will be using it while I use my 416 (I do like the reaction of buffalo hit with 400 grain bullets). I don’t know who’s going to get it when I can no longer hunt but I do know my son and Alan will be debating the topic.

It never has that cartridge sleeve on it anymore.

 

[coreydb]

I'm still looking for my rifle. Not because I don't have what I need, it's just a matter of want. I have an alligator mouth and a hummingbird a** when it comes to hunting rifles and shotguns.

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

I have my perfect combo for Africa and take both every trip. 375HH is a CZ 550 that Wayne AHR did work on and also a CZ in 458 Lott he did work on. Those are my go to big bores. Have taken many animals with both.

 

[KJE81]

I took delivery of a custom Mauser M98 in .375 H&H rifle in april which is now my go to rifle for domestic big game hunting here in Sweden but it has yet to see Africa.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I made my first and last venture into big bore ownership two years ago when I built my 404 Jeffery on a 98 Mauser. One is enough. Similarly, I have one plains game/deer rifle, the Springfield 03-A3 my dad sporterized for me sixty years ago. I may build another rifle but simply for the enjoyment of accomplishing the project. If I do, it will be sold when completed. I'm not acquiring any more guns.