London Made 375H&H Safari Rifle by C&H

rookhawk

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A bit of worthless trivia for you. I've hunted more animals with Cogswell & Harrison 375HH rifles than all other rifles combined. They've been my constant companion in Africa since my 2nd hunt.

Recently, a good friend on AH offered to sell me a double rifle that has a set of 375HH barrels with it, so I won't be needing this rifle any longer as a duplicate, and honestly I could use the cash to expedite payment in full for my double rifle.

This is the nicest London-made Cogswell & Harrison I've ever owned. Oh, and I've never shot it, I kept it in reserve. It is different and better than other Cogswell 375s I've had in several ways. First, it has a 25.5" barrel whereas they usually are 26". It has a recessed target crown, usually they are flat. It has full, traditional quarter rib with three folding sights, usually they are an island rear sight. Usually they have an aluminum bottom metal from Parker Hale, this one is steel with the release on the front of the guard.

The longest shot I've ever taken was with a C&H 375HH, 345 yards on a bushbuck in the Zambezi Valley. For whatever reason, they made incredibly accurate rifles at a time when accuracy wasn't a well-known virtue in the gun world. As to maintenance, the only thing I've ever had to do to them is to replace magazine follower springs at a price of $15 due to people adding +1 to the magazine and wearing them out leaving them overloaded.

For those unaware, Cogswell & Harrison is London's oldest gunmaker still in continuous operation. Most of the Cogswell & Harrison 375HH rifles were made between 1951-1953. About half were sold to Park's departments of Africa, the other half to safari travelers. This particular gun is a bit more gourmet than the guns of that era. It was clearly a special order from a client, I suspect it was made just after WW2 based upon the configuration.

What I love about Cogswell rifles: First, they are literally the only London rifle that was made extra-long so they fit modern American stock dimensions. Second, they are silky smooth actions you can count on in a panic. I'm not ripping on a CZ or other alternative pricepoint gun, but the C&H has London smoothness without the $30k pricepoint. Lastly, they are dimensionally British and come up fast for an instant shot. While most economical 375s are clunky and slow to point with bad stocks, the C&H guns are sveldt and easy to point.

Specs are:


Cogswell & Harrison

25.5” barrel
3 folding sights
cheekpiece
quarter rib
steel bottom metal
14.25” LOP with a 3/4” recoil pad (would be 14.5” with a 1” silvers pad)
Oversized traditional British sling eyes
Excellent bore
Approximately 9lbs

If you don't like it au naturale, all you need to do is have it drilled and tapped, drop some talley mounts on it, and put a 3-position safety on it and you have a long range 375HH with some class.

$5800 plus Fedex actual shipping in the lower 48 States to your FFL. (Or if you like to negotiate, $6800 negotiable, but I'll negotiate to $5800 plus shipping)

Feel free to ask questions, whether you buy or not, I obsess over Cogswell rifles and I'm happy to advise. Friends, you know I love the finer things and that I'm frugal as can be, the Cogswell & Harrison rifles are London-good like a Jaguar, but they are cost-affordable like a Chevy. You won't find a British safari rifle anywhere for less money with more quality. Happy hunting!

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I have owned exactly ONE C&H rifle. A Schonauer in 375 Express 2 1/2".
Absolutely fantastic rifle.
Unfortunately I had to sell it in an unfortunate time financially speaking..:confused:
@rookhawk you have truly great rifle made by one the only premium English gun companies left.
Good luck with the sale, someone will have a wonderful rifle.
 
How close is the serial number to the one I picked up from you last year? That one, still remains one of the most accurate hunting rifles I own.
 
How close is the serial number to the one I picked up from you last year? That one, still remains one of the most accurate hunting rifles I own.

Hello @Brod. The Cogswell & Harrison Serial number range for your 375HH and most others is in the 64000 series of guns, usually around 1951-1953. The Serial number ledger records conclude at that time. Here’s a table:

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The gun above is outside of those serial ranges. It was sold to me as a 69,000 serial number, however the book doesn’t account for 69000. It could be that it was a 59000 serial number as well because the first digit isn’t a crisp strike that is obvious? It was either 1945ish, or post 1953. Rifles by C&H with similar features tend towards an earlier era. In any case, C&H did not make 3000 guns and rifles between 1953 and today so the serial numbering is non-sequential which has happened several times in their history. The address on the barrel 168 Piccadilly was valid beginning in 1917 until the 1950s.
 
The C&H rifles are such a good value. If I didn't already have a completely perfectly fit to me BRNO 602 I would be sorely tempted. Someone needs to buy this great rifle from the Gentleman sell it.
 
C&H Rifles are indeed beautiful things. Somehow the proportions just seem to flow like fine art. My .318 is from between the wars and built on a P-17 action, but every bit as elegant and accurate.
 
Hi rookhawk,

Lovely rifle, indeed!!! Made to be used for sure! How many rounds in the magazine?
Thank you and good luck!

CF
 
Hi rookhawk,

Looking closely at the pictures, it can be seen the feed ramp is not overly shortened. So, the lenghtening of the action must have been done to the rear. Good!
 
Lets get it moved this weekend. I'll include free FedEx ground shipping to your FFL and a shipping case at my expense. Oh, and its C&R compliant so if you have a collector FFL it can go straight to your door.
 
I had someone inquire if I would ship to Alaska. Sorry, I can’t do it. It has to go air and it costs extraordinary sums. Lower 48 States only.
 
Hi rookhawk, I have recently shipped long guns to Alaska to with the USPS. Zero problems, takes about a week, costs about $100.00. Ypu can buy more insurance if you want.
 
Hi rookhawk, I have recently shipped long guns to Alaska to with the USPS. Zero problems, takes about a week, costs about $100.00. Ypu can buy more insurance if you want.

Thanks. I live in a rural area and don’t do USPS because it’s literally open 10-12 on Saturday only and they always give me hell. (And it’s a mile long line)

I’ve literally received money orders I threw away in the past and just sent the goods because it wasn’t worth two hours to get paid. :)

I only ship FedEx because I’m legally allowed to do so with my collector’s license, they come to my door, and never give me gruff. Unfortunately, they charge a fortune to send to Alaska and Hawaii so I have to decline requests to ship items there. Just the other day I looked into it and it was $300+ to send a small box. (Everything goes air)
 
Hey, whatever works for you. I get the logistics.

Honestly, I just feel bad treating AHers that are fellow American citizens in Alaska like second class citizens.

Several times I had things I needed to send to the late Cal Pappas and I could never oblige due to the freight exceeding the worth of the item. It kinda sucks to shirk an American for these reasons.

All the best. Appreciate the suggestions. I’m moving this to guns international at $7400 plus shipping in the next 48 hours. I just wanted to give AHers first look at a lower price so it gets used on safari.
 

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