Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Queston about Browning rifle in 458 Win

I have a chance to buy a Browning rifle in 458 Win, the seller is about 800 km north of my place so I have only seen a picture of it so far. It looks to be in good condition and from what I can tell from the picture it looks just like my mauser actioned High Power in 30-06. (I've requested more pictures from the seller) It is definitely not an A-bolt and I had drawn the conclusion that it was a High Power with the FN Supreme mauser action but when I asked the seller about it he said it was not CRF and that to his knowledge the CRF actions were the ones made by Sako for Browning which is the opposite of what I had thought but I could be wrong of course. My question is what actions has Browning offered in the 458 Win mag, what would you think this rifle is? If I get the serial # off the rifle will that tell me anything? Thanks in advance.
Matt

I don't know much about Browning rifles, the only advice I can offer is to check for the salt cured stocks. I don't know what time frame these were in (late 60's to early 70's? maybe). That would be my one concern with the rifle.

I know about the salt cured stock thing and for all the talk about it I've never actually seen one that had that problem. Thanks though

I guess another way to ask this is does anyone know if there are any factory Browning bolt action rifles in 458 Win that aren't the mauser actioned FN's.

I cannot answer your question completely, but I have a 1972 Safari Grade .375H&H on a Mauser action and it is push feed.

Mine feeds like silk and is very accurate. Mine is a salt wood, but only had a couple of spots, that were not bad.

I have a Browning Safari in 375 H&H made in 1968. It has an F.N. Mauser receiver with what Browning called the "New Magnum" bolt. The bolt is push feed like a Remington but has a Sako type extractor. Browning Safaris were made from 1959 to around 1984. All early bolts were controlled feed with Mauser extractors. The "New Magnum" bolt came obviously by 1968. Non-magnum long actions kept the Mauser extractor. I believe all the 458's were Mausers, and the only Sakos were short(222 family) and medium(308 family) actions. Based on year made you could get a magnum in a Mauser receiver with either controlled or push feed. By the way the salt-cured stock problem is very real (personal experience and word of the trusted). These stocks were seen 1966-1972 and affected 90% of stocks from 1966-1969. Serial numbers begin with one or two numbers before a letter (1966-6, 1967-7, 1968-8 or 68, 1969-69, 1970-70, 1971-71, 1972-72). Beware.

This is great information. I hadn't realized there had been both controlled and push feed mauser actions used. My 30-06 was a controlled feed and I suppose if it is just a different bolt the push feed would look the same. I don't doubt that the salt wood stock problem is real and it is something I watch out for in Brownings of that vintage but I've never seen one that actually had it. smy1: that's what I thought about the Sako actions too. sactoller: nice gun. Thanks all for the information

There were both CRF's and pushfeeds made for Browning. I'm not really up on this but I do know that FN built a Mauser actioned rifle for Browning up to at least the late 60s. Then I think Sako built a pushfeed for Browning.

It may be useful to get the serial number from the seller and check it on this link http://proofhouse.com/browning/index.html

This will allow you to zero in the origin of the rifle a little better. I think the "salt" Brownings were made from 68 to 75.

The poster here who goes by "WheelchairBandit" seems to be pretty knowledgeable about the older Browning as well and might be able to help you further identify the rifle.

I have owned many of the Browning Safari grade rifles and the belted magnums lost the Mauser claw extractor somewhere around 1965. I have a 458 and a 375 made in 63 and 64 that have the long extractor. I presume that this change was made to give smooth(er) feeding with the belted cases. The non belted were always Mauser type extractors. I don't think Browning ever marketed a Sako long action magnum rifle, they were all FN Mauser actions after 1960 through 1974. Salt wood, I believe, is from 1967 to 1974. I have a pair of Sako rifles of the 1950's, before their L61 action, that are made in the H&H calibers on FN Mauser Deluxe actions, not the Supreme, they have a single throw Mauser left side safety and trigger, as did commercial FN rifles of the early fifties. And as has been stated the 308 and 222 length guns were Sako actions, L57's and L461's.

I think the Browning Safari rifles are among the finest ever made, I do prefer the claw extractor though I have seen no problems with either. I would like to point out that the tang safety is a three position safety as most do not know that. The middle position locks the trigger but releases the bolt to cycle. This safety is not one of my favorites but the trigger is excellent. Simple, rugged and reliable.

Thanks for all the information guys