A couple years ago I put together what I wanted in a general purpose hunting rifle (a 30.06)to use here in Alaska. I've been working on it's big brother and he's almost done. Whether or not a 375 H&H is needed for Alaska is debatable but it's what I wanted so thats what it is. I like older cartridges and don't see anything thats getting it done much better than what the the 06 and 375 H&H have been doing for a long time. I have a Brown Bear permit for Kodiak in the Spring and this is the rifle I will take, and hopefully will return to Africa to chase Cape Buffalo some day.

It started out as a Winchester M70 Classic Stainless in 375H&H but I was never really happy with the rifle as it was so I made some adjustments. I sent the rifle with a Douglas #4 contour barrel off to REDNECK and asked him to work some magic on it and here are the results. Work still to be done is to rebed the action into the stock and fill the barrel channel and then send the rifle to CAS to be Cerakoted and the stock repainted.



Stock is a McMillan Supergrade. Rifle also has Williams 1 pc bottom metal and a Williams extractor. Scope is a Leupold Vari X III 1.75-6x32 in Leupold quick release mounts.




REDNECK installed and chambered the barrel, completely went through the action and made any adjustments needed, checked feeding, adjusted the trigger, installed the NECG front and Rear Sights and installed the Gentry barrel band swivel.





I wanted to see how it would shoot so I headed off to the range with a few rounds I threw together with some Reloader 15.



It was a balmy -13 with a light snow. Perfect for a day alone at the range.



I did a little barrel break in but my hands were getting cold and the Shooters Choice was freezing so I had to cut the session short. After cleaning the barrel for the last time I had 5 rounds with 270 TSX's so decided to shoot them see what results I would get. 3 shot group was about 3/4 inch, I think when things warm up the gun will shoot better than I can.

3 rounds

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/AKJD/img006.jpg[/img]

2 rounds

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/AKJD/img014.jpg[/img]

I want to add that Lee (REDNECK) was an absolute pleasure to work with. He kept me informed of progress, turn around time was short, and the work was excellent. Feeding and operation of the safety and trigger are much smoother. I got exactly what I wanted the rifle to be.

Little Brother
Winchester Classic Stainless Action, 22 inch PACNOR 3 groove featherweight contour barrel installed by PACNOR. McMillan Edge featherweight pattern stock. Williams 1 pc bottom metal and Williams extractor. Leupold 2.5-8 VX3 in Tally lightweight mounts.

Good looking rig. I have one pretty close to that. Just curious why you went with a new barrel. Was it not a HH to start with?

I like that blueprint. I can easily imagine why you would switch the barrel out--the factory contour is heavier than it needs to be for a 375 H&H.

I'd say you've done well and yes, Redneck knows what he's doing. Thanks for the posting. Enjoy..... hope to see pics of a big, dead, bear come springtime.

LittleBrother is my kind of rig!

Dober

I like this one, a LOT. With the Cerakote it should be jsut about the perfect Alaskan big gun. I have been packing a .416 Rigby around on my trips to Alaska, but only because I have packed it and used it so much in Africa and it feels and acts (and is) an old friend.

Terrific Alaskan rifle blueprint, I hope you kill a MONSTER of a Brown bear with it. Great choice of bullets, as well! I had an Alaska Client put one of these into the south end of an Alaskan bull moose headed north and and he went down DRT! With a hole out the front of his chest!

good on ya!

Both of those rifles are sweet. Perfect in every way, IMO. My 30-06 build will look very similiar.

What was the powder charge for those groups?

The barrel was too heavy for my liking and the rifle never shot as good as I would like. I was tempted to recrown and shorten the barrel but knew I wouldn't be happy so deceided to get it reworked the way I wanted it to be.

Thanks,

Mine shoots good but I took the scope off and have been shooting iorns with it. Its barrel heavy and I was thinking of having it chopped to about 21".

74 grains Reloader 15. Barnes lists the max at 77.

That's a very nice rig. I'd like to build something close to that in say 375 Ruger. Good going. What's the benefit of the Williams Extractor?

I called Ted Yost yesterday and told him I want a pair of Dakotas in .30-06 and .375. We're working on details now. I like what you've got there. I like my rifles significantly heavier though. I'm gonna come back to this thread before all is said and done, for ideas...

That is too damn cool! Very nice rifle and nice work! I just don't trust a fella from Wisconsin callin' himself a "REDNECK"! That just aint right! Kudos to him!


That thing needs the Talley Screw Locks!

Nice pix and thanks very much for the kind words.. Only thing I don't like is that shot of your shooting range.. Damn but that looks cold... BRRRRR...



I'm happy to see it shoots well for you. I can't wait to see it after CAS gets done with it..

Best to you, John..

Is the barrel really that shiny or is it just the photos?

Looks like exactly what I'd build for myself if a 375 build was in my future.

It looks very good, but there are two things I would not let happen on a rifle that might get used following up a bear. I would bob the barrel to 20" and no more. The velocity loses are not significant in a 375.

I would also lose the front sight. Having a sight hang up while you are trying to swing in tight quarters could be icky... Alder thickets are really a mess sometimes and the risks are real.
art

Those are very nice rifles. It doesn't get any better!

It's pictured before the cerakote job to be done soon..

AKJD, what does little brother weigh all up?

Sweet rigs AKJD, and good luck on that Brownie, one of these days I'll actually draw one of them tags!

On a side note, I was out at the range the other day too, middle of the day, temps below zero and I was the only one there. Love that Cushman range in the dead of winter, but when it warms up and the soldiers are out there.........it sucks!

AKJD,

Forgot to add, hope you get a big brownie on Kodiak. What's the details on your hunt?

My current wallpaper:

Nice rig, and nice work Redneck!

Bearstalker
Northeast Arm and Village Islands... Nice picture! A couple guys from here... OlBlue and KKAlaska drew those tags for this coming spring...
art

Rick Bin caught yelloweyes off that rock pile to the lower left, IIRC. He might have a yelloweye fetish...

I drew Karluk Lake. I put in for the 3 hardest to draw tags hoping I wouldn't get one, and they went and drew my name. I'm flying in with Seahawk Air April 15 and will take a small inflatable and motor. This is my 3rd trip to Kodiak, once before for goats and once for bear. Still haven't shot anything on the Island. Didn't get a shot at a good bear last time and choose not to take a goat, although my partner took one. I love that place.

Nice rifle. I can attest to Redneck's workmanship...he's great. I am planning a future build that is very similar, with the exception of an Echol's Legend stock.

Brent

You should remember that place! You dropped me and Bob off for that hike up the hill after that bear. Remember all those sea gulls on that rock pile? That was crazy! I got some other pictures from up top as well. I got one with your boat in the picture and it looks really small....

Too cool. I hope you guys bag some nice bruins. The bay not pictured (my back is facing) will be my #1 choice for this spring drawing.

AKJD
Sorry for the hijack.

Did you get the cabin at the head of Karluk Lake? Or at the river? The biggest bears never sleep, so you may not be too early to kill a bear. And the biggest will be awake.

Matt
Another friend drew that other bay (Terror Bay) for this coming spring and that was where OlBlue shot his last bear... That I photographed as it was shot.
art

After thinking about this for a while, I have to disagree, Art.. With no front sight (or irons at all for that matter), what are you going to do? Try to find that bear in a scope? Shoot from the hip and hope you get lucky? If I'm after something that can bite back in heavy brush I'm most likely not going to be using a rifle.. I'll have a Ruger Alaskan in .454C in hand where I can get off 5 shots rather quickly compared to maybe one in a rifle over the same period of time. Plus, it's a lot more maneuverable and less prone to get stuck in brush. JMHO..

BTW, that pix above of that scene in AK is just awesome.. I wonder if I'll ever get to see something like that...

Redneck
Several points... When bear hunting keeping down extraneous junk is a huge factor. No way in the world am I carting around a sidearm on a bear hunt. I have followed a bunch of wounded bears in alder thickets and it gets hairy at times. At staplegun range there is no sight being used. Both eyes stay open and second nature shooting takes over. On extremely close bears I have used fixed Leupold 3x and 4x scopes and never had issues with finding center of mass.

I have seen some ridiculous claims like shooting them under the chin and such things, but it is pretty straight forward... the spine runs up the middle and makes any other consideration moot.

I guarantee I can get off more than one shot on a charging bear. One is all it should take though...

Rick Bin and I put the stalk on a bear a few years before Matt took that picture around the hill to the right, just out of sight. The video of us returning to a flooded beach was shot on that jaunt and it is pretty funny stuff.

We ended up shooting a bear hard left from the picture. The hillside was ridiculously steep and the bear did an amzing tumble...
art

I can like that rifle. I can also like Art's 20" barrel suggestion. It would be wearing a VXIII 1.5-5x20 also........

Nice looking rifle! Lee (Redneck) does know his way around a Winchester!

A pard busted a charging bear from only a few feet away and never did he use the scope, just instinctive shooting.

Yup...

While I'm not in any way going to argue with a man who's BTDT (Art), your post about getting a shot off at a charging bear from just a few feet away is the scenario I had in my mind when considering a large-bore handgun vs. a rifle in heavy thickets.. In your case, one shot from that rifle is all you're going to get. It better be good, or you're dead because you will not get a second chance. At least, with a big revolver it's possible to get a couple off at least, and even more if you're lucky, and a revolver can be used with one hand...

But I will be the very first to admit I've never been lucky enough to go on any bear hunt so I'll be glad to defer to others who have..

BTW The bear I referenced earlier was in a heavy alder thicket at 24 yards. I used a 3.5-10 Leupold on 6x and had to pick a small opening to shoot through. It was almost too easy... Anyone thinking there is some magic in irons up close has not used a scope...

I had thought the 6x thing was a stunt because I love my 3x Leupold scopes... It really was not even close to an issue.
art