Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only The great 458 Winchester. Everyone should own one at least once

There were five rifles total in the series. They were sold as one-of-a-kind customs at the SCI (Safari Club International) conventions from 1982~1986:

David Miller of the David Miller Co. in Tucson, Arizona came up with the idea of commissioning other master gunmakers to create five one-of-a-kind rifles, each to commemorate a separate dangerous African big game animal.

Each rifle would feature the finest engraving, gold relief and gold line work based on original oil paintings by well-known artists who supported SCI.

Each would be fitted in a one-of-a-kind exotic wood and leather case, complete with appropriate accouterments, and each gunmaker would sign a certificate of authenticity guaranteeing the purchaser that the rifle would never be duplicated.

Since David Miller Co. was instrumental in creating the project, they would build the first and last rifle. The David Miller cased rifle set the standard for the other three gunmakers.

The first rifle in the series, called “The Elephant Rifle,” was based on a square-bridge Mauser action and chambered in .458 Winchester Magnum. It sold at the 1982 SCI Convention for $41,000. That was the highest price ever paid for a modern bolt-action rifle at the time.

The first rifle is the one pictured in the previous post above. Information on the other four rifles in the series is below:

Rifle Number Two, called “The Rhino Rifle,” was built by Champlin Firearms, Inc. of Enid, Oklahoma. The receiver was built entirely by Champlin and the octagon barrel was chambered for .375 H&H. That rifle brought $43,500 at the 1983 SCI Convention.









Rifle Number Three, called “The Buffalo Rifle,” was built by the Friedrich Wilhelm Heym Company of Germany. It was a side-by-side double rifle based on a Heym Model 88BSS action. That rifle brought $65,000 at the 1984 SCI Convention.



Rifle Number Four, called “The Lion Rifle,” was built by Paul Jaeger, Inc., of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. It was built on a pre-1964 Winchester Model 70 action and was chambered for the .375 H&H cartridge. That rifle brought $140,000 at the 1985 SCI Convention.



Rifle Number Five, called “The Leopard Rifle,” was made by The David Miller Co. of Tucson, Arizona. It was based on a redesigned Model 70 action that Miller helped design with U.S. Repeating Arms Co. – a redesign that now is known as the Winchester Model 70 Classic action. It was chambered in .338 Winchester Magnum. That rifle brought $201,000 at the 1986 SCI Convention.










So the series had our beloved 458 Win Mag, three 375 H&H rifles and a 338 Win Mag. If I was going to do a similar collection of rifles for myself, I would have probably picked a more varied assortment like 7x57, 300 H&H, 9.3x62, 375 H&H, 404 Jeffery, 458 Win Mag, etc. similar to the Boddington series of Ruger No. 1 rifles.

So many interesting cartridges to choose from.