Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Need to buy a 375 for buffalo

Yes....one can build a .375 H&H and one could use a Mauser action.....even a VZ-24 but it requires a fair amount of work and definitely requires feed rail adjustments.....it can be expensive and not everyone can do it.....even a few smiths that say they can, cannot actually make these things feed well.....

If one really wants a Mauser action for the task, I would agree on the Whitworth.....but there are others such as the ones imported by Charles Daly (Zastava) and the Mark X that might be good donors for the task.....but find one originally made for the magnum actions.....
Finding a pre-64 Model 70 action for the job isn't easy but might turn out to be expensive....the later CRF models in magnum settings will work fairly well....the work required to convert a 7mm Mag to .375 H&H isn't extensive and not too difficult to do.....find one listed as a "classic" for the task.

One should decide in advance if CRF is a requirement....if it is so be it.....but if it's not, then Remington and Sako and Weatherby Vanguard are also fine options.....personally, I believe the CRF feature is way overblown and would not hesitate to use a push feed action for a .375 H&H

Mine is a Winchester classic originally chambered to .338 Win Mag....it works fine in .375 H&H but did require some modifications to the magazine box, and bolt stop...No work necessary to the bolt face or feed rails were required.

That said, building is chiefly for one that wants something he cannot buy....such as stock features, barrel twists, barrel contours, magazine capacity....and the list goes on and on....in the net result he probably won't do much better than to buy a new Winchester Alaskan and go hunting....most any build will take up to a year to complete depending on what you really want.....the new Winchester will be in your hands in a week or two....we all have different checkbooks and timelines....only you can decide.

+1 on the Whitworth.

My .338 and all my other rifles are all Remington 700 based. I believe most PH's prefer the positive feed of a mauser based action. I'm OK straying into the dark side of control round feed.

I'm a big fan of using the same model for everything. If you can get a 375 in the same model as your 338, that would be the bee's knees. Muscle memory and auto pilot are pretty handy tools.
Bfly

My first African trip in 2010 was plains game only and I took my trusty .338 Win Mag. It did it all with very little fuss.

When I re upped in 2015 and wanted to include cape buffalo, I first bought a CZ in 458 Lott. It shot 500 gr pills and was a little snappy from the bench.

I settled on a Dakota M76 in 416 Rigby, which shot 400 gr bullets very well, and I took my 338 Win Mag for everything else. That was my ticket to success.

donsm70

I'm a big fan of using the same model for everything. If you can get a 375 in the same model as your 338, that would be the bee's knees. Muscle memory and auto pilot are pretty handy tools.
Bfly

I think the easiest thing to do would be to purchase a new M70 Safari Express and be done with it. Prices are reasonable and you should be good to go right out of the box. The sooner you buy your rifle the sooner you can begin practicing with it.