Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Remington 700 in 375 H&H

I just had a second to look at it yesterday. We were in Sportsmans Warehouse in Medford, OR. It had a gray soft feeling synthetic stock and kind of a brushed matte looking (SS ?) barrel.

Seemed to be fairly light. The Remington website isn't too helpful. Though I did see it mention a Bell and Carlson stock that seems like it might be what I saw.

I wished I could have taken more time and asked the clerk some questions, but time was a wasting, and I am not really a Remington fan. But, when my buddy Tom, who had been looking at it told me they only wanted less than $700.00 for it, I wished I had taken a closer look.

I am not to much of a Remington fan, but I am interested in a 375 H&H. And, since I want it for mountain hunting for elk, I had to admit its light weight is pretty appealing.

Have any of you had any experience with this style of 700, or know what Rem calls it?

http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/centerfire_rifles/model_700/model_700_XCR_specs.asp

Found it, what a POS website Remington has - their search engine is infantile.

Nice rifle though. Under 8 pounds will make it pretty lively, but the price is right.

I have a Rem. 700 classic in .375 H&H and it's a joy to carry on long stalks. It's served me well in Africa on both plains game and Cape Buffalo. Being rather light it gets you attention when you shoot it, but it doesn't recoil as much as my 416 Rigby RSM.

I have a Classic in 375 and have never shot it. I got a BRNO instead. I found it under the bed last week. I was torn about shooting it or selling it unfired. You almost make me want keep it.
Given it's vintage it should be as accurate as a Sako.

Just bought this same rifle, although I've not shot it yet, I think(hope) it will be a good one.

For my money if it's gonna be a push feed it's gonna be Sako. I've used an L61R for most of my hunting, and find it much preferable to a Remington.

I've looked at a couple in the last week or so. Personally, they fit and feel very good to me. I could hunt with one of them quite easily.

I'd add some Talley's and a 6x36 Leo with LR dotz in it and hit the hill.

I saw a 375 RUM in one the other day in very good shape for $625. I'm for bettin that it's a bit cheeky...

Dober

I've been eye-balling one of these puppies for sometime now they do feel like they would balance sweetly. Can't get the missus to bite though. She is curious how many H&H's a man needs. I already have a M700 Safari in the safe. It balances nice, but with that huge barrel, its a tank!

A friend of mine used to shoot a Remington 700 lightweight in 458 Win Mag. He loved it and he was a mauser fan from way back. He said it was light enough to carry all day and accurate when needed. I generally found that George was correct in matters of firearms.

At the price listed, that sounds more like a 700 SPS Dangerous Game. The XCR has special coatings and generally runs closer to $1K or so.

Here is a link to one on GB. Remington 700 SPS DG

I made up my own 700 CDL in 375HH. It is 8.75 pounds all up and is fine from hunting positions but is on the sporty side off the bench. If you want it, go get it!

RH

It had the special coating on the barrel. Reminded me of the old Armour Alloy T/C used on Contenders before Stainless Steel came into common use.

As for the price, we are living in a deflationary economy, and Remington has to compete with Ruger, and Weatherby.

Under $700 is a good deal. I just built a .375H&H off a Remington 700 action. Finding a deal, like you saw, sure would have saved me some messing around.

i have a classic in 375 H&H. i'd trust my life to it (i have). my friend has an xcr in 375 h&h, never heard a negative word about it. read craig boddington's book Safari Rifles. he mentions many times taking a remington 700 to africa. if you like it, buy it. i personally like the low weight with the 700. mine topped with a 1.5x5 leupy vx-III comes in at around 8.5 lbs. i can walk all day with that setup. recoil is pretty tame for me once i added a limbsaver pad to it. i have shot 20-40 full house loads off the bench with no ill efects. that's me though, i like getting pummeled. my first rifle i ever fired was a 50 cal. muzzleloader at 3 yrs. old. my dad says to this day he has never seen somebody getting beaten with recoil with such a stupid smile on his face! your results may vary! -keith

siskiyous6:

I think I almost bought that rifle a while back but wound up special ordering one through Far West in Jacksonville instead. Mine came in way under advertised weight. The gunshop owner put it on a scale before I took it home ... 6 pounds 12 ounces.

I'm semi sensitive to some level of recoil. I had one of those 700 XCRs in .338 RUM and I couldn't manage it. It wasn't so bad on the shoulder, but no matter what scope I used I couldn't keep the eye piece off my forehead. However, in .375 H&H it's relatively tame. I put 110 rounds through my .375 in about 2-1/2 hours one day testing loads. Not a bruise, not a raspberry on the shoulder. And no scope dents on my forehead. With a Leupold 3-9X, it seemed like an ideal mountain elk rifle.

Unfortunately, my rifle is not very accurate. The throat is real long and I just can't load shells that'll feed through the magazine that don't have about .3 inches of jump to the rifling. I have a new Lilja barrel (in .338) on order due here any day that goes on that action, then the whole thing goes in a Bansner stock.

Tom

Siskyou and other,
My local gunshop bought all the Rem 700 DGR in 375 H&H and just got delivery last week. This is that special edition with the black splatter coated barrel, open sights and the two tone stock with a nice R3 pad.
Brand new in the box - $499.95. I can't help it - I need one to play with and bring on my next elk hunt. I'm not a Remmy fan and its not the almighty CRF but the price is quite good.
The dealer has put one on Gun Broker under the name of:
"littlecrowsports". No offense here to others and I don't have any financial interest - just promoting looneyism.

$500 for a Remmie 700 375 H&H? Crazy good deal.

Major league big time....stick it in a Ti take off, cut the tube to 21", add Talley's and a 6x36 Leo with LR dotz in it and a Uncle Mike's Mtn sling. R15 and 260 Accu's and go forth and fill an ark.

Not that I've given this any thought or anything...

Everyone, should own a 375 IMO.

Dober

Tom-any chance you know what the stock alone weighs?

Also, what weight Lilja did you order and will you be doing a 340 or a 338?

Thx
Dober

Here are a few pics of my XCR 375 H&H.

Looks pretty functional to me. A 375 is a tool after all else.

Tim-I sure like the looks of that bad boy, what does it weigh?

I know of a basically new one in 375 RUM for $625, I think that's a good price what do you think?

Dober

Mark,
have not the chance to weigh it,but my guess is around 7.5lbs.

If it is an XCR you are talking about THAT is a good deal!.

The only Rem 700 in .375 H&H that I have shot was a Classic, and I agree with one of the previous posters about the light weight. Nice to carry, but kind of rough to do much shooting with.

[Major league big time....stick it in a Ti take off, cut the tube to 21", add Talley's and a 6x36 Leo with LR dotz in it and a Uncle Mike's Mtn sling. R15 and 260 Accu's and go forth and fill an ark.

Not that I've given this any thought or anything...

Everyone, should own a 375 IMO.

Dober [/quote]


Hey Gang,

Just wondering what you would think of this idea? I'm thinking it would be a sporty and light 375. Your thoughts please?

Thx
Dober

Hey Tim-if you get the chance would you be able to weigh the stock on your 375 for me?

Thx
Dober

Tim: That's pretty cool....shoot it yet?

Yes, I have a remingotn xcr in .375 H&H also. I mounted it in a hs precison stock and topped it off with a Kahles CL 4-12x52. I've been using double tap 235 grain Barnes TSX moving at 3100 FPS and shoot under a inch at 100. My only picture of it, Mr. Yote was 277 yards.

How much and what kind of powder are you running to get to 3100 with a 235 out of a 375?

Thx
Dober

Elmer Keith is proud of you!

Dober,
Sorry I did not see your post earlier, I can weigh the rifle, stock for you no problemo!

Bob,
Not had a chance to shoot her yet, gotta load up some ammo.

Another guy got first dibs on a used Rem 700 Classic in 375H&H the other day;I was surprised at how light the barrel contour was.Nice rifle....

As demonstrated by the slightly defunct coyote pictured above,how many cartridges can take you from a 30 lb varmint to an 1800 pound buffalo,with complete safety,and the accuracy neede to snuff the varmint at long range?And in a package weighing about 8# all up?I doubt the H&H is going anywhere soon...

NOW that is just plain cool.

I use double tap ammunition. www.doubletapammo.com I've been using Dt ammo in all my rifles for a few years now and have been pretty impressed with the accuracy and chrono readings. When I chroned them I was getting like 3116 in my rifle, the company says 3100. I'm glad I bought six boxes about five months ago, they were 45.00. Now they are 59.99 a box!! They also have a heavy weight Woodleigh Weldcore 350 grain bullet moving at 2450 FPS, man that has to be a hammer!! I shoot DT ammo in my pistols also, the 10mm ammo is just like the 10 should be, not watered down!!!

Couldn't find the SPS DGR on the Remington website. Can anyone advise the specifications (esp. weight)?

Tough composite stock w/ positive checkering. Matte carbon steel action from solid-bar stock. Famous "three rings of steel" strengh. 24" bbl w/ open sights & bbl band. Drilled/tapped for mounts. X-MARK Pro Trigger is adjustable. Nice recoil-reducing R3 pad, a embellished hinged floor plate w/ Special Engraving & studs.

It's SPS. I have one (not DG version) the SPS, CAS coated it, floated it and wrapped in a mcswirly. Would love to show you, but it's in storage in VA and I'm CT. Maybe next month I'll get and actually get to pull the trigger. I only had it a week before I moved...........gl

I've also had very good luck with DoubleTap ammo. I've used their .338 Winchester, .35 Whelen and .375 H&H loads and all have proven accurate and chrono'd as quoted/near quoted listed velocity. My Whelen especially likes their 225 grain Accubond and 250 grain Speer loads and tolerates the 310 grain Woodleigh well enough to strike down Asiatic water buffalo at 50 paces.

Found elsewhere on this site that weight is supposed to be right @ 7 lbs.

Kind of in a quandry. I could get one of those or a Ruger Frontier .358 for a tad less.

The Frontier is more of a niche slapper better suited to my AO, while the .375 is a general/worldwide mid-bore thumper...guess as a certified rifle lunatic I need to find the bucks to do both.

Maybe go 2.5 Leupold/Aimpoint on the .358 and a 6x fixed on the .375.

Really need to shoot the Ruger No. 1 Tropical .375 and decide if I want to keep it...work and holidays put me off my range schedule.

Hey all!! I'm new to this forum but had to join up to tell everyone about my new toy. I just scored the 700 SPS-DG 375 H&H off gunbroker from littlecrow sports. I had to check their feedback because they seem to be selling at about $150 less than anyone else. It was listed for $499 but I used the "buy it now" b/c I couldn't stand the suspense and it was only $20 more. But I scored it for $520 plus S/H ($545 total) and can't wait to shoot it. Should be in next week...I'll go ahead and weigh it when it arrives but another site selling one (for $680) listed it @ 7lbs.

That is a good price, Andy!
I think my 700XCR 370 cost me about 850 bucks.

Dober my stock is 27oz w/o the bottom metal 34oz with.

My setup sits around 8lbs with a 3-9x42 Kahles w/ TDS reticle.

Thx Huntem

Dober

Mark,
I pm'd you the weights on my 375 ouch and ouch(Leupy scope and Talley lightweights) came in at 7.9 lbs.

Thx, remind me which scope is that?

That is a worlds supply of hunt rig there isn't it. It and a 270 and a 223 and one can conquer the planet...grin

Dober

VXIII 2.5-8X.

A 223, 270 and 375 sounds like a nice set indeed.

Yep, it is all a man would ever truly need.

Did they put some decent iron sights on that model?

Are they express type and of decent quality?

Not that it makes a huge difference. Just curious.

Lodgepole,
I don't have much experience with iron sights, but these on the XCR look fairly sturdy, if I get a chance I will post some pics of the sights on this thread.

I was just wondering because when Savage was chambering their 116FSS in 375 H&H they were putting a pretty nice set of Williams sights on them. Last I looked Savage quit making the 116FSS in 375. Bummer.

Id buy it. Every rem 375 anything has been 800 or more where I'm from in Minnesota. Everyone says the push feed vs controlled feed, but in my experience for $1000 rifle in this caliber. Push feed feeds more reliably. if you go to a $2000+ rifle, Then you should definitely choose a controlled feed and not accept the rifle until it feeds like butter and shoots well. I was looking for a 375 RUM, but the Remington at 7.5 lbs for the RUM seamed to light. So I went with the Ruger. For the H&H, it seems light weight for beginners, but once you get use to it, I will be a great all around rifle.

Picked up the SPS DG 375 H&H last Friday. Ammo finally came in and I went to the range. It seemed to shoot fine as far as I could tell with open sights at 100yds. Out of 35 shots everything was on the paper (12") and you can contribute that variance to my shooting and a couple of flinches. I weighed it when I got home and it came in at 7lbs (that explains the flinches and my sore shoulder).

dude, 35 shots in a row!~

Finally got around to getting it out....



[/img]

Nice vacrt2002, I have one of the SPS DG's on order. I'm planning on putting it in a CDL stock when it gets here. Probably glass bed it to hopefully to keep the stock intact. Hope it works out good.

Thanks.......CAS did and great job on the cerakote and putting together.

There's one of these DG M700's, new, at my local gunshop. They keep telling me they'll make me a he'll of a deal on it. Anyone wants one right NOW, let me know and I'll hook ya up!

I want it... But I can't even begin to rationalize one for the critters I hunt...

Maybe the wrong forum, but I have Warne QR (new to me)on this 375, they seem really solid. Should I blue (med) locktite the bottom four screws? I did the top four.

I blue locktite all of my Talley one piece light weight, because I usually do not remove mounts once their on.**preference**

Jeff O,
If you need help rationalizing it for deer,
I shot three whitetails with mine this fall.
Shooting the 200 gr FN Sierra bullets at 2200 fps it kicks very little and all three were DRT! I couln't be happier,
unless I draw a moose tag next year, or a bear tag.
whelennut

Fella's, I picked up my new SPS DG 375 H&H yesterday. It is light thats for sure. I think I may have it coated with ceracote or something like it. I don't like the SPS finish all that much mainly because it rusts easy. Anyway i took it home pulled it out of the stock ,wiped it down with gun oil and cleaned the barrel. This morning I took it to the range with just the open sights and shot a few rounds to get accustomed to it. Now this is the first rifle I've had bigger than my 35 Whelen (or shot).

To be honest I was ready for a whuppin, well it wasn't so bad at all. A little more than my 35 with hot loaded 250's. I also haven't shot open sights much since I was a kid, so groups weren't all that great but did show it'll probably shoot when I get the scope on. With the sights set from the factory it shot 1" low and 2" to the left at 50 yrds. 10 shots with two different types of ammo wasn't too bad I reckon at 2 & 1/4" for the group. The ammo was Remington corelokts 270 gr. and some older Winchester silvertips which I have no clue what grain they are. I like it! I'm going to put a CDL stock on it and a 2.5-8 Leupold on it probably in some Warne QD rings.

Anybody know what grain the silvertips may be? They did seem to kick a little harder.

I have had no issues with my Rem 700 in 270 I've had forever (since 1970). Hunted in the mountains, forests and desert with it. Slid down a hill (not planning to) with it. Shot every thing from marmots and crows, javelina, deer, elk and more than a few bears with it. It has it's scratches on both the stock and the barrel but is still shoots nickel sized groups after thousands of rounds through it. It has never failed to feed or eject either and I load my rounds a bit on the hot side (150g Noslers at 3000 fps) ...

I bought a CZ Safari Classic for my 375 H&H, but if I hadn't wanted to potentially rebarrel to a larger caliber I would've bought a remington. I saw a sweet older custom in 375 H&H with the rosewood foreend and grip cap for $1000 ...

Chuck

I think I'm going to get the SPS and drop it into a walnut BDL Magnum stock.

I have a Rem 700 in 270 has 3000 rounds through it, still shoots .5" groups at 100 yards, never misfed nor failed to extract. I almost bought a Rem Custom Shop 375 H&H used for $1100. Nice guns.

Chuck

By the time you get a sling and scope on it and hang 10 rds on the stock it weighs about 9 lbs. The kid will have to arm wrestle me for this one! Maybe I will use it for bear and he can use it for deer with the 200 gr FN Sierra, it is a creampuff to shoot!
Life is short, go for it!
whelennut

A push feed DGR? Lets get real here folks. I'm the original fan of the .375H&H, it's my first choice. But a push feed for a DGR, that's just taking things past too much.


I hope if nothing else the bolt handle doesn't fall off. As you may or may or may not know, Remington is notorious for this. What happens when you shoot a round that sticks in the chamber? Push feed versus control round feed? No comparison.

This is hunting, not target practice at the range.

Nothing wrong with the Rem 700s..especially for non dangerous game and I know some folks that have successfully used them on DG...

Not my cup of tea..I demand a control feed rifle for all my hunting, I base that on my personal experience over the last decade so it is my choice..

3sixbits,
I wonder why the Marine Corps picked Remington for the M40 sniper rifle?
Maybe they didn't hear about the bolt falling off or the feeding being unreliable?

Maybe they clean and oil the rifle so the rounds don't stick in the chamber who knows?

whelennut

Maybe hidden a mile away has something to do with it? Could that be the reason? Is this what they pick for a CCW? How come snipers make long yardage shots, not CCW shots? Why does the sniper team carry a full auto M-16 along, when they have such a great weapon like a 700 with them?


Show me your push feed DGR's and for each one. I'll show you 20 or more CRF DGR rifles.

Don't think that Remington 700's have a bad rep for bolt handles falling off? Do a web search on that topic and read the findings. Do you really think people post these reports because they love Remington?

Whelenut,
Not a good comparison..Folks shot at extreme range don't charge as fast as a Lion or Cape Buffalo

I've seen a lot of CRF rifles fail to feed, & jam. In my experience one fails about as often as the other, which is almost never. I just prefer an accurate rifle, so I choose the Remington 700 when I have a choice.

I've seen a few CFR that were not properly fitted that failed to feed one that had a broken extractor not feed. that is not a lot? Push feed the number is legion for the rifles that fail to feed. How accurate does a DGR have to be? Any rifle that will do a six inch group at 100 yards is fine with me. But then I don't lug around a bench rest when I hunt.

... and thats when the fight started.

I guess it depends on where your sitting as to CFR vs. push feed..If you sitting on the couch in your gun store, a pushfeed is good, if you looking at a Lion comeing in its bad.

I have been in safari camps year after year for extended stays, and hunted or observed hunters using both types, and push feeds fail regularly and CFRs on extremely rare ocassions, and those ocassions are man caused by tinkering such as cutting the extractors so you can drop a round in the chamber and close it, and that is a accident waiting to happen, they break...

The main problem is when one is running and tries to jack a round in a push feed Ruger, Remington or Winchester, it often falls out in the process, and they close the bolt on a empty chamber, and that is the loudest SNAP in the world when you jump your hurt and mad buffalo the second time.

Granted, A CFR rifle should be pre tested and functioning properly, that goes without saying with ANY rifle, but a push feed is a design flaw IMO that cannot be cured.

I have no problem with what someone else hunts with, but I do have a problem with some of the reasoning in defence of the pushfeed rifle, I know that is not a truism....I am talking about the use of DGRs only as I assume its argueablebly less important on a deer, target, varmint, or plainsgame rifle. However, I have chosen to own CFR, Mausers and pre 64 M-70s for the most part for most of my hunting.

I like the Rem 700s, especially the Mt. Rifle, they are superbly accurate rifles out of the box, but I would not choose a 700 or any pushfeed, for a big bore to use on dangerous animals. In todays hunting you have a PH to clean up behind your mistakes so in the end, its a moot point I suspect.

Not really a fight, just don't call a push feed anything a DGR, cause,,,,, they ain't such a thing. Never had a CRF fail me yet, others have, but they were all Man made.

So being that they are "notorious" for bolt handles falling off, would you please give me specific instances that YOU know of personally that this happened??? NOT internet rumor

I worked full time as a gunsmith in a shop where we did authorized warranty work on Remington firearms. I never saw a Model 700 with a missing bolt handle?
I did manage to silver solder on a bolt handle on a 788 which had been abused with hot handloads and had the bolt beaten open.
whelennut

Not internet rumor in my case, just a case of being much younger and much dummer....

I was shooting an old 700/06 in the pd fields, it was hot, I was loaded just a bit hot... and the bolt didn't want to come open.

So me being the "Primitive Pete" (anyone here get those movies in shop class in the 70's?) that I am I took a nearby rock and went to trying to open the bolt. Said bolt came off after I pounded it a bit instead of opening.

Point being, I got it to happen but I never ever should of got it to that place!

My bad big time!

Dober

I can, I've seen it happen twice at my gun club, albeit they are a rare occurrence. The bolt is not the issue, it's the puny, sheet metal extractor that's the issue, particularly in dusty conditions when grit accumulates and acts as a fulcrum to break the extractor. But even that is not that big a deal AS A CLIENT. I'd have no problems taking that Remington on safari if that was my only choice. My biggest issue with Remingtons is their fail on fire safeties and there are a LOT of those. If you doubt it, just do a Google search on the subject. Lastly, there aren't very any PHs out there with PF bolt actions. jorge

Jorge,

I like Remingtons a lot and you are absolutely right about their triggers. When I was in high school I was out after groundhogs with a good friend. We were packing everything up and I had unloaded my Rem 600 and asked him to unload his rifle (700 BDL). I was watching closely because he didn't completely point away from me - more like a 90deg angle like at shooting ranges. Just as he pushed the safety forward, the rifle fired and no part of his hand/fingers was near the trigger. Scared the chit out of both of us. He sent the rifle into Remgington and they returned it with a note saying that they found nothing wrong. The trigger was set up the way it left the factory too. The trigger pull on that rifle was about 5 pounds. I have since replaced all my triggers with Timneys on my 600s and 700s just to be safe.

How's retired life treating you?

RH

Hate it. I miss the "men and machines" and the flying of course, although I hadn't flown for a while. Some days I feel guilty collecting the ret pay! Things are looking up though, I have a second interview tomorrow with an aviation company doing what I used to do after flying, ATFP. Wish me luck! jorge

Sure call Dan's 40x in fairbanks, Alaska. He welds on new bolt handles for a living. He can tell you about plenty of them. I had a box with over twenty in thee box but threw them out years ago. Not uncommon over the past 40 + years for the 700. Dans 40X accur tig.

Hey all,

I see this thread is going on a month old since the last reply, but I thought I would comment on it. I'm new to this forum so forgive me.

This thread interested me since I have a 700 XCR in 375H&H, I have used for 2 hunting seasons now. I have taken it deer hunting for 2 seasons and plan on using it this season, it's taken one elk also. A buddy of mine has used it on a black bear hunt and he liked as well. It's alittle light for a 375, I have had 3 375H&H's in my past and I like the remmy the best. I have a leupy rifleman 2-7x33 on it in leupy rings and bases and it has help up just fine, sighted it in once and that's it. I know people strongly agree that CRF is far better then PRF. Wether it's true or not I have owned both and never a problem with either, my remmy has been in all kinds of weather and I reload and have loaded hot and never a problem with the remmy 700 action. I chamberd rounds with the gun upside down tilted to one side or the other, hot cold weather even with snow in the action, still never a problem. I suppose it's personal preference to what you like. I love the rifle and my next purchase will be another one in 30-06 or 270 winny. I know it's more then you need for deer sized game, but it doesn't do anymore damage then my 7mm mag. I read that people use them alot for deer sized and even smaller game in Africa, even if not hunting DG, so what's the difference in hunting North American Game. Again, I guess all personnal prefrence. I suppose I will take some disagreement for what I say but hey, isn't that what these forums are for to learn from other's opinions and expierences?

As you refer to, you don`t need to go to Africa in order to own a 375, let alone anything larger for that matter.

The 375s are ideal for moose, bison, and big bears, which is primarily why I bought a 375 to begin with. And they can be used for smaller game too.

Hunter 1381 welcome to the Fire!

Dober

Glad you have liked yours, Hunter.
I've the same rig, and though I have not used it much(yet) I am looking forward to doing so.

And oh yeah, welcome aboard!

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the warm welcome. I'm looking forward to sharing and learning with you all on here.

I also have a Rem. 700 375 H&H that I bought this past December.
I did get a screaming deal on it and it was new. Scheels Sporting Goods in my town had it. I watched this gun sit on the shelf all last summer, I think it priced at just under $700. Well when I bought it in Dec., Scheels was just about ready to move in to a new building so alot of their guns were priced way down. Ended up getting it for $430. It's the SPS, black finish with the black XCR stock, floor plate says "375 H&H, 1 of 500". Haven't spent any time at the range since I put a scope on it but hope it shoots decent, because Remington barrel contour on these are pretty light. Any way, it gets me into a 375!

Lots of Winchester 70s in PF configuration have been used successfully for a lot of years for DG and by DG (bear) guides. Admittedly, the Classics were a big hit when they came out but PF was not a distinction between Remington, Winchester, and Ruger for lots of years. If you wanted CRF, you needed to buy a Mauser based design or get a pre-64 M70.

Back years ago the conventional wisdom was that you built 375's out of gobs of steel and wood to attenuate recoil from 300 gr bullets.Who wanted to lug a 10 pound 375 H&H in elk country?

But I(among others)discovered back in the 80's that you could build a 375H&H with a lighter barrel contour and Brown Precision stock that weighed about 8.25 pounds scoped, feed it high quality 250 gr bullets at over 2900 fps,without it killing you.Such a combo invades on the province of the 338WM,shoots flat as a 270 to 400 yards,and provides antelope to Brown Bear versatility.Even going to 300 gr bullets is manageable.(Friends even built such rifles in 375AI for more velocity,but recoil got grim.)

That's even truer today with things like 235 gr X bullets and 250 gr Aframes or Northforks,factory rifles like the lighter Remingtons and Ruger's(375 Ruger),and sort of renders other cartridges between 30 and 375 to "so what" status.

No reason not to use such a rifle,properly scoped, as your "all-round" choice over here.Elk on the far side of a canyon will be impressed.I'd still want it built on a good CRF action,but the choice is personal.

My current 375 is a T/C encore. It has a 26" barrel,Limbsaver buttstock,weaver grand slam 1.5x5 and weighs right at 7lbs 11 0z. all up. I prefer the single shot over the bolts as I know I only get one chance and tend to hit what I am aiming at. It shoots 260 gr. NP 1moa regularly. Though it sees more Elk hunting than anything else I would not hesitate to hunt DG with it.I would want someone backing me up with DG anyway.
For lion I would want another shot available. I would choose a rem 700 or rebarrel my 340 Mcmillan (700 action)I have owned that rifle for some time and have never had a problem of any kind.I would bet my life on it.
the old push feed vs. controled feed is something I just do not see enough evidence to find any reason to change.

I paraphrase from renowned author, PH, former editor of African Hunter Magazine and head examiner for PH qualifications in Zimbabwe, the "gold standard" of PH licensing:

"The Remington 700 may be a very fine hunting rifle. I don't know because I've never used one, but I do know that it is a poor dangerous game rifle, particularly in 416 Remington caliber. Apart from the odd inexplicable misfire, a broken extractor cost us an elephant wounded and lost at Rifa (the hunting area where the yearly exams are conducted) one year, and this is not the first year that I'd seen a broken extractor on a 700. In addition they are about the hardest rifle to reload in a hurry. My memories of this rifle are typically of youngsters frantically trying to thrust cartridges into the magazine, only to have a double feed,the rounds pop straight back out or other problems. The impartial "Pro-Shot" timer, tells me a two round reload takes, on average, twice as long with the model 700 as it does with just about any other make of rifle. I do not know that anything can be done with the Remingtons except to re-barrel them to a plainsgame cartridge and leave them at home when out after the dangerous game stuff.

That's from a consummate professional. I believe I'll take him at his word. Oh his favorite? M98s or clones of course! jorge