Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Kimber Caprivi .375 H&H--Any Improvement?

Oldman....



Ingwe

Paddler, EOS is 'End of Story'. Welcome to the campfire. It can get a little hot when you sit too close at times 'though!

The '09 action is great for the 375H&H length cartridges, requires a lot of work, but they end up very nice. That's why companies like H&H use them, or an equivalent. The David Miller Company has made some wonderful rifles on the '09. I have one in 375H&H, and will have one in a bit larger, TBA.

Oldman. WHich Kimber 375H&H did you try/buy to say that they are muzzle light? I'd really like to try one, I think the Talkeetna would be good value in the US, especially if they handle recoil like a Montana. I think the Montana's are great rifles. So are the Mod70 Classics, 'though the 375 Safari Express is a little heavy for my taste.

Best wishes, Chris

Thanks, Chris. I ignore the bickering, it's not very productive. I have read about people lengthening the '09 actions. Is that what you're talking about? Anyone specialize in this area, or anybody know who I should talk to?

Hi Paddler. I am not sure where you are? In the US? Lots good gunsmiths - gunmakers there. Duane Wiebe comes immediately to mind. But lots. I am of the opinion that some of the best bolt action work in the world is being done in the us. Perhaps others with actual first hand experience of having work done will contribute.

Cheers, Chris

I dunno about today but years back guys like Ted Blackburn,Herman Waldron and Tom Burgess used to have the 1909 actions heat treated before building high grade customs on them. I had one by Burgess and stocked by Maurice Ottmar that was a honey,chambered in 300 Win Mag...

I have never seen one opened to H&H length but I'm sure it has been done by someone.

Any 98 can be opened to 375 H&H. Stop by the H&H store in NYC and you might even see the GEW I saw last year in 416 Rigby. It was a very nice interwar Rigby that, judging from the frosty bore, had seen lots of cordite and killed many large animals. Lots of work to get it to work and hardly necessary today,

Doesn't look like the street prices on the Caprivi's are at $3,000 anymore. This one is a nice looking rifle!

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=160701006

That's the lowest price I've seen on one of those rifles. I have a verbal agreement to buy another one with more interesting wood for $2400 shipped. The one listed on GB is very plain, but I wonder what the final price will be.

This is the one I have my eye on:

You might be already aware of this but if not....

That looks like the same rifle as a fellow on a Wby forum has for sale. If so, then I think it should be good because the bloke who has it for sale is one of the main members on the forum so I assume if it was a piece of [bleep] he would not have there.

This is link to his post. Not sure but you might have to register to see it. But that won't hurt because then you can go to the dark side where all the good gear is found

http://www.weatherby.dk/showthread.php?5024-375-h-amp-h

Edit: Just looked again and definitely the same picture

Thanks, Mike. I talked to him yesterday, I guess after he posted that up. He seems like a good guy, and reports the rifle is sound. I'm not a Weatherby fan, so don't really need to register over there. The only reason I like Weatherby's is because they cause some guys to sell off their nice stuff when they buy one. I'll let you know how it works out.

As I said in the other post if it was not OK he would not post it for sale on that site so should be a good gun.

There is another member of the site who had a Kimber Caprivi some time back and after he got bored it was sold. He is also does gunsmithing and was of the opinion that the Kimber issues on quality/accuracy were mainly related to very light weight of their other rifles. He said (I had some PM contact with him) the Kimber Caprivi he had was good gear and functioned and shot very well.

They are certainly a good package.

And a 375 H&H from the dark side

Good to hear, Mike. It should be fine.

That's a nice looking Weatherby. Couple of questions: Is that a current model with the wood stock? When does it snow in Sydney? It was warm last time I was there.

Off the Wby forum, a yank owns it. No snow here at the moment

That rifle would be via Wby custom shop or it would be a barreled action from the Wby Synthetic and put into a Euromark stock. You can but the various stocks from Wby.

Wby custom shop is basically either a product upgrade or "make you own rifle". If the latter there is about #1000US which includes all steel bottom metal, don't know who makes it but like a Swiss watch, and a selection process. In other words the barreled action won't have off centre mount screws etc and etc. You can then either use what the website allows for or you phone them and take it from there and that tends to add to the price. You can also include things like action work and Kreiger cut rifling barrel etc

Be interested to hear how the Kimber goes for you, should be good I reckon.

Should be a good one, alright. It will be interesting to see how it shoots.

Now all I need to do is have my Argentine 1909 actions built up to complete a three gun battery. Maybe go 7x57 and a 257 Roberts. Then I can sell a bunch of factory guns, like my Remington Classics in 250 Savage, 270 Win, and 35 Whelen, plus a Winchester Featherweight in 257 Roberts.

How long before you expect to get the Kimber up and running?

It will probably be a bit. I expect it will take a couple of weeks to get here. Then I need to scope it, probably a Leupold VX3 1.75x6x32.

I have lots of suitable powder (IMR 4064, 4320, 4350, etc), though it's ~20 years old, a bunch of 300gr Sierra's and some Nosler Partitions, new brass, etc. So I'm good to go when it gets here.

I just stopped by Sportsman's Warehouse to look for stuff for the new gun. They had a Ruger RSM in 375 H&H and the CZ 550. The Ruger is indeed too heavy for caliber, IMO, and the stock on the CZ sure was bulky. I think I'm going to be happy I bought the Kimber when all is said and done. It's nicer, as it should be given the price difference. We'll see.

Here are some photos of the rifle I picked up last night. Initial impressions are a bit mixed. Pros include fit and finish, which are nice, a good trigger, nice furniture, etc. The action seems to be a cross between the round action and washer recoil lug of a Remington 700, and the claw extractor and CRF of the Winchester 70. It ain't no Mauser, that's for sure. The groove for the recoil lug isn't undercut so that the extractor is pulled closer to the bolt body the more difficult extraction becomes, but I don't think any are anymore. And the bottom metal is hokey. The trigger guard fastens to the bottom metal with three screws instead of being one piece. And of course, the magazine box is a separate stamped part. It doesn't compare in any way to my Argentine 1909 actions.

The action is pillar and glass bedded, but the inletted surface of the stock could have used a bit more finish. The stock is quite attractive, as it should be given the price point. The gun is also lighter and handier than either the CZ or Ruger RSM, and so is the best option for me. I think an 8.5# gun, 9.5# scoped, is about ideal for the caliber. My overall conclusion is that it's a nice gun, but an MSRP of $3200 is a lot of money for what you get. Glad I didn't pay that much for it. We'll see how it shoots. Enjoy:

Is the bottom metal the same as the two piece M70?

The rifle certainly looks the part.

I think the $3200US is a good price in the context of factory rilfes. For example the same money with Weatherby (DGR) or HS Precision is a plastic stock. And you can add another $400 to the Wby for all steel bottom metal.

But like you I don't like the idea of making it look like the M70 while hiding a Rem 700 under the wood.

I have a Winchester Featherweight in 257 Roberts, and the floorplate on it is the worst design I've seen. The trigger guard is one piece, the floorplate that hinges the magazine plate is another. The magazine box meets the magazine plate, and there is no bottom metal between the front and trigger guard. On the Kimber, the bottom metal is at least one pice front to back, but the trigger guard screws onto it. Weird, but I think preferable to the Winchester design.

Neither compare to the Mauser, which has a one piece trigger guard, bottom plate and magazine box milled from solid stock. As I understand it, Mauser had something like 27 different versions of bottom metal, designed to feed each caliber smoothly.

The Kimber at least has the three position safety, CRF and the claw extractor. I don't mind the bottom of the action being round, as I'm not sure it makes any difference. It really seems to be a 70/700 hybrid to me. They don't undercut the front of the groove for the extractor as Mauser does, and I'm not sure why not. Doing so pulls the extractor tightly against the bolt body during primary extraction, so it can't slide off the rim of a stuck case. That's just one of the things that makes the M98 so good and sets it apart from the others.

I have always like the 2 piece M70 bottom metal and mainly due to bedding and very easy to assemble as there is no trying to get the magazine box into the floor plate. With the 2 piece M70 the screws should be loose and then floor plate closed and then screws tightened.

Your point about the Mauser setup and for different calibres is very valid. Although modern CRFs seem to work well. The majority of CRFs I have seen in Australia with feed problems has related to rim and/or extracor groove dimensions or condition of the rim.

I don't know about the pricing in America but in Australia the Kimber Caprivi would be very difficult to duplicate by starting with an M70. The killer is the cost to have a stock made and even a basic blank still costs plenty.