A friend of mine wants to get the foloowing rifles to hunt in Alaska, Canada and Africa:

1. A 338 Win Mag stainless with synthetic stock

2. A 375 H&H Mag with wooden stock

Can you suggest brands that would stand up to the conditons in which he wants to hunt and still be accurate, dependable and reliable? Thanks for any information you can give.

 

I'd go with a "blend" of the two;

375 H&H Mag stainless with synthetic stock

SDOWLING, any particular manufacturer in mind?

Browning X-bolt might do the trick.
http://www.browning.com/products/ca...=202A&bg=x
Check out this web site.

Proud owner of a Browning X-Bolt Stainless Stalker in .338 WM


...........But for those hunts I like the A-Bolt model better, if you are going to scope the rifle.

http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/bro...95729.html

All the major brands will work fine. What it really comes down too is which brand he likes.

For a two gun battery for AK or Africa, I would go with further apart with calibers. The .375 is fine for top end on Big Bear and has taken all the DG in Africa ( I use a .416Rigby but that is personal preference).
For the other game, say Sheep, Caribou, wolf in AK or probably all PG in Africa with exception of maybe Eland, an -06, .308, 7mmMag (what I normally use) would be fine.

For Africa, and big browns in Alaska, he might want to choose a rifle with a "Mauser type claw extractor," also called "controlled round feed." Some feel this type is more positive and fail safe should the shti hit the fan. It is the design used on Model 70's, current Ruger's, Kimber's, and I believe CZ's. "Push round feed," or a "Sako style extractor," found on Remington's, Savage's, and Browning's, is not as desireable when it comes to hunting dangerous game.

i would look at a Ruger due to its Mauser type action, and toughness or a Winchester New Model 70. Good luck.

The new Savage 116, aka Alaskan Brush Hunter model,  in 375 Ruger , with iron sights and a bit shorter barrel  is a firearm you should consider.

When in Alaska i had 416 Rig. 375H&H 338 Win Mag  300 Win  35Whalen   30-06  308 and 45/70. The two that got used the most was my 35Whalen and the old 45/70.

TIT's suggestions are from on the ground experience from numerous times hunting Afreeca so I would listen and learn. As he stated the 7MM mag is sufficient for most all plains game with the exception of the animals he listed. I do like the .375 H&H and the 45/70 for 300 yards and under. Most are under the impression that plains game animlas are harder to kill than the animlas we have here which is not the case at all. The same apply's there as it does here and that is bullet placement.

I've carried a 7mm Mag and a 375 H&H combo all over the world. I never found it wanting.

The 338 and the 375 are too close to each other to be a really diverse combo. Not saying my combo is perfect, but it works well for me and it has been to Canada multiple times, Alaska twice and Africa 5 times. If he wants a 2 gun rig that is really versitile then the smaller one should be something along the lines of 7mm or 30 caliber. If he is set on the 338 then the bigger rifle should be a 416 or a 45 caliber.

Yep!!!
HeII, I have gone to Africa with a two gun battery of .22-250 and a Ruger 12ga O/U but the hunt(s) were quite specialized!
My only concern with Ruger .375 is same I discovered after getting a .375RUM....ammo availability! If one's heart is set on a .375, just go with the H&H....

.378 Wby. Mag., or .416 Wby. Mag. Good luck.

But make sure your airline doesn't ever lose baggage with your ammo in it cause you aint gonna find those Weatherby rounds at your local AK or African ammo shop!

I'll concur with the majority and say the rounds should be further apart.

My choice would be a .40 cal of some flavor and a .270 but the .375 will work too. If selecting just one then get the .375 and call it good. I'm of course talking about the H&H, which has ammo availability throughout the world.

We were tracking Cape Buff when a quite excellent Reed Buck appeared no more than 30 yards away.....only kill I ever made that I actually saw all four houves in the air at once before instinctive blink from shooting ! Using my .375RUM.....it was a fun track as I did not have Buff on quota....just wanted to approach them....didn't have a .416Rigby at the time....and it was before Shiloh fixed my RUM to keep it from knocking me on my arse!

Tom in TN,

I did kind of the same thing. We were putting a stalk on a herd of Korrigum in Cameroon. They were totally protected and we were just wanting to get close and check them out. At about 20 yards a really good Oribi popped out of the brush. For an Oribi he was really good. Both horns a little over 6 inches. I popped him with a 375 H&H and a 300 gr Woodleigh. Saw all of his hooves in the air too. He weighed all of 30 lbs or so.

We never did get a good look at the Korrigum even though we saw the herd 3 different times on that trip. But as they say in Africa: Never turn down a gift from the brush when it is offered.

Posted By TOM IN TENNESSEE on 16 Aug 2012 03:13 PM
....and it was before Shiloh fixed my RUM to keep it from knocking me on my arse!

Ohhh now I need to talk to Shiloh and see if my .338 can be tamed a little

Flags, never hunted anywhere in West Africa.....what is your opine? Costs, bureaurarcy, conditions, etc.....got bunch of animals I would at least like to see!

SC, my RUM had syn stock forearm combo with a standard Rem butt pad....jeez, that sumbeech would walk all over you! Shi fixed trigger pull from Rem lawyers 5lbs to around 3lbs, put a mecuric recoil reducer in forearm and in stock and a good pad on it.....almost a pleaure to shoot now even tho it dang near broke Miz Shi's finger after the fix....

Posted By TOM IN TENNESSEE on 21 Aug 2012 03:36 PM
...SC, my RUM had syn stock forearm combo with a standard Rem butt pad....jeez, that sumbeech would walk all over you! Shi fixed trigger pull from Rem lawyers 5lbs to around 3lbs, put a mecuric recoil reducer in forearm and in stock and a good pad on it.....almost a pleaure to shoot now even tho it dang near broke Miz Shi's finger after the fix....

Hmmmm I think i could do most of that stuff myself, the trigger stuff I have tried but would love to learn.  Heck if it tames the .338, I might do it to my other rifles so the females around here can shoot and have more fun.  Thanks for the tips!

Brownells has everything you need....

I have seen the mercury recoil reducers in several sizes, any recomendations? I mentioned the project to a female here at home and now I have 3 rifles and a shotgun to work on.

The mercury recoil reducers I used is the Dead Mule brand and they cost around $50.00 each. I also intsalled one in the forearm and buttstock of a custom Mauser I built from a Yugo M48 model barreled reciever that I had rechambered and rebarreld to .300 Win Mag and the recoil is no worse than that of my Swedish Mauser M96 in 6.5X55MM. I simply used a router to make the " valley " for the Dead Mule to lay in and then when I glass bedded the rifle I just glassed over it. The buttstock was as simple as drilling a 1-1/16" hole in the buttstock to the 6" depth and replacing the recoil pad. The ones I bought were 1" diameter by 6"s long and then installed as mentioned above.

Posted By TOM IN TENNESSEE on 21 Aug 2012 03:36 PM
Flags, never hunted anywhere in West Africa.....what is your opine? Costs, bureaurarcy, conditions, etc.....got bunch of animals I would at least like to see! 

Hunting West Africa is a completely different game than hunting the southern part of the country. I've never done any hunting is East Africa (Tanzania, Ethiopia etc...) but I have done several safaris to the south. The entire aspect of hunting in West Africa is different because it is based more on the French way of doing thing and less like the English way. There is a lot more stalking and hunting on foot and less driving. If you want to hunt lion, it will only be done by tracking. They don't believe in baiting cats. It is a completely different mind-set.

As to costs, they are about the same as what you find elsewhere. Trophy fees are based in Euros so they are higher than those based on dollars but the daily fees are much less so it evens out in the end. They don't have the huge variety of game that the southern regions hold but they do have things like Bongo, Lord Derby Eland, Red River Hog, huge Roan, the forset duikers, huge bodied lions, Kob, several types of bushbuck, Forest Sitatunga, Giant Forest Hog etc... These are the game animals that you don't find in every collection.

I had no problems with the bureaurarcy. The outfitter took care of all the permits and visas and I was met at the airport. It took less than 20 minutes to clear customs and get the firearm permit and we were on our way. One thing you do need, especially in Cameroon, is a yellow fever shot. They won't let you leave the airport without it. And it had to be on the yellow International Shot Card. Not hard to get, but it requires a little forward thinking. I watched them turn away a hunter from Canada that didn't have it. One thing that was different was having to fly out of Paris. If you have never been to the airport in Paris, hang onto your hat because it is a pain in the butt.

All in all, I enjoyed it completely. I'd love to go back. I saw Lord Derby Eland 3 times while I was hunting Roan but the quota for the area was spoken for. I'd really like to try for one of those. They truly are a remarkable beast to see.

Thanks for info....already have YF shot as TAN required it when I went and I still have a few years on it.

I had Hill Country Rifle in New Braunfells Tx tame my Sako 338 Win Mag back in the 90's. They did an exceptional job.

I put recoil reducers in two of my rifles and three of my shotguns. I've used both the mercury and mechanical types. They both help reduce felt recoil, and I can't tell if one works better than the other. They were not hard to install, although I was VERY CAREFUL when I drilled the hole in the fancy stock of my .300 Weatherby.

My "two gun battery" is my .375 RUM and my .300 Wby, although on one African hunt I took the .375 RUM for buffalo and a 7mm Rem mag for PG. I've used the .375 RUM for quite a number of African animals from Steenboks to Kudu, and of course Buffalo.

To tame the recoil of both my .375 RUM and .300 Wby, they both have recoil reducers in their stocks, KDF muzzle brakes, and Limbsaver pads. I've also polished the trigger sears and set the triggers of both of them at 3 lbs.

I've been looking at a West Africa hunt for several years and almost booked one in Burkina Faso last year. I think if I ever do another African hunt it will be there.

I keep refraining from a West Africa trip because I know I would go nuts over the variety I have never seen as I did in East and Southern Africa....while there are many species in West Africa that I would love to hunt including tiny ones, Bongo and Lord Darby Eland would be top of list!....my two gun battery would most likely be my .375RUM and a shotgun if I ever went!