which .375h&h rifle?

Status
Not open for further replies.
B

back40

Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2012
Messages
999
i'm itching for a 375h&h. i really like the look of the m70 safari express, but understand that the m70 alaskan is less chunky and easier handling. it seems winchester is not currently making their alaskan in stainless, which would have been my choice.

anyone have experience with the kimber 8400 talkeetna? it seems to offer everything i want, albeit at a slightly lighter weight.

any others i should look at? i like ruger rifles and own/have owned a few, but would prefer to stick with the h&h chambering.
 
I've handled both and own several .375H&H's. The Alaskan is a better rifle for North America and the Safari is a better executed rifle when Africa is the planned target. I like my Alaskan.
 
any opinions on the talkeetna? any downsides to the blind mag that i'm overlooking?

i'm really curious as to how much beefier the SE is compared to the alaskan. i'll have to see if i can get my hands on them to compare.
 
IMHO the Talkeetna is highly over priced for the quality.
 
H&Hhunter said:
IMHO the Talkeetna is highly over priced for the quality.
Click to expand...

I'm disappointed to read that. I have a Talkeetna and consider it to be worth every penny. The Talkeetna has a secret that I'm not going to divulge here, but there's a reason why Craig Boddington bought one of the first ones made after he took it to Africa ... and he's a lefty.

I plan on buying a Caprivi in .458 Lott eventually.
 
I'm disappointed to read that. I have a Talkeetna and consider it to be worth every penny.
Click to expand...

1858,

This is simply my opinion it does not affect how you feel about or judge your rifle in any tiny little way. A request for opinions was asked and I gave mine. And here is the reason why.

You pay a lot for the Kimber name but I do not see where it gives much in the way of increased quality or function. If I am going to step up to that price point my choice would be a custom built AHR rifle. I am less than impressed with Kimber rifles over all. I've owned two of them and they were both decent but overrated and over priced IMO.

No insult intended to you personally.

Craig had good things to say about the the Caprivi. I can't find where he took the Talkeetna to Africa but would be interested in reading about it.
http://archives.gunsandammo.com/content/kimbers-caprivi?page=1
 
Last edited:
H&Hhunter, I didn't take it personally. You have a lot of experience and knowledge to share and your opinion and observations are always appreciated. I will say that I didn't pay anything close to MSRP for mine since I got industry pricing but I'm fairly sure I'd still be happy with the purchase even if I'd spent quite a bit more. To me it's a great rifle and one of only a few that I've been completely happy with from day one.
 
I heard about Craig taking a Talkeetna to Africa and buying it on his return from an individual involved in the development of the rifle who knows him well. I don't know if he ever wrote about it.
 
I see you live in Montana. I can only guess that you might know Dwight?
 
You pay a lot for the Kimber name but I do not see where it gives much in the way of increased quality or function. If I am going to step up to that price point my choice would be a custom built AHR rifle. I am less than impressed with Kimber rifles over all. I've owned two of them and they were both decent but overrated and over priced IMO.
Click to expand...

I'm novice at rifles my experience confirms this. I recently bought 2 rifles, a Win. M70 Super Grade .30-06 and a Kimber Select Grade Stainless .308. So my experience doesn't exactly correlate to Big Game hunting rifles, but perhaps it's pertinent. I live in a remote area and didn't get a chance to look at the rifles before ordering.

The Kimber was several hundred dollars more expensive but the Winchester is a much nicer rifle, even if they had both cost the same.

Both have good triggers and are accurate.

The Kimber action is rougher, noisier, much more loosly fitted.

The Kimber 'match chamber' isn't - not even close. It is rough and leaves marks on fired cartridge cases where dull or nicked reamers were used to finish it. Winchester chamber is immaculate.

But the Winchester is fairly heavy and the Kimber is a light, handy, and accurate rifle, if very over priced compared to the Winchester.

Winchester wood is much nicer.

I'd buy another Winchester without hesitation and probably will.

I won't be buying another Kimber.
 
I know who Dwight is but don't know him personally.

back40, I hope I haven't screwed your thread up too much. If you're ever up in Montana and want to shoot a Talkeetna then let me know. It might be hard to find one, even just to handle. That's about all I can offer.
 
I'd like to know more opinions on the question above concerning blind mags. I can't for the life of me see why anyone WOULDN'T want a blind mag. Dropping all your ammo at once can (and has) come at inconvenient times, for me at least.

I'm going to find out what AHR rifles are right now...

Thanks, Greg
 
Beautiful.
I wonder, do the change the bolt, I understand the CZ is only nominally CRF...
No blind mag...
I take it that the coating is tougher than bluing; I'd prob like that, I like the darker color but the SS toughness.
Thanks for the name,
Greg
 
ExAgorzdzo,

No they don't change the bolt on a CZ they smooth it up but it's still a CRF action. Basically they take a CZ and make it into what it should be in the first place an extremely accurate, reliable, bomb proof DG rifle. You can have them put a M-70 style safety on it too which gets rid of the well documented safety sliding to on in recoil problem that big bore CZ have.

Blind mags are a weight and money saving feature on a rifle. They are a bit of a PITA to unload but in a CRF rifle it isn't a big deal. Just let the extractor pick up the shell then eject it you don't have to chamber the round. I've got both and I have to say that I don't mind either. A well done floor plate will not open at the wrong time and a blind mag isn't that big of a hassle so it's kind of a mute point to me.
 
375 h&h

I don't know if they still make them, but I like my Browning a-bolt in 375 H&H.
 
The Talkeetna has a secret that I'm not going to divulge here, but there's a reason why Craig Boddington bought one of the first ones made after he took it to Africa ... and he's a lefty.
Click to expand...

1858,

You are KILLING me here my friend, what's the secret ingredient that makes the Talkeetna what it is?:)
 
I shot a Sauer takedown in .375 H&H that belongs to a friend of mine. It is a very nice, butter smooth rifle. I was impressed by it.
 
I was looking at Mauser the other day, that looked like a good rifle: wish I could put my hands on one...another reason to move from CA...
Greg
 
No real experience with the 375's, but I own both Kimber and Winchester in smaller calibers and will offer some observations. Quality is slightly in favor of the Kimber with the rifles I own and have seen, but not by a huge amount. The Winchesters generally are fine, but a little more hit and miss. Kimber synthetic stocks are far better than the junk Winchester puts on their guns.

The only reason I'd pay a premium for a Kimber over Winchester is for the extreme light weight of the Kimber. If I wanted a standard weight rifle I'd rather save the money and buy the Winchester. In a rifle like this light weight isn't a concern, so it seems the Winchester is the better choice in this case. But if having stainless is that important, and you feel the extra money is worth it I have no complaints with Kimber. Just looking at MSRP it is about $1,000 more. I doubt you'd go wrong if you can justify the extra expense.

any downsides to the blind mag that i'm overlooking?
Click to expand...

I'm basically neutral on blind magazines. A lot of folks don't think a rifle without one is complete. But blind mags do make for a stronger stock without the cutout. While failures are rare, it is one less thing to go wrong with a gun. Floorplates have been known to open and dump your ammo on the ground. That can't happen with a blind magazine. Blind magazines reduce weight somewhat and the overall price of a gun. It takes all of about 3 seconds longer to unload a gun with a blind magazine. I have both types and wouldn't let that influence my decision a lot either way.
 
I had the complete opposite experience described by gbw. I bought a Winchester Model 70 Extreme Weather chambered in .300 Win Mag and a Kimber Montana chambered in .300 WSM from the same store on the same day. The Winchester was $800 after a rebate and the Kimber was $1,050. Here's a photo of the Winchester action. I like the rifle but I had to clean the action up a bit first. Notice the the over zealous machining near the ejection port. The Kimber on the other hand was perfect out of the box. This experience didn't put me off the Winchester EW though and I bought one in .308 Win that I'm very happy with.

win_70_ew_ss_01.jpg
 
for a month last year i carried a cz550 in .375H&H and one in 7mm mag hunting in south africa and botswana and it worked as it should. no problems at all, i would like a .375 winchester model crf in .375 H&H in left hand. i have three usa left hand crf winchesters and may rebarrel one in .375 ruger. eastbank.
 
the kimber caught my attention because of the stainless. if winchester were making their alaskan in stainless right now, the kimber wouldn't even be considered. that said, i'm still a little up in the air as to whether i want a stainless/synthetic, or blued/walnut gun.

the AHRs look gorgeous, also checked out dakota rifles, but alas, a bit out of my price range. i'd like to keep it under $3k if possible and still have a nice rifle. this of course, does not include glass. perhaps a winchester will be the most bang for the buck.

appreciate all the replies. and pics are always welcome too.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Robert
  • Locked
New Elk Rifle
2 3
Replies
62
Views
2K
High plains shootist
H
A
  • Locked
Can .308Win do everything that .375H&H do?
2
Replies
45
Views
14K
Water-Man
W
E
  • Locked
Marksmanship and heavy (.375H&H) recoil
2
Replies
35
Views
1K
792mauser
792mauser
L
  • Locked
Charles Daly .375H&H
Replies
7
Views
1K
Mornard
M
Bobson
  • Locked
.375 H&H Magnum
2
Replies
31
Views
3K
Winchester101
W
Back
Top