Hello everyone, new member here, this is my first post.
Have considered buying a .375 for a few years now and will likely pull the trigger this spring when I return from Afghanistan.
I
eventually plan to head to Africa and thought that the .375 H&H would be perfect for an Africa trip and some Elk/Moose/Bear in N. America.
I've always been a fan of practice, practice and am amused at the range when I see a guy with a two thousand dollar 1911 .45 that he's had for 5 years and not a scratch on it. I think that the guy with the "off the shelf" .45 who's put a few thousand rounds through it will always have the drop.
That in mind, I'd like to take my .375 deer hunting and to the range and out of doors to do some off hand shooting, snap shooting, over the sticks, and at targets of various ranges with and without the scope.
With all that in mind, I'd like to have a tough rifle. The CZ seems to be getting a lot of good praise, I haven't seen one complaint about it yet (and I've read a LOT of boards and articles). I have however, seen a lot of complaints of guns "broken" from the factory from Winchester & Ruger. For example, here is a review of the Mod 70 from a customer at Cabellas:
Be prepared to tackle issues with any of these FN Model 70's before you can take it hunting. On my Safari model, the bolt sleeve lock was way too long and had to be filed before the bolt could be disassembled. It is supposed to be a "field strippable" bolt. Also the barrel mounted swivel stud's hole was too small to allow a swivel to be inserted. I had to drill it out. In both cases the service dep't said they would do it or I could, but since I have sent 2 FN Model 70's into the service dep't and got them back the same or worse than they were before, I just did it myself. Problems I have had with other FN Model 70's include creepy triggers, unrelable feeding from the magazine, and the total inability to close on a chambered round not from the magazine (despite what the manual says). I just think there is inadequate inspection of the subcontracted parts. Each gun has different issues. When the service dep't can't even fix basic problems like feeding issues I call it quits on Winchester.
Cabela's: Winchester Model 70 Safari Express Rifles
I've seen a lot of complaints like this about Rugers, Winchesters & even had a buddy with a Remington 700 broken from the factory. I haven't
ever seen a complaint like this about the CZ 550 which pulls me towards this gun somewhat. I am interested in the Winchester Safari but would like to hear more from others who have recently purchased one. Perhaps the factory has worked out some of the bugs?
I digress: the one thing that was
most important to me when selecting a rifle was that I wanted it in stainless. I plan to spend many a day in the filed with it, perhaps a Canadian or Alaskan trip and I'd really like to have a stainless gun. It is quite shocking to me that neither the Winchester or the CZ come in stainless. I would probably take a Ruger, but they don't seem to have anything in .375 H&H stainless, or do they? I checked their website and all of their current production rifles (in stainless) seem to be in .375 Ruger. I won't buy that round just on the principle of Ruger
making me buy
their round if I want one of
their guns. Just like I won't buy an Ipod because I don't want to be locked into "Itunes." It just seems like an infringement of my freedom...?
I've read quite a few stings of posts here and have picked up some invaluable information, so, thanks to all for that.
If anyone has a suggestion for a stainless/synthetic combo in .375 H&H I'd love to know it. And, does anyone have an opinion if some of the manufacturers will start to offer H&H in stainless?
I suppose, for the price, I could just take the CZ and if it gets a bit of rust in Alaska, I should refer to my basic belief that a gun is a tool and not a decoration, it should be used and look used.
