best bolt action for dangerous games

[R eight]

I should also add that I wouldn’t use a Remington 700 on dangerous game unless she’s had the Remington extractor replaced with a Sako/M16 type.
I use to be a Remington fan, and years ago I shot a lot of game with several, including wild cattle and a couple of water buffalo. Was a fan until about 20 years ago when I had an extractor fail when hunting….was a barstard of a problem. Had a sako type extractor fitted and no more issues.

 

[cajunchefray]

True some just more often than others.....

True statement.

If man makes it, it can fail.
Some men fail less often than others.

My maternal grandfather was an old school, forge welding blacksmith, who apprenticed building the Panama Canal.

On old Cajun, in South Louisiana, un- educated descendant of the Acadien diaspora from Nova Scotia.

He welded plows and tool bars (remember those) for tractor implements.
His welds did not fail, the plows and implements lasted.

Thats why I appreciate old gunsmiths. They can make our tools work.

CR

 

[thriller]

what do you think is the best bolt action for dangerous game hunting?

A Winchester model 70 and I have one for sale in 458 win mag all decked out and ready to go it just so happens…. Let me know if you want to talk about it. It’s listed in the classifieds also.

 

[R eight]

I used a Voere Model 2165 Magnum in .300 Winchester Magnum during an African safari in 1996. It used it exclusively for all of the plains game on that safari, loaded with 200Gr Nosler Partitions. The rifle was incredibly accurate. And I found the action to be extremely reliable. True Austrian workmanship.

Tests made by a firearm company to promote one of their products over another company's products have a long history of being extremely biased and unreliable. To put matters into perspective, when Winchester first came up with the post '64 Model 70 ... They used Dave Ommaney in a promotional video to publicly declare that the new push feed action is far more reliable than the old pre '64 control round feed action. 28 years later, the folks at Winchester finally learnt their lesson and came to their senses.

Remington Model 700s are exceptionally accurate rifles. But I've personally had two that failed to extract expended cartridges (one in .375 Holland & Holland Magnum which actually had the extractor break and one in 7mm Remington Magnum). And at least one of my white hunters experienced a similar extraction failure in his Remington Model 700 (which was chambered in .416 Remington Magnum).

Now, for some reason... I've never experienced any extraction problems in Remington Model 700s that were chambered in .308 Winchester or .30-06 Springfield or .458 Winchester Magnum. Nor have I ever heard of any from a credible source. Strange, isn't it ?

I do know (from personal experience) that the Remington Model 700 extractor is too small for the big .375 Holland & Holland Magnum case.

Nor had I until it happened to me. Whilst visiting Quantico in 1993, I was fortunate enough to have a tour of the armoury/ workshop there, where Remington 700 actions were turned into sniper rifles. All of those rifles had M16 type extractors fitted. I asked an armourer/ gunsmith why ? Because the Remington extractor fails was his reply.

 

[mark-hunter]

To make the story short, by participating on this forum for years, and having read all the similar discussions, being on safari 3 times, i will just give the list of models proven good in dangerous game country:
Mauser 98, ZKK 602, CZ 550, Blaser R8, ruger r1, winchester m70 pre-64.
Full stop.

Undoubtedly other rifles have been used successfully, but above list is by far most often recommended.

Old model Voere, are mauser 98, I have limited experience with one in 8x57.
Rifle shoots well, feed and extracts well, and has wing safety, which can be obstruction to mount scope.
New voere 98, still offered by company is not offered in any DG caliber, not even 375 H&H. Thats a pitty. So voere is off the list, with present offers
(When looking for my DG mauser, I checked and got reply from company, 375, not available)

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

4 African Hunts (2 for DG) and I’m going to stand by my Pre64 M70. Hoping my next DG hunt involves a double but will likely have the trusty Pre64 M70 present over the ZKK602 or newer M70 options in the safe.

 

[Fixfire]

Under $2000, gotta go with the Winchester Mod. 70 Safari Express--375 H&H.
Over $2000 but less than $10,000, probably a Dakota or Kimber.
Over $10,000 but less than $20,000, John Rigby & Co. Big Game in 416 Rigby or the Mauser version not finished by Rigby.
Over $20,000--the Rigby London Best, or any of the other London makers.

Well said.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

Well, I didn’t get the Memo. So I bought (2) SAKO’s in .375 H&H. So far no issues and I’m not even that lucky…

My first was a Right Handed Finnbear that killed a few. Second is a SAKO 85 Hunter Left Handed. It’s killed some…

I’ll stick with SAKO and continue to practice shooting to become as accurate a shot as my rifles allow.

When I do hunt DG I’ll try to avoid short-stroking the bolt to avoid what may get you run through if things go south after your first shot!

**I may sell my Finnbear in the near future because I’m not using it anymore.

 

[Philip Glass]

I don’t think you realize the type of question you just asked…

I look forward to the ensuing chaos.

Yep!

 

[Philip Glass]

what do you think is the best bolt action for dangerous game hunting?

The one you have worked with for a long period of time and have honestly tried to break. In other words a big bore rifle that a gunsmith has worked on and you have shot rapid fire many times with different kinds of ammo proving its worthyness. This bench rest, single feeding of one type of hand loaded ammo (no handloads for DG!) is the opposite of what I am talking about.
There is not an out of the box DG rifle. each one has to be proven.
Take my word for it your life depends on it.
Philip

 

[SCLawyer]

I'll defer to some of the more experienced members, but I would add that, for the money, an old Ruger RSM in 375 H&H or 416 Rigby is hard to beat.

 

[uplander01]

First off, any guys DG rifle should be the most expensive gun in your steel storage box. I cringe when I hear guys say they are going on a buffalo hunt or whatever and want to spend 1500 on a rifle.

I concur with the gentleman on here that are supporters of the M98, The Granite Mountain Action being king for sure simply due to the fact they make their bigger actions the correct size for big calibers. Also, not all makers are of the same skill level, there are huge differences in skill, I feel that for a regular traveling sportsman a real well made all around DG rifle starts with a .4 in diameter and has a price tag of minimum $8000, but if you are going to be a one rifle guy and use it on a lot of hunts, spend 10-15k. All that being said the Blaser R8's work, but I don't like them, personal taste, nothing more.

 

[PerH]

schultz larsen .416 rigby at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

I hope one day to come across one of these , whether or not in .378,.416 or .460 it will be a Nordic creation that so many borrowed from, it was push feed,but strong quick repeati.g action thst handle a lot of heat and pressure.

 

[fourfive8]

Which one? One that has proven design that operates reliably by shooter under stress and in less than ideal conditions, is accurate and as large a caliber as user can accurately shoot.

I reload and don’t mess with loads to get last 50 fps velocity. I load for reliability, especially under hot conditions so use temp insensitive powders. I use the best, most appropriate bullets no matter the cost. I test function, under stress at the range with the ammo I am going to use. I load a magazine full of empties and cycle them a few times to check feeding. I load a magazine full of dummies with bullets I’m going to use and cycle them a few times- fast, slow and medium speed. All this to see if I can cause a loading/cycling hiccup. The only down side is this cosmetically scuffs or dings the brass a little. At the range I’ll fire and cycle bolt fast to test myself and the rifle. At the range I’ll reload magazine fast from cartridge carrier to simulate field conditions under stress. After many repetitions and trials to cause rifle or shooter failure… I can have a better idea how a particular DG rifle will work for me. Right now I have a BRNO 602 375 HH, a Win 70 375 HH, a Win 70 416 Rem Mag and a Montana 99 450 Watts. All are CRF, accurate and function perfectly. The smoothest is the late New Haven Win 70 416.

Example of rounds used to test cycling from magazine. One is resized empty and other is dummy loaded with longest nose, FP bullet that I have.

 

[Frederik]

98 action and any clones of them for DG is perfect but when the hunter has not practised and mastered the rifle it doesn't help anyway.

Common Mistakes:

1. Short stroking the bolt/closing bolt on empty chamber.
2. never tested ammo feeding under pressure and speed.
3. Not sure how the safety works
4. how many rounds can the magazine take and work with it.
5. does the ammo fit the magazine when filled up?

I have had cleints arrive and firing thir first shot with a brand new rifle at the range when checking zero only for the scope to fall off after the 3rd shot.

For DG hunts one must prepare onself mentally and gear! When the hits the fan it happens quick one cannot expect the PH to solve the issue they are also human.

 

[Nyati]

A Heym would be just fine !

 

[akrifleman]

"You went into battle with an untried gun?" - The Ghost and the Darkness.
Bring shit that works, man. Action type, cartridge, etc is irrelevant. Doesn't matter the reputation of a double, CRF, etc... It either works perfectly every time you use it, or it doesn't.

 

[fourfive8]

Here's a short video of my Win 70 416 Rem Mag chambering an empty. Shows how reliably and smoothly a bolt action can cycle out of the magazine - even with an empty.

416 Rem empty feed video 480.mov

www.africahunting.com

 

[Safari Dave]

1. M98 (or a variant, like the Ruger M77)
2. Winchester Model 70 Pre-64 or new CRF
3. CZ 550 Safari (Even though I'm not in love with the handle they chose to put on that bolt)
4. Some serious new custom rifles with CRF
5. Weatherby Mark V
6. For me, personally, I have never had a problem with a Remington M700 or a Post-64 Winchester

 

[Safari Dave]

1. M98 (or a variant, like the Ruger M77)
2. Winchester Model 70 Pre-64 or new CRF
3. CZ 550 Safari (Even though I'm not in love with the handle they chose to put on that bolt)
4. Some serious new custom rifles with CRF
5. Weatherby Mark V
6. For me, personally, I have never had a problem with a Remington M700 or a Post-64 Winchester action, although they seem to be despised by others on this forum. (and maybe for good reason)


I took 2 guns to the range today, a M700 and a Kimber Hunter with a "Mauser-type" action.
I made 1 shot each and everything was perfect.

My partner's rifles - One CRF and one "push feed" were all over the place and he probably fired 20 rounds and left the range with more questions than answers.


IMHO - (unless you frequently shoot upside down hanging by your tail), a good quality "push feed" reigns supreme to a poor or mediocre CRF.

I've killed more big game with an M700 than with all all others combined (probably close to 100 animals).


I would be OK with a push feed on:

1. buffalo
2. elephant
3. rhino
4. leopard - from a blind