To .275 H&H or not to .275 H&H?

[Excessexpress]

Let me help you out.

Send the seller’s details to me and I’ll take care of it for you.

 

[John Telford]

I have an opportunity to buy a pre-war .275 H&H bolt at a decent price--cosmetically, the rifle has been to hell and back but it is structurally sound and has a bright, shiny bore.

If it was (mostly) any other caliber, I'd jump on it, but it is the .275 that is giving me pause. Bullet diameter is .287, which limits me pretty much to Hawk and Woodleigh. I hear that dies are a pain to get and although RCBS lists them within their Group G special order, users on other forums say that this quest has turned out to be either a matter of many months or even of being in Limbo. Ditto for CH4D.

Brass is another Holy Grail deal. Right now, the only two manufacturers that may be a source are Quality Cartridges (of which I've read that occasionally the primer pockets are too deep, resulting in misfires) and RCC of Texas, of which I've heard absolutely nothing. It's not the $5+ a shell that scares me, it's the unknown reputation of the manufacturers.

Does anyone else have experience with this cartridge? I've booked with Karoo Wild Safaris for next year and I wouldn't mind building me up this rifle for that safari, but the perplexities of doing so abound...

I have 100 rounds of original ammo if you are interested