Winchester Alaskan .375 question

[coreydb]

Sako 85 is phased out, but can still be found in old stocks around.
New rifle is Sako 90, some say is push feed (I am not sure)

You're right! my bad. The 90 is a great rifle

 

[Longwalker]

I have a m70 Alaskan .375, and have hunted with a rented m70 Safari Express .375. Both are OK rifles if you’ve checked them out for proper function.
My Alaskan was a great disappointment for a while because it was shipped from the factory with a defective striker spring and misfired about one in three shots because of light primer strikes. It took nearly a year for warranty work.
I prefer the handling qualities of the Alaskan stock and the long barrel does not bother me, I even like the weight forward balance. My rifle has two cross bolts, but the bedding was some casually applied thermoplastic under the recoil lug, not proper epoxy. I paid a gunsmith $300 to cut that stuff out and do a proper epoxy / pillar bedding job and I’m glad I did.
The rented Safari express didn’t kick much, which was nice, but it handled like a log.
I also have a Sako m85 Kodak, but it also had problems as shipped from the factory. After tuning up the extractor to improve the angle of ejection and glass bedding the recoil plate, it has become my favourite .375 rifle. Slick feeding and ejection, accurate, and lively handling.
My comment on your being nervous about buying used rifles in dangerous game chamberings: To get a fully functional, “take it out of the box and go hunting dangerous game” rifle you may get lucky with a new rifle in the m70 price range. That hasn’t been my experience with five different moderately priced .375s. One of them was a highly recommended CZ550 AHR #2 custom that cost quite a lot but still had problems.
If doing it over again I’d buy a well proven used rifle that I could actually try before I buy, or pay 5x that price and buy a Heym Express, Rigby, or Original Mauser. Or a Blaser for somewhat less.

 

[Clodo Ferreira]

Hi Longwalker,

In my experience, the original Winchester 70 pre-64 375 H&H, made before 1960 are good candidates to function without flaws from the start, except the bedding issue almost all those H&H magnums have. Simple to fix. All other things are flawless: Feed, eject and and their accuracy.
Mine, once fixed the bedding problem, feeds-extracts and ejects live cartridges and/or fired cases as if there were none in the rifle! And I don´t know any other rifle easier to manipulate the bolt from the shoulder. Period. The same could be said for the original African M70 in 458 Winchester.
My 375 H&H made in 1954.




Best regards and Merry Christmas!

 

[DrBob]

I wish that they would bring back the stainless version in 375 H&H. That said, the lines of the Alaskan are great. I have the stainless and put it in a Bell and Carlson as the factory one was not stiff enough.