My scoped .338 WINCHESTER MAGNUM Browning A Bolt weighs 8.5lbs. My unscoped .375 HOLLAND and HOLLAND MAGNUM and .458 WINCHESTER MAGNUM CZ550s weighs 9.3lbs each. All are very shootable for ME just as they are. The X Bolts are 6.10-7.0lbs, same as the A Bolts. My .338WM's felt recoil to ME is even a little more "snappier" than the slightly heavier .375 CZ550. I haven't shot MY .375 Medallion yet as it has no sights and I'm deciding on a scope for it. I think at 8.5lbs scoped it will be fine. I believe Browning/FN produced their African models in .458WM in the '60s and early '70s? I think the earlier ones had CRF actions too? Maybe somebody here with knowledge of the earlier Brownings could chime in.
As you can see by my username and avatar - I’m a big fan of the early Browning Belgian guns, and own a number of them. To shed some light on this earlier post, Browning imported these guns into the US under their name from 1959 - 1974. All made by FN. FN also marketed the exact same gun (in all configs and calibers) for the non-US market and simply omitted the “Browning” rollmark (BTW these can be had for significantly less than a Browning marked gun often times).
The only large “safari” calibers produced were .375 H&H and .458 win mag. They featured FN Mauser commercial CRF actions exclusively from 1959-1965ish, when they started converting to the “FN Supreme” action that was not CRF (push feed with a Sako-style extractor - ostensibly to save cost). All .270 and 30-06 guns were produced with CRF for the entire production run until ‘74, but other standard and long-action calibers were converted to the push feed action starting in ‘64/65 and were basically fully converted by 1966. I say “basically” because FN can always fool you and slip in a variant here and there so never say never. I have not personally seen a .375 or .458 with CRF made after ‘65, but a few may exist.
The 375s and 458s were made in all three configurations (Safari (base), Medallion (mid) and Olympian (top)). Of course, there were the infamous “dark years” of salt-cured wood that most heavily impacted the mid and upper level guns from ‘69 to ‘72 but salt wood can be found on all models from about ‘68 to ‘74 so be careful when you find that bargain. . .there are test kits available for about $10 that will save you untold heartache. Their serial number system is very easy to decode as well, with numerous resources on the web.
The short action calibers (except very early guns, which were small ring Mauser) were produced on Sako actions and are absolutely wonderful guns too.
These guns, even today, are wonderful bargains. In the base model config, you can find superb examples in virtually any caliber for under $2,000. I bought another .458 WM base model four months ago for $1,050 and it looks barely used from 1960 (thus, CRF and no salt). There is no better bargain on the planet of guns, IMO. Rare calibers (308 Norma, 284 win, etc) will go for significantly more, Medallions are in the $3-$4k range depending on caliber and the Olympians are $6k to $12k+ also depending on caliber and engraver name. All of these ranges assume a nice example, not a beater.
I will say that the .458 guns are a little light for caliber making them jumpy to shoot with full loads but carrying one in the field sure is nice . . .
I hope this was interesting/helpful. I’m planning to write an updated article about these guns someday and have been collecting data for some time.
Thanks for indulging me, everyone!
Darin
P.s. - I also own BBRs, A-Bolts and X-Bolts and all of them are top-notch, in case an early gun isn’t your thing.
