Yowza, that is good!
Yea it’s hard right now...just asking cause your budget made me remember something. @Kycrawler has a very nice looking 416 Ruger in the classifieds with scope and a lot of bullets and brass for I believe 2k. It’s a sweet package deal I would have jumped all over if I hadn’t just bought my 375. I think it’s on page 3 right now in classifieds if still available
I have paid less in Australia with or currency. But that's before any increase.
They will come back, a mate might help out since you won't need tons
Have you read some of the issues surrounding factory CZs? Might not be such a good buy if it requires a lot of time spent at gunsmith to be functional. I have never owned a CZ but it concerns me if an entire gun smithing business was set up to work on them.
I have, and because of that I have considered a weatherby vanguard in 375 H&H ...new they are only $1100. However I have done a fair amount of simple machining/gunsmithing.
One suggestion I would make on the Vanguard rifle...not sure in the .375 but all of the Vanguard actions I have seen are push feed. For the same price up to about 1250 or so you should be able to find a Model 70 Alaskan or Safari Winchester and will have a much smoother action that is a CRF design...much better IMO for DG
The 416 Rigby cartridge is well over a 100 years old and was designed around the very temperature sensitive, early smokeless powder- Cordite. That is why it is so big. It fits better in the larger magnum action. The 416 Remington hit the market in 1988 and fits in a standard long action. There is no ballistic difference between the two and all the regurgitated stories about the Rem over-pressurizing in hot conditions are over cooked, so to speak. To my knoledge the only loads that did that were the very first Remington factory loads. Current factory loads show no issues. If reloading, 400 gr bullets over a modern temperature insensitive powder like Varget to 2350-2400 fps works exceptionally well.
The biggest difference from a reliability standpoint is cycling the action out of shooting position. If the rifle remains straight up and down then either should cycle reliably with no issues. The CRF design comes in to play when you fire a shot off and have to cycle the action as you either retreat or reposition and the rifle comes out of shooting position such as the ejection port facing the ground as you are cycling. The CRF design should still reliably capture the round as it exits the mag well and cycle it into the chamber as the push feed design has no grip on the cartridge at this point and is very prone to jam.
Sadly, Kentucky is the land of small bores, so trying one out is unlikely... but I would love to have a safe full of only DG calibers...My best suggestion would be to handle and shoot a few big rifles/calibers first if possible before making the decision. A side by side comparison of different actions can be an eye opener. And for caliber choices just go all in and get a 375 HH, 416 of some flavor and a 458 Lott.
