Looking For An Inexpensive Old Beat Up .375 Rifle

[Albert GRANT]

For those in the know, and sorry Albert for the slight hijack of your thread, How well does the Whitworth compare to the BRNO?

No worries, it's an old thread, and I have my .375 now. You probably would have better luck if you started a thread with your question as the title though.

 

[Philip Glass]

I bought my .375 Ruger on Gunbroker for $900. So keep in mind they are not that expensive and then you have a new gun! Enjoy your first safari.
Regards,
Philip

 

[rookhawk]

Pat McCabe of Willoughby McCabe is a pretty well known gunsmith. This topic was broached on Wednesday evening and he stated the whiteorth 375HH is one of the finest camp rifles ever made. I've never owned one so I cannot comment but he knows his stuff and he loves them.

 

[Rob404]

Well I'm not sure about the Brno but I have owned a CZ in 375HH (sold) then later bought another CZ 375 for a 404Jeff conversion, I own a Whiworth/Zastava in 375HH. I'd say if you come across a Whitworth at a good price snap it up, they are well built and very accurate

 

[PaulT]

Just a suggestion,
but why not buy an action as a component and then slowly build on that as you can.
You say you want your boys to have in-put and you want to restore, but why not build from scratch.

You could build it the way you want and add work/pieces such as barrel etc as you can afford it.
Engage a smith to do the chambering & head-spacing, buy a generic synthetic stock to suit and do all the fitting and finishing with your boys.

There is an endless supply of you-tube videos showing how to do most of the stages of gun-building.
If you're only intent is to end up with something functional and the priority is to have your boys having in-put this could be an option for you.

 

[Ryan]

Albert,

Start by getting a hold of some gun shops in Alaska. Like others have said, in most if the US a .375 is a "keep the dream alive" safe queen. Some friends of mine traveled to Alaska for a roll your own caribou hunt last year. In the big state we found .375 rifles in all states of repair or disrepair at many gun shops. Grizz and Moose hunters alike carry them, in addition to folks who carry medium bores as insurance against bear. Ping some of the Alaskan based members and maybe they can hook you up with a local gunshop that deals more extensively in medium bores. Someone has a beater laying around. I was in close to the same boat as you whence planning my safari. Whitworth, Winchester, and CZ rifles were the best bargains for a fully functional bolt .375 at the time (2014). All of these were in the arena of $1000 give or take a hundred or two for a ready to go rifle. You may have a hard time finding anything for under $600 unless you can get into an area that has high use for these medium bore rifles (Alaska or Africa) and thus a higher amount and variability of stock. Good luck on your project, and good luck on your safari!

Country

As a lefty Alaskan in Anchorage I can look around the pawn shops here but honestly most AK hunters use the more practical 30 cals, though I do recall an avid moose hunter who loved the H&H. It's the out of state hunter most likely to use one and realize it's not their thing. Most big bores here are either bear guides guns or serious bear hunters and they aren't giving them up. The last left handed medium to big bore I saw in a pawn shop here was a 416 Remington which the shop was anxious to give up, at a price. I bought my lefty 375 Ruger via Gunbroker almost five year back, it wasn't beat up or under $7-800 as I recall.

This is a good excuse to look around.

 

[sestoppelman]

I am a fan of both but my gut feeling says the BRNO should be the better rifle. My own Whitworth .375 has been an excellent rifle and I still have it after 30 years.

 

[sestoppelman]

Pat McCabe of Willoughby McCabe is a pretty well known gunsmith. This topic was broached on Wednesday evening and he stated the whiteorth 375HH is one of the finest camp rifles ever made. I've never owned one so I cannot comment but he knows his stuff and he loves them.

"camp rifle"??

 

[Albert GRANT]

Just a suggestion,
but why not buy an action as a component and then slowly build on that as you can.
You say you want your boys to have in-put and you want to restore, but why not build from scratch.

You could build it the way you want and add work/pieces such as barrel etc as you can afford it.
Engage a smith to do the chambering & head-spacing, buy a generic synthetic stock to suit and do all the fitting and finishing with your boys.

There is an endless supply of you-tube videos showing how to do most of the stages of gun-building.
If you're only intent is to end up with something functional and the priority is to have your boys having in-put this could be an option for you.

As a lefty Alaskan in Anchorage I can look around the pawn shops here but honestly most AK hunters use the more practical 30 cals, though I do recall an avid moose hunter who loved the H&H. It's the out of state hunter most likely to use one and realize it's not their thing. Most big bores here are either bear guides guns or serious bear hunters and they aren't giving them up. The last left handed medium to big bore I saw in a pawn shop here was a 416 Remington which the shop was anxious to give up, at a price. I bought my lefty 375 Ruger via Gunbroker almost five year back, it wasn't beat up or under $7-800 as I recall.

This is a good excuse to look around.

This thread is no longer for me guys. I found my rifle, now there is another member asking about the whitworth

 

[sestoppelman]

Well then you wont mind if we jack it then right?? LOL!

 

[Albert GRANT]

Well then you wont mind if we jack it then right?? LOL!

Not at all. Just making sure they realized the beat up lefty is no longer in play!

 

[BobT]

I was looking at the Whitworth, BRNO and CZ, just my personal opinion but I like the looks of the Whitworth better so that is the direction I went. I have zero complaints with my rifle. I'm sure I would have been happy with either of the other two but the Whitworth came along at the right price first and with about 150 rounds down range so far I really like it.

 

[Roan]

Albert looks like you had a successful safari judging by your avatar!

Hope you enjoyed it!