Remington 798 375 H&H

[Bruce]

Regarding the barrel touching the laminated stock issue, years ago when living in Zambia I was out in the bush hunting and had a very new second hand BRNO 300 WM rifle( wooden stock) that I took along.
I could not get this rifle to group properly and it was shooting all over the place.. so much so that I packed it away and just used my 375 and 30 -06. One night around the fire, one of the PH's with us ( also a personal friend of mine) asked me to bring him that @#$%&^ 300 and a screw driver. Eesshh.. very reluctantly I complied AFTER checking first what he intended to do. He said he suddenly remembered that when he was a kid on the farm, he had a similar issue with a rifle and his father had stripped off the barrel and removed "high spots" inside the seat on the stock... the rifle shot like a dream after that, he said.
Anyway, so he removed the barrel and lo and behold there were 2 x marks where the barrel was rubbing... he took out his penknife and cut away these high spots and to this day, that 300 WM shoots on a tickey. I have replaced scopes a few times on this same rifle and never had issues getting it zeroed in. Sometimes the SIMPLE things are the problem and IN THIS CASE, THE HIGH SPITS WERE DEFINITELY AFFECTING THE RIFLE ACCURACY.

 

[enysse]

If the stock is firmly gripped by the bedding screws by the trigger, the barrel should be free floating. Any high points are going to cause vibrations that will ruin any potential accuracy. When removed, only physical movement by the shooter will cause big problems.

 

[sestoppelman]

Not to be argumentative about it, but for clarity, the real important screw is the front action screw. This one needs to be tight, the trigger guard screws depending on the particular model are less important than the big one up front. Most rifles leave the factory with a pressure point near the end of the stock which pushes up on the barrel. This sometimes works fine, but its the first thing I get rid of if there are flyer issues. You are right in that usually a fully free floated barrel works best but not always. As mentioned above the little rub spots inside the barrel channel need to get sanded out if that's all that's touching. Sometimes you have to go a step further and glass bed the action, but I don't do that until all else has failed.

 

[Slugs Away]

I would not hesitate in the purchasing of that gun, unless a 458 win mag showed up.
Zastava mausers are awesome and would make Paul Mauser proud.

 

[Milan]

I thought I would post an epilogue to this tale. The gunsmith, Lemieux Armouiers in Quebec (fantastic btw), repaired the blueing on the barrel after I decided against replacing the barrel band and installed a new Bold trigger. Today I finally got a chance to sight it in. I just got a box of 270gr federal power points for this. I was only at fifty yards but I am quiet pleased and very relieved! It's actually three shots. I now have Norma brass, GS Customs and Woodleighs all the way up to 350 gr to play with. Let's hope for a warm winter!

Cool! I have Whitworth Mk X which is pretty much the same action and barrel just stocked, blued and slicked up in England. Shoots the same (also with standard factory ammo) and is very nice to handle. Love it. I love CZs so I cannot say anything bad about them but in .375H&H I think this is a lighter, slimmer better handling rifle. I find the Magnum actions better suited for larger than .375 H&H cartridges as others have already mentioned. Enjoy your gun.

 

[Pheroze]

This rifle has now seen a safari. I thought I would post my impressions.

I like it.


Why? First of all it handles nicely. The 22" barrel and its over all weight make it a very easy gun to travel around the bushveld with. The deep checkering is almost sharp and you can get a sure grip even when sweaty. The laminated stock is great for a working rifle. I personally like the grain. And, it resists scuffs very well. At times I was crawling over gravel like terrain and through thorn bushes. Despite that it really does not show any signs of the abuse. The only scratches occurred when I did not have it in the soft case in the bakkie. It got two long scratches when it slipped off of the back seat. However, even those scratches are hard to see now.

The aftermarket trigger makes a big difference and I am glad I did that modification. Also, the action has smoothed up nicely with use. It is not Sako smooth, but I am enjoying how it has bedded in. The Zastava action has a solid reputation and it lived up to its billing so far.

Most importantly, it is as accurate as I am.

All in all, I would highly recommend this rifle as a working rifle. It had a sticker price that was easily negotiated down. So, you can have a durable, accurate, good handling rifle for a lot less than anything else out there. Problem is they are discontinued, but I still think you should be able to find some out there.

Can't wait to try it out on DG!!!

Safe hunting!

 

[HuntingGold]

thanks for the report!

 

[Pheroze]

Your welcome.

I forgot to talk about the magazine: of interest to reloaders is the fact that your COL will be limited by the magazine. I found I was kept to just very slightly longer that SAAMI specs for the 375 H&H. I believe the restriction limited my ability to use the 200gr GS Customs, which seem to like to be seated out further than the magazine would allow. However, the Woodleigh and Hornady bullets did just fine.

 

[Rob404]

Thanks for your report, Zastava actions are really overlooked