Safari Express rifle pic thread

[Renault]

That is pretty slick!
I've always wanted a Ruger #1 but right now all my rifles have either bolts or levers.

My Boddington #1 in .300 Holland & Holland

Renault

 

[Doublegun]

I love the 300HH. Express rifles in 300HH and in 375HH would be the ultimate pair for Africa.

 

[Renault]

Yes, so do I! I really need to get that Ruger out more often. It is a nice rifle. However, I enjoy my Whitworth .375 more. It actually is more pleasant to shoot than the Ruger. We may have another chance at Nilgai in February!

Renault

 

[jkingrph]

I have a #1 in .375 H&H as well as one in a CZ550 Safari. The CZ is much more plesant to shoot than the #1,

What I would like to find is a #1 in 30-06 configured like the tropicals, moderately heavy barrel, Alex Henry forearm and iron sights.

 

[WH1]

+1, on the .375 H&H recoil. It is very comfortable to shoot in the Whitworth. Key is the weight of the rifle plus avoiding the desire to strong arm the rifle. When I learned to give to the recoil instead of trying to "control" the recoil it made a huge difference in the comfort of shooting the weapon. It is now my second favorite, still love my M1 more.

 

[Oldsarge]

I have a "perfect Africa pair" consisting of a Greener M98 in .318 Westley Ricards and a BSA bolt gun in .404 Jeffery. If I were to get a safari Ruger #1, it would have to be in 450/400. Nothing else would do, don'tcherknow. It'd be like sittin' at the bar in the Vic Falls Hotel and orderin' anythin' to drink but a Gilby's and tonic. It ain't done, old man, simply ain't.

 

[jkingrph]

I have a "perfect Africa pair" consisting of a Greener M98 in .318 Westley Ricards and a BSA bolt gun in .404 Jeffery. If I were to get a safari Ruger #1, it would have to be in 450/400. Nothing else would do, don'tcherknow. It'd be like sittin' at the bar in the Vic Falls Hotel and orderin' anythin' to drink but a Gilby's and tonic. It ain't done, old man, simply ain't.

Wish I had one of those Rugers, mine are in .375 H&H and .458 Win., but then I have had them about 12 years.

 

[Roving_Bohemian]

What I would like to find is a #1 in 30-06 configured like the tropicals, moderately heavy barrel, Alex Henry forearm and iron sights.

do you have a photo of what that would look like?

 

[jkingrph]

do you have a photo of what that would look like?

Like the Boddington picture Renault posted!

 

[Roving_Bohemian]

Ok, I thought I must have missed something because you said "configured like the tropicals, moderately heavy barrel, Alex Henry forearm and iron sights" I thought it was a special "tropical" configuration, like the SMLE "Sporter" is a variant of a regular MilSpec Lee-Enfield... so it would look the same just shoot different, right? Sorry for sounding ignorant, I'm new to larger caliber rifles and am eager to learn...

 

[jkingrph]

I suppose that I was assuming that everyone knew about Rugers Tropical series. It used to be only .375 H&H, .416 Rigby and then 458 Win Mag. Then they started adding different calibers. I think but am not sure that the "Boddington in 300 H&H is one of these also, maybe Renault can qualify this.

 

[Roving_Bohemian]

I suppose that I was assuming that everyone knew about Rugers Tropical series. It used to be only .375 H&H, .416 Rigby and then 458 Win Mag. Then they started adding different calibers. I think but am not sure that the "Boddington in 300 H&H is one of these also, maybe Renault can qualify this.

I'm sure they do, I'm just really new to any rifle with a caliber larger than .30-30... but I hope to someday be the owner of a "true" safari gun, so I want to learn as much as I can before I'm in the market...

 

[Oldsarge]

Well, if you start with a M98 Mauser in 9.3x62 you will be well on the way. It is the smallest caliber allowed for dangerous game and though it is far from ideal, especially in case of a charge, it will do the job. You could get that as a 'starter' and carry it on safari for the next thirty years with no fault, whatever. As your budget allows you might consider something in the roughly .40 caliber range. A .416 Remington is most common these days but a .404 Jeffrey has cachet along with ample power for anything that still walks. With those two, no hunter could be better equipped unless he is of timorous nature. In that case something in a big .45 like the Rigby, Dakota, or Lott will give you a measurably greater edge in case a buffalo is completely offended by your existence.

Of course, no one ever went wrong with a .375 H&H, queen of calibers.

 

[Renault]

Several years go Ruger cane out with a series of their Tropical rifles That they refered to as the Boddington series after the contemporary hunter and wrighter of the same name. They were given names like the "Kudu" offered in 300 H&H, the "Buffalo" in 450/400 , the "Leopard" in 30/06 (I think), etc. Can't remember the others. The only difference in these rifles and the regular Tropical #1 that I know of is they were offered with a matte blue finish and with the Leupold type quick release scope rings.

As for the 9.3 x 62. I am a very strong proponent of this cartridge. It has been a sleeper in the states for too long. I've been sucessful in taking a variety of game with it. As Sarge elluded, it may not be the best calibre for all who are interested in African game. Especially the ones that can stomp or eat you. But I am extremely confident with my 73 year old rifle. And it many places itis the minimum for DG.

As much as I'd like to use my other rifles, when things are serious I find myself always going back to grabbing that one rifle for serious work. I will admit that I am not usually in the habit of hunting dangerous came. However, If I were told that I could choose only one rifle out of my arsenal for a hunt, my 9.3 x 62 would be that rifle. Hands down! This comes from a fellow .375 H&H owner!

Renault

 

[jkingrph]

Several years go Ruger cane out with a series of their Tropical rifles That they refered to as the Boddington series after the contemporary hunter and wrighter of the same name. They were given names like the "Kudu" offered in 300 H&H, the "Buffalo" in 450/400 , the "Leopard" in 30/06 (I think), etc. Can't remember the others. The only difference in these rifles and the regular Tropical #1 that I know of is they were offered with a matte blue finish and with the Leupold type quick release scope rings.

As for the 9.3 x 62. I am a very strong proponent of this cartridge. It has been a sleeper in the states for too long. I've been sucessful in taking a variety of game with it. As Sarge elluded, it may not be the best calibre for all who are interested in African game. Especially the ones that can stomp or eat you. But I am extremely confident with my 73 year old rifle. And it many places itis the minimum for DG.

As much as I'd like to use my other rifles, when things are serious I find myself always going back to grabbing that one rifle for serious work. I will admit that I am not usually in the habit of hunting dangerous came. However, If I were told that I could choose only one rifle out of my arsenal for a hunt, my 9.3 x 62 would be that rifle. Hands down! This comes from a fellow .375 H&H owner!

Renault

It's rather unlikely that I shall every hunt dangerous game. I like to play with large guns, note I did not say big, because at some point they come rather expensive. I have a couple of .375 H&H's and one .458 Win Mag.

My next step down is a 9.3x57, not nearly as potent as the 9.3x63, but a rather mild cartridge. If at the time that I had gotten my CZ .375 in 9.3x62 I would have gladly done so. On paper it looks like the ideal cartridge to me, big heavier bullets at fairly fast speed for good terminal performance.

For most of my shooting anymore, all I need is enough energy to penetrate a target.

 

[Renault]

I too have a 9.3 x 57. It is a very comfortable a pleasant rifle to shoot. Made the same year as my 62; 1938. In Sweden they refer to the rifle as the "potato thrower" as you may have read. Not as ballistically as effective as the 62.

The whole premise behind the 9.3 x 62 and it's development was for a large and effective cartridge that would fit in the standard 98 Mauser action. Developed by Otto Bock at Mauser in 1905. It was developed for German East African colonists. I had the priviledge this past fall to work on one of Bock's 98 Mauser rifles in this calibre! A nice rifle.

Renault

 

[jkingrph]

I read all that about the 9.3x62, especially when I was researhing reloading data for the "potato thrower".

I have never seen one, but suspect it would be a it more pleasant to shoot than the .375H&H in a similar sized gun. I would also think it would be a little slicker through a Mauser action than the belted cartridge.

My problem nowdays is that I do not need any more guns. I have one that will take care of juse about anything, but have run out of room to store them and ammo, but think it's so interesting if I ever run across one, it will probably come home with me.

 

[Renault]

I took the scope off my 9.3 x 57 and use it open sight. It has one of the old Swedish Military sniper mounts on it. so it was asimple slip off. It is deadly with the Speer 270 grn bullet at 100 yds!

It is my understanding that the old Mauser 9 x 57 was a favorite for lion in Africa..... But the 9.3 x 57 was not too common there. However popular in Europe in it's day, especially the north country.

 

[Oldsarge]

I once had a M96 in 9.3x57 that I had rechambered for the 62mm. It had a laid back, round pistol grip and handled like a British double gun. Sweet? Man! And in so light a rifle it was a pocket rocket. I eventually sold it to a now-deceased friend who wanted an elk rifle. If I ever come across another of those M96's, I may recreate that gun. Perfect snow rifle . . . for one who never goes out in the snow!

 

[jkingrph]

Yes I have read that about the 9.3x57. I think it was considered ideal for moose up there.

My Husqvarna Mod 46 circa 1929,has never been drilled and tapped for optics and shall remain that way. The single blade rear sight is windage adjustable only. Even with the long barrel, it's probably the best handling bolt action rifle I have.

Those 270 gr Speers shoot very well. I also picked up a fair number of the Privi 286 gr that seem to shoot quite nicely also. I think that's the weight bullet that got it the name potatoe chunker.

The more I handle and play with this old sporter the more I like it. I also like the M 96 Swede military rifles, in my opinion one of the nicest built military arms out there.

A few years back I lucked into one at a gunshow in Tyler, Tx and picked it up as the dealer was closing up. I honestly don't think he knew what he had and I did not know at the time what I was buying. It is a 1900 Swedish Mauser, made y Mauser Oberndorf, in Germany for the Swedes. This one has a two digit serial number and all numbered parts match. Somewhere along the line it was arsenal converted to their M38 short rifle configuration and the conversion appears correct from what I have read.

Here's a link to the gunboards forum, under Swedish Military Firearms Forum that goes into some of the history and identification. I just posted some pictures at the request of one of the members. There are links in there that go back several years on these oddly numbered rifles.

http://forums.gunboards.com/showthr...2-digit-serial-1900-m96!!!***NOW-WITH-PICS***