My first Safari rifle

[glockster157]

I have been getting into big bores lately with cast bullets so when a friend of mine wanted me to trade for this CZ 550 Safari Magnum in 375 H&H I couldn't resist. Full power loads sting a bit, mid range loads are more fun and the few cast loads I have tried are a blast. Bullets and brass are pricey for this one. Anybody have any components they might want to trade. Got a bunch of brass with it but I could use a little more plus bullets?

Edited October 17, 2010 by glockster157
Better pics

[Warbird]

Congrats to you on a great rifle. It is one of the all time classic rifles used in Africa and Asia. I have one and absolutely love it. It has taken some great animals.

I have mostly moved over to the 416 Remington because the ballistics are somewhat better (though not significantly) and it kicks less than 375 or 416 Rigby. Also though I have always loved the profile of the 550, being a left hander shooting right handed rifles, my newer CZ with less cheek swell is easier for me to shoot. I don't plan to ever let the CZ 375 go though. A good friend of mine uses that rifle as the staple of his big game guns and has taken buffs, lion, elephant and giraffe with his. Being left handed and not trusting myself on left handed bolts I prefer double rifles for most dangerous game. But, that gun will do the job.

Great rifle, now go take something big with it.

Edited October 17, 2010 by Warbird

[gregintenn]

I love that rifle!

[Il Duce]

looks good man

[glockster157]

Shooting it is a blast...literally. I received about a 150 reloads of all types with the rifle but I will not shoot others reloads unless I know them really well and I had no idea from where these came. So I pulled all the bullets, resized-trimmed and polished the brass then I found a set of dies at the Reloaders Bench. My first loads I worked up to 84 grains(MAX) with Accurate 4350 and 270 grain spire points. At that level it was a little uncomfortable. They measured 2760fps 10ft from the muzzle. I bought a box of Nosler 260 grain Accubonds and backed the load down to 82 grains for 2720fps, still stout but quite bearable. I also made a bunch of loads with the pulled bullets using SR4759 at 2200fps with the 270 and 300 grainers. Those shot well and were fun. Last I used the remaining 270 grain RCBS 37-250-FN bullets I cast for my 375 Winchester. Loaded to 1800fps these are downright fun. Bad thing is now I have used up all the cast bullets I have to go back to work to shoot some more.

[TNWNGR]

I love the 375 H&H, the 300 H&H is a real beauty as well, both will do for any dangerous game hunting anywhere in North America. My experence with the 375 was a pre 64 Winchester Model 70 and a converted Mauser. I didn't own the Winchester but sure wanted it, nice rifle.

What I remember most about shooting the 375 H&H was its firm "push" rather than a sharp recoil, it was much more plesent to shoot than a 338 Winchester Magnum and far more comfortable than a Ruger #1 loaded rather warmish in 45-70 I then owned.

[leroy]

Congratulations Glockster!!:____________

Great looking rifle (...i like CZ anythings...) in a great caliber. When you get the time; try the old time Lyman accuracy load with the 300 grain btsp bullet (...sierra, i think; it's been a long time...). The accuracy is astounding. We've got an old safari grade Remington 700 ourselves. You may want to be careful driving by or visiting parks (...or retirement homes....) for the african (...and indian...) big game animals. They may sense that you have the great bawana tools for hunting and stampede!!! ---HEHEHE.

Have fun and let us know how the lead bullet thing works out with regard to accuracy (...we may want to try it ourselves....).

Kind regards,

Leroy

[glockster157]

it was much more plesent to shoot than a 338 Winchester Magnum and far more comfortable than a Ruger #1 loaded rather warmish in 45-70 I then owned.

I had a #1 in 45-70 and it was the most painful rifle to shoot, can't speak about a 338. I still wish I had kept it. If I get another I will put a Limbsaver on it and fill the butt stock full of lead or something.

Have fun and let us know how the lead bullet thing works out with regard to accuracy (...we may want to try it ourselves....).

thanks Leroy, I will. Right now the only thing in danger from this 375 is my wallet, my shoulder and a mean old mean, nasty B29 silhouette....

BTW, what is the old Lyman accuracy load? Are you talking about the loads in the Lyman manual? I have the 46th and 48th.

[Guest tnfireman]

Great Looking Rifle!!!

[leroy]

glockster:___________

RE: your question.

....thanks Leroy, I will. Right now the only thing in danger from this 375 is my wallet, my shoulder and a mean old mean, nasty B29 silhouette....

BTW, what is the old Lyman accuracy load? Are you talking about the loads in the Lyman manual? I have the 46th and 48th. ....

Sorry it took me so long to reply; but i finally dug down into the reloading pile deep enough to find out what i was looking for on the old Lyman accuracy loads. When i looked closer; i was horified. The Lyman manual called for 81.0 grains of IMR (...Dupont...) 4350, with large magnum primers for the "accuracy load"; which by the way was the same for their "factory duplication load" (...this load is a "compressed" load. you will probably have to drop it thru a drop tube to get it to settle and compact enough to seat the bullet...). The bullet listed was a 300 grain roundnose flat base solid; but the sierra 300 grain boattail will work (...thats what we used...); and; most likely, at a lower pressure due to the shorter bearing lenght of the bullet due to the boattail. The velocity listed for this round was 2590 fps out of a 24 inch bolt gun (...a winchester model 70; i think...). That is smokin it for a 300 grain bullet. Believe it or not, we always used the 'accuracy loads' from this old manual because they tended to be very "accurate"! Over the years, Ive used the data from it on everything from 222 remington, 30-06, 308, 300 win mag, and right up to the 375.

Having said all this; there are some things to consider. The first is that manual this was taken from is a really old Lyman manual from the early 70's. It's so old that ive lost the cover and cant find the date or edition in it. Secondly, my old sierra loading manual (...mid 80's...)lists the max load for this bullet at 78.7 grains of IMR4350. Additionally, a Dupont Factory loading manual i have (...mid 80's...) lists the max load of IMR4350 at 78.0 grains at a pressure of 53,000 psi. It has been my experience that the powder manufacturer's reloading data is pretty close to right.

I tried to find some loaded rounds that we used (...they are from at least the early eighties...), but ive not been able to as yet (...i'll keep looking and send ya a note if i find them; they are here somewhere!!...). I was pretty good about writing down the exact recipe we used for all the reloads. I can tell you that we used to regularly shoot 3 shot cloverleafs with iron sights at about 60 yards from the prone position using a rolled up sleeping bag for a rest and a sissy bag to keep from bruising our shoulders with the reloads we used. The 375 is extremely accurate, and will shoot as far as you can see. We would use an hourglass shaped target on an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper and shoot at the point where the hourglass crossed at the center. It was the usual thing to get a cloverleaf. We also used CCI large rifle magnum primers.

Having said all this; ill take the time to add some cautions. First of all; for some reason, i seem to remember that we started at 78.0 grains of IMR4350 and worked up (...that load may work very well....). Secondly, technology has moved forward over the last 40 or so years and it is entirely possible that the 78.0 grain load is pretty hot. All that being said, i would recommend starting at 78.0 grains of IMR4350 (...even lower if you arent comfortable or if you see something in another reloading manual that troubles you; like a lower maximum...) and working up in 1 grain increments. I'd recommend five rounds for each recipe. I would use new or once fired brass if i had it. Make sure it is below the maximum trim length for the 375; or more prefferably, you trim it to the minimum trim length. I'll add another caution here regarding initial sizing and put in a plug for neck sizing on these type rounds. Ive burned a lot of powder thru the 300 win mag [...the 375 is just a bigger brother with a more slender case....] and learned the hard way that the best way to reload these rounds after initial sizing is to neck size them only. These rounds headspace on the case shoulder and if you arent careful, you will push the shoulder back on resizing (...thats what happend to us, because we had two 300 win mags and didnt take the time to keep the brass separated by rifle...). If you push the shoulder back just a bit too much on resizing; the brass will "grow" and get thin at the back and long in the front. It can get too long (...over the maximum case length...) and lock the bullet and brass in the chamber when you close the bolt. That will guarantee high pressures and could possibly wreck both you and the rifle. We hardly ever got more than 4 or 5 firings on the 300's without the brass needing trimming if we used the full resize. That's why i always recommend neck sizing only; plus keeping a close eye on overall case length. The round will fit the chamber perfectly and your brass will last a lot longer.

I'll also add the usual weasel words about free bore and tight chambers with these hard kickers. If the chamber is tight and doesnt have much freebore the loads will be hot. My rifle is a Remington Model 700 safari from the mid to late 70's. We experienced no problems with pressure signs using it; but rifles are all somewhat different.

If you start to lift the bolt after firing and it feels the least bit sticky or harder than usual to lift; id quit shooting that particular load and back the powder down a bit. If i saw any evidence of the extractor imprint on the case head or any blurring or peening of the lettering on the case head; id quit shooting and back the powder down a bit too. Those are pretty reliable pressure signs (...the primer flattening thing never told me much on a rifle....).

In the meanwhile, ill keep digging and see if i can find some loaded rounds (...they are here somewhere...). If you would like copies of the data i furnished; please PM me with your e-mail address and ill be glad to copy them, run em into a pdf, and e-mail them back to you.

Have fun and enjoy your H & H!

Kind regards,

Leroy

Edited October 19, 2010 by leroy
spelling!!!

[glockster157]

Thanks Leroy, that is good advice. I have had many of those experiences. I had no idea where to start with this rifle and I have to admit that I was a little afraid of it at first. I am a little on the chintzy side so i had a pound of Accurate A4350 I had not tried and so I used their data to work up a load using the pulled (what looked like Hornady) 270 grain spire point bullets. Not really accuracy testing, just making sure it was hitting minute of deer and watching pressures. Went to the max of 84 grains, no pressure signs, was using a MTM long drop tube and that was all I could get into the case. I tried seating the bullet out about .030 off the rifling and seating to the cannelure, didn't seem to make a difference. Read 2760 at 10 ft from the muzzle on the chrono with only a 20fps ES and 7 SD. I had also bought a box of Nosler 260's and backed off 2 grains to 82 grains and it got me a load just as consistent and goes 2720. I got her zeroed with a 3.5-10 Leupold VX-3 AO for now(got to find a smaller scope after I finish the load development) and am heading to the range soon for more testing. I may try WW760 as I have a lot of it and see how it performs. I want to take the time to get some more of the RCBS 37-250's cast and loaded first. I am planning on ording a Lyman 375449 264 GC bullet mold from Midway also. I will update after the next shooting session.

[leroy]

Glockster:_____________

Glad to help. My stuff is pretty old. I like the idea of using a ball type powder too --- especially the WW 760; easier to measure and you might be able to get by with not trickling every load (...we always had too with the stick powders...). I'm astounded at the velocities and SD with what you have. Thats a lot of umph and very consistent.

We never did try the spire points; but im sure they work very well. Ive used a ton of them in 222's. They are very accurate. We tried the 300 spbt's becuse they had just come out. I still love the profile of these bullets!! They are both streamlined and big as a bus.

I cant wait to hear about the lead bullet tests. You have inspired me to get my Ruger #1 458 back out (...and the 375 too, for that matter...) and start experimentng again myself.

Years ago I quickly put together a bunch of 350 grain lyman flatnoses (...without gas checks...) that an ole buddy of mine cast and sized for me for the 458 (...they were old time bullets for the 45-70, i think...). I couldnt keep them on an 8 1/2 by 11 at 50 yards. I think i loaded them too hot and they were either stripping the rifling or melting the bases (...used IMR3030 jacketed bullet data; i think....).

You've inspired me to pull the lead bullets (...stupid me; loaded about 100 or so of them -- a lifetime supply!!...) and start again on the reduced loads for the 458. I may just order some jacketed 350 grain flatnoses and redo the powder from the pulled rounds.

Anyway, keep up the good work and let us know what the "Pilgrim's Progress" is with the lead rounds!

Kind regards,

Leroy

[glockster157]

My advise on the lead bullets is give them a light coat of Lee Liquid Alox that is cut 50/50 with mineral spirits. If you had a gas check version I wouldn't worry about it. I have had great results with Accurate 5744. I still have 4 pounds of SR4759 and I have had good service with that also. But for my lead loads I believe MP5744 is going to be my #1 powder. Wow, you have a #1 in 458....I want one of those also. If you get tired of it let me know, maybe we can do something.

The Noslers I bought were the BTSP also. I agree with you on the performance of those bullets. But since I pulled a bunch of those spire points I thought I would use them for load development. They were in fine shape except the noses were a little crunches. I use a Hornady comparator now for all my rifles so even if the noses are damaged I can getg an exact seating depth of any particular bullet. That helps a lot. beats the old squeeze the neck and smoke the bullet technique.

One last thing, I did load a few with 300 grain round nose with 25 grains of trail boss. Got about 1200 fps and they were really mild. I think I am going to do some of those with some store bought 300-335 grain 38-55 plain base bullets just for kicks.