.375 H&H Scout Rifle conversion
Stage 1: The big chop
For about ten years now I have known about the scout rifle, I read an excellent article on the concept and it had great photos too.
I loved the idea, and knew that it would be an ideal concept for Australian conditions. A stumpy rifle with a big bang, scoped,
iron sights and light weight. I am aware that a true scout rifle design is far more than what I am doing however this is one version, my version.The Calibre and Rifle I have loved the .375 H&H since very young. When I finally had my dream come true I was very happy with the results. I purchased a Browning A-Bolt II Stainless Stalker in .375 H&H Magnum. At the time in 1994 it was only 3 imported into the country (Australia), for which I had to wait 12 months for. When it finally arrived I was happy to see that it had Williams sights. The Browning A-Bolt II in .375 H&H is also one of the lightest .375s I have ever seen, and the smoothest bolt action I have ever felt straight out of the box. I always found the 26 inch barrel a little too long. I did get used to it and never bothered me. .375 H&H was chosen after careful study and taking advice from people that know their stuff and made sense to me. A quote I remember 'Use the caliber that will kill the most efficiently when everything goes wrong'.
The barrel Since I bought my Remington LTR in .223 Rem with a 20" barrel I loved the compactness. My thoughts turned to the Big Game rifle. Not long ago took the rifle to a Gunsmith who specialised in big rifles and asked him to cut 6" off the barrel, infact I asked him to trim the rifle to 120cm, the same as the Remington .223. After the surgery was over and the front Williams sight was moved about 1cm behind the barrel end I picked her up. What a sight, I love it. So light and with the scope removed it is a tiny little thing.
Scope and Mounts Leupold VariX III 1.75-6x32E matt finish, with Blizzard see through scope cover and Weaver quick release scope mounts. I reckon if I could do it over I would prefer to go 2-12x40, since I have had to take a long shot on a hunt I wanted more magnification. I also do not like the small eye relief at 6x look out for this problem when you are looking for a scope, make sure you have enough eye relief at all magnifications. What I will do however is buy another scope possibly a 3-14x40 and fit the weaver quick release mounts so I can use it on open plain hunts. This time I will ensure good eye relief at all magnifications.
Accuracy after the op I was eager to check the accuracy at the range. I am happy to say that I could not notice any difference in the accuracy, even on long shots to a barrel at 400m. From what I have read I believe there would be a drop in bullet speed, but it is a price I am willing to pay. To lose even 100 fps is ok since the 300gr projectile is travelling at 2450fps (conservative load).
Stage 2: The paint job
Stainless steel is a little bright. When hunting sambar deer, the most difficult deer to hunt in the world, I reckon any
advantage you give them means many opportunities lost, some of which you will never know. So I want to reduce the light color
of the stainless steel. I considered camo tape but it would need replacing now and then to ensure no rust develops under the
tape. So I used two tones of green, I wanted to keep the camo design very simple, easy to touch up when paint gets scratched.
I used as natural green as possible. I left the stock untouched so far, as well as the scope.