Prepping a pair of Safari Rifles SH-style

JG26_Irish

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Minuteman
Oct 17, 2013
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Morehead, KY
I have been on the Hide for a few years, mostly playing with rimfire precision rifles for use as trainers and smallbore competitions. But, I have always been a centerfire shooter for hunting, home defense, SHTF moments, etc. As a hunter, my world has been expanding to Africa. Having completed my 1st safari this summer, I was in the process of prepping a new pair of rifles for a future hunt in 2025. I went about it as if I was prepping a pair of precision rifles here but with my eye on their intended use. For long range plains game at distances running from 50y out to 300y (typical) and 400y practical max for practice, etc I selected a nice old vintage Husqvarna Swedish Mauser in 30-06. This is the Imperial model. I wanted a FFP scope of moderate power with good turrets and acceptable glass. Since I had one sitting on the bench unused, I mounted the Arken EPL4 4-16x. For dangerous game, specifically Cape Buffalo, I was to use a lovely ER Shaw custom P14 Enfield in 375HH topped with a 1-6x Kahles K16i. It would not be planned to use on anything past 100y but I wanted to know my dope out to at least 300y. Both these are exceptionally accurate rifles as hunting rifles go. Both were used rifles but had not seen that much use (typical of hunting rifles).

After testing loads and choosing the ammo for the trip, I went about verifying the dope in my ballistics app so I could refine as needed. The 30-06 shot all ammo well but liked the Remington 180g Swift Scirocco loads best. It was consistently running about 1/2" for three shots at 100y. Dope was amazingly close all the way out to 400y where it recorded a three shot group on steel that was 2.25" . It was great fun to ring the 6" and 4" plates at 400y on the first shot for each. That will work for anything I need it to. Could I find a better scope than the Arken? Maybe, but for what I plan to do with it, the Arken is near perfect. I do not love their reticle for hunting. It needs a heavier center cross to aid quick acquisition in cluttered backgrounds but, I think it will still work OK. Should know better after deer season. PLus, I use Arkens on several other precision rifles and despite their lower price point, they fight well above their weight class in the real world. Rugged and reliable.

The 375HH was zeroed at 100y but just for grins I shot it at 200/300/400y to record the drops and general precision at those ranges. This rifle will shoot its best loads to just under 1" at 100y with occasional groups of about 1/2" with the best ammo. It will be running 300g Barnes TSX for most large game and 300G Swift A-Frames loaded to the same velocity as the Barnes for use on Buffalo and then carry a pair of 300g Woodleigh Hydro solids in the bottom of the mag if the buff wants to cop an attitude. I shot only a two shot group at 400y on a steel IPSC plate. I could hear and see the plate move from each impact but could not see the POI in the scope or even in a 24x optic from another rifle. That was odd. I only fired two simply because those cartridges are pricey and after 8-10 shots from the bench it gets tiresome to shoot. When finished I drove down range to pull my tgts and walked up to examine the steel plates at 400y. The 375HH grouped both shots into a group that was under 2" at 400y. I was using a 3mil hold over. The app called for 2.8mil. The shots hit about 6" high and 4" to the right. I won't be shooting game with it at that distance but it is nice to know it was grouping like that considering how imprecise my aim can be with only 6x to work with.

I plan to deer hunt with the Swede this fall to vet it further but as of now am pretty pleased with the results. Most shots in Africa would be less than 300y. I use my rimfire to practice shooting off sticks since that is a perishable skill and lots of practice builds confidence and confidence helps the hunter to maintain a calm and business like demeanor when called upon to make a critical shot. Am looking forward to next year. I know these are not really precision rifles in the classic sense but if they can shoot that well, what is your definition of precision?

Swede1.jpgSwede ERShaw.jpg400y 2.25in Swede.jpg375HH 400y 1.5in.jpgShaw 375.jpg
 
Man That was a great read. Those are some beautiful rifles my friend. I grew up shooting an old Parker Hale 30-06 It started shooting flyers the last time I had her out so I had a buddy rebuild the stock because it was cracked in the cross beam but I believe my barrel is shot out now. I hope for you good hunting in the future and thanks for the post.
 
I notice the hendershots box. A buddy has a 224 weatherby and hendershots is one of the only games in town for ammo: do you like it?
He asked me about them and I haven’t really ever heard of anything on them until I saw your pics just now.
 
Man That was a great read. Those are some beautiful rifles my friend. I grew up shooting an old Parker Hale 30-06 It started shooting flyers the last time I had her out so I had a buddy rebuild the stock because it was cracked in the cross beam but I believe my barrel is shot out now. I hope for you good hunting in the future and thanks for the post.
Before assuming that your bbl is shot out, I would respectfully suggest that your spend some time with a bore scope and clean it properly. Keep in mind that many good shooting bbls will look like hell in the scope. The Shaw Barrel was about as rough as I have ever seem but it shoots like a dream. It is not worn or pitted but was rough from the beginning. The Swede is not exactly pretty down the bore but it also shoots well. The key to cleaning is to remove the surface fouling and carbon in the throat all while keeping the copper fouling that builds up in the pores of the metal of the bore. I never use a harsh coper solvent on hunting rifles. I clean the chamber area with carbon solvent and a bronze brush but only on the first 3-4" of the bbl length. Then I polish the bore using short strokes gradually getting longer using a quality mild bore polish such as KG #2, then clean up with 2-3 wet patches using carbon solvent such as BoreTech, then 2-3 dry and a final patch with a dribble of Kroil to prevent rust. This leaves the bore with some copper fouling where it matters while still being smooth and clean. Cold bore shots are very close to warm/hot bore impacts with most rifles using this technique.

I have an old Mauser custom in 270 that has been shot a lot and has been my go-to deer rifle for nearly 30yr. Its throat is beginning to show some signs of heat cracking and wear but not much. It still shoots very well.
 
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I notice the hendershots box. A buddy has a 224 weatherby and hendershots is one of the only games in town for ammo: do you like it?
He asked me about them and I haven’t really ever heard of anything on them until I saw your pics just now.
I have only limited experience with Hendershots. What I can say is that they make what is basically custom handloads for client's rifles. I had them load up one box of North Fork cup point solids for my 375HH and a box of Swift A-Frames in 375HH as well with plans to possibly use them on Buffalo. I had shot several of the solids in two different rifles and they shot very well with about 1/2" grouping at 100y. But the blunt nosed NF bullet shape did not feed well in either of my rifles so they were retained for practice only. The Woodleigh Hydros feed much better and will be my backup ammo. I shot the A-Frames for the first time during this most recent range session to test POI and relative precision. I was happy with the results. Also printing about 1/2" groups at 100y and follows the same trajectory as my Barnes TSX ammo that I have been hunting with. I do not reload for 375. The small volume of ammo that I burn thru in a year just does not justify the time and expense. Hendershots is a good alternative especially when you want to use a bullet that is not available in factory loads or a cartridge that is hard to get (i.e. 300HH). Their quality is very good and the price is a small premium over mass produced loads. Pics below #1 Hendershots 375HH, w/300g North Fork CPS, #2 World Record Blue Wildebeest tagged in Limpopo, RSA July 2024 using Barnes 300g TSX at 160y.

375 HH NFk Cup 300g.jpg
World Record Blue Wildebeest.jpg
 
I believe in always trying to learn more all the time when it comes to shooting, hunting, bullet performance, etc. I know this is not a hunting site, so please forgive me. My PH in Africa posted the pic below this morning from a client hunt on his reserve in SA. It was a particular Cape Buffalo that had a "Bad Attitude". I knew this bull having encountered him with a small herd of others while hunting plains game this summer at the same place. He called him a "Cheeky Bastid", lol. I was scheduled to hunt Cape Buffalo next year in 2025 and was there getting intel on the lay of the land, conditions and the general behavior of the animals in the region. This bull trotted forward to guard his herd from us when we got a bit too close. When he showed me this bull, I asked him if it would still be there next year? He said that unfortunately it had a date with another client later this year. A few days ago, the client dropped the bull with a 375HH. Since, I planned to likely use the same caliber on my hunt, I was asking him this morning which bullet was used and how well did it perform? I was pleased to learn that the client used a 375 and two of my Barnes 375HH loads that I had left with him this summer when I went home. I told him then, that he could use as much of them as he wanted, as long as he saved me 6 or 8 for my buff hunt. I was very pleased to hear him report that the Barnes TSX was likely the most effective bullet on Buffalo that he had ever witnessed. He was even thinking about using them in his backup rifle in the future. This was the same ammo that I used on the Wildebeest.

I have never had much experience hunting with these copper only bullets and was having trouble getting comfortable with them. My rifle shoots them great but I had the opinion that they are slow to expand and as such were slow to dump energy into the target. Perhaps that is by design? If you have hunted with these, please comment and share your results.

Cheeky Bull.JPG
 
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Before assuming that your bbl is shot out, I would respectfully suggest that your spend some time with a bore scope and clean it properly. Keep in mind that many good shooting bbls will look like hell in the scope. The Shaw Barrel was about as rough as I have ever seem but it shoots like a dream. It is not worn or pitted but was rough from the beginning. The Swede is not exactly pretty down the bore but it also shoots well. The key to cleaning is to remove the surface fouling and carbon in the throat all while keeping the copper fouling that builds up in the pores of the metal of the bore. I never use a harsh coper solvent on hunting rifles. I clean the chamber area with carbon solvent and a bronze brush but only on the first 3-4" of the bbl length. Then I polish the bore using short strokes gradually getting longer using a quality mild bore polish such as KG #2, then clean up with 2-3 wet patches using carbon solvent such as BoreTech, then 2-3 dry and a final patch with a dribble of Kroil to prevent rust. This leaves the bore with some copper fouling where it matters while still being smooth and clean. Cold bore shots are very close to warm/hot bore impacts with most rifles using this technique.

I have an old Mauser custom in 270 that has been shot a lot and has been my go-to deer rifle for nearly 30yr. Its throat is beginning to show some signs of heat cracking and wear but not much. It still shoots very well.
Hey thank you for that insight I will try that before I count her out. I love that rifle and would love to keep her in use.
 
Hey thank you for that insight I will try that before I count her out. I love that rifle and would love to keep her in use.
You are welcome. I forgot to share that when I first got the old Mauser 270 that I have hunted with for 30yr, the previous owner thought its bbl was shot out and sold it pretty cheap. The bbl was so fouled with copper that it took me two weeks of cleaning to got most of it out. This was before, I figured out my current centerfire cleaning regimen. Once cleaned properly, it was shooting about 1" groups at 100y and better with some ammo. These days, it is getting a bit worse. Not bad mind you but groups are closer to 1.5" with the heavy for caliber ammo. It shoots better with the lighter 130g ammo. It costs little to clean the bbl and if it is still not shooting, well then a new bbl is the ticket. Douglas, Bartlein, etc.