Remington 798 Safari Grade
Looks like Remington will be competing with CZ and Ruger in the controlled-feed big-bore market next year. The 798, of course, is the old Interarms Mark X/Charles Daly Mauser, a close copy of the FN Supreme action made by Zastava in Serbia. The new Safari Grade line comes in .375 H&H and .458 Win. Mag. and adds iron sights, a barrel-band sling swivel and a walnut-laminate stock.
I’m into big-bore rifles and I love the Mauser 98 action (though I’m not a fan of the Zastava trigger/safety assembly), so this is the kind of thing I’d go for. Too bad the stock is an aesthetic disaster. Or something out of a Weatherby wet dream. Gimme an American classic or British-style stock any day.
I also think it’s a little odd that Remington is sticking with the Win. Mag. instead of going to the .458 Lott. If the action can handle the .375 H&H, it can handle the Lott; they both have a 3.600″ cartridge length. The competition, CZ and Ruger, chamber the Lott in their guns; CZ has the big 550 Magnum in both American and Euro-styled stocks while Ruger offers the M77 Magnum with that wonderful integral quarter-rib on the barrel.
Anyways, it’s nice to have some healthy competition in the market. And more could be coming; if the new FN-produced Model 70s do well, the Safari Express line could be revived…
For now I’m happy with my .416 Rigby (built on a CZ action), but I’d be sorely tempted by that Remington if it wore a proper stock.
(Seen at Dave Petzal’s blog by way of The Firearm Blog)
Unless Remington has DRAMATICALLY improved the quality control of the Charles Daly guns, expect to be disappointed - they were some of the sloppiest made commercial bolt actions I’ve seen in the last 20 years. Horrible polishing, uneven bluing, scope holes visibly offcenter..
The CZ is a much better deal - enough so, that my next new gun purchase(and likely the last, I’ve gotten to the point where I prefer to build my own rifles) is going to be a CZ 550 American in .416 Rigby.
Oh! If you like big bores - you might want to check out the .550 RNS Magnum - basically it’s a 460 Weatherby case blown straight, to chuck a 700 grain bullet at 2400 ft/sec for 9000 foot/lbs of muzzle energy! It was designed from the get go to fit into the CZ Safari Action, one of the few actions available that are both large enough for this sized cartridge, and under a thousand dollars.
Comment by HTRN — November 2, 2007 @ 4:04 am
A buddy of mine just finished a .404 Jeffries on a Winchester M-70 action- we are taking it out tomorrow. This should be a great brown bear rifle with a bit less recoil than a Lott.
Comment by George Hedgepeth — November 2, 2007 @ 9:55 am
Unless Remington has DRAMATICALLY improved the quality control of the Charles Daly guns, expect to be disappointed - they were some of the sloppiest made commercial bolt actions I’ve seen in the last 20 years. Horrible polishing, uneven bluing, scope holes visibly offcenter..
That’s disappointing. I know the old Mark X guns were hit and miss. Some of the Whitworths were just gorgeous, though.
And I agree about the CZ; my Rigby is on the 550 Mag action and I love it.
A buddy of mine just finished a .404 Jeffries on a Winchester M-70 action- we are taking it out tomorrow. This should be a great brown bear rifle with a bit less recoil than a Lott.
Nice! Did he build it himself?
Comment by TD — November 2, 2007 @ 2:00 pm
Yep.
Comment by George Hedgepeth — November 2, 2007 @ 3:35 pm