Browning Safari .375 H+H.

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liberty

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Friend has a gorgeous 1960's Browning Safari .375 H+H he is willing to sell me .

I believe they are in the same class as the pre 64 M70's if I'm not mistaken.

What would be a fair price for this rifle?, it's in excellent condition.....Thanks in Advance
 
They are on an FN action .I have one in .308 NM........before buying it remove the barrel/action and check the bottom of it for rust as some were put in SALT cured stocks and this was not the maker's brightest move.....Harold
 
In order to speed up the drying of the walnut a supplier to Browning used salt on the wood to absorb the moisture faster. This worked but also had the unfortunate side effect of being absorbed into the wood and then released over time heavily rusting the metal that was in contact with the wood.

IIRC the salt stocks started around 1967.

Browning F.N. & Sako High Power Rifles
Introduced in 1959.
Date of manufacture code included with the serial number.

1959 L Safari Grade (F.N. Mauser Action)
X Medallion Grade (F.N. Mauser Action)
P Olympian Grade (F.N. Mauser Action)
Y Safari Grade (Sako Short Action)
A Medallion Grade (Sako Short & Medium Action)
B Olympian Grade (Sako Short & Medium Action)
1968 L Olympian Grade (F.N. Mauser Action)
1969 L Medallion Grade (F.N. Mauser Action)
Z Safari Grade (Sako Medium Action)
Y Medallion Grade (Sako Short Action)

So for example if you had L1 ###XX that would be a 1961 Safari Grade.

A X0 would be a 1960 Medallion Grade. etc.

Then in 1968 the coding changed as seen above.

The salt Brownings are not necessarily write offs but do require a more careful look.
 
Mine sold for $ 1700.00.
Click to expand...

Wow, Do they all sell for that, or was your's a special offering, that sounds high???

BTW, I know about the salt stock issue , but this isn't one of them...
 
liberty said:
Wow, Do they all sell for that, or was your's a special offering, that sounds high???

BTW, I know about the salt stock issue , but this isn't one of them...
Click to expand...

No, mine wasn't a special offering and it sold on consignment in a gunshop.
It was in beautiful condition in spite of being hunted for years.
Like a fool after blowing out my right rotator cuff and being told by specialists that recoil could damage me permanently I consigned it.
The gunshop owner said " I'll get you as close to 2 grand as I can "

Now, I'd probably pay that to get it back... an awesome rifle it is...
 
Probably the nicest rifle i ever bought (on a whim) is my safari grade L1 30.06 made in 59 or 60. Walked into the shop to buy ammo and saw her in the back, asked to see her, sick action, lands and grooves sweet, bolt vg and the wood spectacular!! could sell her easily for double what i paid. interestingly she has Montreal mfg markings on the receiver, cool rifle shoots straight, and will be around along time after im gone. hope the next guy or gal appreciates her the same way i do!!! B2
 
.375 Safari

Here's a pic of my Safari .375H+H. Serial number L47. Without a doubt one of the slickest, smoothest feeding rifles I've owned. Very accurate with both 270 and 300gr. handloads. Got it for 1K from a very nice CGN'er about 3-4 years ago. Have no idea what retail would be but probably $1,500+. Now wears a Leupold 1.5-5 in QR mounts.
I love mine and will take it to Africa someday soon for plains game. Might take it for elk this fall if my new .338 Alaskan M70 doesnt show up in time.
Just "grab it" otherwise you'll regret it.
Cheers
Geoff

375leftsidejpg.jpg
 
longbranch* said:
Here's a pic of my Safari .375H+H. Serial number L47. Without a doubt one of the slickest, smoothest feeding rifles I've owned. Very accurate with both 270 and 300gr. handloads. Got it for 1K from a very nice CGN'er about 3-4 years ago. Have no idea what retail would be but probably $1,500+. Now wears a Leupold 1.5-5 in QR mounts.
I love mine and will take it to Africa someday soon for plains game. Might take it for elk this fall if my new .338 Alaskan M70 doesnt show up in time.
Just "grab it" otherwise you'll regret it.
Cheers
Geoff

375leftsidejpg.jpg
Click to expand...

Got a starboard side shot of her? Pretty rifle, I dislike looking at bolt actions from the non-bolt side. :p
 
I have two browning 375 H&H and a browning 458 Winch Mag. 1960's issue. The two 375 are mint because the two original owners didn't shoot them at all. The 458 mag came from a Montreal Big Game Hunter who went to Browning to select his rifles/wood.
I also have a few 3006 and 7mm mags all from the same era.
About 10 years ago, everyone seemed to be selling old browning rifles and buying new rifles. I selected all my guns because they were not used at all. Most people who owned them couldn't take them out and hunt with them.
 
How accurate have people found the these rifles to be? They seem like top notch rifles in every way but I never hear much discussion about accuracy.
 
The Sako Hi-Power (pre L61R) are the exact same, but really underrated (real sleepers, pricewise). Hard to find but it really worth the trouble to find them. The early ones are on the "Commercial" FN M/98 and the later in Supreme (i.e. 300).
 
Beautiful rifle Geoff.

@Liberty as he said just buy it you wont regret it and it will be easy to sell if you ever ge bored.
 
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