The guys at Field Ethos Journal sent us a very tired 1938 straight taper .375 H&H Magnum for restoration in the spring of 2019. The plan was to take it to Africa late in the year and then feature the rifle and the hunt in their first print edition journal. Sadly, lots has changed since those plans were laid. The hunt never happened and FE is still holding off on publishing their first print edition. But what did happen was we restored and accurized this .375 H&H into a tack-driving showpiece.
The rifle itself is a very difficult to find early example with the ramped heavy barrel. Everything was original when the rifle arrived in our shop, but the finishes were gone, and the recoil pad was broken. The bore was good, but the chamber had some light pits and the throat looked like the backside of the moon. The boys in the pre64win shop went to work and here is the full list of work completed:
- Full stock restoration, including replacement of the 1922 patent date Winchester pad.
- Replacement of the missing rear sight with the correct Lyman 6W dual folding leaf rear sight and correct Lyman 31W front sight.
- Full action blueprint, including receiver face, bolt face, bolt lugs, followed up with moving the barrel shoulder back one thread rotation and a new chamber cut.
- Cleaned up the holes in the receiver bridge so it will accept Talley Signature bases.
- New rust blue of all action parts.
The finished rifle is spectacular, and it shoots as good as it looks. JV of Field Ethos says the rifle delivered legitimate 0.5 MOA performance while it was in FE hands.
In the end, FE purchased a second .375 H&H from us - one with a documented history of taking Africa's biggest and most dangerous game. That left this restored beauty without a dance partner. FE has asked us to help them sell it.
It's a stunning example and true to the original finishes and configuration. You won't find one nicer.
