Are there any Browning collectors here? Safari rifles?

[model70hunter]

Last weekend I traded for a FI rifle win, win trade with both of us being happy but I came out way ahead for value.

It is a 300 Win Mag on the FN Supreme action, the same one Browning used for the Safari. It was made sometime between 64 and 1970.

Someone had replaced the stock with a Browning Safari stock. Browning cross bolts and a Browning rubber recoil pad which indicates to me it was for a magnum rifle.

There is also a third screw for the barrel. Like the pre 64 Win Standard barrel screw.

Was the third screw used in all magnums or perhaps the 375 or 458 only?

Thanks,

Duane.

 

[Drm50]

I just sold all my Magnum rifles last year. I had a Safari 458,
that I bought used in the 70's. I also had a 30/06 several years
ago, but can't remember about the screws. At the time I was
heavy into Pre 64 M-70s and didn't pay much attention to much
else.

 

[alwslate]

I have a 30-06 Safari Grade right now and it doesn't have a third screw
or a pad although it probable will have a pad in the future. Way back
in the early 70s I had a Safari Grade in .308 Norma magnum and it
did come with a factory pad. As far as a third screw I don't remember
it having one but that was a long time ago. I do recall that it had a
heavier barrel conture than standard caliber rifles. I would think that
if your stock had come from a .375 or .458 caliber rifle the barrel
channel would be too large for your FI barrel.

 

[model70hunter]

At the time I was
heavy into Pre 64 M-70s and didn't pay much attention to much
else.

I think I have had the M- 70 pre 64 bug for 5 or so decades. Understand, thanks.

P.S. I've owned 2 Belgian Browning's in '06 over the years. Just never warmed up to them. I love the action and have had some nice rifles made with the FN Mauser supreme. Maybe one could buy a Sears FN for $150 and a Browning cost many times more for basically the same gun and I could not see that much difference.

 

[model70hunter]

I have a 30-06 Safari Grade right now and it doesn't have a third screw
or a pad although it probable will have a pad in the future. Way back
in the early 70s I had a Safari Grade in .308 Norma magnum and it
did come with a factory pad. As far as a third screw I don't remember
it having one but that was a long time ago. I do recall that it had a
heavier barrel conture than standard caliber rifles. I would think that
if your stock had come from a .375 or .458 caliber rifle the barrel
channel would be too large for your FI barrel.

Thanks Alwslate.

I've been scrubbing online for sale photos, Standard calibers do not have a rubber recoil pad, it appears only a plastic but plate.

After I posed this question I found a 458, it has the 3rd screw.

Since the FI bbl is a little larger it does not fill it correctly where it steps down in front of the action, about 4" up the bbl.

It is sort of hard to see so and isn't a show stopper for using. Nice wood with more grain on one side of the stock. Not one of the full fiddle back ones.

This morning I was scooting thru the online auctions, saw a 308 Norma Mag, lordy, the guy prefaces it with the RARE word, Medallion, $3000. Cabelas has a Sarfari marked at $1999.

I'm not sure how many 308 Norma's were brought out before the switch to the 300 Win. For the FI folks who used FN Supreme actions it looks like 1 or 2 years.

I think the 308 Mag and the 300 win mag were close to ballistic twins. I read once that Win made sure the 300 Win ammo and brass was available and Norma loads or brass was hard to get at that time Don't know. American made or designed once too made a difference.

 

[alwslate]

Winchester introduced the .338 mag in 1958 and at time there were no
.30 caliber magnums available on the standard 2.5" case length of ctgs
like the 30-06. So people quickly started necking down the .338 to .30
and the wildcat .30/.338 was born. The Norma .308 mag is basically a
factory .30/.338. Few US rifles were ever chambered for it partly
because just a few years later Winchester brought out their .300 Win
mag. Some shooters thought the .308N was a better balanced ctg than
the .300W with its longer case and the short neck needed to fit in a
standard action. Maybe, but the availability of cheaper rifles plus
factory ammo and brass and ever so slightly greater performance
quickly killed off the .308N. Handloaded they are very similar in
performance. As usual gun owners can't predict the future so rifles
like the Browning .308Ns have become "rare collector's items". The
various imported .308Ns were priced well above standard US made
sporters so not many are out there floating around. Of course with
hindsight I wish that I had kept my Browning.

 

[alwslate]

I was curious about the third screw question myself as it just didn't
seem very likely that any magnum caliber would have a third screw.
So earlier today I did a quick search on GB on "Safari" in the bolt
action rifles category. On the first page I saw a .375 mag listed and
a pic of the barreled action out of the stock and a lug added to the
barrel for a third screw. Not surprising. Just a few more listings down
there was a .300 Win mag listed with a pic of the bottom of the stock
showing a third screw. Have to say I was a bit surprised to see that.
So I guess the answer to your question is that a third screw was used
with all magnums, you might want to search GB again. I have a
Western Auto 30-06 with the FN Supreme action and a Browning
Safari Grade 30-06 with the FN action and yeah in that respect they
are basically the same but the Browning rifles were really the best
Mauser action sporters ever offered to US hunters at a resonable
price.