Sometimes a hunt requires a bit more than your average rifle. When it comes to dangerous game, we’re talking lion, buffalo, big brown bears—basically anything with the temperament and God-given hardware to take you out if things go south—you want a rifle chambered in a cartridge that has the power to get the job done with authority. Most would agree the cartridge must have the energy and the bullet the terminal ballistics to make darn sure your quarry stops when and where you want it to. In Africa, that list usually starts with the classic .375 H&H Magnum and goes up in shoulder punishment from there. In North America, there may be some wiggle room regarding cartridge choice, as putting a hole through a grizzly’s lungs pretty much does the job. But one thing remains true in both locales: The rifles ought to include some basic features that all point to one thing—dependability.
A dependable dangerous-game rifle goes bang when you need it to and functions the way it was designed to, every time. The fire-control mechanism does not fail, the bolt does not bind, and it sends its projectile where you intend it to go. Start with that, add a capable bullet and plenty of practice so that you don’t fail in the heat of the moment, and you’ve got a decent chance of triumphing against the most dangerous four-legged critters Mother Nature could devise.
To that end, I recently had the pleasure of testing a beautiful custom rifle built to take on the biggest, meanest and nastiest critters from the plains of Africa to the big forests of the North—the Custom Safari Rifle from Hill Country Rifles. Built with reliability at the forefront, this rifle is one you can trust to go bang when you need it to, because when you’ve got a mud-caked dagga boy with a nasty disposition in range, having a rifle that doesn’t function flawlessly is about as useful as a blunt stick.
At the heart of the Hill Country Custom Safari Rifle lies a ParkWest Model 76 action. It was originally known as the Dakota 76 action; ParkWest bought the rights to this Model 70-type action from Remington in 2021 when that company went belly up, essentially rebuilding and rebranding the once proud Dakota Arms as ParkWest Arms.
The modern ParkWest 76 action used in the Hill Country Safari Rifle is as stout and dependable as ever. Fully blueprinted, a blend of pre-’64 Model 70 and Mauser actions built with the precision of modern machining, the Model 76 action is a controlled-round-feed system with a one-piece, jeweled bolt and extended extractor that delivers reliable feeding, firing and extraction, every time.
It sports a three-position safety that permits feeding without firing in the middle position, a tuned ParkWest “Safari” trigger that breaks right at 3 pounds, a hinged metal floorplate, and a flush-mounted release lever to remove the bolt from the action. In my test rifle, chambered in .375 H&H, Mag. the Model 76 action ran flawlessly; silky smooth and completely free of any binding or hangups regardless of how fast you chose to run the bolt. Exactly what you want in a dangerous-game rifle.
Building off the Model 76 action, Hill Country Rifles adds a 22-inch stainless steel, Benchmark or Lilja, match-grade barrel with a No. 5 contour, which is then aluminum pillar and glass bedded into a McMillan Supergrade stock, capped with a Decelerator recoil pad. That barrel is available with or without open sights—either a NECG barrel band w/front sight and an express rear sight, or, in the case of our test rifle, a Tally barrel band with a sling stud. If you choose the iron sights, they are custom fitted to each rifle and fully regulated and tested for a 50-yard point of impact, making this a rifle that is extremely accurate and ready to fight right from the box. As for scope mounting, Hill Country Rifles utilize beefy 8x40 screws, and if you choose to have them mount your scope, they will deliver it mounted via Talley QD mounts and sighted in with a sub-MOA guarantee using the recommended factory ammunition, and they provide you with the three-shot paper target to prove it. To top off this package and make it as weatherproof and durable as the dangerous game you’ll likely pursue, Hill Country Cerakotes all the metal parts in the color of your choice.
I was planning to use this rifle on a coastal brown bear hunt in Alaska, and though my only shot opportunity ultimately resulted in me borrowing my guide’s rifle chambered in a cartridge capable of a bit longer range, I spent plenty of time with the Safari Rifle on the range preparing for this hunt. Running both the Federal Premium Safari ammo loaded with 300-grain Swift A-Frames and Hornady’s Dangerous Game loads with 300-grain DGX Bonded bullets, I’ll admit I wasn’t able to get the sub-MOA groups Hill Country claims it’ll do off the bench, but I was shooting at 100 yards, and at that range I got close with both loads before my shoulder cried “Uncle.” Even so, I can attest to the accuracy potential and fail-free functioning, and I’ve no doubt the rifle is capable of sub-MOA accuracy in the right hands and with a fresh shoulder.
I shot more than 150 rounds prior to heading north, mostly freehand and off sticks. The rifle shoulders and balances well, and in .375 makes you feel like the most dangerous one in the field when it cracks off. Topped with a low-power variable optic, like Leupold’s VX-6HD 1-6x24, this rifle is an absolute killer dangerous-game rig. It’s got some heft but it balances right where it should, holding steady on the shoulder to quickly put big holes right where you want them to go. Fast offhand follow-up shots—something every dangerous-game hunter should be prepared for—landed, after a bit of practice, well within a 6-inch window at 50 yards even when running the rifle at top speed. Being chambered in .375 H&H, the 300-grain loads delivered a kick to the shoulder for sure, but the heavy barrel kept the muzzle from rocketing skyward and the thick recoil pad did its job, allowing me to get back on target surprisingly fast. Of course, you’ll want to make darn sure you use the lowest scope rings possible, because taking a cheek hit from such a rifle won’t feel good. But as long as you set this rifle up for a proper mount, you’ll be surprised just how manageable it is. So manageable in fact, I instantly dreamt of being the only hunter in Virginia using a .375 H&H Magnum during deer season. … Someday.
Available in three hard-hitting dangerous-game capable chamberings, .375 H&H Mag., .416 Rem. Mag. and .458 Win. Mag., as well as a slew of other safari-capable big-game chamberings like the .270 Win., .30-06, 7mm Backcountry, 7mm PRC, .300 Win. Mag., .300 Wby. and .338 Win. Mag., the Custom Safari Rifle from Hill Country can be spec’d out to suit your needs. It’s available in a multitude of stock and Cerakote colors, barrel lengths, threaded for a suppressor and with a custom length of pull to fit you like a glove. It’s not a cheap rifle, with a price tag starting at $7,599, but if you’ve got the green, you’d be hard-pressed to find one more capable and dependable.
HCR Custom Safari Rifle
- hillcountryrifles.com
- Type: bolt-action, centerfire rifle
- Caliber: .270 Win., .30-06, 7mm BC, 7mm PRC, .300 Win. Mag., 300 Wby. Mag., .338 Win. Mag., .375 H&H Mag. (tested), .416 Rem. Mag., .458 Win. Mag.
- Magazine: internal w/hinged floorplate; 3-rnd. capacity
- Barrel: 22"; No. 5 contour; button rifled; 1:12" RH twist (tested)
- Trigger: single-stage; 3 lb. pull weight
- Sights: none (tested); drilled and tapped for optics mounting; NECG express rear and banded front sight available
- Safety: three-position, Model 70-style toggle
- Stock: McMillan Supergrade; straight comb; synthetic; multiple color options available; 13.75" LOP
- Metal Finish: Cerakote
- Overall Length: 42"
- Weight: 8.8 lbs.
- Accessories: none
- MSRP: $7,599
