doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Custom rifle help

A friend told me there were some folks who visit this board who have knowledge of custom rifles. Would you please look at the rifle for sale on GunBroker and give me your opinion.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=75597585
I have read a lot of Elmer Keith and he thought highly of the 400 whelen but most of what I have read is negative. I would like opinions on the rifle and cartridge.

Thanks for your time, Dave C.

From the photos it seems to be an original Griffin & Howe rifle. It looks good to me, from what I can see. You can call G&H in N.J. to verify its origin; the serial number is on the barrel in the photo. G&H "renumbered" all their custom Springfields.

Refinishing the floorplate is not a big deal.

The shoulder on the .400 G&H is minimal, but careful handloading can deal with that. I've owned a .375 Whelen for many years with zero problem. Besides, how often do you plan to hunt with a classic $2,500 rifle shooting a big slow bullet?

Mike Petrov in Alaska is the real Springfield/G&H expert.

Jerry Goldstein

Not a bad looking Griffin. The mount is, of course, not a G&H and could have been put on later. Alternatively, they would put on any mount you asked for. They can look it up. Otherwise, 40 cal Griffins are not common items. I don't know if it could be easily converted to something like 404. I'm sure cartridge experts can opine on that. Otherwise, a Griffin Springfield wit quarter rib and express sights in a large bore at $2500 is a pretty good deal if condition is good.

Leo, I don't believe G&H have records of their rifles. This one is fairly early. [1930's].
The .400 Whelen is based on the 30-06 case, and it would be lots of work to convert this rifle to .404 Jefferys. I believe the Whelen uses .410 bullets, and the Jefferys .423. Also, the Springfield action would have to be altered considerably to accomodate the extra length; and the magazine would be too small to take more than two, possably three cartridges.

The .400 Whelen is a pretty neat round in it's own right as long as you are carefull with your loading. It's slight shoulder has caused some headspace problems.

This looks like a neat rifle that only needs a bit of restoration. Good luck.

All the best, Mal

As I look again, I see a few more "problems" with the rifle. The entire bottom metal may be a replacement, hard to tell from the photos. The bolt handle has been replaced with a M-70 type. The sights are not filed in or set flush with the base so I suspect the rear sight is a replacement. There are no good photos of the reciever ring, so we don't know what has been done there. The rear bridge may be cut under the scope base; hard to tell. Otherwise, the stock looks good, and the barrel does also. We don't know bore condition. As I said, "good luck".
All the best, Mal

Mal, G&H has initiated a provenance program but it is not well advertised and it is not cheap. One advantage of the "books" at G&H is that they are separated by major brand of gun, so the G&H full customs are probably in one book. This gun was probably an iron sight gun later fitted with the Redfield type mount. Who cares? I like it, but it won't sell for $2495, at least I don't think so. I'm sure more comment will follow. Murphy

If you like big bore for this kind of coin I would take a serious look at .375 H&H Kimber 'Caprivi'. I don't know if they're available, but Whittaker Guns in Owensboro, KY lists it at their site as new model for $2585.99.
The only pre-war weirdo caliber combo I would buy is original "Buffalo NY Bolt Gun" chambered for .40 or .35 Newton.
The .35 Newton is a gem of a round and some day I will tell you why.

P.O. Ackley already did tell us. He also said the .358 Norma magnum would do anything a .35 Newton would. Plus, there is no Easter egg hunt for ammunition, components, or rifles.
Best,
Ted

It looks like a nice shooter depending on the condition of the bore and chamber. Many .400 Whelen rifles had the chamber messed with in an attempt to fix an imaginary problem. Better pictures would tell me more but as mentioned I believe that the rear sight is a later addition as well as the scope and mount and the bolt handle. I believe that this rifle would have been made after 1929 and the stock style looks much later, also notice the two holes for a Lyman 48 sight but the wood is not cut for it, a better picture might tell us if it has a wood filler.

I don’t believe that G&H have any information on numbers below 1000.

Regarding the cartridge,

>>>400 Whelen<<<<

I could be wrong, but I bet that's not the floor plate/trigger guard that left G&H with that rifle.
I think it's a nice rifle, and in the current gun buying insanity, I would not be surprised to see it go for the asking price.