I know there is a ton of posts on these calibers but I was looking for specific opinions on whether to shorten my 338WM Hawkeye or try to trade it for a 375 Ruger. Intended use is northern B C Bison and Moose Hunting in bear country of course. Range of shots 80-150 yards. I am looking for a bush rifle, so short barrel is the main goal don't really care about the iron sights except for the cool factor, a 1-4 Nikon is going to be mounted on it. I had a Savage 338 a few years ago that I shortened to 20" and I never noticed an increase in muzzle blast, ruled out the 375HH because of planned short barrel length. So how's ammo availability in 375Ruger what are some experiences shooting shorter barreled rifles in these calibers. Other pros and cons I have missed? I know there are other calibers but I want to stay with a Ruger for this rifle. Thanks.
Shorten my 338WM or replace it with 375 Ruger
- Thread starter Milt Dale
- Start date
The 338 is a capable round, although for your purposes there is no reason not to upgrade to a 375 Ruger. The. 338 has more ammo options but there is no reason you can't keep your 375 supplied with ammo, as it's readily available.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
I'm a .375 fan, regardless of the head stamp. If we consider that a ballistically optimum barrel length is on the order of 28", we accept that we'll be giving up velocity with a barrel length of say 20". The question is how much, and what will the effect be on practical considerations of field shooting and bullet performance on live targets. The .375 will be more forgiving with respect to velocity drop than a smaller bore, although less forgiving than say a .458 or a .50. Of course achieving .375 velocities with a .458" or a .510" slug from a rifle of reasonable weight is a study in broken gun stocks, broken clavicles, and detached retinas (and the chance to end up starring in your own youtube video like those skinny guys from Accurate Reloading shooting the .577 Tyrannosaur or whatever it was that propelled them across the shooting booth).
Having shot and loaded the .375 Ruger in the Alaskan rifle enough to form an opinion, it would be my top choice off the rack, short, dangerous game rifle, or for that matter a general purpose big game hunting rifle for use where dangerous game might be encountered. In some (small) ways I found it preferable to my custom .375 Ultra Brno 602 that set me back enough to buy 3 Alaskans, and I dare say had it been on the market, my Brno would have become a .460 G&A. I am less excited about the latest version brought out by Ruger, although the muzzle brake could be unscrewed and properly used as a sinker when fishing, and the hideous laminated stock could be simply replaced with a quality fiberglass stock, although this represents a significant increase in the cost of the rifle.
When handloaded with due care, the Ruger Alaskan will shoot better than MOA, which makes it about 8X more accurate than need be, considering the size of it's targets. Game bullet choices for the .375 covers the entire big game spectrum, from up close and personal to reach out and touch. The selection of .375 bullets is actually better than those available for the .338, as the .375 is intended for game the .338 never was, and many of the newest .338 bullets are the match type for extreme long range use in a .338 Lapua, .338 Edge or .338-378. Thus whatever you favorite .338 game bullet might be, a version of it will be found in .375. I've never encountered any difficulty in finding components for the .375 Ruger, and of late, C-FBMI resolved any potential or imagined brass shortage of brass with his discovery that .300 Winchester brass can be fire formed in the Ruger to produce a slightly belted .375 Ruger. By all reports this hybrid brass feeds without issue, as the brass ahead of the web expands nicely to mirror the chamber.
All of these things are interesting tidbits, but the fact of the matter is that if you have a .338 rifle that has served you well and that you are confident using,there probably isn't much to be gained by switching up to the .375 unless African hunting is in your immediate future. A .338/250 or a .375/300 of similar design, impacting at similar velocities, will be indistinguishable to the bison.
Having shot and loaded the .375 Ruger in the Alaskan rifle enough to form an opinion, it would be my top choice off the rack, short, dangerous game rifle, or for that matter a general purpose big game hunting rifle for use where dangerous game might be encountered. In some (small) ways I found it preferable to my custom .375 Ultra Brno 602 that set me back enough to buy 3 Alaskans, and I dare say had it been on the market, my Brno would have become a .460 G&A. I am less excited about the latest version brought out by Ruger, although the muzzle brake could be unscrewed and properly used as a sinker when fishing, and the hideous laminated stock could be simply replaced with a quality fiberglass stock, although this represents a significant increase in the cost of the rifle.
When handloaded with due care, the Ruger Alaskan will shoot better than MOA, which makes it about 8X more accurate than need be, considering the size of it's targets. Game bullet choices for the .375 covers the entire big game spectrum, from up close and personal to reach out and touch. The selection of .375 bullets is actually better than those available for the .338, as the .375 is intended for game the .338 never was, and many of the newest .338 bullets are the match type for extreme long range use in a .338 Lapua, .338 Edge or .338-378. Thus whatever you favorite .338 game bullet might be, a version of it will be found in .375. I've never encountered any difficulty in finding components for the .375 Ruger, and of late, C-FBMI resolved any potential or imagined brass shortage of brass with his discovery that .300 Winchester brass can be fire formed in the Ruger to produce a slightly belted .375 Ruger. By all reports this hybrid brass feeds without issue, as the brass ahead of the web expands nicely to mirror the chamber.
All of these things are interesting tidbits, but the fact of the matter is that if you have a .338 rifle that has served you well and that you are confident using,there probably isn't much to be gained by switching up to the .375 unless African hunting is in your immediate future. A .338/250 or a .375/300 of similar design, impacting at similar velocities, will be indistinguishable to the bison.
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troutseeker
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Prince George, BC
Another vote for .375 Ruger. short, handy, backs a big thump and makes a big hole.
not sure which way to go. My pops shortened his ruger m77 a couple of inches and he is really happy with it now. Before he complaned about getting cought in the trees when hunting in the bush. I believe it is 22inches long now. I have a tc encore with a 18.5 inch barrel in 375hh which is very handy in the bush and handles nice.
bearkilr
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nowhere, ......just past the middle
Have you shot a 375 in either H&H or Ruger? I'd suggest to do that before buying, the recoil is too much for some. Muzzle blast will be increased with shorter barrels regardless of caliber. If all you're planning is to load up the 375 with light bullets, there's no real point in owning one, the 338 would be the better choice.
Velocity loss due to a shortened barrel will be a non issue at the ranges you plan to use it anyhow.
To all, thanks for the input, I did own two 375HH, I had a TC that I disliked and a Parker Hale that I did like but I never used. I found the recoil on the Parker Hale to be less than a 300wm, If I don't get any bites on a trade in the EE I wll think again about shortening before fall.
OP........I'm curious as to why you say you would go to a short barreled 375 Imposter but wouldn't consider shortening a 375 H&H to fit your needs. The H&H actually has less powder capacity than the Imposter and functions and performs very well in a 20" barreled rifle. Less powder capacity means quicker burning powder and less muzzle blast from equal length barrels. I spent a fair bit of time working up a load for a buddies 375 Sako A III full stock carbine with a 20" barrel. What a sweetheart to shoot she was and we ended up with a sub minute load with 285 Speer GS at just under 2700 fps as I recall. This was his saddle rifle and one gun do all and it was perfectly suited for it. I tried to convince him that 270s were the way to go or even 260 Parts which were just out then, but he wanted more bullet and we didn't have the plethora of good 270 grnrs we have today. Thinking the H&H needs a long barrel is an old wives tale and it performs every bit as good from a 20" barrel as any other 375 on the market.
There is one more option you didn't mention.........you could have your 338 shortened and bored to 375 and make a very nice and efficient 375 Chatfield-Taylor, and you get to use all your 338 brass as a bonus.
There is one more option you didn't mention.........you could have your 338 shortened and bored to 375 and make a very nice and efficient 375 Chatfield-Taylor, and you get to use all your 338 brass as a bonus.
I doubt you would see any difference on game with either. The 375 won't kill like a "big truck", esp on lung shots.
If the OP wants to spend money on a new rifle, buy the 375. If he wants to save money, have the 338 cut back. No diff either way.
