The 375 Ruger
- Thread starter Gatehouse
- Start date
nowarningshot
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I've said it before and I'll probably say it again, the answer is always the same, but the packaging is less important . . .
But I like the one in the middle.
I am assuming .375 H&H, .375 Rum, .375 Ruger. I own a Rum(several but only 1 .375). So my vote goes for the Middle one. For what a .375 is asked to do, take large and potentially dangerous game, any of them would do. For most of what you are asking of the bore, close range, add another half dozen or more choices new and old. 375 Ruger is simply flavor of the decade, different than the others and a vehicle to sell a "needed" rifle.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Its the nature of manufacturers to do what they can to attract sales for their products, and the marketing departments of these companies are always looking for an advantage; sometimes they succeed. The .375 Ruger is interesting in this regard, because instead of following the usual bigger, faster, & flashier offerings like the .375 Ultra and the .378 Weatherby, instead Ruger decided on a very conservative approach, despite the limited success (some might say failure) of the similar .376 Steyr whereby a standard action rifle could be mated to the new cartridge, while giving up nothing to the industry standard, the .375 H&H. The result is a small easy to manage rifle, that is nearly ideal for big game hunting in typical North American conditions. Do you need a .375 Alaskan? Probably not, but there's little if any downside in having a bit more than you need, and Ruger's offering easily trumps anything else available for that market. My custom Brno 602 in .375 Ultra, acquired a year or so before the .375 Ruger came on the scene, cost nearly 5X the entry price of the Alaskan. Not only that, the Ruger Alaskan was arguably a better rifle, while having only a slight velocity advantage, with normal weight bullets, though a bit more when loaded with heavy weights like the 350 gr Woodleigh and the 380 gr Rhino.
Kool ! Now you just gotta get a bull winkle in yours sights - then BOOM and the work begins ! LOL Steve have you chronoed your load ? Just wondering -
s RJ
Kool ! Now you just gotta get a bull winkle in yours sights - then BOOM and the work begins ! LOL Steve have you chronoed your load ? Just wondering -
No, did not chronoed it yet. Brought the chrony but it was too busy to set it up and the rain would have made for some questionable results anyway. But I would questimate about 2750fps. Bartell told he uses 83gr of H4350 for 2740fps and Gate with 84gr told me a bit more. So smack in the middle at 83.5gr I'd say 2750fps. I'll get around to shoot one through the chrony one of these days.
Savage model 116 Alaskan Brush Hunter with Accutrigger and 20" bbl in 375 Ruger.
Leupold "Rifleman" 3-9x40mm mounted with Warne QD rings.
Can access the excellent iron sights by dismounting the scope in seconds without tools.
Can remount the scope in seconds without tools and without re-zeroing.
Weighs a tad over 8 pounds with scope and is the only 375 Magnum light enough for me to carry all day in the bush.
The rifle is a punishing SOB on the bench so I sighted it in using a Caldwell bench rest that absorbs a lot of the recoil.
Like any Savage it is as accurate as hell ("ragged hole" 5-shot groups @ 100 yds) with the factory 375 Ruger 270 gr SP-RP Superformance ammo.
Will use the factory ammo until I build up a store of brass.
The factory rounds are doing the job so no big hurry developing a load.
Leupold "Rifleman" 3-9x40mm mounted with Warne QD rings.
Can access the excellent iron sights by dismounting the scope in seconds without tools.
Can remount the scope in seconds without tools and without re-zeroing.
Weighs a tad over 8 pounds with scope and is the only 375 Magnum light enough for me to carry all day in the bush.
The rifle is a punishing SOB on the bench so I sighted it in using a Caldwell bench rest that absorbs a lot of the recoil.
Like any Savage it is as accurate as hell ("ragged hole" 5-shot groups @ 100 yds) with the factory 375 Ruger 270 gr SP-RP Superformance ammo.
Will use the factory ammo until I build up a store of brass.
The factory rounds are doing the job so no big hurry developing a load.
I don't have one posted on photobucket so here's a link to a picture of the basic rifle on the Savage website.
My gun has a Leupold "Rifleman" 3-9x40mm scope on top.
The rifle MSRPs for around $675.
Pretty basic stuff.
You don't have to second mortgage your home to get a quality, accurate rifle in 375 Ruger.
http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/116ALASKANBRUSHHUNTER
I should have had it stamped as such!
That would have upped it's KOOL factor considerably.
Never hear much about "the boss of em all" of the 375 Magnums the 378 Weatherby anymore.
It puts out over 3 tons of ME.
Had the pleasure of firing one at Colby a few years ago from a Weatherby rifle with a Pendelton muzzle brake.
Even with the brake that rifle set me back a step.
It puts out over 3 tons of ME.
Had the pleasure of firing one at Colby a few years ago from a Weatherby rifle with a Pendelton muzzle brake.
Even with the brake that rifle set me back a step.
bearkilr
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nowhere, ......just past the middle
I think your answer lies in the fact the recoil is repulsive for even the most seasoned.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
I nearly chose the .378 Weatherby for my custom Brno 602, but at the time I was still stinging from the cost (not the recoil) of Norma .416 Rigby brass at $180/50 from the Old Western Scounger in the States. The .378 Weatherby would have been more of the same, so I went with the .375 Ultra, that at the time was less than a buck a case. Anyone who shoots rifles in this class should handload, and if recoil seems to be too much of a good thing, dial it back a bit. Where I think the .378 Weatherby would be a hoot is with the .375/380 gr Rhinos, I bet the Weatherby could break 2500 fps with them! With my 20" .375 Ultra I made 2350 with the 380s, and now scares 2400 fps with the same load thanks to a 22" barrel.
I had my Alaskan out at the range today; I haven't shot it much since I got it, but... I am well pleased. I was actually surprised that I had forgotten how tolerable the recoil of this rifle is; many don't like the Hogue stock, but I do.
I'm not especially precise with open sights, but then again these aren't precision sights either! She was shooting about 1.5" at 50y offhand, and on a 12" gong at 200m, sitting and kneeling.
That strikes me as being dangerous enough to a moose or bear that I might not trouble trying to get a scope on her this season.
I'm not especially precise with open sights, but then again these aren't precision sights either! She was shooting about 1.5" at 50y offhand, and on a 12" gong at 200m, sitting and kneeling.
That strikes me as being dangerous enough to a moose or bear that I might not trouble trying to get a scope on her this season.
nowarningshot
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
So far i have not destroyed the Bushnell TRS 25 i put on a 45-70 handi. Putting a little reddot like that on the Alaskan might be the ticket, one would think that would be quicker and more accurate than just irons.
My 375 Rum as a basic rifle was not expensive either. Rem Model 700 LSS. I have had it over 10 years but IIRC it was about $900 for the rifle, $900 for the scope, $75 for brass, $60 for dies. The sticker shock of it all was $108/box of crap Rem factory loads. So i most definitely agree, to get the most out of these calibers, one has to reload. I estimate that my premium loads are $30-35/box, most of that being the slightly more than $1/projectile.
I think the true expensive firearms in this class are the semi customs and even factory guns in 375 H & H, and the big Weatherby cals. The initial reason for "cheap" guns in 458 Win 30-40 years ago, the Rums say 10-12 years ago, and now the Rugers. Today there are some inexpensive good medium bores from several makers, notably Zastava and the 9.3's sold by Tradex. Ruger isnt the only game in town for inexpensive, quality, utility grade, dangerous game rifles.
I think the concept and price of the Rugers is excellent, delusions of Royalty aside.
My 375 Rum as a basic rifle was not expensive either. Rem Model 700 LSS. I have had it over 10 years but IIRC it was about $900 for the rifle, $900 for the scope, $75 for brass, $60 for dies. The sticker shock of it all was $108/box of crap Rem factory loads. So i most definitely agree, to get the most out of these calibers, one has to reload. I estimate that my premium loads are $30-35/box, most of that being the slightly more than $1/projectile.
I think the true expensive firearms in this class are the semi customs and even factory guns in 375 H & H, and the big Weatherby cals. The initial reason for "cheap" guns in 458 Win 30-40 years ago, the Rums say 10-12 years ago, and now the Rugers. Today there are some inexpensive good medium bores from several makers, notably Zastava and the 9.3's sold by Tradex. Ruger isnt the only game in town for inexpensive, quality, utility grade, dangerous game rifles.
I think the concept and price of the Rugers is excellent, delusions of Royalty aside.
Tourists come to Whistler to do lots of activities. One thing I do is take them out shooting at our range. Most are beginners. Most of them stick tot he 9mm's, 223 7.62x39 etc, but a fair number shoot the 375 Ruger, too. I took the scope off since I didn't want anyone getting nailed with it. With the iron sights it's surprising how many first timers can hit a 10x10 gong at 100 yards. I tell them to put the white dot on top of the white line, and they often nail it or get very close.
I'm not sure I will put the scope back on for this season either. Sans scope it's an incredibly handy little package to carry.
