.375 H&H - What do you think

Turkeyslayer 1300

Turkeyslayer 1300

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I have been considering a .375, not for any real reason other than it will kill things, smash rocks well and "safari-ish" calibers have always intrigued me particularly the 9.3-.416 class. As I see them as versatile enough for the semi-average North American Hunter.

Has anyone loaded the .375 to 9.3x62 levels?

How are the lighter 235-260 grain bullets at long range?

Sort of looking to play with a .375 Light, what do you think, I could go with a 9.3 but shells are realistically the same price around here and components for the .375 might be slightly easier to source.

I am in the embryonic stages of planning a bear hunt and have a standing invite for Moose, plus hopefully I will be chasing whitetails in a rifle unit this fall. If nothing else I can get my self comfortable with medium-bore recoil.
 
im toying with the same idea. If you reload and cast bullets im sure you could make a plinker load of a 250-300 grain cast at like 2000-2200. I know that my next big rifle purchase is going to be a win 70 , but im trying to decide whether it will be in 30-06 or 375. Its funny , as a previously very recoil sensitive shooter im now kinda urging for a BIG gun.
 
Could also load the 220gr FN Hornady for the .375 Big Bore to under 2000fps for deer +black bear under 200 yards..........
 
I bought a 375 H&H this fall just for something fun to shoot. I went with the CZ safari classics laminate stock model, the winchester M70 safari was my next choice. I find the recoil on mine to be similar to a 300wm, that being said the 300wm rifle we compared it to was about 3lbs lighter rifle. I havent used mine allot, but hope to for spring bear, and moose in the fall. I have some 270gr hornady on order at the momment, I cant wait to get some range time with it once there is a little less snow.
 
You can make 9.3x62 out of .30-06 or .35 Whelen, so brass cost would actually be reasonable.

The original .375 H&H loads (300gr at 2500fps) were very similar to modern 9.3x62 loads, so yes, you can load the .375 down. The Bullet Barn also offers 265gr cast bullets for the .375, and those bullets at ~2000fps would be a pretty effective "light" load.

Keep in mind that original 9.3x62 loads were 286gr bullets at 2150fps. That load was sufficient for just about everything in Africa (velocity was increased to 2400fps).
 
1899 said:
You can make 9.3x62 out of .30-06 or .35 Whelen, so brass cost would actually be reasonable.

The original .375 H&H loads (300gr at 2500fps) were very similar to modern 9.3x62 loads, so yes, you can load the .375 down. The Bullet Barn also offers 265gr cast bullets for the .375, and those bullets at ~2000fps would be a pretty effective "light" load.

Keep in mind that original 9.3x62 loads were 286gr bullets at 2150fps. That load was sufficient for just about everything in Africa (velocity was increased to 2400fps).
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I should mention that my handloading happens in spurts as the area reserved for it gets used for other things, I have a portable reloading set up. So factory brass is often worth the money because the time to form from something else is often not available. If I have the option to load 100 cartridges or go hunting I typically go hunting.
 
I should add that I really wanted to work with the .405 Winchester originally in a No.1 but right now the .375 is more realistic given costs sourcing ammo, brass and bullets.

Also since reading Capstick's book the .470 and .416 are on the bucket list.
 
I shoot a Browning LH A bolt in .375 H&H Mag with a illuminated Burris Signature Select Safari scope. It has what was a prototype ring, mount, base from Leupold.

With one touch of a button, scope, rings, mount, base all are shed and you are down to express sights.

I don't handload the .375 and don't quite understand why one would. Except for plinking.

When the "ship hits the sand" this is the rifle I like to have in hand.

Here is the rifle in a remote fired hydraulic Hyscore Dangerous Game sled.

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I had a Sako TRG-S and a Remington XCR in 375 H&H. They were awesome rifles. Loaded the 235gr Speer to 2800fps and the 270gr Speer and Hornady to 2700fps. Blew a whitetail doe's head in half with the 270gr Speer BT at 50yds. The 235gr Speer downloaded to 2600fps, I think would be an awesome deer load.
 
Weight with moderate velocities has always been the preferred route for heavy game.
We strayed with the search for velocity.

As an example, even though the 9.3x64 will give, say 2660 ft/s with a 286 gr bullet, many outfitters prefer you use the 9.3x62 with the 286 (or larger bullet) at 2250 (or slower).

The extra velocity will not add to the killing effect of large critters.
 
skypilot said:
I don't handload the .375 and don't quite understand why one would.
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Wow, talk about being on the other side of the fence. I've put a lot of rounds through my .375, and not one of them has been a factory load. Even having to buy new brass to start, the cost of my handloads is dramatically less than factory ammo -- even when using exactly the same bullet. Case in point -- my hunting load for the rifle uses a 300 grain Swift A-Frame, and my cost for 20 rounds comes to around $55, and that's including the cost of brand new brass! That's waaaaay cheaper than any of the factory "safari" loads using the same bullet. And subsequent reloadings of the brass bring the price per 20 rounds to about $35.

Bottom line, every time I squeeze the trigger on a reloaded .375 cartridge, I'm saving anywhere from one to three dollars...
 
I don't handload the .375 and don't quite understand why one would. Except for plinking.
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I'm trying to figure out the thought process here. I'm sure you have your reasons, but I can't for the life of me divine what they could be.:confused: I've plinked off factory ammo for the brass, but never used a factory .375 load hunting.
 
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Nice to see you all have a great sense of humor...I like that. Can be quite rare on most forums.

I have a Law enfrocement back ground and wouldn't bet my life on a reload in my service firearm then and just choose not to have a reload in my .375 when "sugar turns to sh**". Just personal philosophy and only with potentially harmful game. I shoot reloads elsewhere.

I did reload and enjoyed it a great deal and yes it was way cheaper to burn a few hundred rather than buy. And interesting enough the practice/range rounds we were issued form the police agency were all reloads.

The sissy sled....funny, I put all my rifles through it to get as good a zero as possible.

I shoot 10-15 rounds through the .375 daily while hunting in the States and sometimes that's 2-3 days in a row so my sissy meter is indicating on the low side.:D
 
Dogleg said:
Did the needle even move off of "Pussy"?:p
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I don't care who you are that's funny:D
Made tea come outa my nose. Bad thing tho, it was hot tea.

Two of my clients tried it and one guy got mad when it hurt him and he said "I'll never shoot that F******SOB again.":D

The other one decided to shoot off the hood of his truck. Agaist my repeated warning not to, he finaly put a shirt under the gun. Not only will he not shoot it again but he is PO'd because it burnt his shirt and scorched the paint.:D

So you're not gonna get a rise outa me or my sissy meter:p
But I guess a .375 is a good way to find out if you have a feminine side eh?


cheers, now I gotta get a mop and clean this tea up

Rand
 
skypilot said:
I don't care who you are that's funny:D
Made tea come outa my nose. Bad thing tho, it was hot tea.

Two of my clients tried it and one guy got mad when it hurt him and he said "I'll never shoot that F******SOB again.":D

The other one decided to shoot off the hood of his truck. Agaist my repeated warning not to, he finaly put a shirt under the gun. Not only will he not shoot it again but he is PO'd because it burnt his shirt and scorched the paint.:D

So you're not gonna get a rise outa me or my sissy meter:p
But I guess a .375 is a good way to find out if you have a feminine side eh?


cheers, now I gotta get a mop and clean this tea up

Rand
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It must be rough being left handed. If I had to shoot tupperware Brownings and Ruger #1s I might have concluded that a .375 H&H kicked a bit.

Instead, I shoot CZs, Rems and Wins. A typical response to those that shoot them is to look puzzled and say "that's it?"

So far none have exploded into flames and staggered around swearing, but obviously I haven't met all shooters. ;)
 
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