.375 h&h on deer

In Alberta, Your never just hunting deer. Most guys got an Elk, Moose or Bear tag to go with it. Maybe extreme on gophers!
 
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mjcurry said:
ive been doing some reading on the .375 h&h and alot of poeple say it works well on smaller thin skinned game like deer. has anyone actually used a .375 on a deer? anytihng smaller like antelope?

im interested in this caliber but i dont think im ready for the recoil just yet:cool:
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Are you mostly interested in deer hunting, or are you mostly interesting in the venerable .375 Holland & Holland?

If you're mostly interested in deer and whatnot, then there are better choices out there. If you're interested in the caliber, then give in to the urge and buy what floats your boat. It's all about having fun and enjoying yourself. That's why I hunt with a .35 magnum despite all the genius's telling me it's "too much gun".

.375's work just fine on deer - a friend in Sparwood hunted with one for years, still has it I think, and aside from assorted grizzlies and elk, I know he shot deer with it and I think a bighorn as well. Didn't have any complaints about vapourized animals - which doesn't surprise me, because that's not what generally happens. .375 bullets are generally of pretty tough construction, with bigger game in mind, so don't open as rapidly in light skinned game such as deer.

If bullet casting interests you, the .375 H&H is a fine rifle for cast bullet shooting, although case capacity is a bit more than generally thought to be desireable. Lots of bullet moulds available to choose from. Something like RCBS's 37-250-FN, loaded to about 2500 - 2600 fps, would work just fine for deer (and bigger, as far as that goes) out to about 250 yards without too many ballistic concerns. I would expect recoil to be very "normal" with such a load, given that it would only take about 40 grains of a few different powders to get into that velocity range, and the fact that most .375's are heavier than the average rifle out there today. Probably less than the "average" 30/06 out there shooting 180 grain factory stuff. If the cost of brass concerns you, loads like that will result in brass lasting a long, long time.

If using commercial cast bullets or doing your own bullet casting doesn't interest you as part of the hobby, there's no law that says you can't simply download some 235 grain bullets for your deer loads.

In the end, it comes down to what floats your boat and what interests you. Have fun and tell us how it goes!
 
hey guys!

thanx for all the answers!

rick
im looking for and all around rifle for bears,moose and deer. im looking to buy a nice rifle that i will keep for ever . i do reload but i dont shoot alot. plus the guys at the hunt camp think my 300 wsm is huge so i want to make them feel like a bunch of nancies next year !

but i think im going to get out to the gun club more and try one if i can first.
my 300 wsm doesnt bother me recoil wise at all and im sure if i put and r3 pad on whatever un i buy it will be ok

thanx!
matt
 
Rick pretty much summed it up- fo rdeer there are probably better choices, but if it interests you, then do it..

I shot a small nuisance bear a few years ago qiht a 375 H&H and a 300gr Partition, it went down fast, and when I examined it, there was littl emeat damage.

The bear just went "whump" and dropped...
 
Please notice that the people who are positive seem to have experience; those that are negative generally have opinion. Is there a trend developing here?

If I shoot a spike WT with my 375 H&H, its "overkill", but what does that mean? How much deader can it get? If a baby gun proponent meets up with a surly bear, I don't think his CF .22 or .243 is going to really be a good choice!

The trick is to be able to put the bullet where it belongs. Extra horsepower is always handy if something goes wrong. If the "overkill experts" had their way, we would all drive mopeds!

Oh, I own and shoot a range of rifles that extends from .17 Rem to 450 Ackley, I choose which to carry without regard to "overkill", but rather to what will be adequate, and fun. Most of the time, I wind up with a .308 Win
 
mjcurry said:
im looking for and all around rifle for bears,moose and deer. im looking to buy a nice rifle that i will keep for ever . i do reload but i dont shoot alot. plus the guys at the hunt camp think my 300 wsm is huge so i want to make them feel like a bunch of nancies next year !

but i think im going to get out to the gun club more and try one if i can first.
my 300 wsm doesnt bother me recoil wise at all and im sure if i put and r3 pad on whatever un i buy it will be ok
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Well, I wouldn't choose a rifle/caliber just because it would have an affect on the guys at the hunt camp. If I was thinking ONE rifle (and already had that 300 WSM), I would be giving thought to what I liked, what would suit my hunting best, and what would be easiest/most fun to reload for and shoot. Especially the "shoot" part - I have always thought it crazy that most carefully chosen and much loved hunting rifles spend the vast majority of their time gathering dust in the safe when it isn't hunting season. Shooting your hunting rifles for pleasure is fun! Especially when it can be done for cheap!

Given that you don't have grumbly bears as contenders out in Ontario, I'd suggest you give some thought to the 35 Whelen. It is almost as much a classic as the 375 Ouch & Ouch, has all the punch you can reasonably ask for as far as moose and bears go, there's a bewildering array of cast bullet moulds and commercial cast bullets available in .358", and... a pound of Red Dot and a bulk purchase of blemished el cheapo Remington or Winchester 158 gr handgun bullets translates into hours of fun shooting your hunting rifle outside of hunting season. Also nice is that such super mild loads are a good way to get girlfriends and others into shooting and put absolutely minimal wear on your barrel.

Tell your hunting buddies you had to "heavy up" to stop charging bull gophers... A 158 grain commercially swaged pistol bullet trundling along at about 900 fps is very quiet, about as cheap as centerfire shooting gets, and just plain pure fun. You just sort of dig the gophers out from behind their mounds... seems to kill tin cans and clay targets just fine as well.

If you're looking for something really different that still has a lot of whomp, the 35 Hawk has all the advantages of the 35 Whelen regarding power, versatility, and ease of reloading/shooting inexpensively, and still fits in a 30/06 length action. Z-Hat does rifle rebarrel/rebores, sells the brass, provides reloading data, etc. Little more power than the 35 Whelen and treading pretty close on the heels of the 358 Norma magnum. If you're still thinking "375", the 35 Hawk launches 250 grain bullets just under 2800 fps, which isn't too far behind the traditional 270 grain loading at 2700 fps that the .375 H&H made it's reputation on. But you're going to be paying a bit more up front for the costlier brass and rebarreling to get the extra thump. May or may not be worth it to you. Will still fit in a standard length action.

Or you can go "what the hell" and get a 358 Norma Magnum or 358 STA. Definitely puts you into the 375 power category, and still as versatile and easy to choot - although the expense has increased again... The STA will need a long action.

Or... you can go the other way and get a 350 Rem Mag in a shorty action or make one of those wildcat 358 WSM's that guys are showing an interest in these days.

Of course, you could always find a cheapo bubba'd Lee Enfield #4 Mk1 for about $75, sink some money into it, and have it reappear as a 40/60 Maynard, 405 Winchester, or something similar in case dimensions. No action work required, just a new barrel and some nice wood or plastic stocking. The hole in the end of the barrel should definitely impress your friends in the hunt camp if that is a desireable end result. A 300 grain X-bullet at 2200 fps or a 410 grain cast bullet at 1800 fps will, I'm sure, tip over moose quite nicely. And... the cheap handgun bullet route for fun shooting is still available.

All of those have LOTS of thump on tap for Ontario moose and bears. So there's all kinds of different ways you can go if you want something bigger and/or something different. But... if you're enamored with the 375 H&H, then that's exactly what you should buy.
 
A good 375 is gonna weigh 2-3 lbs more than you need in a deer rifle, so its up to you if you want to carry the extra weight. I would say it would be a good prep for a dangerous game hunt. Other than that not much of a need for one of those on a hardwood ridge. :D
 
Levi Garrett said:
A good 375 is gonna weigh 2-3 lbs more than you need in a deer rifle, so its up to you if you want to carry the extra weight. I would say it would be a good prep for a dangerous game hunt. Other than that not much of a need for one of those on a hardwood ridge. :D
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That's the train of thought the daughter and son in law are using. As I understand it, she's been using her .375 H&H and the son in law has been using his .416 Rem. Mag. Deer hunting in preparation for their trip to Africa 2009.
 
235gr Speer bullets shoot well out of a BRNO ZKK I have and stay accurate enough. I have shot whitetail with this combination and it is fine. Recoil is ok as well.
 
hi their

ive been doing some reading on the .375 h&h and alot of poeple say it works well on smaller thin skinned game like deer. has anyone actually used a .375 on a deer? anytihng smaller like antelope?

im interested in this caliber but i dont think im ready for the recoil just yet
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The .375 is an excellent cartridge, even for deer. In my opinion there is no such thing as too much gun.

As already stated though the guns tend to be too heavy for the deer woods and they can be expensive to feed.
 
if you got it.... use it. if you are going to buy one as a deer rifle, there are more sensible options out there. for a lot of areas (where there are also moose and elk), it would make a better deer rifle than a 243 or 25-06 IMO, better to have too much gun than too little.

i used to have one, the kick wasn't bad (too me much more pleasant than a LE#5 or an FR8 with NATO ammo). ammo isn't available for $13.99 a box, but it is cheaper than norma ammo in any caliber that i can name.
 
Hello,
I have used my 375 on deer for the past 16 years and it works just fine. I found that for factory ammo the Federal Premium Safari in 250 grain boat tail soft point is excellent. Yes there is some recoil and i guess it depends how sensitive you are to it as whether you will be comfortable shooting this caliber or not. Good luck.
 
wellcome to the forum, John375 :)

I found that a 375 with a nice pad and mild-mannered loads kicks less than my 308 with hot loads. The push is more, but not nearly as sharp as the one I get from a steeled buttplated k98.
 
Win/64 said:
Still way to heavy a gun for deer.
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Kinda a big generalization I guess that makes my 700VLS in 260 WAY to heavy for deer. Of course, you wouldn't know where or how I hunt for deer.:rolleyes:
 
Shoot most of my Whitetails with a Steyr .375 H&H and fullpower loads,the whitetails don't like it one bit.
Clean exitholes and not much meatdamage.
Shooting Deer with the .375 is good practice for bearhunting.
 
I'm planning to take mine out for whitetail next year, mostly for practice. Someday the African hunting gods will smile on me, and I don't want that to be the first time I'm out in the field with my trusty 70 Safari...
 
mjcurry said:
hi their

ive been doing some reading on the .375 h&h and alot of poeple say it works well on smaller thin skinned game like deer. has anyone actually used a .375 on a deer? anytihng smaller like antelope?

im interested in this caliber but i dont think im ready for the recoil just yet:cool:
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About the finest cartridge ever mj. Good choice for deer big or small. Does what a rifle is suposed to, puts a hole in 'em and makes 'em dead. If you're worried about recoil , you're in the wrong sport:D . BTW most of those who claim too much gun, Too much recoil have never fired one.
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