375 H&H recoil and why shortening barrel is good or bad

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I just bought BwanaDave's BRNO 602 in .375 H&H. Dave's a great guy to deal with, thanks for the latest addition to my collection.

I test fired the 602 at the range. I was concerned about the recoil so I wore my PAST recoil pad and shot the first group freehand, standing.

Shooting 300gr Federal factory loads, I was very pleasantly surprised by the relatively mild recoil. It felt lighter than the recoil from my Mossberg 500 with slugs.

I tried it off of sandbags on the bench and again the recoil was quite managable.

I am very pleased to finally get a hold of this rifle and that the recoil is so pleasant.

I took it to my gunsmith and am having the barrel shortened to 20". Hopefully this won't transform the pleasant nature of this rifle.
 
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BRNO 602 in .375 H&H.
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Nothing like a little well balanced weight to smooth things out ;) You're probably pushing 10 lbs all up I would think which is all good in this kind of rifle. I handled one, Gatehouse's actually, and they are good and hefty and balance nice to me.

On chopping the barrel I get what you're trying to accomplish but I would think it might drop your resale value if that's an issue. I wonder if rebarreling with a 'bush tube' would be a good option and keep the original in tact. :confused:
 
The first time I fired a 375 I expected the worst, but actually like you said the recoil was quite manageable. Glad to hear you like your new toy!
 
Salty

Thanks for the advice but I don't plan on selling it so I'm not concerned about the resale value.

It'll make a great coastal hunting/working rifle. Heck it'll be a great go anywhere do anything rifle.

I'd love to try it out on gophers but there aren't any here in the Fraser Valley. :)
 
I recently loaded up some 250 grain lead loads in front of 14 grains of unique,talk about a mild fun plinker!!!Good enough for shooting a gong at 200 meters as well.Cheap way to practice offhand shooting as well.Love the 375.
 
I was worried because a lightweight .300 mag that I had fired a couple of years ago had been an unpleasant experience for me.

Salty is right that the extra weight of the 602 is a good thing!
 
I would SO NOT CUT THE BBL!!! Shortening ANY .375 H&H to under 24" will significantly reduce its value. Maybe in half or lower. The H&H is an african plains caliber, not a bush gun - it's meant to have a long tube on it.

As fro recoil - don;t be a wuss! Try the .458 Lott!
 
Claven2 said:
I would SO NOT CUT THE BBL!!! Shortening ANY .375 H&H to under 24" will significantly reduce its value. Maybe in half or lower. The H&H is an african plains caliber, not a bush gun - it's meant to have a long tube on it.

As fro recoil - don;t be a wuss! Try the .458 Lott!
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I very much doubt that a short barrel on the 602 makes the rifle less valuable - particularly to the man who owns it.

I rechambered mine to the Ultra, and thus keep the ballistics of the 26" .375 H&H from a 21" barrel. I've chronographed 260 gr Noslers @ 2900, 270 gr X's and Hornady's @ 2800, 285 Slam's and 286 gr PMP solids @ 2700, 300 gr X's @ 2600, and Rhino 380's @ 2300.

The .375 H&H shines as a do anything go anywhere cartridge, and to relegate it to simply an African plains cartridge is short sighted. I saw it referred to in the following manner - "One rifle - one planet, Holland's three seven five."
 
I have a .338 shortened to about 21", and the only downside I find is that muzzle blast is much more noticeable. There are already "factory made" 338 & .375 carbines (i.e. Sako AVs), and they shoot well, but they're noisy too. I have three .375s, but so far I've resisted cutting any of them for that reason.
 
Shorten the barrel to whatever length works for you. .375s do not need a long barrel to acheive good speeds. As for recoil if you want to try some bigger stuff PM me. I shoot a Mission and am getting out most weekends.
 
Yeah, the 375's a pussycat. I was expecting a lot more pain the first time I shot one, but it's actually very manageable.

If it were my rifle, I wou;dn't be cutting it down, but to each his own I suppose. I do agree that the 375 was intended to be a flat-shooting long-range magnum, so that's why they come with long barrels. If I wanted a fast-handling carbine, I'd go 45-70 guide gun lever. But that's just me.


I would, however, recommend switching to smaller charges of a faster powder to reduce the blast & noise increase that shortening it will bring about
 
Whatever dudes, cut it down then. One less rifle I will ever consider buying. At gunshows or whatever, if I see a shortened boomer, I keep walking and my money stays in my pocket ;)

If it makes you like the rifle more, go for it - but be aware your resale audience has shrunk as I know I am not alone in this thinking ;)
 
Claven2 said:
Whatever dudes, cut it down then. One less rifle I will ever consider buying. At gunshows or whatever, if I see a shortened boomer, I keep walking and my money stays in my pocket ;)

If it makes you like the rifle more, go for it - but be aware your resale audience has shrunk as I know I am not alone in this thinking ;)
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Sure, us 'dudes' are real concerned about whether or not you'll consider buying our guns :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 
Claven2
Definatly not trying to piss anyone off, just stateing my preference. I cut the 24.5" barrel on my first .416 back to 22" and it made a world of difference. I had a factory 20 3/4" Sako 375 for a while and it was an awsome packing gun, and got very good speeds. Am about to build another .375 and will be going 22". The Brnos have 25"ers which is just a bit too long for my likeing. Shoot what you like.
 
if you're goign to cut it down why a .375H&H ? the power loss from loosing 4" could negate the cartiridge as a whole. so you just spent how much to effectly have a super innefficient 375 whelen?

whatever blows your skirt up.
 
Personally, I wouldn't cut it. I have a Brno ZKK 602 in .458wm, and a Winchester model 70 in .458wm and the recoil of the Brno is noticeably easier to handle. I haven't figured out why I 'need' two .458's & was thinking of selling the Brno but..........if one is good, than two has to be REALLY good? :) I wouldn't cut my Brno, probably use my Marlin 1895 GS .45-70 if I really wanted to use something shorter.:)
 
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