.375 H&H Vs .338win VS. 9.3 X62?
- Thread starter lyle1
- Start date
Very tastefully executed SC, both the rifle and the boo!
Yup! Looking forward to photos of that boo mount.
Nice knife too, SC.
Was a what it appears to be? A perfect gut shot. Ah well, you can't get any deader than dead.
Nice hole on that creature.
Nice hole on that creature.
Exit on caribou with 270gr TSX at 80yds.
Johnn Peterson
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Chemainus B.C.
Accuracy got better at 2700fps as did the recoil. Most data came from Steve's Pages and Reloaders Nest. There used to be a site for the 416Taylor that had a lot of good info, but it seems to be gone now.
Pic as requested.
Looks good SC. Thanks for posting the picture of your rifle
, much appreciated. I had googled 375 Chatfield-Taylor after my post yesterday and did a quick run through of the Reloader's Nest forum. Interesting and thanks again.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
As the NEW KING has proved to be so popular, I guess it's not surprising that there could be brass shortages from time time time. Still, it sounds as if you managed to find some just by using the telephone, same way I do it.
Although factory ammo does comes packed in brass. If you can get factory ammo, you can get brass. It might not be ideal for the handloader, but it's not as if an owner of a NEW KING will be without ammunition.
Yes, very true. I just think it's funny when someone says it's hard to find brass for one cartridge but suggests another that needs brass to be necked up or formed and has the wrong headstamp.
If necking up and down and the wrong headstamp is okay, you can always order some .416 RUger brass and neck it down. Midsouth has it in stock, but I doubt they will ship it to Canada.
I saw a box of Hornady .375 Ruger brass on the shelf at Wholesale Calgary while down south two weeks ago. I'd make a crack about a lottery ticket too, but I'm not sure how often that brass is on the shelf. In fairness, I've looked hard at .404 Jeffery, been into .450-400 Nitro 3", designed my own wildcats, etc and none of those are easy to feed either so availability isn't putting me off the .375 Ruger. I just like the H&H a lot better for a gun that works hard.
Republic of Alberta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- ,location, location
Now days with the Internet I can find pretty much any brass or bullet I want even with the obscure stuff.
If I can get 7x65R Brenneke and 9.3x64 Brenneke I am sure a little sleuthing can find plain vanilla 375 Ruger brass, at which point one can stock up a life time supply.
This begs the question. If you can find 9.3 Brenneke brass why even bother with the 375 Ruger?
If I can get 7x65R Brenneke and 9.3x64 Brenneke I am sure a little sleuthing can find plain vanilla 375 Ruger brass, at which point one can stock up a life time supply.
This begs the question. If you can find 9.3 Brenneke brass why even bother with the 375 Ruger?
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
That's a lung hit to my eyes.
Nice. Most of my shots these days are clean head shots to the brain or high neck shots. Not used to aiming for the lungs anymore.
Love the exit wound.
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Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Nice. All of my shots are clean head shots to the brain or high neck shots. Not used to aiming for the lungs.
Love the exit wound.
Hmm... really? Those are two pretty sketchy and very limited target areas, I'd only use under very specific circumstances.
I suppose it depends on how often you have done it and if you have the ability to walk away and save it for another day. We all have different skills and different tactics.
I turn down more shots at legal game in a single season than most will have the opportunity for in a lifetime. Location, location, location.
I turn down more shots at legal game in a single season than most will have the opportunity for in a lifetime. Location, location, location.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Nice. Most of my shots these days are clean head shots to the brain or high neck shots. Not used to aiming for the lungs anymore.
Love the exit wound.
I am curious what you believe the advantage of a headshot might be. Some put forward the notion that the headshot is more humane than a lung shot; as the result is either an instant kill or a clean miss.
In the real world things don't work out so well. The down side of a head shot is the possibility, or more properly the probability, of a facial wound to that dooms the animal to an agonizingly long death, from starvation or lack of water, while sufferinig unimaginable pain from the gunshot injury. As a result, I consider the head shot marginal, at best, and reserve it for emergencies involving dangerous game and very close range.
Whenever a shot is made on game, we must accept the possibility that we might wound the animal, and while we do everything possible to negate that outcome, the possibility remains all the same. But the successful headshot requires such a fine degree of precision, which it is all but impossible to execute on demand.
Lets examine the problem. Your target is approximately the size of a baseball. If you are shooting off a bench at the range, hitting a stationary baseball with a cold bore shot poses no significant degree of difficulty out to 300 yards if you're a talented marksman with a good rifle. But the animal moves, even while grazing. When he stops to check the breeze, his head turns about 180 degrees; this changes not only the shape but also the size of your target. At long range this becomes an impossible problem even though you are shooting from a solid rested position. But if the range is short, the motion even more difficult to compensate for, unless the animal is moving directly towards you, things happen quickly, and you are not shooting from a solid rested position.
I have no way of knowing how good a shot you are, but I know how good a shot I am. I also know what I cannot do with a rifle, and making a sure kill or a sure miss, with a head shot on a big game animal, regardless of the range I shoot from is something I cannot do. I can miss the center of the lungs by 6" in any direction, and still kill the animal in a humane fashion. If I miss the center of the head by more than an inch on either side of my aiming point, I've got a wounded animal, who can cover a great deal of ground in a short period of time. Even if my lung shot doesn't drop him instantly, his ability to cover ground is greatly diminished, the faster he burns up the oxygen in his blood in a mad run, the quicker his mind becomes confused, then dies.
If you have indeed been fortunate enough to kill an animal or two with a headshot, consider yourself lucky, the odds are stacked against you; so choose a target with a greater margin of error.
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All would be great choices. I too would add the 35 Whelen, although I never carry mine anymore. Of your list of choices, I would say the 375 would be my favourite, more out of its nostalgic reputation. All are good choices for dropping game. Being in North America I would promote the 338 WinMag over the others just because the ammo is easier to find on a shelf than the other choices.
As for the debate over head and neck shots, a shooter always has to wait for the right shot. I have easily taken 100 or so deer with clean head shots, but each time, I was prone with a bipod, under 200 metres, no wind, dialed in on an animal that was bedded, and I knew my load and abilities. Know your load, rifle, terrain, distance, and be willing to not take the shot.
A similar debate rages over a moving target. I have no issue with taking an animal in a slow, walkng pace at a normal hunting range, but the high speed target is a whole different issue. Every year while on the high ground, I see guys in rapid fire mode, trying to hit the trophy that is going full speed across the fields. Plenty of wounded animals and bad kills from that type of shooting, and the same guys that engage in this type of hunting may criticize the head shot on a resting animal. Again, know your equipment and be willing to refuse the shot.
As for the debate over head and neck shots, a shooter always has to wait for the right shot. I have easily taken 100 or so deer with clean head shots, but each time, I was prone with a bipod, under 200 metres, no wind, dialed in on an animal that was bedded, and I knew my load and abilities. Know your load, rifle, terrain, distance, and be willing to not take the shot.
A similar debate rages over a moving target. I have no issue with taking an animal in a slow, walkng pace at a normal hunting range, but the high speed target is a whole different issue. Every year while on the high ground, I see guys in rapid fire mode, trying to hit the trophy that is going full speed across the fields. Plenty of wounded animals and bad kills from that type of shooting, and the same guys that engage in this type of hunting may criticize the head shot on a resting animal. Again, know your equipment and be willing to refuse the shot.
Boomer, that was a thoughtful and well-reasoned response to the comments regarding the use of head shots. I've never liked them and rarely used them, and then only at close range and if no other shot appeared likely to present. Your analysis should make one think twice about trying this shot, if one has not already done so.
However, obviously neither you nor I, nor most mere mortals for that matter, have the accumulated experience and sheer skill to "turn down more shots at legal game in a single season than most will have the opportunity for in a lifetime."
We can only hope to learn from the writings of such a master.
However, obviously neither you nor I, nor most mere mortals for that matter, have the accumulated experience and sheer skill to "turn down more shots at legal game in a single season than most will have the opportunity for in a lifetime."
We can only hope to learn from the writings of such a master.
Johnn Peterson
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Chemainus B.C.
- Location
- Steel Town and The Peg
Well said. I have sent many thousands of rounds down a number of ranges during my time in the Forces, and while I consider myself to be a competent shooter, I would never unnecessarily risk wounding an animal by taking a head shot unless it was in self-defence.
