.375 options?

mjcurry

mjcurry

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hi their

ive been dreaming of a .375 h&h for a while now and ive been looking at a bunch and can't make up my mind. i wont be buying the rifle till this summer but i wanna do my research.( plus its fun too look at guns!!)

ive been looking at a rem 700 xcr.375. thast the only one ive seen and the price seems right.

i like stainless and syntheic guns becasue i feel bad about scrathcing a nice wood one. but i would still consider wood. this is going to be mainly a moose and bear rifle but i also want to target shoot,make up some loads and maybe get a deer with one.

should i get a muzzle brake? ive read lots of bad things bout them ? im a small guy 5'8 125 pounds but my 300 wsm doesnt bug me at all.

i would definitly be putting an r 3 pad on whatever i get.

what type of optics should i get? what magnification?


seeing as i live in southern ontario its sounds silly to some but i want to go on a yearly canoe moose and bear hunt.(bear just if i seen one) i also hunt moose in bracebridge in the thick stuff but most shots are between 50 to 200 yards in some open areas.

for some reason this caliber intregues me.:runaway:

any info would be apreciated!!

matt
 
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I have a Win. Pre-64 Model 70 chambered for 375 Wby. It is a kicker - no muzzlebrake yet. May decide to sell soon.

Hard kickers like lighter - good quality scopes. Leupold 4x32, 2.5x20, 1-4x20 or similar would work.
 
I had a Rem 700 LSS in .375 Ultra Mag, that thing was a beast. Recoil's recoil though, and none of the production remington rifles are out of reason for a seasoned shooter. But yes, those things kick something awful, hardest recoil I've experienced, sold it after one box of the $100 ammo.
 
You will want a scope with lots of eye relief. I think a 1.5-5X or a 1.75-6X would be excellent all around glass.

Which ever rifle you decide on, make sure you take it to a gunsmith who can cut the stock so that it fits you properly. If the stock is too long, the rifle will pound you, and you will never shoot it well. While he has it, have a good quality pad installed, many of the factory pads aren't up to the task.

Reload your ammo! If you reload, you can build the ammo to your comfort level and grow into it. Recoil is an aquired tast.

Although I do not care for them, if you only weigh 125 pounds, a muzzle brake is not an option you can ignore. Try to find an older Brno 602 with the factory break - a pal of mine has one and it tames the rifle significantly. Do not shoot a braked rifle without hearing protection . . . but that's another topic.
 
I have a Sako Finnbear that I bought used with Mag-na Porting. I found my buddies Tikka 300 wm was far worse recoiling. This was with full house loads with N260 gr. The 375 is more like a push rather than the 300's sharp crack.
 
I might be against the grain here, but I don't think your weight's an issue. People learn how to handle it, an old timer shooting partner's 5'3 and 135'ish, he can shoot .458 Mag without fuss or complaint, and that's at 75 years old. I think a 100lb guy can shoot a .458 if he knows what he's doing.
 
kevin.303 said:
browing makes a medallion in .375 H & H with open sights, wholesale sells them for around $870. very nice rifle at a nice price
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I totally DO NOT recommend any Browning A-Bolt in 375. Their VERY POOR stock design makes it the worst 375 out there to shoot.

The stock on my A-Bolt 22/250 was bigger than the stock on my A-Bolt 375H&H. Stay clear!!

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I have a custom .375 H&H, based on a Sako L61R action (I believe) & topped with a Leupold VX-III, 2.5-8x36. The first time I shot it, it tried to 'hurt' me. Just holding it wrong I guess. It does 'boot' pretty good the weight, 10 lbs, probably tames the recoil somewhat. Stock length can have quite an effect as well. Anyway, a great gun and it was given to me by my son in law.
Boomer made mention of looking for one in a Brno 602, and that may be a good suggestion. I had, until recently, a Brno ZKK 602 in .458 wm. Recoil wise, it was easier to handle than my model 70 in the same calibre. They both weighed the same but different stock design.
If you're looking for a .375 H&H, 240gord had one for sale a while back. He may still have it.
 
I have a 375H&H Winchester mod 70 Classic (crf) in SS , The recoil is not bad at all (smooth and slow ) as for scope I have a B&L 3X9 on it in weaver mounts . You do not need a long eye relief scope (ever notice the eye relief of the high end Europeon glass) as i dont really consider this a really big recoiling round in standard weight rifles and as long as proper shooting form is used there really should be no need for a really long eye relief like everyone seems to advocate.
 
I have a .375 H&H XCR that I just purchased a couple of weeks ago. I've topped it off with a Leopold VXIII 2.5x8x36mm scope with QWR bases and rings. I really like this gun. It points very well, recoil is very managable. I also have a .300wsm Rem 700 LSS and find that the recoil in the .375 is only slightly more. Also both guns came factory with the R3 recoil pad. If you can handle a 12ga with slugs or turkey loads you will be able to handle the .375 H&H XCR from a recoil stand point.
 
My wife got me a CZ550 in .375 for Christmas. I had been wanting one for a while. It is a pleasure to shoot and the recoil reminds me of full house 45-70 loads which are not that bad at all.

I ran about thirty down the tube, some from the bench and some standing. If we wouldnt have run out of day light I would have shot it quite a bit more.

The sights are some of the best I have ever shot with, very easy and quick to aquire. The wood is very nice quality and the recoil pad is one of the best factory pads I have seen in a while. The overall balance and feel of the rifle is nice.

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Just need to chop that tube down a bit now :D
 
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Ive got a SS Mdl 70 action (with a 7STW barrel attached) that I am going ot have a 375 built on it...I am still pondering the choices of 375 H&H, 375 AI or Weatherby or the new 375 Ruger, which looks pretty cool.:dancingbanana:

I'll probably attach a Bansner stock to it, and I will be using a 1.5-5 Vari X III.

Been thinking about htis rifle for almost ayear now, still waiting to see the 375 Ruger when it is officially introduced..:runaway:
 
crazy_davey said:
My wife got me a CZ550 in .375 for Christmas. I had been wanting one for a while.
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NICE Christmas present. You musta bin a good boy last year. :p

crazy_davey said:
Just need to chop that tube down a bit now :D
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That's the only thing out of place on the CZ550 and old 602s is that weird 25" bbl. It's 2" too long.
Browning puts 26" bbls on their 375. :rolleyes:
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Stock design is everything when it comes down to the big recoiling rifles. Spend the $$$ on a top quality stock, you'll be happy you did! My 375 RUM wears a custom African contour HS Precision stock with the mercury recoil reducer in it. Makes a hell of a niice platform for sure!
 
mjcurry said:
i have a deal going threw with another cgn on a 375 h&h rem 700 with mcmilan stock and magnaporting. we will see;)
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The magnaporting will help control the muzzle rise.

I just checked McMillan's web page, and it appears that their Remington stocks keep to the Remington profile. My 602's pistol grip crowds the trigger guard a bit, and until I put a spacer behind the guard it would bump my knuckle. Sounds like the Remington will be a good rifle for you. I'm not sure what difficulty might be encountered in shortening the fiberglass stock to fit you, but perhaps someone can chime in with that.

There was a tough guy who was up visiting one year. He knew all about rifles and wasn't at all concerned about recoil. I passed him my .416 Rigby to shoot. Because he had been around guns I didn't pay much attention to what he was doing, but I glanced his way just as he was about to shoot, and there was day light between his shoulder and the butt. I didn't have time to make a sound when that rifle went off - he nearly dropped it, and there was a tear in his eye.

The point I'm trying to make is make no mistake about it, a .375 loaded to factory levels kicks, and some models of rifle seem to kick harder than others. If all you do is shoot the rifle off hand, you will never realize it's potential. That cartridge is quite capable of good accuracy beyond 300 yards, but you won't be making any long shots if all you do is shoot off your back legs. The .375 is one of the greatest big game rounds ever developed, so use it to it's potential. To use it to it's potential you must learn to shoot it from field positions. Will it kick? Sure, but you can tailor your ammo to your comfort level, and you will have the muzzle break to help you out. A Nosler 260 gr loaded to 2600 is accurate, flat shooting, and pleasant to shoot. This might be a good starting point.

I have heard it said that a person of small stature can handle recoil of powerful rifles easier than bigger guys. While true to a point, this wisdom only applies to off hand shooting. I doubt if you have the upper body mass to want to shoot a .375 prone, but if you can shoot sitting you can do nearly as well, and a knelling shot is almost as fast as off hand, and much more stable. In the field there is little opportunity to shoot prone anyway. Take your time to grow into the rifle and enjoy it.
 
SuperCub said:
NICE Christmas present. You musta bin a good boy last year. :p


That's the only thing out of place on the CZ550 and old 602s is that weird 25" bbl. It's 2" too long.
Browning puts 26" bbls on their 375. :rolleyes:
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The CZ is 26" long as well. I would like to get her down to 22", I think it will balance it out well. Atleast I hope it does :eek:
 
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