.375 rifles anyone???

I'm another long-time H&H fan, and also have a lot of admiration for the Ruger RSM magnum rifles...but they are not a good match for each other, IMHO. The .375H&H has a very manageable recoil in a rifle that fits you well, and simply doesn't call for that much weight in a gun. The RSM, as beautiful as it is (gotta love that integral quarter rib!) is the proper weight for a .458Win or Lott. The key is getting a rifle that fits you well. I like the Ruger #1 single shots, but a #1 in .375 beats me mercilessly. On the other hand, my Blaser R93 in that chambering, although lighter in weight, is easy and comfortable to shoot all day.

It's mostly a matter of personal taste. I want a gun to weigh no more than necessary for it to be comfortable for me to shoot...just like I don't want a short cartridge chambered in a long action rifle...it just seems inelegant. Similarly, a single shot or double rifle calls out for a rimmed cartridge, despite the fact that some singles, like the #1, will happily extract and eject rimless shells with no problems. Again, it just needs to feel correct.

And, just for the record: The .375H&H does not "trail" the .375Ruger...rather, it is being chauffeured.:)

John
 
medvedqc said:
so we re lucky or maybe we find the ammo where we need them ......
btw wasnt able to find 375 h&h ammo in saguenay area ...
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I have asked the local shops about Hornady they just shake their heads and say good luck. It can be frustrating at time.
 
Neo said:
Isn't that the truth of it? I remember wondering if I was doing something wrong the first time I shot my .375 -- where was all the recoil I was dreading? It's certainly a good shove, as you say, but it's far from unmanageble, and it's comfortable enough to shoot even from the bench.

Mind you, a good part of the manageability is all the weight in that Ruger 77 RSM -- and I know whereof I speak, as I've got the same rifle myself. While Dogleg may chime in here about the RSM being heavy enough for two rifles :D I just love all the quality touches on it, including that integral rib, ebony forend cap, and Circassian walnut. And as for a bit of extra weight, I think Bob Hagel got it right many years ago when he suggested that anyone who couldn't carry an extra pound in a rifle had no business hunting, as there's a hell of a lot more than that needing carrying once an animal is down :p
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Well said! I'm a big M70 fan but was flabbergasted at what the RSM offered in features for the price. An integral rib is an option custom makers charged as much for as I paid for my whole RSM. Plus, it's my least fussy rifle, shoots any load I make it, oddly well. Almost anticlimactic. Heavy, yep, but like you said makes zero difference to me, maybe later in life.
 
Spooksar,

Go west young man! Corlanes in DC has a full range of ammo for the .375 Ruger. They also carry the Hornady brass. I was in there a half hour ago and they seemed to be sold out of the .375 Ruger at the moment, only had the .416 Ruger. It goes for about $60 for a box of 50.
 
LCruiser said:
Spooksar,

Go west young man! Corlanes in DC has a full range of ammo for the .375 Ruger. They also carry the Hornady brass. I was in there a half hour ago and they seemed to be sold out of the .375 Ruger at the moment, only had the .416 Ruger. It goes for about $60 for a box of 50.
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go north west and you ll get dies set, brass and factory ammo.
just in town there is enough 270 grains and fmj 300 grains ...
 
Wearing my Yukon Brewing Company hoody as I type and wouldn't want to discourage anyone from visiting your fair city, but I think if you take a look at a map you'll see Spooksar and I are just a jog down the highway from each other.
 
I also live in Ontario and basically hunt moose. Just like you for some reason I got an itch for a .375 H&H that just wouldn't go away. Although everyone I talked to said that caliber was WAY to big I got one anyways. I reload so I don't have to pay the rediculous price of ammo.

My .375 H&H is chambered in a CZ 550. Great gun, weight helps keep the recoil down.

In my honest opinion, shotting this .375 H&H is like shooting my 870 12ga with a 3" slug. Definately more of a shove than a sharp slap to the shoulder.

P9110266.jpg
 
LCruiser said:
Spooksar,

Go west young man! Corlanes in DC has a full range of ammo for the .375 Ruger. They also carry the Hornady brass. I was in there a half hour ago and they seemed to be sold out of the .375 Ruger at the moment, only had the .416 Ruger. It goes for about $60 for a box of 50.
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I go to Corlanes quite often I don't always see lots of Hornady stuff. Some times the have it some times they don't. You guys seem to miss my point while the 375 Ruger is a great cartridge it still is not as readily available in all corners of the world. Gatehouse while the Internet will work in Canada if my luggage is lost I don't thInk they will ship it to Polokwane South Africa in time to help my hunt but I can find 375 H&H there. Maybe as it becomes more popular it will show up in remote corners of the world.
 
spooksar said:
I go to Corlanes quite often I don't always see lots of Hornady stuff. Some times the have it some times they don't. You guys seem to miss my point while the 375 Ruger is a great cartridge it still is not as readily available in all corners of the world. Gatehouse while the Internet will work in Canada if my luggage is lost I don't thInk they will ship it to Polokwane South Africa in time to help my hunt but I can find 375 H&H there. Maybe as it becomes more popular it will show up in remote corners of the world.
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If you are going to Polokwane, make sure you have ammunition. Put a box of ammo in every suitcase and in your companions suitcases. See if you can ship it there beforehand, do whatever...

Every year I read of guys hunting in Africa with old double rifles chambered in obscure cartridges, hot loaded 45/70's, Obsolete nitro cartridges, 300WSM, 257 Weatherby, .375-404, wildcats etc etc etc

Some how these guys got to hunt with their guns with cartridges not common at every gun store everywhere, but they got their ammo there and went hunting.

How complicated is it to say to your PH " I will be hunting with you in 10 months, in that time can you import me 2 boxes of 375 Ruger/RUM/Weatherby/378 Weatherby etc etc etc? IN the unlikely event you are separated with your ammo, you will have a back up and it's small insurance. Worst that can happen is that you leave it there for soem other guy and when you are spending $10 000 on a trip, why care about $200?

The whole "it's not available in Africa" debate is a non starter for me. How the hell do these guys with much more obscure guns than a 375 RUger ever get to hunt?:rolleyes:
 
The magic of the .375 bore rifle is its ballistics. The fabulous selection of bullets we enjoy doesn't hurt, but a .375 rifle would be a success even if we were restricted to 300 gr Hornadys, as a 300 gr cup and core bullet at moderate velocity is useful for all but the largest game, in which case you can use a steel jacketed solid of equal weight with the same trajectory. The individual hunter's problem is to find a .375 rifle he really likes. My pal who owns the Ruger Alaskan works around the water, so if he has to grab a rifle quickly with wet hands, the gummy Hogue stock doesn't slip in his grip. Myself, I don't particularly care for the Hogue stock, but I do like the McMillan on my 602. My other pal's factory .375, Brno 602 with the factory Monte-Carlo stock sucks, due to its muzzle brake. Having a rifle that might have to be used in an emergency equipped with a brake is a mistake IMHO. But he loves it for its gentle manner, while he doesn't like the recoil that comes off my Ultra, poor baby. So the three of us take advantage of .375 H&H ballistics in formats that suit our own personal requirements, regardless of the actual cartridge that holds the propellant. A 300 gr bullet at +/-2600, a 270 gr bullet at +/-2700, or a 260 gr bullet at +/- 2800 fps are what produces the magic.
 
re lost ammo on travelling. It is real and it does happen, more often than one would hope. And trust me, it sucks bad.

In my experience, depending on what country you are in, you have more hope of getting 8x68 or 6.5x68 or something "wierd" like that vs. many other "common" calibers.

You have to remember that you can have 2 bags, and ammo must be separated from your rifle's bag. So the odds of loosing either your rifle or your ammo goes up, as one of your 2 bags can go astray.

Then factor in the little bit of ammo (by weight ) that airlines allow you to carry. For big bores - it may mean only 20 rounds. British Air has a stated aversion to allowing any guns or ammunition. Air Canada has luckily been sympathetic to date with slight overages.


Also, most Afriacn countries have very restrictive gun and ammunition laws. You cannot pre-ship a gun or ammo to (I would say) most countries. It is prohibited.

Even the guides cannot own ammo for rifles that they are not licensed to own. We may think we have it tough here - but trust me, in many countries it is downright hostile - even to those who make their living hunting and guiding. Yes, these guides may have boxes of 375 HH and 30-06 and 470 NE leftover from all the other hunters - but North Americans are not the only hunters in Africa. Europeans and Asians and Russians are a big part of their trade. What rifles are these people bringing?

I have been fortunate to buy (or have someone buy for me) 9.3 x74R and 9.3x62 and 470NE in foreign lands - usually through the graces of a kind storekeeper.

My eyes got wide in some of their ammunition vaults - calibers that you only hear of are stacked neatly on the shelves..... some of the older NE ... Brennekes,,,

375 HH is always there, so is 30-06, 8x57 and a host of others. In west africa, so is the German calibers such as 9.3x62 and the other Brennekes ---

I too have been forced to borrow a gun on more than one occassion. You make the best of it and any scope that may be hanging on it and go out and have your fun. You are upset that you dont have the rifle you practiced with for 10 years - but such is travel.

Point is, you better take this all into account when you travel to hunt.

A rifle is a rifle - learn how to shoot them all, so when life turns on you, and someone hands you a beat up mauser, maybe in 375 HH, maybe 8x57, maybe 9.3x62, with a Fitco scope for your once in a lifetime Leopard hunt - you smile and get after it. You dont care about recoil or bullet or length of pull or anything - you make it work or go sulk and drink in your tent.

Normally, the rifle shoots straight and true, and the animal dies, and you get to go home with good stories.
 
Problem is it's not that simple ammo wise, international you need a hard box like a Pelican for ammunition, packed on its own, it gets silly needing to go to the extremes of multiple boxes and the cost for them when one H&H rifle does the same job and can be fed no problem. It's near impossible to import just a couple boxes by mail to Africa as well, and the paperwork for that would be obscene (you'd need docs from Canada through our export services, then for Europe transit, then to get it into and through South Africa, then whatever your end destination country requires and try organizing that from Canada!). If you have a very helpful and savvy PH, maybe that would help. Just take a quick look through africahunting.com and you will find many comments with "ammo didn't arrive, ended up using loaner gun". Not many PH's would advise taking a gun with near impossible to source ammo when there are guns of identical ballistics, using commonly available ammunition. Just because people do does not mean it's a good idea! Keep in mind it's also easier for find something that's an oddbawl here like .475 Jeffery #2, .404 Jeff, or .450-400 3 1/4" Nitro in Zimbabwe than .375 Ruger. Guys hunting with a .475 Jeffery #2 also have a lot of motivation to, as they've got a $30,000 rifle in all likelihood, bit of a different reason to take the risk. This is no slight against .375 Ruger, it's just any new cartridge. If I only hunted game farms in South Africa, I wouldn't worry as much it's a straight hop to Jo'burg with one stop in Europe, but I find I'm attracted to funkier places where your ammo has to make it through 4+ borders and as many or more flights. Availability becomes a huge concern for me as I refuse to hunt with other rifles, and when the H&H is so good and clearly doesn't have performance issues, why bother with another if you know you're taking it overseas? :) Again the way I see it, for North America, take your pick, for travel there's only one .375.
 
How complicated is it to say to your PH " I will be hunting with you in 10 months, in that time can you import me 2 boxes of 375 Ruger/RUM/Weatherby/378 Weatherby etc etc etc? IN the unlikely event you are separated with your ammo, you will have a back up and it's small insurance.
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Saying it isn't complicated at all, but it may not do you any good, and may be illegal.
Somewhere along the line, probably starting on your first day in Africa someone will introduce you to the T.I.A or T.A.B principle. Translated literally is comes out to "This is Africa" or "This is Africa, Bwana". The phrase has a name because they are used to explaining to an endless stream of Totos that their proximity to Kansas has changed.;)
 
I too have been forced to borrow a gun on more than one occassion. You make the best of it and any scope that may be hanging on it and go out and have your fun. You are upset that you dont have the rifle you practiced with for 10 years - but such is travel.

Point is, you better take this all into account when you travel to hunt.

A rifle is a rifle - learn how to shoot them all, so when life turns on you, and someone hands you a beat up mauser, maybe in 375 HH, maybe 8x57, maybe 9.3x62, with a Fitco scope for your once in a lifetime Leopard hunt - you smile and get after it. You dont care about recoil or bullet or length of pull or anything - you make it work or go sulk and drink in your tent.

Normally, the rifle shoots straight and true, and the animal dies, and you get to go home with good stories.

I am thinking I will just show up with my boots and clothing if I ever go to Africa.
I have no problems borrowing a rifle. I am there for the hunt, the experience and the people. I could give a rat's arse about my cherished rifle being there or not.

Great post
 
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