.375 rifles anyone???

sharp shooter

sharp shooter

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Well I've been trying to follow that other thread about 9.3x62 vs 338wm vs .375H&H. I see that some of the guys actually hunt with them! I live in Ontario so I really have no need for one but have always wanted a .375H&H (I read Ralph Young's "Grizzlies Don't Come Easy" too many times)and will probably buy one one day just for the hell of it. It will be tough to steer me to a .375 Ruger Gatehouse but your welcome to try. Anyway could the guys that shoot these big guns shed some light onto their preferences and why. Share some load data if you feel like it and cost comparisons for components and anything you would like to add as to which calibre you prefer and why backed up with real facts. Try to let this not turn into an argument and POST SOME PICS!
 
My experience is only with 375H&H

Very manageable recoil
Similar POI for different bullet weights
Smooth feeding
Flat shooting
Very accurate
Lots of knock down power at ranges out at 500 yards
Very impressive knock down power up close.
Ammo is readily available
Can be used on deer with little or no "meat damage"
Excellent protection cartridge
Excellent choice for an open sight rifle

Have I missed anything...................
 
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Post #2 sums it up quite well for both H&H and the Ruger as performance is similar.
I have both and having used the H&H since the '60s have a bit more experience with it. My Ruger hasn't yet killed anything bigger than a coyote only because it is new to my hands, next hunting season should be different.
If I had to make a snap decision today on which I would choose, it would have to be the Ruger mainly because it is in a lighter weight, more comfortable package.
When I lived on the Prairies, the H&H was used on Pronghorn Antelope, Whitetail, and Mulie as well as Moose with minimal meat damage so I see no reason why the 375 Ruger couldn't do for the same animals.
 
Toomanyguns said:
Very manageable recoil
Similar POI for different bullet weights
Smooth feeding
Flat shooting
Very accurate
Lots of knock down power at ranges out at 500 yards
Very impressive knock down power up close.
Ammo is readily available
Can be used on deer with little or no "meat damage"
Excellent protection cartridge
Excellent choice for an open sight rifle

Have I missed anything...................
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Nope, I think you got it all.:) The biggest strength of the .375 is that it takes a pretty good crack at being suitable for hunting everything, everywhere.
 
Truthfully, .375's not that 'big', people just think .300 Mag is big when it's the strong end of the smaller stuff. You'll find it nice to shoot, potent as heck, and bizarrely well rounded. I hunt coyotes and cape buffalo, and soon elephant I'm sure, all with the same rifle and caliber. It is going back to Africa in October and will add to its game log, and will likely do my elk, bear, and moose with it this fall. Also out after wolves before the pelts thin out if I get some spare days.

I have other smaller rifles, .270, couple 7x57's, 8x57, .30-06 etc but I just don't use them anymore. I really like picking up one rifle and getting at it. Also neat having so many hunting memories with one gun.

Here's the model I use, through six countries, 8+ species and counting, the Ruger RSM .375 H&H. They're tuned a good bit tighter than my other Rugers, at least my RSM is, as they should be for the extra $. The sight rib is also machined integrally to the barrel- no screws, solder, or seams, not a cheap touch as that means a standard lathe contour job can't be done.

I like the .375 H&H because:

-The tapered case H&H is known as the best feeding cartridge on the planet
-Ammo is available anywhere from Fort Nelson, to Bulawayo Zimbabwe, anytime
-Perfect mix of velocity, bullet weight, recoil
-History stretching back to 1912, no other African sporting cartridge has taken more dangerous game

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And here's some, but not all of what it's done for me recently:

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No matter what .375 you get or any other larger caliber, you can always load it down for deer or practice sessions.
 
I couldn't imagine shooting anything that large. What would recoil be compared to?
Plus side, big holes like that on paper, grouping would get tighter. ;)
 
kamlooky said:
I couldn't imagine shooting anything that large. What would recoil be compared to?
Plus side, big holes like that on paper, grouping would get tighter. ;)
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Not bad at all but it depends on the shooter. It definitely has recoil compared to a .30-06, but it also definitely will not hurt you. The 'shove' instead of 'punch' analogy is a good one, it's a healthy shove but any shooter who wants to learn it can no problem. You just need to shoot it enough to stay comfortable, when I think of 'standard rifle recoil' I think of .375 H&H, as that's what I shoot most, and if you do that instead of thinking of it as a big gun, half the battle's won. First time I shot it was found myself muttering "That's it...?"

Only here is .375 considered big, in India and Africa, it's considered medium.
 
375 Ruger comes in that nice compact stainless Alaskan, 375 H&H can be found in lots of stainless, but needs a trip to the smith to lose a few inches. (I like my bush guns a bit shorter) But the H&H is one of the few universal cartridges in the world, the Ruger version is too new to make that claim. Kinda akin to the old argument of how many spirits can dance on the head of a pin......
 
ben hunchak said:
No matter what .375 you get or any other larger caliber, you can always load it down for deer or practice sessions.
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Yep, SR4759 under a 270gr bullet loaded to about 2,000fps shoots to point of aim in .375 H&H, identical inside 125 yards to full velocity, and still packs a crudload of energy for very mild report and recoil. Great load.
 
I've got a 375 RUM in a Remington 700 XCR, which I've actually shot less than my father's Ruger #1 in 375 H&H, since I've had access to the Ruger since I was about fifteen.

The great points on the H&H have already been listed in this thread.

Anybody who ever is on this site has already heard everything there is to say (over and over again) about the 375 Ruger, thanks to Gatehouse and his affliction with this cartridge.

I got the RUM because I flatly refused to may the unjustifiable prices associated with 378 Weatherby rifles or reloading components. The RUM is just the skinniest cat's whisker short of the Weatherby in terms of performance, and costs about the same as a 375 H&H.

Why did I go for the RUM? I'm a reloader, so I can always download, so why not get the biggest most badass cartridge in your caliber and load to suityour need? A RUM can be loaded to duplicate a RUGER, but not the other way around.
 
mikeyb said:
Same performance as an H&H for $300 less is pretty convincing if you ask me (comparing the Ruger African to the Winchester Safari Express). Extra money for ammo + reloading components.

:cool:

H&H is way ###ier though.
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A guy can come close to getting a decent scope for $300.
 
Ardent said:
Good points on the RUM. I had one, but travelling and ammo availability when that Pelican ammo box doesn't navigate the many flights dictated an H&H along with a few other features I spew endlessly about. :p The RUM can certainly be "any .375" to its credit.
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If I ever get the urge to hunt Africa I think I will simplify the trip and my life by borrowing a rifle when I get there. .:)
 
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