.375?

Here we go again. Just as an interesting side note, a 150 to 180 grain bullet traveling at anywhere between 3000-3300 FPS would more than likely damage more meat on a deer sized animal than would a 300 grain bullet out of a .375. The advantage of a .375 or other true large bore would be universal. That means being able to use it on darn near anything. Most profesional hunters in Africa would probably be found using somthing even larger, but for the average guy, it's about as perfect a cartridge as one could ever hope to own. Your right about the Grizz thing, plenty of power there, but you haven't seen our Alberta whitetail. THey are a genetic mutation, and have fur made of Kevlar. That's why we use a .416 remington as a bare minimum.:p
 
Gibbs505 said:
Sound nice indeed.

Now where is the video of you shooting it!!:D :D :D
Click to expand...

Actually, it's an L61R Sako that I lightened as much as I could, and they're quite light to begin with. (I have another in .338 that's exactly the same weight). This particular .375 shoots very well with several bullets, and 300 gr. Hornady RN in particular. I've recently tried 270 gr. TSX, and they do MOA or a bit less. I'm away at work right now (laptopping it) and I don't recall the loads exactly, but they're both RL15, and near the top of 'book' loads. I put 16 rounds of the 300 gr loads through it a couple of weeks ago, off the bench, and only the last two or three were starting to feel like 'I've had enough!' The video wouldn't be much to see...

I have two other .375s; a very early (2-digit s.n.) Browning Safari Grade and an original FN Sporter which has only minor differences from the Browning. Both weigh more than the Sako by about a pound, as I recall, and both have more 'felt' recoil to me - both have the same stock dimensions, and if I get careless I'll sometimes manage to tap myself on the nose with my thumb, or get my knuckle rapped with the bolt handle.

I find that the older Sako stocks fit me perfectly, and the recoil is completely manageable. By contrast, I had a M65 Tikka in .338 that I simply had to get rid of - it kicked me so hard my face would go numb. A small woman bought it (the wife of a guide, and no more than 5'6" and 120 pounds) against my strong recommendations, and she loved it! I've also gone through several Remington 788s, and found even the 7-08 and .308 to have annoying recoil.

I've become completely convinced that a properly fitted stock is the key to managing recoil. When you just go and buy a rifle off the rack, the chances that the stock will fit you perfectly are pretty slim. Either you get lucky and it fits, or you're going to have to deal with some discomfort.
 
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Nevermiss said:
Hi,

Unless you are going on an African safari for Cape Buffalo a 375 is not necessary for any North American big game other than perhaps an alaskan brown bear. I think it's too big, too much recoil, and most impotantly way too much damage to the animal you are hunting. If you like BIG bullets I would go with a 300 or 338. Both of these are still more that enough!!! The 375 however is just not necessary. You are better off getting a powder loaded canon from an old pirate ship.
Click to expand...

http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i155/pbgeologist/?action=view&current=S5000013-1.flv

Here's a video of a 20", unported, unscoped .375 H&H carbine, shooting Federal 300 gr softpoints.

At 25 yards, 3 shots in 6.58 seconds into a 2 1/8" group.

A cannon, in terms of recoil, it is not.
 
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Nevermiss said:
Hi,

Unless you are going on an African safari for Cape Buffalo a 375 is not necessary for any North American big game other than perhaps an alaskan brown bear. I think it's too big, too much recoil, and most impotantly way too much damage to the animal you are hunting. If you like BIG bullets I would go with a 300 or 338. Both of these are still more that enough!!! The 375 however is just not necessary. You are better off getting a powder loaded canon from an old pirate ship.
Click to expand...

I suggest that if you cannot handle the recoil of a .375 H&H you could shoot a .338 no better. A light weight .338 can be nasty, where as many .375's are quite well mannered. Perhaps the biggest selling point of the .375 H&H is that those who are recoil sensitive can use the rifle effectively.

Typically, the .375 pushes it's bullets at .30-06 velocities, so I am unsure where you get the idea that shooting a .375 will create massive damage to North American game. Assuming a suitable bullet, meat damage is a result of bullet placement and velocity. The light game I've had the opportunity to shoot with the .375 was killed with less meat damage than one would expect to see from a .270, but I kept the bullet out of the shoulder.
 
geologist said:
http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i155/pbgeologist/?action=view&current=S5000013-1.flv

Here's a video of a 20", unported, unscoped .375 H&H carbine, shooting Federal 300 gr softpoints.

At 25 yards, 3 shots in 6.58 seconds into a 2 1/8" group.

A cannon, in terms of recoil, it is not.
Click to expand...

One of my buddies has a Sako carbine in .375, the mannlicher stocked version with the 18.5" barrel. Shooting it is not the problem...hearing anything afterwards can be a challenge though!:D That's the only complaint I have about my bobtailed .338 - the recoil is fine, but the racket is something awful!
 
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The light game I've had the opportunity to shoot with the .375 was killed with less meat damage than one would expect to see from a .270,

That's been my experience as well. A .375 H&H is simply a .30-06 that makes bigger, deeper holes.
 
Tumbleweed said:
Actually, it's an L61R Sako that I lightened as much as I could, and they're quite light to begin with. (I have another in .338 that's exactly the same weight). This particular .375 shoots very well with several bullets, and 300 gr. Hornady RN in particular. I've recently tried 270 gr. TSX, and they do MOA or a bit less. I'm away at work right now (laptopping it) and I don't recall the loads exactly, but they're both RL15, and near the top of 'book' loads. I put 16 rounds of the 300 gr loads through it a couple of weeks ago, off the bench, and only the last two or three were starting to feel like 'I've had enough!' The video wouldn't be much to see...

I have two other .375s; a very early (2-digit s.n.) Browning Safari Grade and an original FN Sporter which has only minor differences from the Browning. Both weigh more than the Sako by about a pound, as I recall, and both have more 'felt' recoil to me - both have the same stock dimensions, and if I get careless I'll sometimes manage to tap myself on the nose with my thumb, or get my knuckle rapped with the bolt handle.

I find that the older Sako stocks fit me perfectly, and the recoil is completely manageable. By contrast, I had a M65 Tikka in .338 that I simply had to get rid of - it kicked me so hard my face would go numb. A small woman bought it (the wife of a guide, and no more than 5'6" and 120 pounds) against my strong recommendations, and she loved it! I've also gone through several Remington 788s, and found even the 7-08 and .308 to have annoying recoil.

I've become completely convinced that a properly fitted stock is the key to managing recoil. When you just go and buy a rifle off the rack, the chances that the stock will fit you perfectly are pretty slim. Either you get lucky and it fits, or you're going to have to deal with some discomfort.
Click to expand...
Your last coment is the key! A rifle that fits you well is the key to 90% of ones shooting problems!
But I am still looking forward to the video!!:D
 
I have a Remington M700 BDL/SS 375 H&H and wouldn't trade it for the world, I have a few other magnum rifles and the 375 H&H recoil is very nice and comparable. I shot a whitetail this year with my 375 at 325 yards, shooting a 260 gr hornady interlock, I'm not sure if I would recommend this bullet but this is the damage. Did make tracking easy, for the whole 40 yards. I only hit ribs and the exit was more than ample, maybe a little too ample, if you hit some solid bone you may end up vaporising the whole deer:rolleyes: This cartridge is surprisingly flat shooting as well.
Some may think the exit hole is trimmed out, I did remove a little piece for the dog but not very much, I was following more of a chunk trail than a blood trail.
IMG_0957.jpg


IMG_0960.jpg
 
Nevermiss said:
Hi,

Unless you are going on an African safari for Cape Buffalo a 375 is not necessary for any North American big game other than perhaps an alaskan brown bear. I think it's too big, too much recoil, and most impotantly way too much damage to the animal you are hunting. If you like BIG bullets I would go with a 300 or 338. Both of these are still more that enough!!! The 375 however is just not necessary. You are better off getting a powder loaded canon from an old pirate ship.
Click to expand...

Spoken by one who has obviously never taken any game with a 375 H&H.

I have shot several tons, literally, of game with my old 375 SAKO L61R and it ruins far less meat in a moose or a caribou than a 300 does!

Ted
 
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I've been reading the book by 'Gunsmithing', by Roy Dunlap, and in his description of the 375HH, he makes a pretty bold statement. He says that the 375 is inherently more accurate than a 30-06! I know that it's a great round, and I look forward to getting mine finished to try it out, but is this a little embellishment?

Nice pics Dogleg, is that a zebra?
 
My old 375 SAKO will print cloverleafs half of the time I target it, rarely over than an inch the rest of the time. It does this with both 270 and 300 gr bullets.

It is staying right here! :)

Ted
 
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