The NEW KING is taking off!
- Thread starter Gatehouse
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Awesome. Then it's settled. I know what .375 I want now.
And thanks to Gatehouse's endorsement of belted magnums it will be a .375 H&H.
ARDENT FOR THE WIN
Glad to hear The KING will not be sullied with a muzzle brake...
Can't put a brake on a double. But I'll be fine.
Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not trying to pick a quarrel as I'm not certain what your accuracy criteria is on belted versus non-belted cases.
Further to that, I'm not disputing your opinion of the case sitting better by headspacing on the shoulder as opposed to the belt.
I have however found equally comparable accuracy with the several belted cartridges I've had the good fortune to play with using factory loads, and in a couple instances, actually better accuracy than with a lot of factory-fed rifles.
For instance, one of my favorite bullet-testing rifles is a tired old Rem.721 in 300H&H. Nearly all factory loads fired in this gun are 3/4MOA consistently.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Jason, what you want for a double is an entirely different .375, .375 Flanged. It is ballistically identical to the H&H, same taper, just with a substantial rim for double rifle use. You'll be limited to one bullet weight with a fixed regulation gun, typically 300 grains. A Krieghoff Classic in .375 Flanged is a bit of a "grail" for me, though my wits will better me in the long run, as I see much more virtue in bolt guns. You're going to Africa now? If so, congrats, it's an amazing place. Your jumping about is confusing, and amusing man, take your pick but the one thing we can all tell you is just choose which you like better as it won't be on features. Both are stellar rounds with their own benefits.
Our goal (my awesome wife and hunting buddy) is Africa by 50. We are both 45 now and soon married for 25 years. She's the best. Doubles have always been a fantasy gun for me. I'd pay the thousands to get one but after reading your real world reporting about magazine capacity being uber-important I'm in a dilemma??? I didn't want to hijack this thread but criteria for the African rifle will be LH, .375 H&H. I think I'll start a new thread looking for advice.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
A .375 will serve you extremely well in Africa, in fact probably the best choice you could make, and a bolt gun better than a double to be very frank (though the romance, if important to oneself, is worth every penny). I'd liked to have had 5 in the mag (my RSM holds 4, for a total of 5 rounds on tap, but 4 down proved plenty). Just the same, 3 down one up will work just fine too, and since you're looking at doubles, you've no doubt noted even two works. Whatever gun you buy, shoot the bejeebus out of it before you go, you want to know it intimately. Africa's nothing crazy, just a choice to select it over other pursuits.
Back to our scheduled lunacy: Steel cases are better than brass, perhaps? A good starter anyhow. All depends on the lacquer, and Czech over Red Chinese, etc etc...
Back to our scheduled lunacy: Steel cases are better than brass, perhaps? A good starter anyhow. All depends on the lacquer, and Czech over Red Chinese, etc etc...
troutseeker
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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Back to the King, has anyone shot light for caliber bullets it it? I am wondering how it performs with the lighter variety of .375 bullets, let's say for deer?
Go for the double ..... the history and romance of the double is worth the risk of ..... You only get to Africa once. Make your first shot count and enjoy the double rifle. Worst comes to worst, the PH can always pitch in if you're gonna get stomped.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I'm an H&H fella, but can chime in my thoughts as it's the same deal. I'm not a fan of bullets less than 270 grains, as you'll just wind up with more meat damage in my opinion for equal "bark". For lighter recoil, a good solution is SR4759 loads, 40.0grs of SR4759 under a 270gr TSX is good for about 2,100fps. Very good deer load, and mild. I think I'm going to try for spring black bear up here in a while (season runs til July here), and if I take my H&H (still haven't sighted in and load developed for my new .308 Kimber) that'll be the load I use. Very mild.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Okie dokie buddy, you can use yours. I'll keep using my .375 as it works so well, even downloaded. Smallest I've shot with my H&H is coyote hybrid. Largest is Cape Buffalo. I see no compulsion to not tailor my loads to the game as both a hunter and reloader.
My rifle loves the SR4759 load, putting them into 3/4" at 100 yards. That pathetic little load down of a round, which packs a measly 2,650 ft-lbs of energy I might add, has accounted for a truckload of game, none complained to me I should be carrying around a second gun, rather than a second set of ammo. Apparently we all missed the it's-bad-form-to-use-only-one-gun-tailored-to-the-situation memo. Our bad. We'll makes sure it never doesn't happen again.
In all seriousness, why the hell wouldn't you want to tailor loads and get the most from your gun?
I don't need to use my 300gr buffalo load all the time, as that's a rare hunt. I don't shoot past 250 yards generally, so my 2,100fps trajectory is just dandy and all I need (and right akin to a .30-30 anyhow, just with a lot more oomph and frontal area). So folks, don't feel silly for making your .375 do everything, with light loads, nuclear loads, and heck, even trail boss cast subsonic loads! That's what makes the .375 shine. I suppose some will tell you you're less of a hunter or enthusiast for doing so, but reaaally, c'mon, if anything it makes you more of one. The .375 does it ALL. Handloader's wet dream. Twist rates fast enough for tack driving reduced loads, wide bullet selection for .45 bore matching 380gr Rhino bullets to 200gr .375 Winchester cast pills. And it shoots them all superbly, from light (ha, this is relative as noted with the 2,650ft-lbs), to submarine sinking.
These guys all fell to the .375 H&H, with the load captioned:
.375 Light (300gr @ 1,900fps)
.375 Light (270gr @ 2,100fps), and I shot a whole schwack of these culling, saw no need to hit them with buffalo loads after the first one.
.375 Medium (270gr @ 2,750fps)
.375 Medium-Heavy (300gr @ 2,500fps)
.375 Light (270gr @ 2,100fps), and I shot a whole schwack of these culling, saw no need to hit them with buffalo loads after the first one.
.375 Medium (270gr @ 2,750fps)
.375 Medium-Heavy (300gr @ 2,500fps)
...now, explain to me again why I need to dust off my .30-30, as it's eluding me.
If I confined myself to factory loads only, and their ballistics, man it would get dull. No thanks, I opt for tailored loads, and a few guns that get used a lot over six that each have a niche application and get used a little. ...but I'd love to hear the counter argument regarding why my path is inferior, cheers! Ardent, Remington should use you and your 375 loading ideas for the 375 RUM! Just like the 300 RUM where they load it to 30-06 levels, 300 Win Mag power level and lastly to 300 RUM full power loads.
375 RUM full power loads, a 375 H&H level and lastly all the way down to the 375 Ruger for kids.
375 RUM full power loads, a 375 H&H level and lastly all the way down to the 375 Ruger for kids.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I had a Remington .375 RUM, cantankerous beast of a rifle, much prefer the H&H as it's all I need, and I dislike push feed. I just didn't see a need to go above 2,800fps with the .375 loads, as my reach at 2,700fps with the H&H goes happily as far as I'd take a hunting shot to. I'd take a .404 Jeffery in a heartbeat before another .375 Rum if I wanted more power (I actually have a completely illogical hankering for a .404 now anyhow).
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