Gentlemen,
Curious as to the practical pitfalls of shortening a .375 H&H barrel to 22" from 24". The rifle feels a bit awkward as is and I prefer shorter barrels in general. Any problems here?

Regards, Matt.

No problem Matt except I would go to 21 inches. 22 is hardly worth the cutting. You will get lots of arguements here. I cut mine to 20 inches and loved it. Got 2375 fps with 300s. Ain't an anmal in the world that is going to know the differnce.

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MED

The sole purpose of a rifle is to please its owner

[This message has been edited by Mike Dettorre (edited 04-15-2002).]

You will lose a little velocity, but I do not think it game will notice it at all. If it was you prefer go for it. I like both short and long barrels just depending on what the gun is being used for. If I had a .375 I would like the 24" but that is my preference.

My CZ .416 Rigby has a 25" barrel and I like it this long, horses for courses. And the .585 Nyatti I am building will have a 26" barrel, if it proves to be a little awkward it will get lopped. Just remember you can alway's cut it off but can not add back on, so maybe just go inch by inch.

Regards PC.

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[This message has been edited by PC (edited 04-15-2002).]

You will loose 25-35fps in velocity per inch you take off. Most factory 375 will run a little over 2500 feet per second. I can't imagine a real difference in 2450 and 2500.

The rifle may feel a little quicker. My Mauser's typically have 23" barrels on them. This seems about right for me. They are pretty quick, but they have heavy contour barrels.

Ray will tell you 26", but he is a long tall Texan who doesn't have to worry about digging the barrel into the ground is he squats down on a stalk.

Biggest problem is trying to get a feel for it, because you certainly can't glue those inches back on. Ku-dude

Finn Aaguard wrote about this. I think he said that he regretted cutting his M-70 from it's 25" to 22". Never the less it was his favorite rifle.

I have one of each. I think 24" is about right. Make the rifle too light however and it will be hard to shoot well.

I do not agree with cutting the barrel. I had a short barreled .338 and the muzzle blast was very unpleasant. my .375 has a 24" barrel and feels perfect to me and the muzzle blast is not a problem.you may just need to make some stock adjustments. as you try to get more from the round the blast becomes more apparent,although kinda cool at dusk. for me it was a problem
I would think twice. you will lower the value of the rifle as well. but it is your rifle.

In cutting the barrel I wonder if the balance point may shift too much to allow it to be raised and aimed quickly. You may not do that sort of shooting but I wonder if there is a way for you to try out a short barrel- perhaps a takeoff from another gun- first to see. I suppose you could buy another barrel to replace it. If it is super accurate now maybe you should buy a less expensive barrel to cut and try. My personal choice would be longer but muzzle blast doen't bother me and you may rather enjoy it too.
Good luck either way.