Charlie,

I wrote an article with the same name as your thread for African Hunter at the end of '02, after a hunt wherein I took a leopard and a Cape buff with a .375 H&H.

My opinion is the .375 H&H is one of the best hunting choices for Africa, certainly it is not getting weaker with these better bullets. You can consider ammunition availability as a form of long-term voting for whichever caliber works. It is difficult to go anywhere .375 H&H ammunition is not available.

For me the .375" 350 or 380 grain bullets are largely a solution in search of a question -- 300 grain .375" bullets have never been known to lack penetration. Also some 270 grain premium bullets are doing the work of the 300 grainers of a generation ago.

The .404 Jeff renaissance is more theoretical than real by the way. I will say though it is my favorite "yo-yo caliber".

jim

Judgeg,

Just curious....is that outfit from Filson or Orvis?

Rich Elliott

Hi Jim
I subscribe to African Hunter and enjoy your writing - I guess the big question about the .375 is whether it is suitable for ele (or buff, for that matter) in thick jesse. I suspect the 'shocking' effect on a missed jumbo brain shot is not much different between a .375 and a 404 or 416 if the 375 has a flatnose or any other monolithic solid. Short of a .500 I suspect there are too many other variables to make it worth the extra hassle to graduate from .375 to the 416s (I have a foot in both camps, just being a bit provocative). Charlie.

The 375 killed everything in the 20th century, I suppose it will do the same in the 21st.

Dave

With proper bullets their is nothing on this planet i won't shoot with a .375...

Ask about a zillion dead buffalo and elephants.

The caliber is like fine wine. It just gets better with age (not to mention better bullets).

Get a copy of the video of mine that's being passed around. If you view it, you will see that the second buffalo was shot in the left shoulder (entrance wound is visible) and exited just behind the far shoulder. Bubbles of blood about the size of a tennis ball are clearly evident on the right side of the downed buff. A Barnes X broke the near shoulder into mush and is still winging its way toward Senegal, I reckon.

As someone else on the forum is fond of posting, "One Planet, One Rifle".

Im my work I have seen a lot of hunters shoot a lot of game with a lot of different guns and bullets. Over all the 375HH with a good bullet has been the most successful of all the rifles I have seen used.

Certainly the bigger rifles are more powerful and can inflict more damage much of the time. However the real key seems to be the folks shooting the the 375's have just made better shots more frequenlty then those with bigger guns. The 375HH really is a threshold cartridge for the great majority of hunters. There are those who shoot a bigger rifle just as well. However those folks are the exception rather then the rule.

A good 375HH with a premium bullet and a good scope has made mor successful one shot kills on DG then many of the others I have seen use. It may be as much the operator as the tool but with a tool that seems easier for most operators to use,....it stands to reason it will be a more frequently successful choice.

I also rather doubt that an equally placed bullet from a 375HH or a 404, or a 416 will show a significant difference in reaction to most bigger game. I do see a significant reaction when the diameter is 458 or bigger. For a recreational sportsman hunting the worlds bigger game there is no real advantage to using a bigger rifle then the 375HH. From easily available ammo to the lowest recoil investment for the power delivered,... the 375HH is just the right tool for the job for most people.

I have always had great results from using a .375, with Partitions and Swifts on the little and big stuff, respectively.

Except for elephant it is the best thing to take to Africa.