I know that many on this forum think the .416 calibers are a better all-purpose cartridge than the .375's. Harry Selby used a .416 Rigby as a backup rifle but here is part of an article he wrote just recently on the real all-purpose cartridge.



A Century of Holland's .375 Magnum (page 2)
Page 2 of 2



Harry Selby’s experience with the .375 Mag. dates back more than a half-century.
By Harry Selby





I soon realized that all the claims I had read about the .375 H&H Mag. cartridge’s performance were true and—in my opinion—possibly understated. And I did find that at 100 yards the 270- and 300-grain bullets impacted close enough to each other so as not to, for all practical hunting purposes, require sight adjustment.

Used on buffalo, the 300-grain solid, if the shot was well placed, would usually result in one shot, on the spot kills. The 270-grain soft-nose bullet was capable of reaching out to several hundred yards merely by holding a little higher on the intended target. This was a versatile combination indeed, a truly all-round rifle such as I had never seen before—powerful, accurate, and dependable with the ability to reach out there if necessary with enough retained power to do the job.

This particular safari was the commencement of my lifelong love affair with the .375 H&H Mag., and I determined to own one myself as soon as I could. That did not come about until 1950 when, at the end of a three-month safari, I was presented with a Winchester Model 70 in .375 H&H Mag. by the clients.

It was the first of several .375 H&H Mag. Winchesters I have owned, and I cannot recollect being on a safari since without a .375 in the gun racks of the hunting car. Regrettably I have never owned a genuine Holland & Holland-made .375 H&H Mag.

The .375 H&H Mag. played a significant role in the post World War II era in the African safari scene. During the late 1940s and early 1950s hunting safaris from overseas, mostly the United States, began to trickle back to East Africa and as new rifles were not available in Nairobi, prospective hunters brought their own with them. Rifles chambered for the .30-’06 Sprg. and .375 H&H Mag. cartridges were by far the most common, although there was a small percentage of other calibers as well. A few English rifles showed up, belonging to clients who had been on safari prior to the war, such as the Holland’s .375 H&H Mag. previously discussed.

It had become customary on pre-war safaris for clients to hire a heavy double rifle from the safari company for elephant, rhino and buffalo, and the .375’s role had been largely for use on the larger plains game and lion. However, due to the advent of convenient and time-saving air travel, combined with the writings of people such as Hemingway, Ruark and O’Connor, increasing numbers of people decided to undertake an African safari, and many of them had minimal hunting experience and were not too familiar in the use of firearms either. It takes time and much practice to shoot a heavy double rifle well, and having read stories about the horrendous recoil attributed to the heavy English doubles, some of the new generation of clients were possibly more apprehensive of the rifles they were about to use, than they were of the animal on which they would be using them. This situation did not contribute to accurate shooting and resulted in many missed shots, wounded animals and “messy” followups. I personally saw an elephant run off after having been cleanly missed by both barrels at less than 40 yards.

This time of transition served its purpose however, because as time went by, clients, encouraged in many cases by the professional hunter, began using the .375 H&H Mag. instead of the heavy doubles on the “big three.” The change proved most rewarding, as more accurate placement of bullets resulted in cleaner kills and less time wasted, not to mention the danger involved in following up on wounded animals. In this era, the .375 H&H Mag. was confirming its status as a very effective dangerous game cartridge, and many gunmakers worldwide began chambering their rifles for it. Additionally, new government regulations in a number of African countries required that the minimum legal caliber for hunting thick-skinned dangerous animals be .375. These requirements forced many users of sub-caliber rifles to invest in a larger one, and the logical choice was a .375 H&H Mag.

It is impossible to estimate how many .375s are owned by people living in Africa today, there must be many thousands, and although manufactured by different companies from different countries, they all owe their existence to Holland’s design dating back to 1912.

The success of the .375 H&H Mag. also resulted in a range of so-called “improved” versions of the cartridge, usually by fire-forming the original case in an enlarged chamber in order to accommodate more powder and, thereby, increase velocity. In my opinion, these “improved” versions do not demonstrate any real advantage over the original Holland & Holland design—which is an extremely well balanced cartridge—other than some extra striking energy and a somewhat flatter trajectory. They certainly produce more noise, more muzzle blast and more recoil. To add to the downside, the ammunition becomes a handloading proposition.

Members of various groups, such as professional hunter associations, game control officers, and professional guide associations, have on a number of occasions voted by a considerable margin in favor of the .375 H&H Mag.’s acceptance as the best all-round hunting caliber. This distinction has been earned by the outstanding and dependable performance of rifle and cartridge combinations throughout a period of 100 years from all corners of the earth. From the frozen wastes of the North and South Poles to the sweltering deserts of Africa and Asia, to the great primeval jungles in other parts of the world, the .375 has delivered. Today, with so many rifles chambered for this cartridge, it is usually possible to obtain ammunition in many countries—sometimes in quite remote places—a considerable advantage to the travelling hunter.

For me, the .375 H&H Mag. is the most outstanding and versatile cartridge ever developed, and no matter how hard some may try, its track record will never be equaled.

Thanks for sharing that. You do know however that both the .416 crowd and the 9.3x62 followers are going tobe along and defend their favorites. I think the .375 H&H is the, "One Planet-One Rifle", firearm, at least on this planet, and if someone needs something to go along with the .375, even though I don't like it, the .30-06 would be the light gun for a 2 rifle planet wide battery.

CarzyHorse, I know they soon will be stating that Harry Selby does not have the experience to write such an article. I expect that, but when someone like Selby, who is known as the greatest of the great white hunters, does a write-up like this, I listen as he has more experience than all on this forum combined.

Take care,

jfm

quote:

Originally posted by jfm:
CarzyHorse, I know they soon will be stating that Harry Selby does not have the experience to write such an article. I expect that, but when someone like Selby, who is known as the greatest of the great white hunters, does a write-up like this, I listen as he has more experience than all on this forum combined.

Take care,

jfm

+1!

I grew up shooting a 300 win mag. One rifle, all game. 20 years ago even though I had a 338, I bought a 375 H&H in a Winchester. I learned that there really was one rifle, one PLANET. Since then I've aquired around 80 rifles and I use most of them, just not for hunting. I have a 300 WM build by Brown Precsion in 1982 that goes every where my Brown Precsion 375 doesn't. Those are my 2 trusted hunting rifles. As with ost of African trips, last year in Tanzania the 375 was my light rifle and my 470 my heavy rifle. The 375 did all the work, from Dik Dik to multilpe buffalo (one was 46 inch). This year the menu has been and will continue to be lots of sheep and goats. The 300 has been and will continue to do all that work.

Karamojo Bell killed over 1000 eles with a 7X57 and crappy bullets.

The .375 is enough gun, but I still like my .416 Rigby.

Harry Selby is a dottering old geezer who can't be taken seriously!

Back when he was hunting, buffalo were not nearly as tough as they are today. Today, anything less than 50 caliber is just plain foolish.

Selby probably never tested bullets in media and therefore has no credibility. Geez, he probably doesn't even know what a noncom is.

Over 50 years, under a wide variety of conditions, with hundreds of clients means absolutely nothing!

Me thinks JohnDL was being a tiny bit sarcastic.
I've used my 375 H&H on 2 safaris & an axis hunt in Texas, I'll also be using it this year on whitetail.
Overkill for whitetail, yes, but the bullet usually goes where the crosshair shows & that is just 1 of the reasons I love it.

What's a century? It'll never catch on.

I am one that absolutely loves the .375 caliber... H&H, Ruger, RUM, you name it. I carried a .375 on my first safari in 1994 and my last safari a couple of weeks ago! There have been a few trips where I substituted a .416, .404 or 9.3 but not because I thought I had to. I think Craig Boddington summed it up when he said it wasn't the perfect cartridge for anything but it was ideal for everything! In Mozambique I shot buffalo at 60 yards and a Lichenstein's hartebeest at 225 yards... and everything in between. In fact, except for my two buff and a warthog running away from me, everything succumbed to one shot.

Now when pachyderms are considered I find the ,375 a bare minimum and prefer a .416 or up, but there is no doubt the ol' .375 will do it if you do your part!

Wow...a thread on the effectiveness of the 375 H&H. Why can't we focus on important topics...like the terminal performance of latest monometal bullets.

Antlers, I posted this because a lot of people on this forum do not believe the .375 H&H magnum is worth a plug nickel and that the true all-around cartridge is the .416 caliber. I find it funny that someone like Harry Selby, who used a .416 Rigby, would rave about the .375 H&H as the most outstanding and versatile cartridge ever developed. If the .416's are so much more versatile than the .375 calibers, then why is Harry Selby promoting the .375 H&H as the most versatile?

Thanks,

jfm

I have no idea how he did it, but Harry Manners managed a "couple of ole 'phants" using .375H&H's.

Actually, did not the .425 Westley Richards out perform both the .416 Rigby and the .404 Jeffrey. AND that on a standard length action. 50 years ahead of the .458 Win Mag and it still out performs it by a good country mile.

Great caliber and one that I have taken as one of my rifles to Africa on nearly every safari.

I think even today most PHs will vote in favor of the 375 because most clients will shoot better with the 375 than a 416 and certainly better than an open sighted double. I am always amazed how guys go out and buy big open sighted doubles because they have seen too many Mark Sullivan and Ivan carter videos and then they realize the folly of their ways in Africa.

No doubt that the 416 has better effect on big game than the 375 but you still have to do your part. Only 2 weeks ago I shot a buff with the 416 and it was down within a few yards, with a frontal angling shoulder shot. I also fired a backup shot on a 2nd buff which was well hit with a 458 wm, the 416 Barnes solid entered infront of the rear right leg and was found In front of the left front leg, penetration right across the body!!

Most important of all is shot placement.

The 375 has come up for discussion quite a few times on AR.

It was around 1999 or 2000 that I opined (on AR) that "the 375 is neither fish nor fowl" (too much for PG and not enough for DG).

I was just flat-out wrong. When we talk about DG, for all intents and purposes we are referring to buffalo. First shot placement is, by far, what a client should concentrate on.

Many people read stories or see videos and may get misled. In reality, the PH may only be a meter away, but the job of the PH and the client are very, very different. Yes, a heavier rifle may be useful for the PH in backup. The client's job is not backup. It is first shot placement and anything which detracts from this is bad.

The 375 is a wonderful caliber. I, for one, find it refreshing that we've not been able to significantly improve upon it in 100 years

It would be nice to read a book on the hunting stories by Harry Selby.

My dangerous game experience is negligible, one buffalo with a 375H&H and one buffalo with a 404J. based upon that statistically irrelevant sample, I firmly believe that the 404 hits with more authority. That said, if I had to give one up it would be the 404. IMHO no cartridge offers the balance of stopping power and shootability that the 375H&H does. Quite simply it is still the best option for the vast majority of clients.

quote:

Originally posted by shootaway:
It would be nice to read a book on the hunting stories by Harry Selby.

On that we can both agree!

Selby's memoirs would be a treasure. I hope he commits them to paper. I would not only buy one for myself, but I would buy one for my sons and my grandson.

quote:

Originally posted by jfm:
Antlers, I posted this because a lot of people on this forum do not believe the .375 H&H magnum is worth a plug nickel and that the true all-around cartridge is the .416 caliber. I find it funny that someone like Harry Selby, who used a .416 Rigby, would rave about the .375 H&H as the most outstanding and versatile cartridge ever developed. If the .416's are so much more versatile than the .375 calibers, then why is Harry Selby promoting the .375 H&H as the most versatile?

Thanks,

jfm

Maybe the recoil from the 416 was not to his liking

quote:

I think even today most PHs will vote in favor of the 375 because most clients will shoot better with the 375 than a 416 and certainly better than an open sighted double. I am always amazed how guys go out and buy big open sighted doubles because they have seen too many Mark Sullivan and Ivan carter videos and then they realize the folly of their ways in Africa.

I concur 100%

yup

quote:

Originally posted by Opus1:

The .375 is enough gun, but I still like my .416 Rigby.

A little over a month ago I took my first buffalo using a .375 H&H with 350 grain Barnes TSX bullets. The rounds worked great, but just before we left I had the opportunity to shoot my PH's .416 Rigby (BRNO). I was pleasantly surprised by how soft the big bolt action's recoil was. If anything, it might have been even more comfortable to shoot than my Winchester Model 70.

The 375 H&H has unmatched versatility. No argument there. It will do everything one could desire in the hands of a capable rifleman.

But...........it would not be a good idea to approach an elephant, especially multiple elephants, to within "sporting range" with anything less than a 470, preferably a double.

Hunting elephants with a 375 is perfectly fine and probably safe if you do it with one outfitted with a scope and you don't get any closer than 75 yards.

quote:

Originally posted by Muletrain:
The 375 H&H has unmatched versatility. No argument there. It will do everything one could desire in the hands of a capable rifleman.

But...........it would not be a good idea to approach an elephant, especially multiple elephants, to within "sporting range" with anything less than a 470, preferably a double.

Hunting elephants with a 375 is perfectly fine and probably safe if you do it with one outfitted with a scope and you don't get any closer than 75 yards.

+1

quote:

Originally posted by jfm:
Antlers, I posted this because a lot of people on this forum do not believe the .375 H&H magnum is worth a plug nickel and that the true all-around cartridge is the .416 caliber. I find it funny that someone like Harry Selby, who used a .416 Rigby, would rave about the .375 H&H as the most outstanding and versatile cartridge ever developed. If the .416's are so much more versatile than the .375 calibers, then why is Harry Selby promoting the .375 H&H as the most versatile?

Thanks,

jfm

Well, for one, the 416 Rigby needs to be handloaded to be the all-around cartridge. 350 grains at 2800 fps in .416" does nicely. I just shot a 201 yard oribi with one last week. Sweet little gun. The oribi got blown back about five yards and ran about four, without its heart.

While the .375 H & H would not be my choice for elephant, it certainly has taken it's fair share of them in plenty of capable and less than capable hands. If I had only one rifle, that would be my choice. To me, it is a darned good blend of versatility and power. With the 235 gr Barnes TSX, at around 3000 fps it is perfectly suited for plains game at longer ranges,(wastes a little too much meat on elk) the 250 gr Sierra GK did a bang up job on everything I have taken with it, including eland, Kudu and everything smaller, the 260 gr Nosler Accubond is the next on my list to try. I haven't shot anything with it in the heavier bullet weights but always took something larger for the Dangerous Game because I wanted to, not because I thought the .375 wouldn't handle it. It's pretty hard to beat.

As some of you know I was charged by a buffalo this July in Zim. I was shooting a borrowed 375. It did the work but had I had my .416 Rem Mag I do believe that there would never have been a charge. This buffalo finally expired with 4 rounds of 375 and one of 505 Gibbs. One 375 shot taken at approx. 85 yrds. (only got one lung) and all the rest at under 15 ft. (two in the head) It was real interesting for about a 10 count and I am damn lucky to be here writing this.
Better tomorrows!

What difference would it have made Harry? I presume your concern was penetration? What ammo were you using?

I just responded to the thread about the awesome penetration of the .416 Rem, but it is indisputable that a good .375 H&H will do everything and anything you ask of it. It is THE all around gun.

The .375 H&H Mag. is great, no doubt. But for the biggest and baddest, when things are the worst, it's far from the best. It is the LCD, however, and that counts for a lot when dealing with the Average Joe.

quote:

Originally posted by Harry:
It did the work but had I had my .416 Rem Mag I do believe that there would never have been a charge. This buffalo finally expired with 4 rounds of 375 and one of 505 Gibbs. One 375 shot taken at approx. 85 yrds.

Not to be too big of an ass, but the problem wasn't the calibre but hitting only one lung with the first shot. I know this from sad experience.

People jump up and down then say they don't want to use a minimum of anything. Fine, but what the people with real experience who made the .375 rules really meant was that a .375 is all you really need. There are for sure good reasons to like, want and use bigger rifles, but a .375 is all that is really need.

Dean

Maki:

You could therefore apply the same theory to any caliber upwards of 6.5mm

There is a reason why most countries which offer DG have set a mandatory legal minimum caliber and there are other reasons for the want of something bigger than the 375.

To each his own choice.

The first two buff that I shot as a lad were taken with a .338 WM using Nosler Partition bullets. But hey, let’s keep that on the down low.

In regards to minimum calibers, the hope is that using enough gun will make up for less than perfect shot placement. Sometimes that theory does not hold up to reality.

No amount of energy and penetration can fix a poor shot. That’s why God invented the double rifle.

I agree that Harry Selby's memoirs would be a treat for all, but while we are waiting, Safari Press is publishing a 60th Anniversary edition of "Horn of the Hunter", that contains a 4000+ word forward by Selby. It also contains numerous photos and is signed. Hopefully, an appetizer for things to come.

It should come as no surprise but I have read some of Harry's e-mails and his thoughts on RN vs FN solid bullets are as "antiquated" as his thoughts on the 375 H&H.
It is funny what strange opinions professionals develop after 50 years of experience!

quote:

It should come as no surprise but I have read some of Harry's e-mails and his thoughts on RN vs FN solid bullets are as "antiquated" as his thoughts on the 375 H&H.
It is funny what strange opinions professionals develop after 50 years of experience!

I knew the insults to intelligemce would start sooner or later but I didn't think it would begin with 458Win. Phil, have you ever thought that his opinions on the .375 H&H were formed with the .375 H&H using antiquated powders and projectiles? And it still got the job done. Add in the value of modern powders and projectiles and what have you got? A more state of the art round which he does mention in the first page of this article. I personally would not want to criticize such an icon as I believe it would make me look rather silly.

Thanks,

jfm

I could be wrong, no big stretch for me, but I detect a good bit of sarcasm in 458Win's response. Again I could be wrong.