I am familiar with the Tracks Across Africa shows featuring the .375 Ruger. I am curious though, has anyone on the Forum used the .375 Ruger in Africa yet, and if so, on what and with what effect?

About two months ago, my friend who has been with Ruger for 12 years (and on Tracks Across Africa) said they were back ordered to the tune of 3,500. I have yet to handle one, let alone shoot one. LDK

I should have mine any day and am thinking about taking it over on a culling expedition. I am not about to give up my .375 H&H for it, but it's a sweet-handling little rifle.

I was just curious if there are actual field reports versus the paper ballastics at this point. I admit to being somewhat cynical when it comes to television shows, underwritten by a sponsor, and it turns out that the sponsor's product is purported to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. We have seen a similar situation in the past with the Hornady Interbonds/Interlocks, they were reported to be a stellar product but the field reports indicated that there were real problems and the product was subsequently pulled.

Hence, why I thought I would fish around to see if there was any actual data from the field.

Greg,

I keep hearing about culls off and on, but other than impala culls they don't seem to materialize. Can you tell us what game is being culled and whether the hunts are available to the public? Thanks!

Mike,

Sorry for the hijack. I have not heard about the 375 Ruger making it to Africa yet, but I would think one of the mainstream hunting writers is probably taking one on an ASAP basis.

quote:

Originally posted by 500grains:
I have not heard about the 375 Ruger making it to Africa yet, but I would think one of the mainstream hunting writers is probably taking one on an ASAP basis.

Dan,

That is probably right, although I think what you hear from the writers is pretty suspect too. I am not sure I have read a bad product review in a hunting magazine in some time -- certainly not with regard to a major manufacturer (aka advertiser) of ammunition, firearms, gear, etc. Sort of sad that you have to take everything with a grain of salt these days since they seem to be slaves to the advertisers. I guess if someone was picking up the tab for my trip or giving me gear, I could learn to be patronizing too.

Yup, I remember an article about a gemsbok hunt when the 375 RUM first came out. Sounded like all other calibers were going to be immediately discontinued!

I used the .375 Ruger as well as my .30-06 on my Namibia hunt last June. Everything dropped with one shot except for gemsbok, and a quick running shot anchored him. I was happy with the performance of the 270-grain bullet, but would pick something more substantial for dangerous game. I decided this after taking my zebra stallion. The Hornady factory bullet didn't exit and I didn't find it even after the trackers sifted carefully through the enormous mountain zebra gut pile.
I'm planning on going to Zim in 09. If tuskless is on the menu I'll take something bigger, but if buffalo will be the largest game I'll just take the .375 Ruger loaded with appropriate bullets.

Here is my hunt report.

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6321043/m/431107686

My Brother owns a .375 Ruger. I have shot it extensively over the past three months. On paper performance is exceptional.
However he took it on Safari a couple of months ago and the performance of the factory Hornady ammo he purchased was horrible. It all culminated with a lost buffalo. Before that he shot a sable perfectly braodside with no exit on the other side and a complete bullet failure. I think the ballistics on paper are great. I think the Hornady ammo purchased over the counter is depressing, and a downright dangerous combo with dangerous game.

Ouch!

I am amazed that Hornady does not simply cut a deal with Woodleigh, Trophy Bonded or someone else and just load their bullets a'la how Federal loads their premium rounds.

quote:

MJines

I think your absolutely correct. Instead of reinventing the wheel, and Hornady seem to do a poor job of doing it. Woodleigh would be a perfect premium bullet for Hornady.

Steve

I don't mean to hijack the thread but in regards to what 500 grains and MJines said about reports about new gear, I agree 100% and have yet to see any objective reports about the .375 Ruger. It is getting really hard to find non-biased info.

Below is an article I wrote for an outdoor newspaper that covers Maryland, Deleware, and W Va.

Outdoor Writers A Questionable Lot

Let me fill you in on a dark little secret of the outdoor writing industry, many of us are not the most truthful or ethical. Thumb through the latest issue of your favorite outdoor magazine and you’ll realize that there are no bad outdoor products; you can’t kill a deer unless you have this type of camouflage, that all guns are equal, and every hunting and fishing trip is an unabashed success. Do outdoor writers have access to the best of everything? Are they exceptionally lucky when it comes to picking guides? One will soon realize nary a negative word is ever spoken in the pages of outdoor magazines.

If I had the opportunity to ask outdoor writers one question it would be, “When did we give up journalistic integrity to become pitchmen for the outdoor industry� Most of what is written today could be best described as advertorials. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, a vast majority of outdoor scribes forgot the basic tenants of journalism 101, and flipped over to marketing 101.

You know the story. Outdoor writer gets a call from the VP/Marketing Director for ABC Gun, Gear or Ammo Company. They show up at Super Hunt Lodge where they are treated to VIP service, taken an awesome animal, and lo and behold the gear from ABC Company performed flawlessly. At the end of the story, on the proceeding page is a three quarter page ad for ABC Company and a one quarter page for the Super Hunt Lodge. Coincidence, I think not.

Another personal favorite is when the general public sends in questions about hunting and fishing and the writer manages to name drop 5 to 6 name brand products in the course of his answer. Shockingly all of those items are sponsors for that writer, so much for an unbiased journalistic opinion. Heck, many of today’s outdoor writers look like NASCAR drivers with all of their company sponsors on their camouflage jackets.

I realize that publishing is a competitive, cut throat industry and advertising pays the bills. I am not a communist, and certainly realize that people need to pay their bills, yet I wonder why newspapers can write critical pieces about industry, government, businesses, etc and still stay in business. A majority of outdoor magazines never question a product or company. Ask yourself when was the last time you saw a less then glowing report about a single item of outdoor gear, or someone report a bad hunting trip and actually name the guide and outfitter.

Could you imagine the uproar if a writer for your local newspaper wrote a favorable piece about a company and you found out they did because they owned stock in the company. The uproar would be instant, and said writer would find himself out a job.

I know certain outdoor writers who will pitch stories to their editor to get themselves onto premier hunting and fishing trips, and you can be sure that never a negative word will be written. You can also bet the house that the outfitter knowing the free publicity he is about to receive will go out of his way to make sure said writer has the trip of a lifetime.

What I would love to see to see is an injection of truth and disclosure in many of today’s outdoor stories. If you are hunting at Super Hunt Lodge, let me know who paid for the trip. Did the magazine pay for it? Was it donated free by the owner of the lodge? Did Company ABC pay for you to come out and try their gear? That in itself will tell me a lot about the tone of article and whether or not to take it with a grain of salt.

How about letting us know if the place you are hunting is free range or high fence? I have no problem if people want to hunt behind a high fence, but what about letting your readers know. Don’t you love it that they always forget to omit the price of the hunt and what it would actually cost you do such an adventure.

The cost of everything we do goes up every year. Licenses’, trucks, ATV’s, fuel, ammo, and all the things associated with playing outdoors aren’t getting any cheaper. Add in booking a trip out of state or country with an outfitter and you are looking at a substantial investment of money and time. As paying subscribers to said magazine, I feel that the publishers, editors and writers owe their readers a modicum of honesty and disclosure, anything less is a shame. In the end the only thing they have to lose is their integrity.

sorry for yet another hijack........i dont know about other calibers, but those Hornady Interbonds in .405 are worthless on game of any kind........except maybe young cotton tails

Hutty,

That is very well stated. I had not thought of it in terms of journalism versus marketing. It is true, there is no way you can describe what they do as journalism, in the sense of reporting untainted by conflicts of interest. May be one of the reasons folks turn to sites like this for information, at least you have some possibility of getting advice that is not tainted by a serious conflict of interest.

Which reminds me of a situation several years ago involving a television journalist from San Antonio (New Braunfels actually) with a popular hunting and fishing show in Texas sponsored by Academy. The host of the show hunted at a ranch near Seguin that he raved about on the show in terms of the quality of the game, the quality of their management program, the nature of the hunt, etc. A friend and I ended up booking a hunt there. On our hunt we learned quite by accident that the host of the television show was actually the OWNER of the ranch. No where in the television show was this disclosed or even mentioned. From the television show you would have never thought that the host -- while being entertained at the ranch and having some conflict of interest -- had a conflict of interest so direct and deep. I was pissed and threatened to sue them as I felt this conduct violated Texas law in several respects. Bottom line, I'll bet that sort of crap goes on far more often than we suspect and ever since then I have taken everything in print or on the air with a grain of salt. By the way, newspaper outdoor writers are no better, as they write about great hunts that they have been comp'ed on.

load it with premium bullets, and it will do any and everything the 375 hh does.... load it to HH velocities, and it will even be lower pressure...

I would go so far as to state that the factory ammo is great FOR PRACTICE and all the advice of swifts, noslers, barnes, etc, that has been ladled about for the HH should be taken into account for the ruger.

jeffe

I read over at Phil Lozano's site of the newest of Hornady IB performing poorly. Bullets dug out were in bad shape. (This is from memory)

I don't think they should crank up the 375 so fast. I handled a couple rifles and they were handy but they must be randy, to shoot. What about the new thinking, slow it down or slow it down and go heavier bullet.

quote:

About two months ago, my friend who has been with Ruger for 12 years (and on Tracks Across Africa) said they were back ordered to the tune of 3,500.

We have 375 Ruger EZ kits ready to go ... based on commercial Mauser action with hinged bottom metal, same stock as Ruger (we had that idea before they did).

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
We have seen a similar situation in the past with the Hornady Interbonds/Interlocks, they were reported to be a stellar product but the field reports indicated that there were real problems and the product was subsequently pulled.

what problems have you experienced with the hornady interlocks i use it on all my plains game in my 308 and 375 and i had no problems yet. what speed are you launching them at my best results is when i launch then at 2300f/sec. i have not lost one animal and neither has one of my humting partners we all use the 300gr interlock or interbond and between the 3 of us we have taken 37 animals that is bigger than impala this year alone.

i would like to year of the problems you have experienced with the product.

back to your point i will change my 375h&h for nothing in this world ill sell my wife before it.

Gotta agree with Jeffe, use the factory ammo for practice. Reload the brass with a bullet that can take the speed the cartridge will generate. I recommend North Forks. Of course, you can use other brands but try out some NF's and you'll be surprised at how fast you can find an accurate load.

quote:

Originally posted by 375 fanatic:
what problems have you experienced with the hornady interlocks

i would like to year of the problems you have experienced with the product.

Do a search on this Forum, you will find plenty of reports of piss poor performance of the Interbonds. They are much too soft. They might work great on thin skin game, but on thick skin game they perform horribly. If they were so special, why did Hornady pull them?

But they're back and not doing much if any better. This was a new bullet, after they had been pulled, that Phil Lozano had pulled out of a clients buff. Again from memory but I'm not going to go back to search for a product that I have no faith in therefore will never need. I used to think too that the great prices for Hornady in say 416 Rigby etc made it good range ammo, stoking the brass supply. But our friend Monty (in the Heym video) who runs the Safari Shooitng School that the DRSS guys visited here has come across Hornady Lott brass with primer pockets slightly deep and it caused an ignition failure in a reload. So I won't reload Hornady or Remington brass, nor carry their ammo, in the field.

quote:

Originally posted by 500grains:
Greg,

I keep hearing about culls off and on, but other than impala culls they don't seem to materialize. Can you tell us what game is being culled and whether the hunts are available to the public? Thanks!

I am going over to cull kudu and impala on a friend's place, then in May to cull buff and feral cattle in Australia. None of these trips are sold to the public. I use these opportunities to test new bullets for some of the manufacturers.

Hutty nails it on the head! That's why I quit buying that BS that passes for hunting & shooting magazines.

Give me a good writer from the mid 20th century, someone who actually knows how to write and can teach you something in the process.

The rest is crap!

P.s. I bought (new!) a copy of Dr. Jones' Ask the Elk Guides, thinking maybe I'd learn something.

I learned something all right. What the guide's favorite guns/calibers are ; what "preparation" guides like to see in their clients ; how they prefer their clients "behave" , and this sort of thing.

To his credit, Jones does a fair job of spelling out (in 2004 dollars) how much a trip will cost.

friar

I took mine for a 2 week hunt in June. We spent a week in Limpopo and a week in Natal. The 375R took multiple impala, kudu, wildabeest, nyala, a giraffe and 3 wild dogs that came to our lunch one afternoon.

My son and I used a mix of the Hornady solids and softs on the appropriate animals and we had no problems with the ammo. Granted no DG was taken but the wildabeest and giraffe were pretty thick skinned and it worked just fine.

I have very little DG game experience only having taken 4 buff but I would not hesitate to use the Hornady solids on buff after seeing them preform on the wildabeest and giraffe..................................JJ

the interbonds is definitely not my choice for DG but it very popular with hunters in sa. we are paying double what we paid a year ago. i have shot zebra, wildebees and waterbuck with interbonds and i still have to recover a bullet to see how and if they failed they go straight thrue.

on the other hand the interlocks i recover regularly i average about a 65% weight retention. yes it is soft but the results im getting at the slower speeds is very good. the ideal speed is 2350f/sec . i will use them on the cats but for buff and ele i will use rhino bullets

quote:

Originally posted by JJ_Miller:
...and 3 wild dogs that came to our lunch one afternoon.JJ

Hey JJ, you'll get me arrested!!! Just for the record - the "wild" dogs that JJ is referring to were actually feral domestic dogs that hunts and causes lots of damage on my concession in Natal. Many of them also carry rabies so I asked JJ to "take care" of the uninvited company to our lunch next to the river.

I can echo JJ's opinion on the effectiveness of this caliber on all the animals he mentioned (including "wild dogs"

quote:

Originally posted by Hutty:
I don't mean to hijack the thread but in regards to what 500 grains and MJines said about reports about new gear, I agree 100% and have yet to see any objective reports about the .375 Ruger. It is getting really hard to find non-biased info.

. . . I realize that publishing is a competitive, cut throat industry and advertising pays the bills. I am not a communist, and certainly realize that people need to pay their bills, yet I wonder why newspapers can write critical pieces about industry, government, businesses, etc and still stay in business. A majority of outdoor magazines never question a product or company. Ask yourself when was the last time you saw a less then glowing report about a single item of outdoor gear, or someone report a bad hunting trip and actually name the guide and outfitter.

Could you imagine the uproar if a writer for your local newspaper wrote a favorable piece about a company and you found out they did because they owned stock in the company. The uproar would be instant, and said writer would find himself out a job.

I know certain outdoor writers who will pitch stories to their editor to get themselves onto premier hunting and fishing trips, and you can be sure that never a negative word will be written. You can also bet the house that the outfitter knowing the free publicity he is about to receive will go out of his way to make sure said writer has the trip of a lifetime.

What I would love to see to see is an injection of truth and disclosure in many of today’s outdoor stories. If you are hunting at Super Hunt Lodge, let me know who paid for the trip. Did the magazine pay for it? Was it donated free by the owner of the lodge? Did Company ABC pay for you to come out and try their gear? That in itself will tell me a lot about the tone of article and whether or not to take it with a grain of salt.

How about letting us know if the place you are hunting is free range or high fence? I have no problem if people want to hunt behind a high fence, but what about letting your readers know. Don’t you love it that they always forget to omit the price of the hunt and what it would actually cost you do such an adventure.

The cost of everything we do goes up every year. Licenses’, trucks, ATV’s, fuel, ammo, and all the things associated with playing outdoors aren’t getting any cheaper. Add in booking a trip out of state or country with an outfitter and you are looking at a substantial investment of money and time. As paying subscribers to said magazine, I feel that the publishers, editors and writers owe their readers a modicum of honesty and disclosure, anything less is a shame. In the end the only thing they have to lose is their integrity.

Just finished reading Aagaard's African Adventures. In the book there is the following quote:

"Some gunwriters will be be rather extravagant in their praise of anything they get from a manufacturer in order to remain in that company's good graces so they keep getting new stuff to test. We regard them as prostitutes! That is what they are doing; it is not a good reputation to get. At least among the ethical gunwriters, it won't do you any good."

I guess the lesson here is that maybe there are fewer ethical gunwriters to keep the others concerned about their reputations.

True, it comes in a shorter action, but how in the world would it perform any differently than a 375 H&H?

quote:

Originally posted by Will:
True, it comes in a shorter action, but how in the world would it perform any differently than a 375 H&H?

Bill, I thought the very same thing! But then I'm not a dope, or shill or troll for the 375 Rooger.

quote:

Originally posted by ChrisTroskie:

quote:

Originally posted by JJ_Miller:
...and 3 wild dogs that came to our lunch one afternoon.JJ

Hey JJ, you'll get me arrested!!! Just for the record - the "wild" dogs that JJ is referring to were actually feral domestic dogs that hunts and causes lots of damage on my concession in Natal.

My thoughts exactly!

I hadn't seen the "wild dogs" comment before. No wonder Chris jumped in fast. Sorry Chris but that's funny. Can I book with you for wild dogs?

I have a .375 Ruger African, and it is a good rifle. The .270 gr. Hornady ammo is for thin skinned criters. The 300gr. solids are for DG. Having said that I have not had the opportunity to actually field test them. When I do I will comment.

I don't beleive squat from gun writers, and time will tell. I don't think it will replace the H&H, or the .338 but it is a good round. My hope is that other manufacturers will come forward with some different loadings for it. Handloading all bets are on.

Just my $.02

That is my pet beef, too! Every magazine is full of glowing reports about this or that product that apparently, we all should get at the earliest opportunity! And some of these claims are patently absurd. So i wouldnt put much faith in a gunwriter's report, we will have to wait for AR members to do so. Barring something unexpected, i would say it should work as well as the 375 H&H, as ballistics are very similar (NOT superior for all practical purposes)

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:

quote:

Originally posted by 500grains:
I have not heard about the 375 Ruger making it to Africa yet, but I would think one of the mainstream hunting writers is probably taking one on an ASAP basis.

Dan,

That is probably right, although I think what you hear from the writers is pretty suspect too. I am not sure I have read a bad product review in a hunting magazine in some time -- certainly not with regard to a major manufacturer (aka advertiser) of ammunition, firearms, gear, etc. Sort of sad that you have to take everything with a grain of salt these days since they seem to be slaves to the advertisers. I guess if someone was picking up the tab for my trip or giving me gear, I could learn to be patronizing too.

quote:

Originally posted by 500grains:
Greg,

I keep hearing about culls off and on, but other than impala culls they don't seem to materialize. Can you tell us what game is being culled and whether the hunts are available to the public? Thanks!

Mike,

Sorry for the hijack. I have not heard about the 375 Ruger making it to Africa yet, but I would think one of the mainstream hunting writers is probably taking one on an ASAP basis.

I know you wrote your post several months ago but I though I would respond. I went on a cull hunt for 7 days at the end of May at Didimala Safaris near Kinberley, SA. I was in the third week of culling. Ten hunters each on the first two weeks and there were 6 of each during the 3rd week. We had some choices. I shot 5 or 6 Springboks, one black Wildebeast(a good one) one Blesbok, two Gemsbok (one was very good) one Red Hartebeest, and I paid for a Mountain Reedbok that I shot (a really good one). Some guys shot Warthogs. A couple of guys even shot Cape Buffalo for a lot of money.

quote:

Originally posted by army aviator:

quote:

Originally posted by 500grains:
Greg,

I keep hearing about culls off and on, but other than impala culls they don't seem to materialize. Can you tell us what game is being culled and whether the hunts are available to the public? Thanks!

Mike,

Sorry for the hijack. I have not heard about the 375 Ruger making it to Africa yet, but I would think one of the mainstream hunting writers is probably taking one on an ASAP basis.

I know you wrote your post several months ago but I though I would respond. I went on a cull hunt for 7 days at the end of May at Didimala Safaris near Kinberley, SA. I was in the third week of culling. Ten hunters each on the first two weeks and there were 6 of each during the 3rd week. We had some choices. I shot 5 or 6 Springboks, one black Wildebeast(a good one) one Blesbok, two Gemsbok (one was very good) one Red Hartebeest, and I paid for a Mountain Reedbok that I shot (a really good one). Some guys shot Warthogs. A couple of guys even shot Cape Buffalo for a lot of money.

Seems like my post is in the wrong place as I was just responding to 500 grains post.