375 and 416 are both great all-around cartridges. That said, with elephant or buffalo on the menu, I'll carry my 416 every time. For everything else (including lion), the 375 will do just fine.

If limited to one chambering for Africa, I'd stay home. Otherwise its a 450 Dakota (500 gr) for ele and buff. A 330 Dakota (250 gr) for all else.
Bob

I think the .375 Ruger is a far superior round to the .375 H&H. More knock down power and flatter trajectory hands down a much better caliber.

The plain unenhanced 404 J is a great combination of modest recoil and adequate power. In a scoped bolt rifle its all that is needed.

.375 RUM shoots somewhat flatter than the H & H and it hits hard. Better have good bullets, particularly if shooting at something up close. Mine was shooting very accurately with a 300 gr. Swift A Frame at almost 2900 fps. Pressure unknown but no outward signs of a problem.

JFM, you and Lion Hunter seem to be on the right track. It seems to me .416 Rem, Rig, Ruger will all out-perform the .375 and add confidence to every shot.

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I think the .375 Ruger is a far superior round to the .375 H&H. More knock down power and flatter trajectory hands down a much better caliber.

If it is the ballistic twin...how do you figure??? If this was a joke... .

Ledvm, I think this person most likely does not handload but is looking at the 300 grain bullet @ 2660 fps and the 270 grain bullet at 2840 fps for the Ruger cartridge. I can get these figures when I handload my .375 H&H but if you don't handload, I think the Ruger will get about 100 fps more velocity with any given bullet weight. That is when you compare the two factory loads side by side. When hunting something dangerous, I prefer to keep my 300 grain bullets down to about 2450 - 2500 fps. That speed with 300 grain projctiles always seems to do a great job for me.

Thanks,

jfm

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My own personal choice is a 375/404. Which several of us have been using for a number of years. Shooting several hundreds of game animals in the process.

These range from duikers to elephants.
Distances are from a few yards to over 500 yards.

If one does his bit, the rifle delivers the goods.

The .375 Ultra Mag is Remington's commercial version of this great caliber of Saeed's. It's like a .375 H&H on steroids.

I'm getting 3 shot 1" groups with mine with 270 gr TSX bullets at 3040 fps. Accurate, flat shooting, and powerful, what more could you want?

Same with the 375 Weatherby.

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Originally posted by buffybr:

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My own personal choice is a 375/404. Which several of us have been using for a number of years. Shooting several hundreds of game animals in the process.

These range from duikers to elephants.
Distances are from a few yards to over 500 yards.

If one does his bit, the rifle delivers the goods.

The .375 Ultra Mag is Remington's commercial version of this great caliber of Saeed's. It's like a .375 H&H on steroids.

I'm getting 3 shot 1" groups with mine with 270 gr TSX bullets at 3040 fps. Accurate, flat shooting, and powerful, what more could you want?

ledvm. It was absolutly a joke . I was just poking fun at all the threads on here about the two calibers. I have the .375 Ruger in a 20 in Alaskan. Absolutly love it! But you are exactly correct they are balistic twins.
Happy huntning.

I have posted this on another thread about the 375 but will repeat it here.
My PH raved about the 375 (I had shot my buff with a 375 by myself) He told me he used it often on stand off shooting in cull hunts on elephants -standing off and shooting elephant at ranges up to a hundred yards. I asked then, why did he carry a 470 NE? He replied that the 375 was a killing bullet -but the 470 was a stopping bullet. (Having seen elephant close up and a buff at 35 yards which I killed by myself -but would have preferred a heavier bullet next time around,thank you!) I understood him perfectly! The 375 was easy to shoot (and to practice with)and I did shoot the PH's 470 about a dozen times and enjoyed using it. (Same "push" -just a bit harder) I shot (after Africa and in the States, a 416 in Ruger No.1 (Don't remember if it was Remington or Rigby) -and thought it rattled my eye teeth - so I guess it comes back to stocking of the rifle and resultant recoil vs markmanship and recoil tolerance vs not flinching (which otherwise means the rifle is useless to the shooter) Just my thoughts.

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My PH raved about the 375

They always rave about the 375. It's a requirement in their PH exam.

Basically they are worried about the client not being able to shoot a .375 much less anything bigger.

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They always rave about the 375. It's a requirement in their PH exam.

Basically they are worried about the client not being able to shoot a .375 much less anything bigger.

Considering how many people bellyache and complain about how much a "Big 7mm Mag" kicks I don't blame them.

While I am very fond of the .404 Jeff, my sig block says where I stand.

The 375 Holland is about the limit for a normal person for recoil VS power.
That said, I don't know anybody here who qualified "normal" on the test.

I could make it pretty easy with my CZ .375H&H and my early Searcy .470 for the rest of my African (or anywhere else) hunting career.

Thank goodness none of us have to choose just two, or even twenty-two.

Rich

No Ruger fans here? I was thinking of getting the Hawkeye African which is chambered in 375 Ruger. Any opinions on this calibre?

The .375 Ruger is H&H ballistics in a standard length action to take advantage of those dim bulbs who actually believe that one can "short stroke" an action that is some few hundredths of an inch longer than the standard M98. Since magnum length actions are now no more expensive than standard length actions, the Ruger chambering is merely of academic interest . . . unless one is really, really gullible.

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Originally posted by Stephen Goldfinch:
No Ruger fans here? I was thinking of getting the Hawkeye African which is chambered in 375 Ruger. Any opinions on this calibre?

Had several of the H&Hs, and I like them a lot. I now have a .375 Ruger and it has become my favorite rifle for big game, small deer included. I think it is a better cartridge then the H&H, but it is a bit more difficult to reload. I like that it made up in a smaller rifle then most of the H&Hs. Mine with it's short 17" barrel and Ruger plastic stock weighs in at just 7-3/4 lbs, and handles like poison lightning.
But just so this does not start another shit storm from those that get their inner power from the H&Hs romantic past; the Ruger takes nothing at all away from the H&H in my mind. It's just a little different, and I like it a little better.

338 Win Mag,

Best All Round African Calibre

TAKE NOT THE QUESTION WAS ALL ROUND

Many choices depend on 'non-calibre' issues.

for example, does the person handload?
and
Is the person ready to carry the rifle all day long on foot?

Someone who does not handload would be better off with a 416 Rem than with the 416 Rigby. I happen to like the 416 Rigby, but it needs to be loaded to 5500-6000 ft lbs. Otherwise, the 416 Rem works. For an all around rifle the 416 Rigby with 350 grain TSX loaded to about 2750-2800 fps is flat for 300, even the very rare 400 yard shots, and with close to 6000 ft lb 'smack' for Mr. Nyati up close.

However, when considering 'carriability', the 416 RUGER will now be much more pleasant than the typical 416 Rem. My 416 Rigby weighs about 10.8 with scope and three rounds. But I've learned to appreciate a little 338 WM that is only 7.6 lbs with scope and three rounds. It almost feels like a pistol. It is over three pounds lighter than my Rigby! That has gotten my attention and I see that the 416 Ruger Ruger Alaskan could put together a rifle with scope and three rounds at 8.8 lbs. That is attractive.

If I wanted 'big' for buffalo, I would probably go for the newish 450 Rigby, basically a beltless 460 Weatherby (=a necked-up 416 Rigby). But that again, is for handloaders. The non-handloader will probably prefer the 458 Lott (=a necked up 416 Rem). With the 450 Rigby a person should expect to load the round up to 6500-7000 ft lbs if wanting to use its potential. But that's a lot of gun for a hartebeest and will shake you up a little. Most would only want to regularly submit themselves to that for buffalo or elephant. And carry-weight is going to be heavy.

Finally, one of the last recommendaitons is one of the most fun. The 338 WM can be carried in a very light rifle. And I've used it very effectively on buffalo when the opportunity would arise. Hopefully, there will oneday be a 338 Ruger over the counter. It would be light and standard action but with the capacity of the 340 Weatherby. All of these are great little 'walkaround' rifles for Africa.

In the meantime, I just prepare myself to carry the 10.8 lb 416 Rigby. It does it all. Period. And cushioned, wide, shoulder straps help with carrying. Would I give up its punch for a lightweight, 20", 416 Ruger? Maybe. but my 416 is sub MOA and I'm not ready to turn it in.

One thing not really mentioned so far when picking the best all around African Cartidge that did play a part with me when I got both my 375 H&H and 416 rigby,,, availability of ammo. In a perfect world we hand load exactly what loads we want, but when the "ammo monster" raids the luggage, it sure is nice to be able to find ammo in Africa and a 375/404 don't grow on trees in Africa,, nor does the 375 ruger so far.

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John Taylor chose the 375 in either the rimmed or belted versions as the best all around calibers for African as well as world wide hunting. Things haven't changed since 1948 and the 375 Holland still rules the roost!

His recommendation for a one-gun solution (the last line, p. 214 of his book) was a double in either 450/.400 or .375 H&H.

At the time he wrote that he did say he expected (at p. 210) that the .375 would be "the" weapon in the future.

At p. 206 he said he considered the 450/.400 as the weapon that could possibly compare with the .375 for "all around utility in Africa" with the .404 as the bolt equivalent.

Later on in his book (at p. 300) he recommended the .375 in the medium bore class for both doubles and magazine guns.

The answer hasn't changed since 1912.

Just got back for South Africa. Got a Cape buffalo, Gemsbuck, Eland, Kudu, Impala, Blue Wildebeest, Black Wildebeest, Springbuck, and Sable antelope, all at an average range of circa 200 yds. All one-shot kills, including the Cape buffalo. The PH said all will make the SCI record book and all harvested with a .375 H&H Ackley Improved (.375 Weatherby) using a 300 grain Failsafe bullet loaded to circa 2875 fps. Shot placement was the most important factor, not power. I had more than enough power. Regards, AIU

Will

I was much interested in your post -and your insult about praising the 375 as part of a PH "exam". My PH told me that he saw about half the clients in camp as being afraid of the very rifle they carried. It is not taking a position as to what rifle calibre is better -it is saying what you can shoot better - and recoil is a very personal thing. It affects individuals differently. It happens that recoil never bothered me that much - but muzzle blast did. Should I have taken a 416 to Africa instead of a 375? I don't know. I took a 375 which worked perfectly on buff. I have said in other posts that I would rather have something bigger next time around -like a 76 recoilless rifle -although I'll settle for a 416 Rigby! That's not to downplay what my 375 did.(I would have trusted my life to it against anything. I'm just saying what any hunter would feel about an animal trying to gore or stomp him into the ground! In that moment -what the Spaniards call -"la hora de verdad -the hour of truth) The 375 has been around in Africa since 1912 -and that's a pretty good track record! Let's leave it at that.