What are some good alternatives to a .375H&H for a good plainsgame, DG back up rifle?

I have a .416Rigby and a .458Win, so those are not options. Granted that .375 is a great round, it just seems to much like falling line line with the masses to have one.

9.3x62, 9.3x64, and .376 Steyr come to mind.

404Jeff, 404 Dakota, 416 Howell

375 and 416 Taylors come to mind.

9.53 Lazzeroni Hellcat ---- 30-caliber Patriot necked up toe 375-caliber. Mine was the first built and it's for sale.

If DG excludes elephant, I'd choose a 300 or 338 mag of some type or a 9.3X62. You're talking primarily plainsgame and "DG back-up" as a secondary consideration.

These rounds would work great on a leopard, and will do the job on a lion or buffalo with the right shot and the right bullet.

The 338 is my choice when faced with this decision.

I'd have to vote for the 375 Weatherby. jorge

404 Jeff. would be my choice.

I plan to take a .358 STA someday. Check out the Nosler, Barnes, and Lyman books. I can beat all loads shown considerably with accuracy. Good shooting.

9.3 x 62 would be my choice.

I should add, nothing "Ultra". Can anything that has "Ultra" in it's name really be "Ultra"?

Jorge,
I second your vote for the 375 Weatherby. Most practical, most versatile.

Gmaxson,
There is no better alternative to a .375 H&H except another .375 caliber cartridge of some sort, if it is to be used on PG and DG. It is the legal minimum in some places for DG, and no bigger bores are as good at long range plains game sniping. Some come close, but that only counts with horse shoes and hand grenades, not hunting rifles.

It's hard to beat the .375 H&H because it works! Any higher velocity and bullet failure makes the cal a poor choice for dangerous game, and if you lower the velocity by much, you get a cartridge that doesn't shoot flat enough for most tastes for use on plains game!

Personally use a 9,3x62, as it does every thing a .375 does at bushvelt ranges with less recoil and muzzel blast. Scope sighted in for speer 270grn bullets @ 2450fps, peep sight for 286grn Woodleigh solids or Stewart softs at 2400fps. In thick cover though the options for a rifle caple of dealing with dangerous game start with .4

Why would you really want an alternative to the .375 H&H?

But still, here are some:

.340 Weatherby
.358 Norma Magnum
.338 Win. Mag.

What's wrong w/ your .416? With 350gr bullets @ 2600fps, you are good to go as far as you can hit accurately. I am off for Moz. this fall w/ just my .404. I'll just have to limit my plainsgame shots to 200yds max.

Problem with the .416 is it's a RSM and so any scope larger then a 1.5-5x will not mount on it.

I have a 1-4x on the .416, and that's great for a DGR, but for 200yd shots at plainsgame, I need to be more in the range of 3-9x. I usually take my .300wthby, but I like the idea when doing a DG hunt of having a backup rifle that also gives a little more insurance with the shot.

I've fought with this concept for many years myself. Nothing at all wrong with the old 375H&H, in fact it is about the only caliber available that is legal for dangerous game everywhere it can be hunted, under 40cal. So, about all one is left with is which 375 cartridge will it be?
I've used the H&H and it performs as advertised, no big surprise here. But like you, I don't care to always be in line with the masses and carry the same old thing every other hunter is carrying. I also like the option of higher velocity and/or heavier bullet capability. I chose the 375Wby because of a number of benefits I see it having. I think those have already been mentioned by RAB but to repeat them...It allows the use of H&H ammo if necessary, which is a big plus. It can duplicate ANY H&H performance level with less pressure, or it can advance those levels by 200fps if you feel the need. It is much more capable of handling the 350gr Woodleighs if you care to approach 416 ballistics. Magazine capacity is the same in common rifles, and one can be made quite easily from one. Brass and dies are no problem and the Norma brass is good. If a common 375H&H is not your cup of tea then this is the best choice, all things considered, IMO.

WOW...what a no brainer...416 Remington MAG. Why even ask this question? Same action, same magazine, same smooth feeding, but bullet weights jump to 500 grs for only a 10.9% increase in bore diameter.

For plains game a 300 gr 416 has the same SD as a 250 gr 375 and steams along at 2950 fps with a BC of .394. Better yet, the 416 has the same expansion ratio as the 308 Win and shines with a 22 inch bbl. A 400 grain ANYTHING at 2450 fps in close is about as devastating as a BG rifle gets.

Really, except for nostalgia, who would carry a 375 H&H when they could carry a 416 Rem in Africa?

I believe the alternative is better accuracy from wanabe hunters...Like the guy in the lion video..He could not hit a cow in the ass with a snow shovel...I look back on shooters today and we watch them on hunting channels packed to the hilt with gizmos...ranging a deer at 120 yds... Shut up and make the shot...I look back on O'connor, Whelen, Keith, Corbett and many more...If a deer is so far away get down and get closer...Do not make excuses but practice more and shoot better...
Bell used a 308 sized ammo to kill eles, but damn he could always put the bullet where is counted...IMO

Mike

all I can think of is the 375wby (in which case you'll need something custom as IIRC only weatherby makes rifles new in this caliber, and well, a wby and DG are not great ideas in my mind), and the 358 norma... however, the 358 doesn't meet DG requirements in some countries. IIRC the 35 whelen has a similar trajectory(s) to the 375H&H, obviously with lighter bullets... and there are fewer bullets out there.

the last possibility is the 378 wby... but that's a world of shoulder hurt I'd rather not deal with.

GMax, why do you need a 3X9 for plains game? And why are you worried about being one "of the masses" shooting a 375H&H. Not trying to start an argument, however I know a few people at the local range that do everything BUT settle down with a rifle and go hunting with it. That is... they buy buy buy and worry, then never get around to hunting.

My fancy is starting to turn to the .416 Dakota.

Has anyone ever had any problems brining similar cartriges to any African country? Just curious, since some of the gun people I've dealt with in the past I guarentee would see no difference between a .416 Dakota and Rigby.

Also, looking into a .404 Dakota.

Once I decide the CZ will go on order and be shipped of to be reborn into a DGR.

A 416 Dakota and a 416 Rigby ?????

Why not just take two 416 Rigbys (?), at least then you will have ammo that fits both. And not have to carry two types of 416 ammo.

"MMmmmmm, which 416 should I use today, the 416 or the 416?"

Personally I like to know my rifles better, use them each more, learn to shoot them well and have less cluttering up the gun safe. I would take just the existing 416 Rigby and if another rifle, a medium calibre rifle.

OK...the logic on two 416s is a little flawed. How about a 338 Win Mag with a 26 inch bbl with Federal HE ammo for everything? Same energy as the H&H with more velocity and less recoil out on the plains. Maybe a box of 300 gr Woodleigh handloads for thye DG application.