Has anybody used a 375 H&H with a 20 " barrel.If so how did it perform?Looks like it would be a mouthy thing.
Long story short I was buying back an old rifle of mine with a 26" barrel.When it got here today it only has a 20"

Rich

Go to this site and then email or PM the owner (Michael458 here on AR) about short barrels and big bores.

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The .375 H&H is not a quiet round no matter what length of barrel.....and you'll lose about 150 FPS or even a bit more for the six inches lost.

If your intent is for long range shooting, I'd rebarrel it, otherwise shoot it at the range and see what you think of the noise.

The .375 H&H has ample power even with the 20" barrel for 250 yard use and in the eyes of some might be advantageous for DG work which is most always done at ranges inside 75 yards!

Does it balance and handle well is the primary consideration IMO.....and only you can answer that!

I have a cut down Brno 602 - the barrel isn't that short but it's short,
like 22 or 23 inches.

Still shoots because the gunsmith obviously crowned it right but it is noisy.
Nice to carry but noisy.

MY EX ASSOCIATED IN THE HUNTING BUSINEES WILLY 1953 HERE IN AR USED A 20 INCH CZ 375HYH SEVERAL YEARS ACORDING TO HIM HE LOSS VERY FEW VELOCITY ,BUT I NEVER INVESTIGATED IT.

My old Sako 375H&H has a very light weight 21" barrel. It handles great and shoots like a dream. I wear electronic hearing protection, so the noise is not a factor for me.

pics mrfudd?

Use faster powder and a hot primer (Federal 215s) in the shorter barrel and you'll lose a bit less velocity.

I am very tempted to have it rechambered to 375 Ruger which seems to do very well with a 20 " barrel.Of course then I would end up with a 19 1/2 to 19 3/4" barrel.

how's that?

i have an old brno 602 in 375H&H and it is a good accurate rifle, but definitely too long with it's 25 inch barrel. i bought an extra used barrel in very good shape from a guy who wanted to rebarrel his 602 to something bigger!! i am planing to shorten the extra barrel down to 20-21 or 22-23 inches!haven't decided yet!and make a swap barrel system to be able to use the shorter barrel for brush and longer barrel for open country hunting as it is very accurate at long range !
cheers
yes

My first .375 was the eleventh "Carbine" that Sako produced, yes a 20" barrel. The whip and recoil were more than necessary in a light rifle. The forward portion of the stock would not stay on the rifle. It became a .300 winchester in a Fiberclass configuration. Velocity was 100 feet per second below my 25" Sako safari.

quote:

Originally posted by jsl3170:
how's that?

The barrel would have be set back and re-chambered, the Ruger round is shorter.

quote:

Originally posted by RR:
I am very tempted to have it rechambered to 375 Ruger which seems to do very well with a 20 " barrel.Of course then I would end up with a 19 1/2 to 19 3/4" barrel.

The H&H verson will do as well with a 20" barrel as the Ruger model.....IMO you'll gain nothing by rechambering.

I cut my Winchester Model 70 375H&H to 20" & had a front barrel band sight installed. I find it a great tool in the thick stuff especially when compared to my 25.6" barreled Blaser R93.

Yeah, I loose a some fps but haven't noticed the loss at all for short range bushveld use; I use 300 gr. Hornady R.N.s - IMO they seem to arrive like a freight train. I chronyed the load and they are clocking a 10 round average of 2456 fps - it gets the Job Done, for sure.

quote:

have a cut down Brno 602 - the barrel isn't that short but it's short,
like 22 or 23 inches.

If it were myself looking at shortening up the length on a 375 H&H ,I'd go 22.75" Ideally an no longer than 24" .

20" is a tad short in my book ,but I'm not a carbine guy either !. 22.5 - 22.75 " is what the Doctor ordered ,No Pun intended !.

quote:

Originally posted by Gerry:
I cut my Winchester Model 70 375H&H to 20" & had a front barrel band sight installed. I find it a great tool in the thick stuff especially when compared to my 25.6" barreled Blaser R93.

Yeah, I loose a some fps but haven't noticed the loss at all for short range bushveld use; I use 300 gr. Hornady R.N.s - IMO they seem to arrive like a freight train. I chronyed the load and their clocking a 10 round average of 2456 fps - it gets the Job Done, for sure.

What animals do you shoot with your 375?

I have a 20" .375H&H it loses almost nothing over a 24" barrel. with a 270 gr TSX's over an almost max load of RL 15 or IMR 4064 I am getting velocities in the 2700 to 2750 range. I've killed an elk at a lazed 443 yards with that rifle and bullet combo and regularly shoot game past 300 yards with it.

I cut mine down back when I was doing a lot of bush flying in AK and it is a very handy rifle. I've killed everything from jack rabbits to cape buffalo with it. If I had it to do all over again I'd probably keep it at about 22". The 20" barrel really looks short a 22" looks better but as far as performance I can't see that it makes one single solitary bit of difference on game.





Even the girls like the shorter barrel. Here is my wife hunting hogs with my girls in Texas with the .375.

SAKO Finbear Mannlicher stock 375 H&H with 21 inch barrel, noisy bugger and the rifle recoil more than the standard hunter model SAKO Finbear. Less forward weight tends to jump more.

My 602 375 has a 21" barrel as does my 550 416 Rigby. I found it very handy getting in and out of the truck cab. Last elephant I killed with the 416Rigby didn't seem to know it was 21". I find they both handle very well and shoot impeccably.

Yep, I've got one. Lovely 20" bbl rifle built on an MRC 1999 action and a Brockman's laminate stock. With a 2.5-10 Leica it tips in at 9# w/ 4 in the mag.

I get 2,550 with 80.0 gr. of H4350 under a 300gr. Velocity is incredibly consistent.

Normal practice load is 75.0gr. of H4350 for about 2425 fps.

It's very, very handy and has some real authority in its bark. I can't tell you how bad or loud it is: I only shoot it with earmuffs. But I can say it is very loud. When I first got it I cappped off a few rounds at an indoor range...at night...with the lights out. Oh man, was that EVER fun!

It's good to see the 375 HH on the medium bore board where it belongs

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
It's good to see the 375 HH on the medium bore board where it belongs

Gotta agree with that boom stick. Medium bores start at .375 large bores start at .458 IMHO.

Hmmmm?

Arbitrary classification cooked up in some ancient script, likely to put catridges in some semblence of order to facilitate organization of a book or list ....... having no bearing on the ability to actually wound or kill animals

So yes for purposes of "order" by all means relegate them in neat little boxes based purely on caliber !

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
It's good to see the 375 HH on the medium bore board where it belongs

And here I thought nobody noticed.



In any case the rest of you have convinced me .I guess I will keep it.

Rich

quote:

What animals do you shoot with your 375?

MickinColo
I've shot animals as small as Hare, Foxes, Roe Deer & Steinbok up to Eland with it and of the 11 times I've been to Africa; it's accompanied me 5; the other 6 the Blaser .375 with either a .243 Win. (Springbok culling) or .30/06 Sprg. barrel.

I also use it quite regularly on Drive Hunts for Wild Boar & Red Deer here in The Fatherland.