Just have a quick question for some of you fellows who own and shoot the .338 Win & .375 H & H. I know that ballistics don't always tell the true story, but how much difference is there in actual knock down power between the .338 with 250 or 275 gr bullets and the .375 with 270 or 300 gr bullets? Does the larger diameter of the .375 make a lot of difference in the effect on the animals being shot? I refer to game such as the big bears, moose, or perhaps the cape buffalo.

A 338 250 gr with good bullets will comopletely penetrate any NA game with a broadside shot, even with shoulders in the way, and will make quartering shots as well.

There is no such thing as knockdown, only doing damage to vital organs to let the blood out. The 338 will do a handy job of that for any NA game, all the way up to the biggest baddest bear.

The 338 is also generally put in rifles that come in a good pound less than a 375, and that pound can really be felt in the field.

The 338 is not legal for taking buff, so isn't worth discussing for that application.

With my 375 H&H I shoot the 250gr bullet at 2720. I think that a bigger diameter bullet is always better. I also shoot the 338 RUM and it can shoot the 250 gr bullet at 3000 FPS. So in reality it would be up to you. I really can't see that much killing difference in them but one is bigger then the other. These are just my thoughts.

IMO the two are roughly equal for big game. When the game changes to DG the issue of "legal" takes over. Also the range seems to advantage the .375 over the .338 in DG as they are typically (but not always) shot at closer range.

For moose, and other big game IMO there's no difference.....as a matter of fact I believe the 338 has greater energy at 250 yards!!!!

There isn't a critter around that would know the differants.

Any .338 pales before the .375 H&H firing a 300-grain bullet.

I have shot plains game up to and including Eland and I can't see any difference between them. In fact I see no reason to take a 375 at all since the 338 win mag does the job so well and with less weight. I have never taken cape buffalo with either since I prefer the 416+ for thick skinned game.

I think if you take out the Buff, the .338 is the more practicle choice. It has enough power for any NA critter.
A little harder to come by but the old .358 Norma would be in opinion a great alaskan round, and if you would consider a wild cat, the .358 STA would be better yet ! ...tj3006

I've taken game w/ both & think the .375 has an edge especially on bigger game. Biiger bullets, bigger holes. They both shoot flat out to 300yds but the edge goes to the .375 IMO.

The 375 trajectory is comparable to a 30-06, and the 338 is a bit flatter. That may make no difference, depending on type of hunting. Personally, I find the 338 very nasty to shoot due to the velocity of the recoil. My 375 is more comfortable.

I don't find the recoil of my .375 objectionable, of course CZ550s weigh alot too. Length of bolt throw is not an issue to me. My rifle is accurate and I handload so ammo is not a problem. While the .375 is more than a match for any North American game, there is only one degree of dead. If I go to Africa some day (pipe dream on my budget) at least I will have a legal and suitable chambering for most game (within reason). I'm not slamming the .338, it is a great round, but the .375 is more versatile IMHO.

I can justify one of each with no trouble. My 338 is set up for bad weather, ie all stainless and synthetic and with shorter pull for wearing with heavy clothes. It also gets the nod when climbing hills since it is lighter. 375 is Africa legal for most game and is set up to fit me in warm weather clothes. The little bit of extra weight makes the 375 a joy to shoot when I'm not going to be doing a lot of walking.

I used the 338 win mag alot.I do see alot of over lap with the 375 H&H .I skipped ahead and went with the 338 win mag and 416 Rem mag combo.The 338 win mag is alot more useful as an all around North American Rifle.The 375 H&H is more of an all around African Rifle.I do think its kinda light for buff and elephant though.I like the 416 Rem mag better than the 375 H&H.Its each to his own though.The 375 h&h has been around almost 100 years and will not disapear any time soon neither will the 338 win mag in America.

Robert, if you are deciding which one to buy and use in North America both are readily availble in regards to purchasing ammo-anywhere. From the Floridas to Barrow Alaska, you will find ammo. The .338 is very versatile from 160grn to 300grn--wow! Just a wonderful round. knockdown power mmmmmm-think a cannon ball has better knockdown power but I would carry the .338 first

In my opinion both rounds can accomplish identical chores and can do it with authority.

But since I TOTALLY DESPISE the 338 the 375 is my chioce between the two!

quote:

Originally posted by jro45:
With my 375 H&H I shoot the 250gr bullet at 2720. I think that a bigger diameter bullet is always better.

A bigger diameter bullet is better, but not at the cost of a significant difference in sectional density. I prefer a bullet that has a high SD if of the same construction as a larger diameter bullet having a lower SD. This is within reason, of course.

With custom bullets, I find the 375 has the edge by far..far,far!, some will say not a fair comparison, but I am just demonstraiting a combo that I find helps the 375 excell.

338win250gnNPG-2660,.....2467/3378(100yd)......2120/2520
375hh265gnGscHV2670.... 2550/3800(100yd)......2320/3150(300yd)
375hh270FS-2670..............2447/3590(100yd)......2033/2478
375hh300TBBC-2530,.........2282/3467(100yd)......1827/2224
375hh300tsx-2470.............2317/3577(100yd)......2028/2740
378WM300aframe-2900.........................................2148/3045

from that i would not even bother to try and load the 338 to compare.That GSC,like 270FS, offers all the penetration of any sp300gnleadcore.In addition,GSC with its superior bal.design,provides that performance much farther down the road,without any additional recoil than std375 or the need for an ultramag.
Its all pretty darn good champ ... Might I add, the GSC by design runs well higher(Mv2900),I use 2670 figure to make things easier to analys.However I dont see the need to run it that fast,2700 is plenty for that kind of bullet, for me.
For some time now,the378WM has been considered by a number of folk, as an ideal LR Moose anchoring device. I see no reason to argue with that!

However this an interesting comparison:
378WM-300aframe@2900MVmax....300yd:2148/3045. 26" barrel
375h*h-265GscHV@2900MVmax....300yd:2538/3791. 24" barrel

Once again,that 375GscHV combo is a real winner.Lighter rifle, much less recoil, less fuss ,superior performance. Personally I would muzzlebrake that 375 so I could direct that power as accurately as possible.An 9lb 30/06 recoiling rifle with that sort of power is rather pleasure and confidence inspiring.
What is there not to like?...and as you can see, we have left 338win teritory way behind us.
I prefer Std.length action rifles and factory brass chamberings, so in the absence of a factory loaded 375Taylor,my preference goes to
9.3x64Brenneke, its 260HV@2700 is what churns cream into butter for me. If the noticeably lesser ,but very effective 250brnesX-9.3x62 combo is anything to go by,then,you will know why.
If I felt I needed more thump and was going to suffer more recoil, I would go to .416/330Hv@2700, ideally on a std.length Dakota Case.

RayAtkinson stated that with .375/350gnWL on Buff, he was getting two holes, one in ,one out.

If your recoil tolerance is 30/06-338mag and desirable gun weight 8-9lb. there are some really great performing and extremely versatile (muzzlebraked)combos.

8lb/375or9.3...300mag recoil
9lb/375........30/06
9lb/416........300mag-338win

M70action.......3lb
375barrel.......3lb
McMillanEdge....1.5lb
scope/rings......1.0lb...=8.5lb(8lb with Brown precision Kevlar stock)


If you are prepared to carry a 9lb rifle and accept the recoil of a.300-.338mag ,It is very difficult to pass a muzzlebraked 416.
The GSc330gnHV will give you thunderous longrange performance,2700Mv...300yd:2350/4050. (Max.Mv is 2800)
and for more conventional bullets, you have 370gnNorthfork and 450gnWoodleigh. You would just about have it covered in my book.
If more mountain hunting,An 8lb.375 that hits harder than a conventional378wm may be the better option.

I had a 3006m70,8.25lb and a 338m70,9lb.I found In spite of its greater recoil,I prefered the 9lb rig for longrange steadyness.

a nice middle of the road package would be 9lb375 with 06 recoil.

The .338WM with 250, 275, and 300-grain bullets kicks on the hills of the .375 H&H. However, the similarities end with bullets from nearly 300 grains and up are used with the .375 H&H. These two are my favorite cartridges, but I use the most popular of the two: "The Alaskan."

I only have one big game rifle, and if this rifle would have been the .375 H&H (instead of the .338WM) back in the early '90's when I bought one, I would have been perfectly happy with it. But my choice was the .338WM, and I never looked back.