I'm going to do some serious re-shuffling of the gun collection this summer to re-orient things to practicality. I want build / start building two guns, a matched pair to do it all. The big gun will be a .375H&H. I'm going to set it up as a classic express rifle except I'm going to stock it with a synthetic stock. It's the smaller gun I'd like some help thinking about.

I want the gun to be similar to the big gun, but maybe not the exact same. I was thinking about going with a .30-06. I guess I could go with a .300WBY and keep the same action length. Any thoughts on what would be best? I want a versatile caliber that won't be too much on smaller deer.

I also want to stay reasonable in cost. I was thinking of starting with CZ or Montana Rifleman actions. I like Basner syntheic stocks, but am open to other suggestions.

Thanks,
QD

The choice of a .375h&h is a good one. One could make an argument for the .416 or .404 as well. Your other rifle will get far more use on antelope to elk. If you are like me & like to hunt, get as close as possible, then a std. cart. like a .280 or .30-06 would do well. If you like to shoot beyond the 300yd mark, a .30 mag. makes a lot of sense. A classic combo would be .300h&h & .375h&h, built on the same actions, stocks (nice dense wood preferable) & sights (scopes could/should vary). Since you are going synth. then "classic" doesn't enter the picture, so a .300wby. makes a good choice, but it's extra weight & recoil to carry around for deer & antelope (back to the 06).
I keep thinking some day I would build that matched pair, but then what do I do w. the other rifles I have?

A 30-06 and a 375 H&H would be hard to beat and would be more than practical. So would a 300 H&H and 375H&H. Although the 300 would be a little less practical.

Three ways to go here....

Classic British,

.300 H&H and .375 H&H
.318 WR and .425 WR
.333 Jeffery and .500 Jeffery
.333 Jeffery and .404 Jeffery
.275 Rigby and .416 Rigby
etc.

Germanic flair,

7x57 and 9,3x62
7x57 and 10.75x68
7x57 and the Schuler version of .500 Jeffery
etc.

Or be a die hard Victorian,

Have 10 bore and 4 bore muzzleloader's built.


Seriously, I think it would be tough to beat the rigby combination but the .275 must be labeled as such and not as 7x57. I would also look REALLY seriously at www.rifleactions.com . They seem to offer some good prices on the synthetic stocked guns and I hear their actions are TOPS!

Best,

John

.300 H&H and .375 H&H

Nostalgia says 300 H&H and 375 H&H.

Practicality dictates a 30-06 or 300 Win Mag paired with a 375 H&H.

I love the 300H&H, but it's not the most practical of rounds given the ammo and brass makers' refusal to support the cartridge.

Or to go completely Germanic a 7x64 and a 9.3x64.

To be practical, a 7mmRM would be a good pair with the .375.

I really like the idea of a .300 H&H and .375 H&H as a matched pair especially if you are going to go the classic British express rifle route.

Then again the .300 win mag and .375 H&H sounds just about as good....

Keep us posted as your project moves along.

Regards,
Dave

An excellent companion to the .375 H&h would be a .300 H&H, or a .30-06.

Now, I am a one-gun hunter, and use a .338WM for all my hunting in Alaska. I have no plans to hunt but in Alaska.

If I had a riffle battery in Alaska, it would be as follows:

1. .22LR (Ruger 10/22, stainless, with a fat target /fluted barrel and synthetic stock.
2. .270 or somewhat similar rifle
3. .338WM rifle for 99.9% of my hunting
4. .416 for special or extremely rare hunts

If I lived in the lower-48 States, I would have a no more than 4-rifle battery as follows:
.22LR
.270
.30-06 (a nice .30-06 rifle put away)
.338WM for hunting from mule-deer size game to the largest and meanest around

Another vote for the .300 H&H and the .375 H&H., that is my pair for everything.

or for a modern flavor:

.376 Steyr and .300 WSM

a 30-06 matches the trajectory of the 375 pretty well. On safari you could sight both rifles the same and never think about it again.

I'm putting together a similar set. I've got the .375 H&H close to perfect.

Now I'm working on the 30-06, which is a Win Mod 70 Classic SS Featherweight. Its got a 2.5x8 Leupold in QD mounts, and I am thinking about a Basner's High-Tech stock. This will be my back packing, do-everything (short of really big game) rig. It can do anything from pronghorn on the plains to elk in the highlands, to sheep and goats on rocky crags and it'll go with me to Alaska this year. I simply hate toting around a big heavy rifle unless I need it and I think this set-up does it without being too specialized. Weight can also be a factor when flying around in tiny planes in Alaska.

With either of these, I can get ammo in just about any place on earth that sells ammo. And no guide will question my choices.

I got a question....

What is a "Matched Pair"? what should match that would constitute a "Pair"?

quote:

Originally posted by jjs:
I got a question....

What is a "Matched Pair"? what should match that would constitute a "Pair"?

Well, IMHO a pair would be two identical or very similar items. More or less like two rifles one would take to Africa for a DG/PG hunt in dissimilar calibers but similar configuration. I don't think they have to be identical like a pair of dueling pistols. However, IMO a .300 Win Mag in SS/synthetic and Searcy .470NE would not constituted a "matched" pair.

Mine will be/is Model 70 Classics in stainless steel with synthetic stocks (in the same olive green) with nearly the same scope.

In the future, I want to have another pair built. Both will be on Mauser actions with the thumb and stripper slots, 3-position Model 70 safeties, express sightes, barrel band ling stud, and very similar walnut stocks. One will be in 9.3x62mm and the other in .404 Jeffery - two very classic African cartridges. Although ammo will be limited in comparison to the 30-06/.375 H&H "pair", if I show up in Africa for a DG/PG hunt and uncase two rifles as described, nothing but a smile will be on the face of the outfitter &/or PH.

quote:

Originally posted by quickdraw:
... I want build / start building two guns, a matched pair to do it all. The big gun will be a .375H&H. I'm going to set it up as a classic express rifle except I'm going to stock it with a synthetic stock. It's the smaller gun I'd like some help thinking about.

I want the gun to be similar to the big gun, but maybe not the exact same. I was thinking about going with a .30-06. I guess I could go with a .300WBY and keep the same action length. ....

A .300 H&H and a .375 H&H would make a great, classy pair. My second choice would be the .30-06 followed by the .300 Win Mag.

My two cents....
-Bob F.

Why not do something unorthodox like a .375 and an 8x68?

Just one comment: Why are you calling them a pair if they´re not going to be identical?

quote:

Originally posted by Claret_Dabbler:
Or to go completely Germanic a 7x64 and a 9.3x64.

To be practical, a 7mmRM would be a good pair with the .375.

OUTSIDE OF NORTH AMERICA, THOSE WOULD BE MY CHOICES AS WELL.

We've talked classic Germanic and British, but I'm from the US and I think we've been around long enough to have our own classics - in fact why not make a collection out of the "Rifleman's Rifles"

Original Model 70 "Westerner" in .264 WM
Original Model 70 "Alaskan" in .338 WM
Original Model 70 "African" in .458 WM

I know it is three, but they would all match, would all be classics in any book, the set would have value being together, and you'd bee shootin' good ol' USA inginuity!

Also, ammo availability is worldwide for the big calibers, and .264 can still be found in most larger towns, and if you handload it is a great cartridge.

Good luck and have fun.

jsrieck
That is a splendid collection of guns to own. They are getting too expensive for somebody like me to take out in the weather though.

375h&h the medium hammer of africa and the 7mm rem mag the crecent wrench of the lower 48.

or just quit kidding yourself and buy 4 rifles

The 300H&H and 375H&H does have class and flair. From a practical standpoint I would go with the 30-06 and never look back. The 30-06 and 375H&H can be found anywhere should something happen. Other good practical choices include the 270, 280, and 300 Win Mag. But my vote is still for the 30-06.

I like the idea of matched pairs.
these are my choices:
1. 270 and 375 H&H model 70s
2. Marlin 30-30 and 45-70 levers
3. 6.5X55 and 9.3X62 mausers

I got the first two, the third one would my next project, maybe in M1999 actions.

My matched pair would be my .270 WSM and .358 STA, both Model 70 Winchesters. My second choice of matched pairs would be my .257 Wby and .340 Wby, the former in Accumark the later in Sporter model, that will shoot lights out. My third matched pair would be my .300 Winny and .416 Remington, both Model 70 Winchesters. Good shooting.

375 H&H plus the 7x57 Mauser for the smaller gun. This will give you a nice light low recoil rifle for everything from elk-size down. Use the .375 for everything else. Of course a 7-08, .300, .30-06, 7Mag, .280 or damn near anything else will work just the same. All these caliber arguments are just fun for explaining your point, the game being shot doesn't care. I just like the 7x57 and the .375 so that is my choice.

Holland's 300 and 375 would be a fine matched pair and the bolt throw is the same, but one does not find 300 H&H everywhere he can 30'06 or 300 Win Mag. I'd be inclined to learn to live with the difficulty.

Or, if one were to borrow a heavy the few times it was required by law a fella might also get by quite nicely with a 270 Winchester and a 338 Win Mag.

30.06 or 300 wsm

quote:

Originally posted by ElCaballero:
A 30-06 and a 375 H&H would be hard to beat and would be more than practical. So would a 300 H&H and 375H&H. Although the 300 would be a little less practical.

This mirrors my opinion.
The 30-06 is such a widely used, powerful, and available cartridge worldwide that even cartridges that might be seemingly equivalent (.280 REM, .338-06 etc) don't compare. In fact the performance difference between it and the 300 Magnums is purely academic and not worth the debate.

I'm going with a .300WinMag and .375H&H - identical H-S Precision rifles made just for me with the .300 in olive/black and the .375 in brown/black. I have to believe that muscle memory, etc. kick in when the adrenaline does and if you are picking up the same basic gun with the same scope, etc. it has to have a positive effect. Plus having the colors be that different you don't have to worry about getting them confused on the truck. JMO

The .30-06 would be the easiest ammunition wise and probably the most sensible but 300 H&H is much more traditional. You could always go 300 Weatherby and load it down a bit if needed. If you are starting from scratch you can get pretty much identical CZ 550 Safaris in 300 Win Mag and .375, an option I have considered. If I went that route I would probably turn the 300 WM into a H&H or Weatherby though. My buddy swears by his 8mm Rem. Mag and .416 Weatherby!

I love my .300 H&H. It can do everything the other 300's can do and it's classy. Grab a 200 grn Partition and never look back.

Talk practical:

30-06 & .375 H&H.

I see no reason to go bigger than the 30-06 because the 375 will make up for it. Also, being two of what are probably the most common calibers in the world, you may have a little lee-way if your reloads don't make it to the hunt with you. Last...its just real damn hard to be a 30-06...

.300 Weatherby and .375 Weatherby, 26" barrels on both. Ammo for the 300 is pretty prevalent and you can shoot .375 H&H in the .375 Weatherby if you lose your Weatherby ammo. Also, it would be a little more unusual than the other "matched" pairs, but both calibers have ballistic advantages over common calibers in the same diameter. You can reload to headspace off the shoulders and get pretty accurate as well.

A 30-06 and .375 is a hard combination to beat. I have a pair of Model 70 Classic Super Grades in 30-06 and .338 that do most of my work.

Thanks for everybody's thoughts. I'll keep this in mind when I start to rearrange.

Thanks,
QD

I'd go with Forrest's "practical" approach and go with the 300 Win Mag/375 H&H and forget that nostalgic stuff. Been down that road and between hard to find ammo and substandard performance compared to more modern cartridges, it's just a romantic pipe dream.
For example, any of the "nostalgic" 33 fall far short of a 338 Win Mag, not to mention the 340 Weatherby.
I had a long "affair" with the 300 H&H but like mentioned above, Winchester's stopped making brass and in order to push it to 3000fps, case life suffers.
To be sure, the 375 H&H is as "nostalgic" as it gets, but it still cuts the mustard after all these years.
Yes there are better 375s out there, but ammo availability is in my view a central component when making the decision to use a "world-wide" use cartridge. jorge