Anyone have some experience with the .375 Hawk/Scovill or even with the .375 Whelen? I am having one built by Fred Zeglin on a Browning 1895. It appears to be the most practical oomf that one can squeeze into a .30-`06 case (the .411 is more potent but I don't want to sacrifice that much trajectory and don't need quite that much oomf 90% of the time). I'll put a Leupold scout scope on this rig.

I think you will like this cartridge. I shoot a 250 grain Gameking at 2700 fps using H4985. Fred did a great job on my gun, a 700 Classic re-barrel. My barrel length is around 25 inches. I'm going to work up a load using a 270 Norhfork bullet this spring. This rould has flattened everything I've pointed it at. Good shooting.

Thanks, Snapper! I've been thinking about that 270 grain North Fork too, but Mike Brady tells me that the 250 gr might be his choice for a general purpose bullet.

I've got a 375 WhnAI, of which I'm fire forming brass/breaking-in the barrel.
At the time I was having this built, I learned a bit too late about both the 375 Hawk-Scovill and the 380 Howell. Given a choice back then, I'd have gone with the 380 Howell, which is a bit faster then the 375 H-S. Its based on the '06 case, albiet 2.6 inches long.
~~~Suluuq

The 375 Hawk performs great with the 250 grain bullets and I did pickup some from Mike after my conversation with him. At the time, my thinking was that I could use a lighter bullet with more speed if I went to a quality bullet. Now, I'm thinking that many people like the 286 grain bullet for everything out of the 9.3X62 so again, I could use the 270 grain Northfork and get the same performance with a lighter weight but quality bullet. The creator of this round uses the 230 grain Hawk bullet with great success on everything up to and including Elk.

Before having this gun made, I was looking at having a 375 Whelen AI made and noticed in the article that the original 375 Hawk was once a 375 Whelen AI. I don't think the 380 Howell offers much extra with the longer neck being the only real difference.

You will be impressed.

Harald,

How far will your shots be? The 411 Hawk can reach out to 300 yds with no problem and is easy to shoot with 300 grain bullets at 2500 fps. Just a thought.

GJS

Snapper, I gave that some thought but I decided it was just too much of a good thing and compromised some other things more than I preferred. Plus, that gives me a good excuse to buy a .416 Rigby!

Here's a question for you guys. I was planning to put a contoured steel butt plate on this rifle for classic looks. My reasoning is this: I never notice recoil in the field at all and at the range I generally use a PAST shield. How bad do you think this thing will hurt with no soft edges? It will weigh about a pound less so I estimate that the recoil will be similar to my .340 Wby. It will be MagNa-Ported to minimize muzzle rise, which should really help keep the comb from bruising my face.

[This message has been edited by Harald (edited 03-18-2002).]

Harald, this gun is a sweet shooter. Think about it, 59 grains of powder to push a 250 grain bullet to 2700 fps. A lot less powder and I can say a less recoil than my 338 Win Mag with 250 grain bullets. My gun sports a 1 inch recoil pad and I prefer this gun to all others I own. I wish you could shoot mine, you would be impressed.

GJS

Harald, when will your gun be done?

I just sent it off last week so it may be the better part of a year before it gets completed. I really have no idea. Fred indicated that he had quite a few projects in his queue and then he went off to the SCI convention so I expect he will be busy. I don't expect to be able to use this rifle for hunting until the fall of 2003, but he got my other rifle back in less than 6 months, so you never know (much less work on that however).

Have you tried any 300 gr bullets?

Harald

I've been using the 250 Gamekings and have not recovered a bullet yet. I don't think I will go to 300's for North America. I would like to try some 270's (Northforks) on Elk. Maybe this fall.

GJS