We had the storm last night which lashed the greater NY area again and I awoke to a few inches of wet snow so out the door I went. Here on the coast we don't get much tracking snow and I think it's lots of fun to do so when I cut a big track I followed it into the pines and the blowdowns. It started mixing with does and as I worked my way round a pine thicket with my face into the wind a smaller buck crossed me at 20 yards from my left to right. When he cleard some brush I blatted and he stopped broadside.

As usual, one never hears the shot or feels the recoil when shooting game but I did see him jump as I lung shot him and he moved off. I waited a few minutes before taking the track up. I saw where my shot passed though him and broke a tree branch but never recovered it. Blood and lung tissue was blown 9 feet or so back in a big spray on the ground. The blood trail itself was somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 feet wide and he was down in about 30 yards which is pretty typical. The lungs were double punched and bits of lung tissue were scattered along his brief trail.

Bullet diameter in, quarter size out, dead buck. I did manage to see the big boy go streaking through a few moments later but I am not in the habit of throwing up Hail Mary's at running game so he lives another day. I tracked him into a big cedar swamp where he travelled downwind so any pursuer's scent would be broadcast to him on the wind. He was definitely following does and my wife has a doe tag so we're still in business. I snapped a couple of pics on the cell if someone would care to post them for me; the deer, the entrance and exit holes and the lungs.

I'd never shot a deer with the 375 and can say these medium bores are extremely gratifying to hunt with. I'm used to jellied meat around the wounds but not so today. The handle is an Echols Legend and those things come up so damned naturally you can't believe it until you try one. Bullet was a RN 270 Hornday loaded to about 2650 or so.

Jeff

Congrats, they don't tend to get up when you hit them with a 375!

Good for you, both for your success and for using your .375 (I assume H&H Mag.)

I think it can make all the sense in the world to use such a "heavy" rifle on deer hunts.

1) To me, it seems like a good way to get the feel of your elk/moose/big-bear rifle in in the field, under real hunting conditions, before taking it on a hunt for something substantially bigger than deer.

2) BUT . . . even if you're not planning on hunting anything larger than deer . . . why not use a .375?

I've taken my .338 WM afield when hunting black tail deer. Why did I pick it over my .270 Win? Well, the weather was nasty-wet and I didn't want to expose my pre-64 Mod 70 Featherweight to it. So I took my Ruger 77 SS. Did I fret about being "overgunned?" Er . . . no! It is accurate, I can shoot it and . . . well . . . the .338 can kill a deer. And I simply enjoyed having it.

SO . . . and most importantly: It gave me pleasure to take my Ruger into the field. I like the rifle and the caliber. And if the point of hunting is NOT the pleasure derived from the satisfaction of accepting a challenge most people don't even think about, why do we hunt?

quote:

Originally posted by B. L. O'Connor:
Good for you, both for your success and for using your .375 (I assume H&H Mag.)

I think it can make all the sense in the world to use such a "heavy" rifle on deer hunts.

1) To me, it seems like a good way to get the feel of your elk/moose/big-bear rifle in in the field, under real hunting conditions, before taking it on a hunt for something substantially bigger than deer.

2) BUT . . . even if you're not planning on hunting anything larger than deer . . . why not use a .375?

I've taken my .338 WM afield when hunting black tail deer. Why did I pick it over my .270 Win? Well, the weather was nasty-wet and I didn't want to expose my pre-64 Mod 70 Featherweight to it. So I took my Ruger 77 SS. Did I fret about being "overgunned?" Er . . . no! It is accurate, I can shoot it and . . . well . . . the .338 can kill a deer. And I simply enjoyed having it.

SO . . . and most importantly: It gave me pleasure to take my Ruger into the field. I like the rifle and the caliber. And if the point of hunting is NOT the pleasure derived from the satisfaction of accepting a challenge most people don't even think about, why do we hunt?

Wouldn't it be neat if your first name is Bradford and you have two sisters named Caroline and Catherine.

quote:

I'd never shot a deer with the 375 and can say these medium bores are extremely gratifying to hunt with. I'm used to jellied meat around the wounds but not so today. The handle is an Echols Legend and those things come up so damned naturally you can't believe it until you try one. Bullet was a RN 270 Hornday loaded to about 2650 or so.

Congrats! People don't understand the .375H&H. I had a range officer once ask me if I was going to blow up the deer. Not sure he believed me when I told him it just made a really big hole and the deer fell over. Not sure why I don't use mine more.

Send me the pics, and I'll post them. leighwdavis AT gmail DOT com


LWD

Congrats!

I've got a 375 H&H that shoots lights out. I'm thinking of taking it along with me to Oklahoma to hunt some thick canyons. This post may have given me the motivation I need to toss it in the truck.

Congrats again!

Congratulations!
One of my favorite calibers but I always end up using the wrong bullet. I should use a heavier bullet with it when I hunt but those dang 235 TSX shoot so well. At the velocities I can push them at, they definitely don't minimize meat damage.

Posting for bluefish









Congrats again!

LWD

Congratulations! A 375 will do it!

Well done!

I love my .375H&H. It's a great caliber for most any game.