Assume you don't already own a 375 bore rifle then which one of the rifles available, including conversions, would be your choice of those 375s listed.

What about the 375 Lapua

Also, if starting from scratch would you get a 338 Win or 375 Ruger

anything over 2500 fps with a 300 gr pill is just recoil and 300 @ 2400 is all you need imho...if you are hunting elephants or buff i would use a 40'S or 50 cal

load down the ruger and shoot better and more often...

For my first .375 I'd certainly pick the tried and true .375 H&H Magnum. If you then want another then take your pick.

already made my choice--without a doubt a 375 H&H

So no one would go for the 338 Win over the 375 Ruger.

I got a feeling the 375 Ruger will make inroads on the 338 Win.

But I am betting that the 375 H&H will dominate the real top end custom guns. In fact I would not be suprised of D'Arcy Echols has not even heard of the 375 Ruger

375 H&H
If you want more recoil then you might as well get more diameter. If you aren't happy with the 375 H&H go up to the 416 or bigger.

TerryR

What about the 375 Dakota? Standard magnum action, and it has better velocity then the H&H and the Ruger. I have a 375 dakota, and it will walk all over 2700fps with the 300grn barns bullet. Just a thought...

375's more potent than the HH do have a place. The 375 with high BC bullets can also make a great long range rifle. .375 Weatherby,JRS,RUM etc. have great knockdown ability up close, but really can shine with improved drop curves for longer shots. Of course if you note my screen name ,"longshots", that is a hint about my concerns. I have a lightweight stainless 375 that I may use on a fall goat hunt. Why a 375? I like the rifle,its light,accurate, flat shooting, and potent in case of bear encounters.

all of mine are H&Hs. They only reason I would choose another would be if long range shooting was regularly on the menu. The H&H feeds so well that I'd be hard pressed to justify a change for (IMO) wasted velocity in most cases.

quote:

Originally posted by TerryR:
375 H&H
If you want more recoil then you might as well get more diameter. If you aren't happy with the 375 H&H go up to the 416 or bigger.

TerryR

D'Arcy Echols is known to build his "Legends" chambered for .375 Weatherby, for good reason.

Nothing tops a .375 Weatherby for versatility, practicality, and KISS Principle. Anything the .375 H&H can do, the .375 weatherby can do better.

Why, the .375 Wby chamber can even slow down .375 H&H factory ammo by 100 to 150 fps to make it a Super-Duper-Low-Velocity Killer and do it with less recoil than a .375 H&H chambered rifle.

Of course this miraculous feat also turns .375 H&H brass into .375 Wby brass ... like water into wine.



A .375 Ruger reamer would nicely clean up the chamber of my .375/338WinMag, and move the .375 H&H to the start of the line in my .375 horsepower lineup. Time for some new brass for Shortie anyway. Is that an incipient case head separation on the .375.338Winmag? No wonder it was matching the .375 H&H velocities!

Second from right is the .375/.338 Lapua Magnum, known in Germany as the .375 Tornado, or 9.5x69mm Tornado. It is also a very slick feeder and has case capacity of about 120 grains of water, very similar to the .375 RUM and Saeed's .375/404UAE.

Ditto the 375 WBY so you can use H&H ammo in a pinch... but if you like pain, try the 378 WBY. Or you can get the 375 RUM cause after you decide to go bigger, you can convert it into a 470 AR and use the 375 RUM brass to make em.

375 H&H, if you need anything bigger go with a bigger bore. My distant second choice would be the 375 WBY. Lou

Boy, this one is a toughie. I would have to go with a 375 rugger for two reasons.
1. no stinking belt to fuss with.
2. standards length action with room to seat the bullets out fairly long.

I'm guessing an awful lot of ruggers in 7mm-300-338Mag are going to get 375 barrels fit to them. Same magazine capacity, and a much cheaper action to build on. The one thing that fascinates me is that no one has suggested a 300 on the case to replicate the awesome 300H&H. Should be a real hammer. 300 Ruger, anyone?

Rich
DRSS

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
1. no stinking belt to fuss with.

Rich
DRSS

I dont ever recall having a problem with Belts??
Okay the 1 time I made her take it off herself

No doubt that the 375 Wby is the best on paper.

Be interesting to see if Wby could sell them if it was offered in one of their standard rifles

I only know of one 375 Wby that Echols has made.

We have talked about the various .375 permutations and their use as both a DGR and for longrange shots. I know this is another subject, but I believe the 375 should be a CRF.I hunt in grizzly country ,when hunting caribou, a CRF .375 is what I rely on. It is even better when hunting Kodiak bear. My personal choice is a stainless .375 JRS shooting 270gr. TSX ,approx. 2900fps. Near or far this combo has done it all. I would also say the same for 375 Weatherby,and others.

I now have one of each, and like them all. My 375 H&H is my late fathers old Mdl 70 and is almost like new. My 375 Wby is an early FN action SAKO in a bit higher grade with one standing & 1 folding; it is a wonderful rifle and exceedingly accurate. I sold a Winchester Classic SS/Syn to buy the new 375 Ruger Hawkeye African. I am pleased that I did, not that there was much wrong with the Win. It was great excuse to buy another rifle.

What would I choose to carry, the Hawkeye, hands down. It is accurate; has a trim and friendly feel about it: it has good sights and proper drop to allow using them correctly; it does what the other two do.

Would I get rid of the 375 H&H or 375 Weatherby/SAKO...NEVER! The Mdl 70 in 375 is some nice mix of Classics. The 375 Wby shoots 260 Noslers at elk like it is heat seeking. But, the new Ruger does what these two do, and I like the gun. What's wrong with having excuses to buy new toys...errr...serious hunting tools?

quote:

Nothing tops a .375 Weatherby for versatility, practicality, and KISS Principle. Anything the .375 H&H can do, the .375 weatherby can do better.

Why, the .375 Wby chamber can even slow down .375 H&H factory ammo by 100 to 150 fps to make it a Super-Duper-Low-Velocity Killer and do it with less recoil than a .375 H&H chambered rifle.

Of course this miraculous feat also turns .375 H&H brass into .375 Wby brass ... like water into wine.

Yep. I'll second all of that..........yep.

The only reason more than a .375 H&H would be needed is for (a) improved trajectory for long range shooting, and (b) varmint hunting for rapid expansion. No benefit is obtained for cape buffalo by moving the velocity from 2550 fps up to 3000 fps or more, but bullet failure becomes more likely.

Dan,

And in addition, if you are happy with 375 H&H ballistics then big banger 375s load back nice, low pressure and in the process will use a wide range of powders.

378 aside, the other bigger 375s do basically allow for the same rifle to be used as the H&H.

In short, the bigger 375 bore rifles can make better play around guns.

quote:

Originally posted by 500grains:
The only reason more than a .375 H&H would be needed is for (a) improved trajectory for long range shooting, and (b) varmint hunting for rapid expansion. No benefit is obtained for cape buffalo by moving the velocity from 2550 fps up to 3000 fps or more, but bullet failure becomes more likely.

This REALLY make sence to me, although I have never hunted cape buffs.
And I really do not hunt at longer distances than 300 yards, and I do not need it for varmints. So I never need anything hotter than a regular .375H&H. If I ever should feel undergunned, I would want bigger bullets, not more velocity.
Besides, the H&H is by far the easiest to get ammo for in a pinch.
If that was not a problem, my ideal cartridge would be a 9,3x64 necked up to .375 loaded to the original .375H&H loadings. Enough gun, and one more in the magazine.

SuperSpeed, Sir,

I think the WBY is the best because one can get 2700 fps w/ .305 SD bullets. Field experience has made me superstitious of a traditional expanding bullet that leaves the muzzle at that speed; that's not the one you want to get shot with Here's the formula:

POI + MV2700 = DRT

And of course the ubiquitous Holland ammo can be used in the WBY chamber.


The Lapua is probably the ultimate best design.

I like the UAE the best because it reminds me of the .30-'06.

Nothing wrong with the RUM but I'm of the no-rebate mindset.

The Ruger is a fantastic cartridge with a hundred year late start.

I am trying my best to be in possession of only one rifle and am waiting on a new one, the next to the last decision to make was chosing between the WBY and Holland. Best guestimate is that for me to be able to shoot 300@2700 all day and not get flustered by recoil, the rifle would need to weigh 12 lbs., too heavy. A 265/270 expanding mono @26-2700 was decided to be the single "serious hunting" soft as it has all the long range capability I can use and I think will suffice for the first shot on buff, if not the four solids in the magazine will work. Penetration tests will determine which solid the rifle likes best and if 300 grs. then 2350-2450 is all the velocity I want. With these loads the rifle can have a loaded/scoped weight of 10 lbs. which will be easy to shoot and is light enough to carry all day in any terrain.

Reloading proved that it is easy to get these velocities from the Holland (at least w/ a Chrony ) and for reduced and plinker loads, the bulk of what the rifle will fire, less powder room is somewhat of an advantage. The belt is a definite advantage for plinkers and has no drawbacks.

Since the Holland will do all I want and since the rifle I ordered will have cartridge specific rails, follower, and box, I chose the stack angle advantage. Even if it is mostly mathematical.

It would take buckets of electrons to articulate what I think, which is of no value because I don't have much experience with the larger calibers, but it is hoped that this extreme condensation gives you the idea why I chose the Holland over the others.

SuperSpeed, Sir

I have been promoted.

You are right about the recoil of the H&H.

I have seen vry few people use more than the H&H where they did not have to make some compromise on recoil, unless the rifle has a muzzle brake.

With the 375 Wby, for some reason lots of people talk about doing one, including rechambering a 375 H&H or making one from start but in the vast majority of cases the rifle does not eventuate.

At the end of the day the choice of rifle/calibre depends very much on whether it is a tool that is a means to an end or whether the rifle/calibre is the main part and the animal, stump etc happens to be the target.

Mike

I would choose an H&H if I didn't already have a 375 Weatherby.

The 375 Ruger is IMHO a answer to a question that was never asked! The only advantage I see is that it does what an H&H does with a little shorter barrel. The whole "standard length action" thing is just marketing IMHO. Other than the Ruger most other H&H's use a standard length action. The action on a Remington or Winchester is the same length wether it's a 30/06 or 375 H&H.

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
Boy, this one is a toughie. I would have to go with a 375 rugger for two reasons.
1. no stinking belt to fuss with.
2. standards length action with room to seat the bullets out fairly long.

I'm guessing an awful lot of ruggers in 7mm-300-338Mag are going to get 375 barrels fit to them. Same magazine capacity, and a much cheaper action to build on. The one thing that fascinates me is that no one has suggested a 300 on the case to replicate the awesome 300H&H. Should be a real hammer. 300 Ruger, anyone?

Rich
DRSS

I would be willing to wager that the 375 Ruger will flop. Calibers greater than 338 WinMag were never big sellers for any of the gunmakers in the past. Why would this new round be different. There is a very small market for big bore rifles from the average Joe out there. Just because members of an forum like AR are intrigued by the round doesn't mean it will become commercially viable!

lb404

My feeling is the 375 Ruger is about biting into the 338 Win market.

The bad bews for Ruger/Hornady is that my predictions are usually out by around 100%

Some other calibers that flopped (compared to the 375 H&H):

8mm Rem Mag
375 Rem Ultra Mag
375 Weatherby
375 Dakota (all the Dakota cartridges actually)
358 Norma
35 Whelen
376 Steyr

I am sure there are others. Those cartridges are not dead, but they are a very small specialty market.

Dan,

a couple of differencess.

8mm Rem Mag......bullets and caught betweeb 300 and 338 plus being 8mm. The 7mm Rem was different because it had very high published ballistics

375 Rem Ultra Mag.....I wonder how it would have gone if it was standard in a CRF such as M70 (only custom shop) or the CZ

375 Weatherby.....378 Wby
375 Dakota (all the Dakota cartridges actually).....brass, small maker, Wby and etc.
358 Norma....Does qualify for that magic 375 number but us close. The 338 is not seen that way. The rifles it was chambered in.
35 Whelen.....can't be compared to the 30/06, rifles chambering it and the fact that average shooter sees it in the 30/06 class.
376 Steyr......One look at the wcout rife is enough.

Mike

quote:

Some other calibers that flopped (compared to the 375 H&H):

8mm Rem Mag
375 Rem Ultra Mag
375 Weatherby
375 Dakota (all the Dakota cartridges actually)
358 Norma
35 Whelen
376 Steyr

I am sure there are others. Those cartridges are not dead, but they are a very small specialty market.

If the Ruger .375 joins the list perhaps some will realize that bigger and faster is not really what we need for plains game hunting. The various .308/.338 calibers (the mainstay) fit this bill perfectly between 165 grains and 250 grains of bullet.

Warrior

Warrior

Do you think the only calibres available should be those we need?

Mike

Superseed,

Just like there are 100's of toys, we are seeing the proliferation of calibers with a multiple of different size and shape of cases to boot.

With the new Ruger case we may just see the opening of a new door to toy further with a .338 Ruger, .308 Ruger, .284 Ruger etc. A good thing they did was to fit a better trigger to the .375 Ruger as opposed to the standard one they used - they should actually upgrade all their rifles with the improved trigger, fit better recoil pads and dump those cheap ones.

It does make life interesting though.

Warrior

Warrior

As said on another post for some shooters the rifle is only a tool and means to an end. For others, the rifle/calibre is the main thing.

By the way, I see the Ruger 375 as testing the water. If it even half flies then a 270 (or 7mm), 300 and 338 Ruger will fly like an eagle

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by lb404:
I would be willing to wager that the 375 Ruger will flop. Calibers greater than 338 WinMag were never big sellers for any of the gunmakers in the past. Why would this new round be different. There is a very small market for big bore rifles from the average Joe out there. Just because members of an forum like AR are intrigued by the round doesn't mean it will become commercially viable!

You mean like the .405 Winchester? Small market for that one to be sure. The industry thought Hornady was cracked for bringing the .405 out again. News flash: they made money on it and still are. Hornady can make money on a lower volume than Federal, Remington, etc. can. That's why you see Hornady, instead of one of the other manufacturers, coming out with the .450/.400 and 9.3X74R. I think the .375 Ruger will be profitable.
-----------------------------------------------
"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

Always the classic .375H&H Magnum
Perfect cartridge...

Klaus

Does anyone remember the 300 H&H and of course the 300 Win

Mike , for my purposes I would definately be going with the 375 Ruger IF I didn't already have the old Winchester with the Weatherby chamber .

I am ready to dabble with something in a 300 mag and 300 Weatherby was at the top of my list , but now I may wait for the 300 Ruger....don't think it will be long .

As far as the old H&H being the perfect cartridge.......for the handloader, not in my view . I am a guy that like to milk all the safe potential out of a chambering , and with the 375 s I've loaded for , I've found it's real easy to run into excessive case stretch and sticky extraction , along with that being well below the speeds some of these fellas claim they are getting with the hot RL 15 loads and such .

Admittedly , I've only had my hands on a small sampling of rifles to go by , but I was highly unimpressed with the old H&H case .

SD,

With 26 inch barrel I had 2850 or so with 76 grains of Re 22 and 270 Hornady Spire.

73 grains was just a tad over 2600 with 300 Nosler. Rifle was accurate with those loads and had a number 5 match barrel and M70 PF action.

Pressures were well up and I my guess is the loads would not have shot well from a lesser rifle.

Basically 4350 is too slow for the 375, especially with long spitzers and the 4064 is a bit fast.

I have had three 358 STAs and found them great to play with and I have also had direct involvement with two others. But overall, for me the 378 offers the full gambit and if you settle on around 375 H&H and 375 Wby ballistics loading is flexible and you could almost use black powder.

Mike

My first choice was a .375 H&H. Before I got a good load worked-up for it, I watched a show where Art Wheaton from Remington used the then new .375 RUM for Buffalo. Good advertizing. I sold the H&H and bought a .375 RUM. With a 300 gr TSX, the .375 RUM has the muzzle energy of a 400 gr .416 Rem Mag, and the trajectory of a 180 gr .30-06.

The recoil of the .375 RUM is fierce, but it can be tamed.

My .375 RUM has only been to Africa once (so far), but I have no regrets. The 300 gr TSX at 2820+ fps worked flawlessly on everything I used it on from Bushbuck to Buffalo. The only bullet I recovered was from the Buffalo, and it looks just like the ones in the Barnes ads.

I also feel that the market for any .375 caliber rifle in North America is very limited. Unless you need to stop a charging Brown or Polar Bear, there is no other animal in North America that requires the power of any of the .375's.

And as for the rebated .375 RUM case, if you hold a RUM case nest to a straight edge or use a micrometer, you can tell that it is rebated.

They are all great ... But the Ruger will be the best of the bunch....The 375 Whby is better than the H&H ,The RUM could have made it but, Ruger didn,t put it in a good stainless rifle...Or even the Safari Rifle....Remingtons may be great but Rugers are better.....The 378 is the fastest common cart. but the RUM is so close as to make it debateable.. A 270 gr bullet in the Rum goes as fast as a 300 gr in the 378...... So the 375 Ruger Alaskan will easily replace the 9.3x62 CZ 550 Medium FS and be more salt water proof and more reliable on an incoming bear, and better at a way distant ruminant or canine ... All in an easy to pack around rifle....I,m sold.....My only concern is the stock not breaking...... Now for the 416 Ruger .. Mayby Hornady will again come out with that 340 gr Spitxer boat tail .416 bullet they did at the start of the .416 revolution.......

quote:

Anything the .375 H&H can do, the .375 weatherby can do better.

Except sell rifles!