I picked up my guide gun yesterday.

I have to say I was thoroughly pleased with it!

From photos, I thought it would be extremely ugly (laminated stock of various colors, stock shape, etc), but to my surprise, the one I got isn't that ugly. Still not as beautiful as a good walnut stock, circa Weatherby Mark V Deluxe, but not an eyesore either.

The overall look and feel of the rifle is that it is a professional gun made for close work on wounded big bears, etc.

The barrel, bolt, and action seem sturdy and rigorous enough for heavy chamber pressures.

This gun is exactly 42" long and weighs just over 8 lbs. The balance is excellent, with the weight centering between your hands, much like a good English double shotgun.

Although stainless steel, the finishes is a rather dull grey. I plan on wrapping it with camo tape at any rate.

The iron sights seem very sturdy and consist of a shallow V with a white center line and a blade sight with a white dot.

The rifle comes to shoulder quickly and easily with the sights lining up for me perfectly.

The checkering on the stock feels sharp and very functional.

The rifle arrived with matching scope rings (for the milled bases that are integral to the action), spacers to adjust the length of pull, a thread protector and balanced replacement for the muzzle brake that comes installed, and an optional fore end sling swivel attachment.

The rifle comes with a sling attachment on the barrel.

I haven't shot it yet (I'm off to the store for ammo after I finish posting this), but so far, I am extremely pleased I bought this rifle.

No doubt, this is a serious rifle for DG hunting.

BH63

Certainly a great cartridge. I hope you enjoy it and have great luck with it. Congratulations.

PM'ed you.

Congrats!

Sounds like a great working rifle and cartridge.

Thanks.

I picked up a couple boxes of Hornady 270gr spire point = recoil proof (love the name).

I almost picked up a box of Hornady DGXs. They were on sale for $49.99 a box, but I am not a fan of shooting steel bullets, even if gilded in copper.

I will probably order some 300 Swift A-frames.

Now to figure out the optics.

I have a Leo 2-7 currently mounted on a 45-70, and I might just move that to the guide gun, and put some other type of scope/sight on the levergun.

Any suggestions?

BH63

I used one more of these in Namibia during July. Really liked it. Accurate on the range. Never used it in anger - though. Looking for good culls - and they were always behind good trophies well out of my price point. The one I used was fitted with a Moderator. My 15 year old happily shot it as well

I like the Ruger Guide Gun configuration and bought a LH version, the one before they brought out the muzzle brake.

Before firing mine I bedded the action, fitted an extra cross bolt and relieved the stock behind the tang. Then I coated inside the stock with marine varnish.

I'd read a few horror stories about stock problems after not many shots were fired. The Ruger angled front bedding bolt and the laminate being vulnerable in that relatively thin area ahead of the trigger were what convinced me to do the work first.

quote:

Originally posted by BuffHunter63:

Now to figure out the optics.

I have a Leo 2-7 currently mounted on a 45-70, and I might just move that to the guide gun, and put some other type of scope/sight on the levergun.

Any suggestions?

BH63

I love Leupold scopes, for their quality, price, ruggedness, and return policy/guarantee.

I mount the VXIII, VX3, or VX3i in 2.5-8x36 on every rifle that I own these days, that is going to be scoped.

My 40+ calibers are not scoped, and I have some small bores that have Leupold 3.5-10x40s that I mounted years ago, which are actually fine for their intended purposes.

For your 375, a heavy medium bore, I’d highly recommend the 2.5-8!

quote:

Originally posted by BuffHunter63:

I will probably order some 300 Swift A-frames.


BH63

Great choice.

Nice rifle. I have a 416 Ruger Alaskan which has the same Hawkeye action. How do you like the factory trigger?

My .375 GG trigger is superb. Better even than my early tang safety 77s, and way better than is typical of the in-between years.

We have VX3 2.5-8Xs Leups on most of our field guns - maybe the best choice. Put a VX3 3.5-10X50 on the .375. That worked on a .300 Roy for decades, perfect for sorting antlers and checking for obstructions in a semi-hurry. Odd choice, maybe, but this particular .375 will never be used for dangerous stuff.

This .375 GG puts 3 Hornady 270s or 300s in 3/4". Am more than pleased. Shocked, maybe.

Thanks for all the good advice. I see where Leuopold has a 2-10 x 42 for about $600.00. This might be just the ticket, though a little pricey.

BH63

That power range and objective should offer plenty of flexibility for use.

I have used mostly traditional straight tube lower powered scopes on my 375's. But, after playing around with a 375 Ruger with a 1.5-6x42, I definitely saw advantages for me. I then put a 1.5-8x42 on one of mine. It still provides plenty of very close range field of view, better low light performance, and at times the 6x-8x is handy. The 1.5-6x42 is about perfect for my use.

On the other hand, I still have a 1-4x24 on one 375 Ruger. Thus far, I have not felt the need to replace it with a larger. I did replace a 1.1-4x24 on a 416 Ruger with a 1.5-8x42. No regrets on that swap. This 416 combination is one of my favorites.

The Ruger action ring spacing allows me the eye relief adjustment with the belled objectives that I have. The H&H actions usually do not, unless I use extension rings.

I have a 1-5x24 on my .416 Rem Mag and it is perfect for the uses I have for that rifle (it's my buffalo/elephant gun).

Rather than move the 2-7 off the 45-70, I could move my Zeiss 3x12 to the Guide Gun and move my Springfield Armory Government Model 4x14x55 to the .300 Win Mag, and then sell the .308 Rem Police???

Life is good! LOL

BH63

I have a Leupold VX-3 2.5-8x36mm duplex reticle with Alaskan Arms LLC quick detach rings, then I have a NECG Ghost Rings sights that quick attaches to rear receiver ring attaches to.

^
That sounds like a slick rig!

I decided to just use the 2x7 Leup that was on my 45-70 and buy another 1-4 Leup for the 45-70.

I went ahead and mounted it yesterday and it looks pretty good on the guide gun and lines up perfectly for snap shooting.

My rationale was that I probably would not take any shots over 250 yds with the .375 and 7 power should suffice for that range.

For the 45-70, I doubt that I will ever take a shot over 150 yds and a 4 or 5 x should suffice.

BH63