A 378 Weatherby may not be a big-bore, either, but it is formidable and in comparison my .450/.400 is a pussy to shoot.

We actually have people claiming that they see a difference in killing power between a 375, a 416 and a 458!!

Talk about being totally clueless!

According to Tony Sanchez-Arino (Last of the Few), he felt a proper rifle for the biggest and baddest thick skinned animals (buffalo, elephant, etc) started at a rifle that could shoot a 400 gr bullet (or better) at 2000 fps (or better) with a minimum of 4000 ft lbs of ME.

Personally, I would think a .375 with the proper bullet is adequate for all DG animals, but only under certain circumstances.

Hunting elephant or buffalo in really thick cover at close range needs something with a little bit more knockdown power, i.e. a stopper rifle IMO.

If a buffalo is charging at close range, with all other things being the same (accuracy, bullet construction, etc) I would much rather have a .458 Lott (or even a .416) in my hands than a .375 H&H.

As Tony Sanchez-Arino stated "When a buffalo is charging no rifle is too big or powerful."

BH63

When a buffalo charges, you better brain it.

Regardless of the caliber.

And if you brain it, regardless of the caliber, it will stop and die.

We approached a wounded bull.

Hidden in a thicket.

A friend was carrying a 500 double, and I was carrying my 375/404.

Less than 7 yards away the buffalo started to get up - he was facing us.

We both fired.

I brained it.

My friend hit it in the knee!

I had a scope.

He had open sights!

I keep telling people.

One shot!

That is all one gets in a bad situation.

Big bores start at .375-caliber,
except for those who wear peacock feathers
on their pith helmets.
That is the same class who think the .458 Lott
is better than a .458 WIN.
Luddites!

Rip ...

What counts is gun and component makers treat the 375 as a big bore.

Check the rifles and prices of M70s in 375.

Check the Mark V rifles available in the 378 as compared to even the 30/378. No el cheapos in 378.

I believe there is some real excitement in pulling a sneak on a Buffalo from down wind and popping him at 20 yds with a double rifle.
That said I would not go on a safari without a 416 with 350's in it or my 375 Wea. with 300's or 270's in it as an all around to to take anything from 20-300 yds.

Get in the best shape possible

Have you boots broken in well

The 375 isn't a Big Bore, but it is a Big Enough Bore!

quote:

Originally posted by Ongwe:
The 375 isn't a Big Bore, but it is a Big Enough Bore!

I like that!

When is a big bore not a big bore? Maybe when it's a Big Bore 94, despite its .375 calibre.

It is to me but John Taylor considered it a medium bore.

It's big enough!! Those who question its ability to a big job, do so out of Penis envey!

It will startle people who have never shot anything bigger than a 30.06.

In relation to Jeffrey's .404 (.423 dia), the .375 H&H is clearly a classic medium bore - perhaps, historically, the best in its class.

Tyros, arthritics, and other recoil-shy folks whose safari 'hunting' is limited to shooting at 'paper lions' off a bench at the range think the .375 H&H is a 'major big-bore' caliber only because they've never shot a .400-class cartridge.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
We actually have people claiming that they see a difference in killing power between a 375, a 416 and a 458!!

Talk about being totally clueless!

maybe not a 458 but i ve seen a 460 shot on a dwarf forest buffalo that stopped as with a lot of killing power while the 375 just carresed it lol ... but i do agree a 9.3x62 or 375 is more enough is the shot placement is good 416 or 458 in the gut is not good too ...

quote:

Originally posted by medved:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
We actually have people claiming that they see a difference in killing power between a 375, a 416 and a 458!!

Talk about being totally clueless!

maybe not a 458 but i ve seen a 460 shot on a dwarf forest buffalo that stopped as with a lot of killing power while the 375 just carresed it lol ... but i do agree a 9.3x62 or 375 is more enough is the shot placement is good 416 or 458 in the gut is not good too ...

460 Wby compared to 458 is about like comparing a 22 Hornet or 218 Bee to a 22 Magnum. Big difference there.

I am only talking smaller animals like big Red Kangaroos and pigs/goats but I think there are three velocity areas. The 1200-1300 to the 2000 then to to the 2600-2800 areas. big difference in those groupings.

I know real green trees are not animals but years ago we were shooting a whole bunch of them. Probably 6 to 10 inches in diameter. What was interesting was the 340 Wby acted like a bigger version of the 270 and the 375 was like a smaller version of the 460.

Answer is simple. (Drum Roll) Nope! great medium bore. Can be used on anything by a careful good shot. On the other hand so can a 30-06 with good solids and softs.

now the 500 A square. That's a big bore

How about a novel idea and just letting people call it what they want too!!!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
How about a novel idea and just letting people call it what they want too!!!!!!

So people get to redefine or just make up their own definitions on common words or historic held definitons?
So now it might not be the truth but it is my truth so you must accept it?

You know where im going with this so ill stop now.
appropriate emoji here...

This debate will rage until the end of time I'm sure.

To the the light loafered, pink pantied, Creedmore crowd, the 375 is a monstrous, fire breathing big bore. Exposed to the sound of one two ranges away sends them scurrying for their safe place.

To the the permanently concussed, big bore fans who sneeringly insist big starts with 45, the 375 is a best a medium bore.

The seasoned hunter who recognizes the 375 for what it is, realizes he or she holds the one caliber truly well suited for all game, everywhere, all the time.

A 375 is a big bore when it expands

On my first trip to Africa, I carried a .375 H&H, a .458 WM and a .505 of my own design, I used the .375 on lion, leopard, eland, greater and lesser kudu, the .505 on buffalo, elephant and rhino. I took one buffalo and one elephant with the .458, but decided that I was more comfortable with the .505.

The .375 worked perfectly on thin skinned game. I never tried it on thick skinned game, because I saw no reason to.

quote:

Originally posted by mart:
This debate will rage until the end of time I'm sure.

To the the light loafered, pink pantied, Creedmore crowd, the 375 is a monstrous, fire breathing big bore. Exposed to the sound of one two ranges away sends them scurrying for their safe place.

To the the permanently concussed, big bore fans who sneeringly insist big starts with 45, the 375 is a best a medium bore.

The seasoned hunter who recognizes the 375 for what it is, realizes he or she holds the one caliber truly well suited for all game, everywhere, all the time.

Having used a .375 exclusively for 36 years....I absolutely concur! The “only” thing wrong with your statement.....you said it and not me! memtb

It is a big bore for AR. Australia's biggest gun forum for Big Bores has 375 as starting point. NitroExpress the same.

Look at M70 rifles and how things change at 375 and up.

Weathery does make any of thee cheaper Synthetic or Fibreglass Mark Vs in 378, 416 or 460.

Someone might start a post on a forum like …. I going to get my first big bore and are tossing between and 375 H&H and 375 Ruger and a 458 etc.

For common usage the 375 is a bib bore. Much like many of use the word calibre instead of cartridge. Such as … I think the 270 Win is a more practical calibre than the 270 Wby or because of ammo supplies the 375 H&H is a better calibre for Africa than the 375 Ruger or 378 Wby etc.

I took my rimless .375 Nitro Express (2 1/4") hunting yesterday for the first time and ended up "harvesting" two deer with one shot. I'm not sure how it came about, but I was shooting at a large doe and ended up with both the doe and her yearling fawn on the ground.

This was with my Mannlicher Schoenauer 1910 take down carbine, and adds another caliber to the list of calibers I have taken deer with (now 27). Maybe it (also known as the 9.5X56 Mannlicher Schoenauer) with its 270 grain bullet at 2150 fps could also be considered a "big bore" cartridge based on performance.

I consider the 375 a big bore, I also consider the 30-06 a big bore, That is my prerogative..I decided this to be true from shooting stuff with both....

I agree it can be argueable but not with me.

I always thought that a big bore is relative to the person. What one guy/gal thinks is big and kicks like a mule is the next guy/gal's small bore. I have been shooting big bore since my youth. My scale is :
Under 6.5mm is: Little Bore
270-30cal is Small Bore
8mm-375 is Medium Bore
40-510 is Big Bore
577-2bore is Huge bore
Bigger than 2 bore is Artillery with wheels

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
How about a novel idea and just letting people call it what they want too!!!!!!

Like the Mad Hatter? "A word means exactly what I want it to mean and nothing more!"

LOL

BH63

quote:

Originally posted by xausa:
I took my rimless .375 Nitro Express (2 1/4") hunting yesterday for the first time and ended up "harvesting" two deer with one shot. I'm not sure how it came about, but I was shooting at a large doe and ended up with both the doe and her yearling fawn on the ground.

I once killed two elk with a single shot from a .270 Winchester with a 130 gr bullet.

Sh-t happens!

BH63

I just read something the other day where a very respected PH stated in a book that based upon his experience, a buff shot with a .375 reacts less than one shot with a .416.

Both kill, but he believed (or at least stated in his book), that all things being equal, the bigger calibers, when used with the proper bullets and at the correct velocity kill more quickly than a .375.

This guy has killed maybe a thousand or so buff, so I certainly respect his judgement.

BH63

The words big bore, med bore and small bore, are meaningless, Would it not be better to say my .375 or my 22 hornet in conversation or print?

Bored this morning!

It kinda seems strange that we don't include the 9.3x62 into the big bore category since it is legal in a great many places for heavy DG game. But you have to draw a line somewhere.

No it is not a Big Bore; but remember the definition was developed in the 19th Century when, in order to get any killing power, the only way was to increase the bore size. Once smokeless powder became trusted, the definition became blurred, and once dependable, trustworthy bullets came to be manufactured, then the lines are even less clear. But the definition is not based on killing power; it is barrel hole size. Based on that, it isn't.
Based on killing power with modern bullets; it is whatever you think it it. I know guys who think a 308 is a big bore. I tell them I would be embarrassed to show up in the field, or at the range with such a thing.
Bottom line; is the 375 a big bore? No. Well, maybe. It depends.

Cool beans, xausa.
Culling should be done in family units,
Bambi and his Mom after Dad is taken out.
There are some strange distortions in the photos below ... ?

quote:

Originally posted by xausa:
I took my rimless .375 Nitro Express (2 1/4") hunting yesterday for the first time and ended up "harvesting" two deer with one shot. I'm not sure how it came about, but I was shooting at a large doe and ended up with both the doe and her yearling fawn on the ground.

This was with my Mannlicher Schoenauer 1910 take down carbine, and adds another caliber to the list of calibers I have taken deer with (now 27). Maybe it (also known as the 9.5X56 Mannlicher Schoenauer) with its 270 grain bullet at 2150 fps could also be considered a "big bore" cartridge based on performance.

quote:

Originally posted by 376 steyr:
It kinda seems strange that we don't include the 9.3x62 into the big bore category since it is legal in a great many places for heavy DG game.

I would have to agree with the above post.

In my mind, due to bore size, the 375 is a medium bore ( but a big game/DG bore ).

If modern bullets & powders have turned the 375 into a big bore in some person’s mind, then it has done the same to the 366 bore as well, especially as it (366) is legal for DG in most African countries.

quote:

Originally posted by RIP:

There are some strange distortions in the photos below ... ?

The photos originally had the auction site water mark superimposed over them and removing it may have caused some distortions.

What, specifically, are you referring to?

Ah, Photoshopped to get out auction house logos ...
I can maybe see that in the first picture.

The second picture has a pinch in the barrel, top of barrel a few inches ahead of receiver.

I bet you could do justice to that rifle with your cell phone camera.

Rip ...

Packing a true big bore, such as a 500, 577 or 600 is a joke, they weigh too much and the gun bearer no longer exist to any great degree..not to mention the 600 does not kill any better than the 470, 450-3.1/4. etc..In fact in a charge situation they recoil to much and that slows down a second accurate shot, something seldom mentioned...Ive only seen them used once or twice on game and wasn't allthat impressed..Most folks buy them to walk the isles of SCI it seems to me..A charging buffalo is killed with a brain or spine shot, they can take a lot of bullet in the chest area before dieing once the adrenaline starts to flow form a poor first shot..

Just my opine, nor required for anyone but me. I don't even like the holy grail of double rifles, the 470, its a killer, but too heavy for a 15 mile walk, and the last couple of safari I was on a 2 mile walk was a bitch, but I finally got that fixed..

I would think a 30-06 when coupled with the right bullet and with proper bullet placement would kill a cape buffalo just as well as a .375.

But, like the .375, I doubt it has the knockdown power to be used as a "stopper" for a charging buffalo or elephant.

I saw Mark Sullivan in one of his videos, shoot off the jaw of a buffalo that was just a few feet away.

The power of the .600 NE apparently had enough "shock" to stop the buffalo in its tracks. Perhaps the concussion caused the buffalo's brain to hemorrhage and that is how it died?

At any rate, I am convinced had Mr. Sullivan been using a .375, he would be dead!

BH63