I fully realize bigger bores are not required in North America. Unless you like them.
I like them.

My favorites are 375 & 416 Ruger cartridges on the stainless Ruger actions. 2nd favorites for me, are the 375 H&H and the 416 Remington on the Winchester M70 stainless actions.

I certainly do not feel disadvantaged with trajectories at distances 200 yards/meters and under. I find these cartridges relatively easy to shoot in awkward field positions.

Title changed.
I am interested in the rifle/cartridges that people use on at least a semi-regular basis that many would consider the dreaded "Over-Kill". In example my use of 375's and 416's on moose, or deer if I had them nearby.

.458WM with 425-485 grain Cast loads. I hunt with it some every year. When I hunt with it, I shoot something too.

I'm sure it's no surprise my favorite large bore is the 400 Whelen. With a 350-400 grain bullet, NA big game tremble at the mention of its name.

I have lever actions in 50 Alaskan and 50-110, I have been using them the last 10 years or so.

Over my shooting life by far the most big bore rifles I have owned have been the 375 H&H and 378 Wby. All the 378s have been Mark V and with some from the Custom Shop.

375s have been mainly M70s, quite a few Sako and some Rem 700s and a couple of Mark Vs from 1995 when Mad in the USA ones came out. I have had one of those Ruger Express bolt actions, not long after they came out and also a Ruger Number 1.

Have also had several 375s with match grade barrels and they were on mainly M70s and some on Rem 700.

Leaving aside rebarrels and just taking actual rifles the three calibres I have owned to most of have been the 270, 375 and 378. The 300 Winchester would be number 4.

I would say you are 375 supportor for certain!
I have more 375 H&H rifles than anything else. Hell just bought another today. But, for the past several years I have used either a 375 or 416 Ruger.

There is still this idea in the back of my mind to do a 375 Wby on a 24" stainless. And if I ever run across a stainless M70 in 375 RUM, it will be hard to resist.
I currently shoot 270 grain TSX's. I am going to try the 270 LRX in both the H&H and Ruger.
I am not sure with equal barrel lengths how much the WBY would really gain in velocity over the H&H or Ruger.

Obviously in the shallow end of the big bore pool, but I find the 458 socom and 45-70 quite effective.

45 colt - i've used this for almost everything in NA, excluding bears, elk, and moose --- from snakes and rabbits on up

470 and 476 AccRel -- because .475 bullets and i invented them

.458 anything - yep, i said it... .458 is basically the goldilocks caliber

The 45-70 is a fine round. I use to carry a 20" lever action when hiking about. My son has an 18" barrel one, it is his walk-about companion.

The 45 Colt is one of my favorite revolver rounds. Versatile and effective. I carry one frequently. I will add the 454, 480, 475 Linebaugh, and even the 44 Rem mag to the list of favorites revolver rounds that I have.
The 480 is my current poster child of favorites.
The X-frame 500 S&W is a blast to plink with. But, not my cup of tea for a companion revolver.

Prefer 40+ calibers for hunting. Continuing to use these including 416 Ruger, 416 RM, 45-70, 458 WM and 458 Lott. Also like my 44 mag and 45 Colt.

The 9.3x74R is my big-bore for feral hogs.

All my big bore calibers begin with a 4.

.405 WCF with 300 or 400 grain bullets : lever action and DR
.45- 70 300 and 400 grain bullets; lever action and DR
.45-90 with bullets from 300 to 450 grains.
1886, but no DR yet.

For me the 458 WM with the 350 X bullet has worked well as has the 416 RM and most of all the 375 H&H when I lived in AK. As long as you don't need super flat trajectory the big bores work fine for any big game plus I like that entrance hole you can stick your finger in.

Mark

A .375 H&H or its ballistic equal has its ability to get velocities approaching .30-06 trajectory, and no one argues with its effectiveness.

A .416 mag is comforting when chasing big bears- I’d probably use that if I hunt Brown Bear again.

A .45-70 or .38-55 are classic American cartridges, and will work fine, even if they have somewhat rainbow like trajectories- but that doesn’t mean much at the range most game is shot at.

At some point I want to hunt bison with a .45-70.

Shot my last moose with my .600 Wilkes
Shot my last grizzly with my .450 no2 Lang.
They were not required, just liked!
Cal

Mine has to be the .375 H&H, I've carried it on more hunts than ANY other caliber.

Carried the .416 Rem. on a hunt last week, but just can't get hooked on it like the .375 H&H.

Will carry the .378 Wby on a hunt again soon. It's hard to argue with it's flat trajectory.

Have carried the .458 WM with 350gr. X and .460 Wby with 300gr. X for plenty of hunts also. I've been itching to carry the .460 Wby again too.

My 375 H&H is a constant companion. It's a CZ 550 Safari mag to which I made a couple slight upgrades (bedded the barrel and action from the front recoil lug back, added a blind cross bolt, and changed the sling studs for flush mount qd cups.

I originally got it just because I've always wanted one, then started using it so I would be familiar with it if I ever got a chance to hunt buffalo in Africa. Then I found out the 300 gr 375 bullets ruin less meat on deer than 150 and 180 gr bullets out of a 308 or 30-06, and every deer, hog, or bear I've shot with it has been DRT, and the rifle fits me like a glove.

All this adds together to mean I rarely hunt with any other rifle, I've shot hundreds of animals with it, from deer, hogs, and bear to coyotes, a bobcat, and an otter. I've worn out hundreds of cases, and have carried the rifle over hundreds of miles spot and stalking in the mountains, wading and hiking through swamps, stalking timber, and hundreds of more miles in a canoe.

My .416 Rem. built by Bill Wiseman is my go to rifle. I've shot everything from dik dik to elephant in Africa with it. I'm so comfortable with that rifle that it's my first choice for everything. Have shot a lot of whitetails with it, don't know exactly how many. And even a turkey. But it will definitely handle anything in North America and that's the rifle I'd choose. Note I said rifle. Calibre is irrelevant if it's adequate.

I have used .45-70 and .375 H&H on deer and elk. This year I plan to use a .50-70 in either a rolling block or an original 1868 Trapdoor Springfield for elk.

375 Weatherby in a 7 1/2 lb (with scope) Rem XCR II or my CZ550 in 500 Jeffery. Great dark timber elk gun

Many shooters don't think of the 45/70 as a big bore but think of the 375 H&H as a big bore.

On Australia's biggest guns/hunting forum which is extremely active, a thread that will start quite often is "I ma getting my first big bore". Then the opening post will be "I have a 223, 308 and Marlin 45/70 and want to get a 375 H&H and thinking f M70 or CZ etc"

I think for many shooters Big Bore is a combination of bore size and energy or case capacity. I am in that category myself in regarding the 375 H&H (Or 375 Ruger, 375 RUM and 378 Wby) as a Big Bore but not a 45/70.

Perhaps for many of us, even though we are not going to Africa it has perhaps been Africa that has framed our views on calibres/bore size.

CZ 550 .375 H&H with 250gr TTSX handloads did quite well on this moose a few weeks ago. Going to bring the same down to South Carolina in a few weeks for (hopefully) my second whitetail of that trip (.308 is going to get first at-bat). It's a little heavy at 10.5# all up, but a sweet shooter.

quote:

Many shooters don't think of the 45/70 as a big bore but think of the 375 H&H as a big bore.

They also did poorly in school; especially in composition.

quote:

Originally posted by crshelton:
All my big bore calibers begin with a 4.

As do all big bores.




AR's 375 inclusion not withstanding.

I shot my last moose with a .458 WIN.
I also shot my last rockchuck with a .458 WIN.
The .458 WIN is my all-time favorite "bigger bore" for this planet.

Rip ...

Some sources indicate 40+ calibers are big bore -


https://www.outdoorlife.com/ar...7/09/boom-big-bores/

Therefore my 375 big medium bore shown here works not too bad.

quote:

Originally posted by crshelton:

quote:

Many shooters don't think of the 45/70 as a big bore but think of the 375 H&H as a big bore.

They also did poorly in school; especially in composition.

Do you consider a 44 Magnum a big bore?

I guess the 375 winchester is pretty much dead outside of single-shots but a 250 grain bullet with muzzle velocity of 1,900 ft/sec is a pretty good punch for moderate range.

I like the 375 and the 9.3x62. I think I really like the 9.3x62 for NA.

I've seen a number of old references to the .40's as medium bores and frankly that's how I think. I think "big bore" starts at .45.

Since the OP didn't specify bigbore, just bigger bores personal definitions really don't matter.

One of the fun things about owning rifles of any size is using them even if the game doesn't strictly demand it. It's also very good practice.

For me I have to agree with bluefish. A .375 or 9.3x62 are pretty useful just about anywhere in North America. In fact I'm taking my 9.3x62 out blacktail hunting tomorrow!

It is really hard to go past the 375. Plenty of blokes in Australia where there is high volume shooting have proved it be literally the "everything" calibre.

An interesting thing with the 375 is the difference in recoil with loads that get as close to original Cordite loads as possible and for that 3031/4064/Varget will get you close as compared to top loads with Re 15 and very compressed 4350 loads. Do a lot of shooting and the difference in recoil is very noticeable.

With 270 grainer and 68 grains of 3031 or 71 grains of 4064 you will be at 2650 f/s second and you can shoot such loads as you would a 270 or 30/06, that is, not having to make any allowance for recoil.

True. In hindsight, I should have titled Favorite Above 30 caliber used Worldwide. North America was short sighted on my part.
These days, lots of people that I have contact with, think a .338 is nearing cannon status. And the 30 calibers as big bores.

I like using my 375's and 416's. True they are considered medimum bores in many bore classifications.
I doubt that there is probably not a large percentage of people worldwide that use even .338's on non-dangerous game or game under a 1000 lbs / 450 kg.

I also like 8mm's and .338's.

Thread title changed.
I am interested in the rifle/cartridges that people use on at least a semi-regular basis that many would consider the dreaded "Over-Kill". In example my use of 375's and 416's on moose, or deer if I had them nearby.
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quote:

Originally posted by Cougarz:
Since the OP didn't specify bigbore, just bigger bores personal definitions really don't matter.

One of the fun things about owning rifles of any size is using them even if the game doesn't strictly demand it. It's also very good practice.

For me I have to agree with bluefish. A .375 or 9.3x62 are pretty useful just about anywhere in North America. In fact I'm taking my 9.3x62 out blacktail hunting tomorrow!

Bluefish is right on; I'll add,
350 bore, like 35 Remington, 350 Rem Mag and 35 Whelen
375 bore size, any case.
9.3 x 62 or 74R
400 bore size, any case from 400 Whelen to 450-400.
405 WCF
458 2 inch
45-70 in any of it's pressure levels, each of which makes it a totally different cartridge
Most anything over 33 caliber works for me. Under, not so much; pest guns mainly. I put that in just to infuriate the small bore likers.

M70 H&H. 200 grainers work real good on Pronghorn.

#1 400 Jeffery. Took it on a Whitetail hunt a couple weeks ago.

I enjoy shooting .375 H&H as well as .416 Rem Mag, but the most fun I've had in years was a hunt in Botswana last year shooting a Ruger No. 1 in 450-400, with iron sights. The rifle is short and light enough that it was a pleasure to carry for long distances, and the iron sights meant that, with my eyesight, we had to stalk to within 75 yards, or so. I highly recommend the experience: it places much more focus on the stalk than on the shooting.

For this side of the pond, A .375 is as big as I care to go..I prefer the .338 to most any NA bigbore, along with the 9.3x62, but these are mediums...For Africa I will take a 404 or 416 everytime. If a double rifle give me a 450-400-3" or a 450-3.25. Its pretty easy to be overgunned as well as undergunned..return from recoil is seldom considered, but two fast shots close together beats any one shot with the biggest..

After some thought I think today if I was to pick a favorite, it would be the 375 H&H, it never failed me on anything included the DG of Africa and at my age recoil is a factor I have to deal with...

I use a 375 H&H , 416 Rigby,and 450 Rigby on Musk ox
I sure dont need a rifle that big but I get more enjoyment shooting big bores on animals then targets
anothe bonus is no felt recoil when hunting
joe