A few years ago, I bought a Remington Model 700 Stainless Synthetic in 375 H&H as a spare rifle. It weighs about 7 1/2 pounds with iron sights. I'm thinking about rebarreling, restocking, and muzzle braking it. How heavy should a rifle in this caliber be for comfortable shooting...maybe even without the muzzle brake? Any recommendations for a good gunsmith to do this kind of job? Any stock or barrel recommendations? Any info you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Sep

Why al the work, dose it shoot badly? I hve a 375 with a break, and to tell the truth, I don't think it needs one, it just makes it loud. If you want more performance, I would think you could "improve" the chamber, or you could go all the way to the 458 lott with teh action length. If you just had to change it form a 375 H&H, perhaps the 416 remington would be the best. This would give you more knock than the 375, but still give you some rangeing ability for some longer pokes at game in the 200-250yd range. Or you could just leave it in the classic 375 H&H, and leave well enough alone.

I wouldn't do anything to it until I shot at least 100 rounds thru it and then you can come to an opinion what it needs...if anything?

Get a McMillan stock (they make a duplicate of the one you have only 7 gazillion times better).
Tell them it is for a 375 and they can make it weigh a bit more than what you have.
If your rifle is reasonably accurate, leave the barrel alone. If you want a bit more horsepower you could get it reamed out to 375 Wby.
Don't get a brake. They are dangerous to your hearing, even with ear protection.
The factory sights are crap. You could use a low power scope, or get some NECG sights put on by your gunsmith. If you want a new barrel there are many very good makers out there. Krieger, Pac-Nor, Lothar Walther, Lilja, and Shilen all have their fans.
If you get the final rifle weight up to 9-9 1/2 pounds it will be a pussy cat to shoot. Have fun with the project.
JCN

Just about all the Model 700s I've seen in .375 H&H shoot pretty well, and I like the Model 700's standard barrel contour in this chambering, but at 7 1/2 lbs. is this barrel of extra-light contour? If so, I would indeed rebarrel to a beefier contour, perhaps a #5.



I would also stay completely away from muzzle breaks, and for just about every reason you can think of.........



Assuming that accuracy is acceptable, I'd send the metalwork to McMillan, and have them install and pillar-bed one of their superb stocks. That's likely just about all I'd do if I owned your rifle.



AD

I will just echo what others have said, muzzle brakes are evil, bad, horrible creations that should only be used on 50BMG or larger rifles, never on a sporting arm. The noise is too terrifyingly harmful to the ears, not to mention the annoyance of it, to be acceptable. I am having mine cut off my 06 and will tie bricks to the forend for weight before I will have another one.

Just my opinion :-)

Red

Most of the M700s I've seen in 375 come with a pretty heavy barrel and weigh more than 7 1/2 lbs. With a properly fitting stock recoil should be plenty manageable for any serious shooter. All the kids in my family like shooting 375s, even the small ones. It is the one caliber I seriously consider locking up the ammo for.

sep

My experience is that a well designed stock that fits you will lower the felt recoil. I like McMillans remington sporter stock

I would never put a brake on a rifle, it's better to pick a milder caliber or heavier rifle

Cheers
/ JOHAN

Since your in AK where it's possible to come upon dangerous game I would sell the Remington and get a rifle with CRF. This should solve some of the other problems as well as both the Winchester M70 and others are heavier.

If for some reason you cannot sell the rifle then add some weight with a 2-7 scope and steel mounts. That will add a pound. The other thing to do is to add a Decelerator recoil pad if it does not have a soft one now.

Don't rebarrel or restock the rifle. That's good money after bad. Don't get a muzzle brake. Your hearing is worth more than any gun.

I have seen very light Remington 700's in .375 H&H.

Shoot it from field positions, not from the bench. The .375H&H doesn't recoil much. My wife and another woman both shot my 7 3/4lb. Sako .375H&H off-hand repeatedly with no difficulty whatsoever.

Don't be intimidated by it.

George

I have no problems with muzzle brakes if they improve your shooting..Half of my clients shoot muzzle brakes and they tend to shoot better than those that don't have them, sooooo..

Big bores are loud and they will effect your hearing with or without a muzzle brake. I use hearing protection, except when I hunt and if you hunt as much as I do, then expect hearing loss, it goes with the territory..I would never hunt dangerous game or even rabbits with hearing protection on and think that is the thinking of those that just surmise or don't hunt a heck of a lot of DG.....

I don't need a muzzle brake on a 375 as I shoot a lot of big bores up to a .470, if I were recoil sensitive the I would..I used them on my 458 Lott and my 505 Gibbs Imp., and cannot imagine not haveing one on either of those calibers....

I like a 9 to 9.5 lb. 375 including the scope, sling and loaded.....I am a confirmed control feed fan myself so that nixes the Rem. but that is choice, and nothing more.

Thanks for the info everyone. My computer crashed and couldn't access the internet.

According to the old digital bathroom scale ;-) the rifle weighed 7 pounds one time and 8 the next. Hardly a precise measurement. I miked the muzzle at .660 and have no idea if that's heavy or not. Regardless, I'll check out the rifle for accuracy before I do anything. If it shoots decent, I'll try a heavier McMillan stock and only have a brake installed if it's necessary. Thanks for the advice,

Sep

Sep:
Muzzle brakes are like a lot of other things, you either love em or you hate em. I fall in the second category. I've got 2. One is a MagnaPort system on a Rem. Model Seven 350 Rem Mag, the other is the Boss system on a 338. Both hurt my ears when I shoot them. I can replace the Boss brake with the one without the holes but the Model Seven is a problem. I guess I will solder the holes shut.
Personally I figure a bruise on my shoulder will heal, the little hairs in my ears won't. Its your call.

You don't need a brake on the 375. I have one on my 7mm (Boss) and it is totally useless. It does a wonderful job of making it loud, but really, you don't need it.
As far as the weight goes, you need to shoot the rifle as is for a while then make a change. Over eight and under ten should be fine.

Good Shooting.

I have a Remington Model 700, .375 H & H, Classic. A shotgun shoots better groups then this rifle. I tried everything, other shooters, different loads, scopes, and stocks. Bottom line, bad barrel. I bought a CZ 550 Lux, .375. I shoots every load great, weighs 10 lbs., with scope, sling, and 6 rounds in the magazine. Recoil with this rifle is very managable and I'm a wimp on recoil.

I have to agree with the "no muzzle brake" crowd. I have one rifle that's ported, a Marlin Guide Gun in 450. I fired two shots without hearing protection when I was in the field this Spring and my left ear hasn't stopped ringing since.

If you're really recoil sensative, I'd go with a Pachmayr Decellerator pad and a mercury recoil reducer in the stock.

Pete