The rifle was cobbled together with a CZ 550 Magnum action with AHR serial number 50,001, a Winchester Super Express 375 barrel (from a rifle that became a 470 Capstick) and a custom walnut, straight combed, oval cheek piece, classic express styled stock with ebony forend tip checkered in the Winchester Super Express pattern. After cutting off the threads and rechambering to 375 RUM, the barrel was 23" from breech to crown.

300 grain Swift Remington factory load, average of 13 shots = 2784 fps.

270 grain RNSP Remington Factory load, average of 5 shots = 2895 fps.

A 26" barreled Remington M700 LSS factory rifle in my possession gave the following velocities with the same ammo:

300 grainers: 2780 fps average for 14 shots
270 grainers: 2935 fps average for only 3 shots

My 23" Winchester barrel is giving about the same velocity as my 26" Remington barrel with the same ammo.

How can this be?

The 23" barrel is a Kevin Jenkins re-chambering job with a rented reamer on a chrome-moly steel barrel. The 26" stainless steel barrel was chambered by the Remington factory. Temperatures were 65 degrees F for the 23" and 74 degrees F for the 26". Testing for accuracy with a scope on the 23" gun has not been done yet, just iron sight zeroing over the chronograph.

What gives? Chamber/throat/barrel differences?

Sounds like great possibilities for handloading the 23" CRF for DGR duties with 300 grainers, or plains game with an aerodynamic bullet for a one rifle safari. Pushfeed for backup. One cartridge safari. Same trajectory for both rifles. Sounds like a job for X-Bullets and a few solids to me.

Saeed, does this qualify as KISS principle? Pretty close to your 375/404, eh?

RAB,

Yes, my fried, this is a perfect KISS.

I have to check my records, but I think I did manage around almost 2900 fps with a 300 grain Barnes X.

For my African hunting, as you might recall, I keep the velocity to around 2650-2700. This seems to work very well for me.

Oh Wise One,
Thanks for the reply.

Next is to find the 2650 to 2700 fps load with an X-Bullet of 300 grains, for accuracy and low presure in both of my rifles, hopefully.

BTW, this thread is not about kissing up to Saeed.

It is about the KISS principle applied to the safari battery.

I know that the 375 H&H can be used, but the faster cartridge can sure make it easier to hit an impala past 300 yards if that is what you have to do on the last day of the hunt as the sun is setting and the winds are shifting, and cover is sparse.

Gotta hand it to Saeed on the selection of a 300 grain X-Bullet at about 2700 fps to be the all around best compromise that is most versatile in any situation without going overboard or underboard on anything. Allow a solid for elephant/DGR backup (to shoot to the same POA as the X at zero to 100 yards) and you have it all covered.

So for most shooting, you will use one load in one gun, and maybe have a backup that is the same perfectly flexible setup. And the redundancy is the best backup, perfection for perfection.

Then you will have followed the best advice for most situations: KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID!

BTW,
I was hoping to see the 23" barrel shoot about 90 fps slower than the 26" barrel with the 300 grain Swift bullets.

What I was expecting was:

26" ... 2780 fps
23" ... 2690 fps

What I got was both rifles shooting nearly identically for 2780 and 2784 fps averages respectively for 14 shots with the 26" and 13 shots with the 23".

Admittedly they were shot on different days with different light conditions being the only difference otherwise, except that the 23" may be a "fast" barrel versus the 26".

Anyway, this will make it very easy to get these rifles shooting the same trajectory with the same load.

This makes it easy for my "poor man's" version of Saeed's 375/404 pair to ...

KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID

Saeed, didn't you tell me for any sane person, the 375 H&H was quite sufficent for any walking animal on the planet?

I guess what I really want to ask, is do you find the extra velocity creates some sort of added 'hydrostatic shock' on a buffalo, at that velocity?

Thanks

s

PS I've watched your videos of hitting buffalo, and, they seem to take off and run, no matter what.

And, I know you hit em in the right spot.

They are really that tough?

Socrates,

I have no doubt that the 375 H&H will do anything my own 375/404 will do in the real world.

But, for me at least, I like to use a rifle I have built myself, for a cartridge I designed myself.

Buffalo, or most other animals, will run for a few yards when hit through the heart/lung area.

Some joker did suggest that a buffalo is going to drop dead if shot through the heart when the heart is pumping out blood - or is it the other way around!? I am not sure.

I sure would like to now how he arrived at this conclusion though

Saeed:
I think the 404 Jeff/ necked down, is a truly awesome looking round, and, it's different, and fun.

For the average Joe, 5 or 6 shots in the mag is a big deal, in particular, when shooting very large animals. I love my CZ in 375, and, even though I think the RUM 375 is very sexy, I still like having more rounds in the mag. I do realize that
if something big is coming at me, I'm not going to get that many shots off, but, that's what the Pro hunter is for.

Still, I'm in quest of my own wildcat. I love 45 caliber bullets, in handguns. Now, I want my own 450 Ackley. I get cheap bullets, an inexpensive rifle, cheap brass, and cheap bullets, along with a ton of stopping power. Plus, I get the same number of rounds in the mag, as I do with the 375 H&H.

I will say that your comments about the 375 H&H were a major part of my choice to buy the H&H, and not the rum. Of course, being able to ream out to the RUM was part of that decision as well.

Frankly, I like the British ideas. Keep pressures no more then 40k CUP, and, if you need more, move up in caliber. Don't try and increase pressure, like WBy's.
Same idea my pistol smith has, John Linebaugh.

Another gentleman that designed a shortened 50 BMG round, suggested that the 450 Ackley gave you tons of choices of ammo, and was the most efficent of the 45's.

He gets 2600 fps, with a shortened, shouldered, 50 BMG case, using standard 50 caliber bullets.

I guess like the 30-06 is to the 308, his round is to the BMG.
Gene, if you are out there, thanks a whole bunch.
I'm still alive, and the clots didn't kill me, in the lungs, and leg.

s