quote:

Originally posted by 458Win:
My criptic $ in $sending was meant to mean that I plan on purchasing both rifles, as I feel they are worth buying and owning. In fact I plan on carrying one as my backup rifle this season - if that is any indication of how strongly I feel about the rifles.
I might even use some GS bullets - as they are also of superb quality.

Mr. S:
What's the magazine capacity on the Ruger rifles? What do they weigh, let's say compared to the CZ 550 Magnum? Last two bears I heard about, brown bears, one soaked up 5 shots of 375 Ultra Mag, and, 3 more of 375 H&H. The next took three shots from the 375 H&H. What is the Ruger going to do that those cartridges won't, other then come in lighter rifles, with less mag capacity? Would moving up to 380 grain Rhino bullets, at 2400 fps, or even 400 grain bullets, be possible, at 2400 fps?

Funny, most of my friends think the 375 H&H works better when you slow it down, rather then speed it up. Guess you're doing the same by using 350 grain bullets?

.480 Ruger was a decent round, but, really, a solution to a problem that didn't exist. WAY too many times gun companies come out with proprietary cartridges that they don't need to. The 480 Ruger,while quite an adequate cartridge, had little reason for existence. A down loaded .475 Linebaugh gives the same ballistics, and less pressure. None the less, a Ruger in that caliber, other then BFR in .475, was the biggest DA gun that came out on the market for a reasonable price. Beats heck out of a 2000 dollar conversion on a SRH to .500 JRH.

Ask SafariKid about that...

GS

The new Ruger 375 holds three down and, although I did not measure it, the magazine box appears to be wider than standard and designed for the 375 Ruger cartridge. Although I have tried to create a jam with both rifles I never could and they feed very easily. I also cycled 458 Win through the action and they fed 100% as well.
I don't have a scale but believe the Ruger advertised weights of 7 3/4 for the wooden stocked African and 8 1/4 for the Hogue stocked Alaskan are correct. The difference in weight is due simply to the Hogue stock being much heavier than wood. I put one of the standard Ruger molded stocks on the Alaskan and guess it now weighs around 7 1/2 pounds and loaded with a 1-4X Leupold scope around 8 3/4.

Bears can be tough when the first shot is incorrectly placed - or fails in some way - but with anything like proper placement the 375 is more than adequate. I am very familiar with how 270. 285 and 300 grain bullets work on them and am anxious to see if the 350's make any noticable difference.
I don't plan on this rifle replacing my 458 but, out of curiosity, willingly agreed to give both rifles a real field test and am confident they will work fine.
Which is a lot better than the majority of factory AND custom rifles that I have tried have done. I generally refuse requests to carry an unknown rifle while I am backing up bear hunting clients for that reason.

Bottom line is that however practical the .375 Ruger is, it could be a hell of a lot MORE practical if it were an H&H.

I might even own one someday but there's no question I'd prefer an H&H. Hopefully, someday the Ruger will be as or more common but I doubt it.

458Win
Can you please comment on how the 285gr Speer 375 H&H bullet has performed for you.
Thanks.

Well, it showed up today -- really pleased. Trigger's a bit heavy (ehh, it's a stock Ruger), but it handles very nicely. Does anyone know if the stainless is coated w. something, or is it bare? I'll find out what she kicks like tomorrow...

While I never came across any RSMs, the Hawkeye (both mine, and another gentleman's smaller caliber model that was also in the shop) are a tremendous improvement over the old 77 model.

My son and I both have used the 285 gr Speer GS on large Brown Bears with perfect performance. Weight retention 85% or better, excellent expansion and penetration. Finn Aagaard told me it was his favorite soft nosed bullet for the 375 as well.
The 285gr North Fork is also superb and possibly even better.

458Win do you know the diffrence in velocity etween the 20" and 23" barrels?
Thanks
DR B

quote:

Originally posted by PWS:
Bottom line is that however practical the .375 Ruger is, it could be a hell of a lot MORE practical if it were an H&H.

that's the rub, aint it? a ruger in HH costs DOUBLE, and other than the CZ, it's the cheapest "on the shelf" CRF HH there is...

if they were both introduced on the sameday, everyone would laugh a the longer but less capacity HH, and happily stuff their standard length actions with 3.40 rounds

guys, let me tell you, the .25 difference is HUGE HUGE HUGE to make work

jeffe

Dr B, If mine are any indication there is a bit over 100fps difference between the two.

Phil
Thanks for the info on the Speer 285 gr bullet.

A while back I bought several boxes of Speer Nitrex ammo with that bullet. More recently a buddy bought some HSM ammo loaded with the same bullet.

I have not had a chance to test it on wild pigs yet.

In gun test magazine, the ruger in 375 finished behind the CZ 550. It is a pretty good honest magazine.

Was the gun test between the 375 H&H Ruger and the CZ or the 375 Ruger Hawkeye?

quote:

Originally posted by bigdoggy700:
In gun test magazine, the ruger in 375 finished behind the CZ 550. It is a pretty good honest magazine.

I have all three rifles, IMHO they are too disimilar out of the box to make a side by side comparison. It is too subjective.

Other than the funky-clunky recoil contraption on the RSM, mine were both head and shoulders far above and beyond the CZs overall. Both were accurate out of the box, but the RSMs were superior in fit, finish, feeding and reliablility. The RSMs only needed the addition of a stock pin through the web area and a larger front bead.

The CZs are just plain rough. They would require much labor to bring them up to the level of the RSM. They do, however, make the basis for a good solid utility rifle. Here again, it is very subjective as everyone has different likes and dislikes.

The only commonality between the CZ and RSM beside both being H&H, is that both are way too bulky and heavy for this class of rifle. This again is very subjective, but in my book they are both slugs.

This is where the Hawkeye shines. It's not as spit and polished as the RSM, but it is a complete utilitarian package out of the box. Ruger got this rifle right. Weight, handling, function, feeding, sights, accuracy are all outstanding straight out of the box.

GVA

quote:

Originally posted by bigdoggy700:
In gun test magazine, the ruger in 375 finished behind the CZ 550. It is a pretty good honest magazine.

IMO, as a former outdoor writer & magazine editor, gun/equipment tests are highly suspect & often influenced by advertizing revenue, guest hunts, comraderie between reps & writers, personal preferences, etc, etc, etc.

I just returned from Africa. There were 2 .375 Rugs in camp, both successfully killed Buffalo. Both with Hornady ammo.

Nuff said!

JW

While it hasn't changed my mind yet, it's nice to have the option to rebarrel a 30-06, and get a rifle as powerful as the 375 H&H, in a short action.

Still, the 9.3 X 62, with a 285 grain bullet, is likewise supposed to be VERY effective, and, ammo is just a bit easier to find.

On the otherhand, can't you convert a 30-06 length action to 458 Winmag pretty easily, as well, and then only have to worry about one bullet size???

DR S

Shot my 375 Ruger finally. Handles wonderfully, now has a 2.5# trigger. Kicks considerably less than my #1 in 375 H&H, even though the Alaskan has the stock pad, and the #1 had a limbsaver.

What was really surprising is how well the machining was on the scope rings, and mounts -- my smith put the Ruger rings on the gun, dropped in the scope, shifted it for eye relief, and that was it. It bore-sighted dead on, and, so far, it seems to be dead on horiziontally, and is very close on elevation -- it also seems to group quite well -- haven't had time to shoot at a longer range yet (I've just been shooting off-hand, so far.)

It recoils less, or at least is more comfortable than my Father's 300 WSM kimber montana

Does anyone know if you can use 375 H&H bullets in a 375 Ruger?

An excellent choice on your behalf, I think it is and outstanding caliber..The .375 H&H has proven its balistics for a hundred years or so, why won't the Ruger do the same.

Yes, you can use any .375 caliber bullet with the 375 Ruger cases. It was designed for them.

You done goooood!

I handled the Hawkeye 375 a couple of weeks ago. Finaly an American mmanufacturer has figured out what iron sights are for on a rifle that my have to save your sorry butt. Saw one online for $815.00. I would buy it if I didn't have a 375 H&H.

Dave

I hear the 375 Ruger case holds more powder than the H&H. Which one of you guys going to neck it up to 45? Maybe Ruger will do it," the 458 Ruger"

Dave

I shot the African a half dozen times at the Shooting Sports Fair out here before I was run off. It's alot lighter than my .411/.416Rem., the pad is crepe thin, and could use a little higher comb. Felt like it kicked ALOT more than my .411. I'm having a #1 done in .450/.400J 3-inch and think I'll stick with that for ND game and maybe even some DG (have to think about it).

For around $1500 a man could purchase a Ruger 30-06 AND 375 ( in either stainless or blue - your choice ) with virtually identical stocks and actions that weight within a pound or less of each other. Tell me that is not a bargin for the world wide hunter.
I am not a fan of the Hogue stock on their "Alaskan" model but for $65 from Brownells you can buy a Ruger factory synthetic stock just like is on all the other smaller bores and drop the 375 in. that is what I did and it made a well balanced, 7 1/2 pound 375 that you can carry all day.

I'm not one for predictions but the 375 Ruger offers the same "benfits" over the 375 H&H as the 300 Win does over the 300 H&H. I will not be suprise if, in ten years, it becomes the dominant factory round in that caliber.

Once factory ammo and brass become more abundant, the 375 Ruger will be more practical than the 375 H&H IMO.

I agree with pretty much all the accolades for the .375Ruger but still think it would be even better had they just added that difficult 1/4" to the Hawkeye and chambered it for the H&H. Ruger has their reasons that they didn't. There isn't much about the design and performance of the Ruger that one can critize and perhaps in ten years there will be more Rugers being sold than H&Hs. But then again, the metric system is very practical in it's own right and we all know how useful it's made our lives here in the US.

On technical merits it outdoes the H&H without question.

In practice, 2007 is not the time for a new large and dangerous game cartridge to take off no matter how good it is.

The selling point seems to be that the Ruger fits in any cheap -06 length rifle, of which Ruger builds a good example.

Hunting .375 appropriate game is expensive enough to arrange as to make a $800 against a $3000 gun fairly trivial. A M70 Supergrade in H&H has cachet. An investment cast Ruger in the new chambering of the week, however well it may actually work, has none at all.

Which is also about as much ammunition as will be locally available in Mugabestan when they misplace your luggage. None at all.

I think it has commercial failure written all over it.

For some reason, it's also quite clean -- I cleaned up some copper fouling, but that was the only stuff that came out from the patches. I'm really happy w. the gun.

Well I didn't make it up to 458 but will you settle for a 416 Ruger...

I have a barreled action in 375 Ruger necked up to .416 cal. for sale. I had it built up by Jim Brockman on a real nice Mauser action I had, It's ready to stock, but I am building another in .404 Ruger..I may stock the .416 or sell it as is, I think I will keep the .404.

aspade,

$2,200.00 may be trivial to you, but it represents my airline ticket over and back...NOT trivial! The 375 Ruger will do to the 375 H&H what the 300 Win did to the 300 H&H.

That being said, I love all my 375s...Ruger, H&H and Wby, and my pre-war Mdl 70 300 Magnum (H&H) is about my favorite small bore.

The 375 Ruger is their start of a line of cartridges based on this case, IMO. They may do what Big Green and Dead Red failed to do...generate interest and sales. I hope they thrive, accordingly. We don't need another American manufacturer to go tits-up.

Hello

I just bought the 375 Ruger Alaskan. Where can you find the loading data?

Thanks
Mark

I don't really care about the .375 Ruger. I think it is one of those deals where "Only time will tell..."

BUT!! What the hell are you guys talking about the .480 Ruger!? I have a Ruger SRH in .480 Ruger and I love it. It's the perfect wilderness defense handgun IMHO.

I guess I better stock up on components...

Aspade, you make some very relevant points. Also, I think that Ruger/Hornady lost a good opportunity by not bringing out a load with 380gr bullets, both SP and solids, for big game in Africa. I questioned staff at their booth at SCI, Reno, but got zero responseto this!

quote:

Originally posted by Coloradoyaler:
Hello

I just bought the 375 Ruger Alaskan. Where can you find the loading data?

Thanks
Mark

There are a couple of threads that have data and some is quite extensive. You will need to search as they probably go back a month or two.

Mike

Mark,

Here you go

http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger-Hawkeye375.htm

This was posted on an AR thread.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by luv2safari:
aspade,

$2,200.00 may be trivial to you, but it represents my airline ticket over and back...NOT trivial! The 375 Ruger will do to the 375 H&H what the 300 Win did to the 300 H&H.

I am not sure about that one. The 375 H&H has a proven track record in Africa unrivaled by any cartridge. Ammo can be found in almost any African country as well as Alaska hunt shops. Not discounting the efficacy of the 375 ruger, but it doesn't offer that much over the 375 H&H. The 300 H&H suffered because not many rifles were being made for the H&H length action which made the 300 H&H a much more costly rifle compared to the 300 win mag. Winchester broke the mold and made an affordable H&H, but by then, the win mag broke the mold.

As for hidden attribites, the 375 H&H being a lower pressure cartridge will always have an edge when your rifle has been baking in the hot afternoon sun. But for the cooler cliamates, I am sure the 375 ruger will develop a good following.

John

quote:

Originally posted by Big Bore Boar Hunter:

As for hidden attribites, the 375 H&H being a lower pressure cartridge will always have an edge when your rifle has been baking in the hot afternoon sun. But for the cooler cliamates, I am sure the 375 ruger will develop a good following.

SAAMI Pressures:

375 H&H Mag = 62000psi MAX
375 Ruger = 62000psi MAX

I don't know where it ever got started that the 375 Ruger was higher pressure. I think most people automatically assume that new=higher pressure, but it's just not the case with the 375 Ruger.

quote:

Originally posted by syd-jai:

quote:

Originally posted by Big Bore Boar Hunter:

As for hidden attribites, the 375 H&H being a lower pressure cartridge will always have an edge when your rifle has been baking in the hot afternoon sun. But for the cooler cliamates, I am sure the 375 ruger will develop a good following.

SAAMI Pressures:

375 H&H Mag = 62000psi MAX
375 Ruger = 62000psi MAX

I don't know where it ever got started that the 375 Ruger was higher pressure. I think most people automatically assume that new=higher pressure, but it's just not the case with the 375 Ruger.

Not to mention that it has a slightly larger case capacity...should be able to run the same velocities at slightly less pressure.

And the straighter walled case should lessen bolt thrust a bit too.

Cheers,
Canuck

Canuck

When are you going to learn

My favourite one is how the 416 Rigby is better than the 416 Rem because it is rimless and can operate at lower pressure than the 416 Rem. However, the same thinking does not get applied to the 375 RUM and 375 H&H

Mike

Rugers marketing people did a great job of finding a way to sell a bunch of new guns with the same performance we've had for nearly 100 years. New cartridge = more new guns sold. BTW the 375 Ruger has been around for almost 20 years as the 375 G&A aka 375 Breeding aka 375 Van Horn. It's nothing new other than a new name on an old wildcat.

The Newton case is a few thou smaller diameter than the .375 Ruger. The Van Horn and Breeding cases were from 404 Jeffery, weren't they? Bigger diameter than the .375 Ruger cases.
Give Ruger and Hornady just a little credit for a unique new brass case.

It is just amazing that it took anyone so long to come up with it.

Charles Newton was the closest, but no cigar.

Long, long ago and far, far away the entire situation begins in a non-regulated Africa when the sporting public began plinking African dangerous game with f****** .243's, .257 Wby's, .30-06's etc. The East African Hunters Association stepped in and recommended a .375 caliber as a minimum (9.3/,366" for hunters that could demonstrate experience) for dangerous game. Since then the factories offered an expensive .375 H&H length action and "African" styled heavy rifle or nothing. Plenty of .338's (it's a shame no factory .358 magnum) but in a mixed bag safari the .338 is not legal for DG. With the unfortunate loss of the M70 and in a brillant move in steps Ruger with a factory CFR standard length .375 caliber go anywhere do anything trim package.

The .375 DG caliber minimum standard makes the Ruger a winner.