It seems .375 H&H is increasingly popular right now.
With some of the lighter bullets available nowadays this caliber is seemingly appropriate for a very broad spectrum of game.
Winchester and Remington have each chambered a 7.5 lb sporter rifle in .375 H&H making the temptation even greater to pack this bigbore anywhere in North America. I previously would have never entertained a rifle in this caliber because I've only seen the .375 H&H as a 9+lbs safari rifle until recently.

Can anyone testify as to what the recoil is like from 7.5lb rifle chambered in 375? Is a rifle like this really suited to shoot loads from 200 - 300+ grns?

GordM

GordM
I have had 2 different light 375's a SAKO Hanbdy Rifle, [my brother has it now] and a Blaser R93 with two different 375bbls, the regular sporter, and the 19/3/4" Tracker bbl. I have shot all of them to 200 yards a fair amount on paper. If you hold them tight and consistant thay do just fine. If you do not handload the Federal 250 Trophybonded Bearclaw or the Federal 260 Accubond are both good loads for game shot at a distance.
The Hornady 270 HEAVY MAGNUM is also very accurate but has quite a bit of recoil.
For deer and pig hunting the 220 Hornady FN at @ 2200fps and the 235 Speer at @2400 to 2500fps work great with much reduced recoil.

GordM, the recoil from a 7.5 rifle in .375 would be stouter than a 9 lb gun thats obivous.If you havent fired a .375 yet try one that is stocked and weighed for caliber. Then add about 10 to 15% on to the felt recoil and you will be close. The .375 isnt a hard kicking caliber, but to some it is more than they can handle with accuarcy. The older British stocked rifles are much more pleasent to shoot than todays straight stocked synthetics with very little drop at the but. If you havent bought one yet shoot one first, thats my advice. Hope this helps you out. Charlie

My 375 weighs in at just under 7 # without scope and ammo. With both it may be just about 7 and a half or just under 8. It does recoil. Not bad mind you. No real pain involved just lets you know it went off. If you are worried about a light 375 and recoil, just shoot a light 416 a bit and you will discover that a light 375 does not recoil much at all. That is what I did and it worked just fine.

Amen to that - I have a .375 and .416. The .375 is a 9 pounder as is the .416 but the .416 packs a wallop.
I will likely sell the .416 and focus on the .375.

I have two Browning A Bolt synthetic in 375, they weigh around 7 pounds without scope , one has a muzzle break and the other does not, recoil is whatever the shooter thinks of it but it is surely much less than my 416 or 458 and quite similar to my 300 and 338. The break tames it but it surprisingly mild for what the caliber is capable of

My Whitworth, which has been mildly customized, weighs 7.5lbs empty. It also has a narrow buttprint. It can be painful, has a fast and sharp recoil velocity, especially with lighter bullets like 235s. I still enjoy shooting it though, it is a pleasure to walk with and points like a dream.

There is no doubt that the .375 is milder than the various .416's, and when you shoot speer 235's I feel it is the same as my light weight Ruger wih boat paddle stock shooting 180's as fast as an 06 can shoot them.

Unfortunately I don't currently have access to a .375 H&H to try out for a day yet. And when I do get a chance to try one out it won't likely be with custom handloads.
So I ask you this, "What would be ball park recoil from a 8# rifle shooting 200'ish grns at close to 2900+fps? Would it be comparable to a similar weighted 300WM pushing 180 grns at 2900+fps or are we talking a whole new dimension of recoil with the .375 H&H?

Thanks,


GordM

It will be more than the 300 magnum. Closest thing I can think of that I have shot is a 12 gauge 3" magnum. But it won't be that bad, just a matter of getting accustomed to.

a 375 doesn't boot!!

Seriously, if you reload, start it VERY light and train.. work up a grain or 2 a month and soon you'll be totally immune to that guns' recoil

jeffe

GordM, the 235x2900, the .270x2700 and the 300x 2600 will feel about the same. fla30-06 was right, the 12ga, with 3" mags will come close to duplicateing the recoil of full power loads in the .375. The .300 Winchester mag has 24 to 25 foot lbs. of felt energy. The .375 has 38 to 39 ft. lbs. of felt energy. If my memory serves me right the 12 ga. with 3" mags comes in around 32 to 35 ft lbs. of energy. What the big diiference is between the 12 ga. and the .375 is recoil duration measured in mil. seconds.The shot guns recoil is much shorter in time due to its faster powder, the .375 uses modertly slow burning powder and will give you a longer recoil duration, but not with a slam bang thank you mam, as most of the over bore magnums will. Hope this helps you out. Charlie

My Blaser R93 in .375 H&H Mag. originally weighed in at 7.5 lbs. scoped. It was the as-issued Blaser with "Americanized" straight stock and thin, hard rubber recoil pad.

I don't know what to compare it to, but the recoil was stiff and sharp, like a fast belt or poke, and I didn't like it.

I put a Blaser "Kickstop" tungsten-filled tube recoil reducer in the stock, a small Breako mercury tube in the forearm and an Answer Products recoil pad on the buttstock. Now it weighs just under 10 lbs. scoped and loaded and is as tame as a pussycat.

So the long and short of it is, I know enough about 7.5 lb. .375s to know I didn't like the one I had and I don't want another one!

For one thing, don't believe the Winchester website. My Stainless Classic .375 H&H weighs more than 7.5 lbs. Recoil - handloaded Speer 235 @ about 2850 fps is pretty sharp - more than my .300 Win Mag with 180 gr. loads had. Federal 300 grain Partitions are pretty comfortable - more push, less pop. The Win Rubbermaid stock got a Sims recoil pad, but I'm waiting on D'Arcy Echols to phone me that he has a Legend stock in that will fit. Then the Rubbermaid POS will be in the classifieds.

A 7.5 lb. 375 is snappy...very snappy...I like a 9 lb. 375 complete with scope, that is about right for me...

I don´t understand why you Americans like your big bores so light....in my kind of hunting weight is not a consideration, thus my own 375 is a truck axle, but I feel that a 10/11 pounds rifle should be about right. That way the recoil should be absolutely tamed.

Like a 36 gram load in a regular side by side shotgun, is what it feels like.
No less no more..

My 375 H&H is an Encore single shot and weoghs 7 lbs. I use either the 225 gr Hornady or the 235 gr XLC from barnes for all my CONUS hunting in this caliber to keep recoil down. Top loads are 2900 to 3000 fps with R15, but this is only for game way, wat out yonder. Sane recoil can be had at 2750 to 2800 fps.

The XLC will penetrate like a tough 270 grainer, so it is used for tough critters. The 225 grainer is grand for deer sized game and VERY inexpensive to shoot.

Hello, in line with these talks I want to ask who has the force of recoil 375 H & H caliber Magnum ammunition with the Remington Core Lock of 270 grains, which is the tip that I use to hunt in Spain for our wild boar. I have a 550 Magnum in Ceska this caliber, even I have not shot with him and I am used to gauge shotgun to shoot 12-70 and the 338 Win Mag and peak weight of 200 grains. I wanted to know how this is the reversal of this caliber rifle and the make and model of cartridge I said.

Thank you,

Oscar.

Your 7.5 lb 375 H&H (without scope) will recoil about as much as a 9.5 lb 375 Weatherby (without scope). That being said it is still way less recoil than a 9.5 lb 416 Rigby ... Myself, I'll just continue to workout and lift weights and haul my 10 lb 375 H&H around ...


Chuck

quote:

don´t understand why you Americans like your big bores so light....in my kind of hunting weight is not a consideration, thus my own 375 is a truck axle, but I feel that a 10/11 pounds rifle should be about right. That way the recoil should be absolutely tamed.

My friend, I must not be a very good American because I definitely agree with you there!



But I also understand why one wouldn't want to carry around an overly heavy rifle in the field in places like Africa. Still, I think I'd look for some kind of compromise.

I'm 65, and if I can hump a 9.5 lb. Mod 70 around the bush, so can anyone else.

I shoot only 270 & 300 grain bullets from the rifle, max handloads, and I can run thirty rounds through it offhand before tiring. I would imagine a 7.5 lb. rifle would be somewhat uncomfortable to shoot regularly.