Gents,

I've been wrestling with this for a while now and its hard to see a clear consensus given how often people refer to differing weights loaded, scoped, bare, etc.

Would be great to get commentary (the why behind your vote) in the comments as well. Maybe some of our more well known smiths will even provide their perspective!

Question:
What is the ideal weight for a .375 rifle that will be carried in the field, used in the US and Africa as the one rifle for game ranging for bear, buffalo, hippo, etc. Assume a 1lb scope will be added. What is your recommendation on the ideal weight of the bare rifle - with rings, unloaded.

Choices:
6.5 lbs
7 lbs
7.5 lbs
8 lbs
8.5 lbs
9 lbs
9.5 lbs
10 lbs
10.5 lbs
11 lbs

 

nine pounds, plus scope and ammo. Recoil should be your last concern hunting DG. Especially if a fast follow up shot is called for.

Guys build/buy a lightweight rifle, and say you will carry it a lot more than you will shot it. That does have merit, but if you got a bloody nose or scope eyebrow because you built/bought a lightweight rifle, your brain will remember that beating for the rest of your life.

8# with the scope and mounts is doable.It will be 8.5 or so with magazine full and sling. The recoil will be stiff but not punishing.
My old Dakota with the Clifton stock was that weight and I found it to be about perfect wherever or for whatever I hunted.

Mark

My AI weighs in just under 9#, scoped,loaded,and slung. It gets your attention from the bench, but certainly not unbearable. Honestly, I wish it were a little lighter, as like was said earlier, I carry it more than I shoot it. In a perfect world, it would be 2# lighter when carrying and 2# heavier when shooting! memtb

With a correctly fitting stock and balanced, a rifle of no more than around 8lbs bare should do it.

I have an original H&H 375H&H Belted Mag that weighs 8lb 2 oz bare and is a lot nicer to shoot than all the other belted 375's I have tried, including some weighing many lbs more.

The rifle is over 100yrs old yet fits me very well. It has a horn buttplate.

I don't have the weights that you request written down, but my pre 64 Win 70 in 375 H&H is 10.57 pounds scoped and slung; 10.91 loaded. I voted 9 pounds for the bare gun.

My Whitworth weighs 9.5lbs. ready to shoot. It is scoped with a 2.5-8 Leupold in Leupold QD mounts, the recoil is noticeable but not bad.

Thanks guys, look forward to seeing the trends in the poll.

I've got a BRNO 602 in a mcmillan stock with a 25" inch barrel that Tom Burgess did a lot of work on (took off all action markings, smoothed it out, reversed safety, and checkered knob).

It is 9 lb bare with rings and 10 lbs with a swaro 1.7-10 x42. 4 ounces lighter with a leupold vx-III.

If feels heavy to carry but it very pleasant to shoot for a higher recoil rifle - not bad at all.

Looking at getting another made on an M70 action that might be easier to carry, bit lighter.

Shot my guide's .375 ruger "guide gun" in synthetic and steel and it had a lot more bite to it, but seemed very light weight.

Thanks again for the insight, hopefully the poll will be useful for others.

I said 8 1/2.

Nine and ten with a scope. Makes for roaring pussycat.

I said 8 lbs. I really like my 375 H&H model 70 Safari Classic. Just the right weight and well balanced with or without a low power scope. I also have a Match Grade Arms 375 H&H that weighs in at 6.25 lbs. with the scope...but the brake helps to calm it down to a reasonable level.

I took a 375H&H elk hunting some years ago. total weight was 9 6; so according to your poll I picked 8 8. It was handy enough to carry up & down hills all day yet had enough heft to be steady when shooting. My preference is toward light for caliber bullets, 250s in the 375, so recoil is much less an issue than if I used the heavyweights.

My Brno 602, restocked to my measure, weigh 11 lbs with scope...the weight does not bother me and I have shot game from springbok to elephant with it..

The rifle fits me like a glove and I find it easier to shoot from a standing position than lighter rifles.

quote:

Idaho said:
Guys build/buy a lightweight rifle, and say you will carry it a lot more than you will shot it. That does have merit, but if you got a bloody nose or scope eyebrow because you built/bought a lightweight rifle, your brain will remember that beating for the rest of your life.

I think that a scope should have 4" eye relief or more.

And it is true that a hunter carries a rifle much more than a shot. At the bench a person can add a shoulder pad. For an elk hunt I am thinking that my 338WM will be preferable to my stateside 416Rigby. The Rigby is heavier, at least 1.5 lb.

I think my Ruger Hawkeye African in 375 Ruger weighs around 8.5lbs or there abouts. The recoil isn't bad with full house loads.

8.5 lbs sound about right. Ours weighs in at 7.25 lbs with scope, it's a little snappy but not bad at all. Then again my 500 Jeffery weighs 12 lbs with scope and I wouldn't want it any lighter.

I voted 8.5 lbs. naked, that ends up with a small scope and loaded close to 9 lbs. and that's a good .375 weight for an old man...

A .375 H&H Rifle with rings and bases, no scope, no ammo, no sling, assume an M-70 Winchester, Pre-64 or Classic/CRF:

7.0 lbs:
If you use a 24"-long No. 3 Sporter barrel (.625" diameter at the muzzle)--that is the minimum weight barrel to be considered.
Then you also have to use a 1-pound stock like a Brown Precision "Pounder" to make it balance correctly.

8.5 lbs:
If you use a No. 4 Sporter contour, and a heavier stock like a slim, walnut 2-pounder.

Real Examples, weighed by me:

8-pounder with fries value meal with rings and bases:

The latest Winchester Model 70 ALASKAN .375 H&H:
7.625 lbs (7#10oz) with no rings, no bases, no ammo, no sling, no scope. Very close to 8 lbs if rings and bases are added:
ALASKAN recipe:
25" barrel that is 0.640" diameter at the muzzle,



it lies between No. 3 and No. 4 contours.
Walnut stock weight is 2.0 lbs.
Barreled-action weight is 5.625 lbs.

~8-pounder (with rings and bases): Alaskan M70



Wood hollowed out of forearm to lighten it for balance:





Compare it to the chunkier Win M70 Safari Classic with 24" barrel that is 0.720" diameter at muzzle, about a 9-pounder, or more, in .375 H&H, with rings.
I have the same rifle in .416 RemMag and it weighs 9.125 lbs (9#-2oz) with no bases or rings.
The .375 H&H will be heavier if the barrel contour is the same:



My Win. M70 Classic Stainless .375 H&H (rechambered to .375 WbyMag) with factory 24" barrel and 0.720" muzzle diameter:



Re-stocked with a 2.5-pound HS Precision stock, it weighs 8.688 lbs (8#-11oz) with QRW bases only.
Add the rings and you have to call it a 9-pounder also (no scope, ammo or sling):



7-pounder (including rings and bases only, no scope, ammo or sling): Pre-64 Win. M70 action (No. 3 sporter barrel, 24", Brown Pounder stock),
without the rings and bases, and without the Uncle Mike's barrel clamp for sling base on the barrel,
it is 6.75 pounds (6#-12oz), as close to a Featherweight as I care to be with a .375 H&H, my ideal .375 H&H.
I did hunt Alaska, Kentucky, and Botswana with this rifle, a real pleasure, both to carry and shoot.
I called it "Uru" which was the Marvel Comic Book name for the hammer of Thor:





Uru was first blooded in 1993 at Prince William Sound, with a 300-yard shot on a 350-pound black bear.
250-grain Sierra GameKing at +2700 fps, shooting uphill at a 30 to 40-degree angle. I just held dead-on center of chest with a 200-yard zero and he came tumbling down the mountainside at the shot.
I skinned him and carried the hide back to the beach.
I was the fifth wheel on that trip, they dropped me off at noon on the beach and were surprised to find me sitting there with a bear skin five hours later.
On this brief solo bear glassing, I nearly despaired after a couple of hours by myself. Then I told myself that I must think like a bear in order to hunt a bear. Does a bear shit in the woods? Yes. So I took a dump, a rest stop.
After this interlude, I looked up and there was a bear on the mountainside.
Mooning the bear had worked!
I took another rest and shot the bear.
Uru, embarrassed by my bare ass that got the bear's ass, is hiding behind the bear skin in first photo below.
I got to crawl along behind three other hunters the next day as they approached a bait station set up in another little valley of the bay.
The boat owner's son nailed a huge black bear well over 600 pounds, using several shots from a 270 Winchester!
Hell, I was there! But I am not telling the location of that bay other than it was somewhere west of Valdez.



Then in Kentucky in 1997, Uru was used for a 50-yard neck shot, after my 460 Wby stopped the running Mad Cow, on a culling operation:



And Uru made a one-shot kill at 150 yards on my first shot in Africa, Botswana 2001:

RIP,

Thanks for the specific examples, I've heard many comment that the factory contour for the .375 is too large, looks like the Alaskan is a different story.

9 pounds was what it was and what it would be ! now we can play and built light weight customs ( if you like the recoil ) or one can add fat if you have some macho thing for hauling extra weight around in the boonies; but truth be told a "proper" 375 should be around 9 pounds give or take a few.

I have never owned a 375 H&H or similar.

However my M98 Simson 9.3X62 weighs 8.5 lbs with a Leupold 2-7X scope. I shoot very well with that rifle, even rapid fire off hand at 50 meters gives me 5 shot groups of 3 inches.

My CZ 550 Mag in 416 Rigby with Kevlar stock including a 1.5-6X scope weighed 9.5 lbs. Again I shoot very well with this off hand.

If I remember right my m70 Safari Express weighs 9lbs, 10oz all up with scope, mounts and sling. It could lose a pound or so but I've grown to like its balance.

I voted for 8.5 as the ideal weight. That's almost 9 (give or take).....

Here is another .375 H&H Win. M70 example, weighed by someone other than me, Classic Stainless action in walnut stock, no iron sights on barrel, only one crossbolt:

8.875 pounds (8#-14oz)

From Champlin Firearms, Inc.: http://www.champlinarms.com/De...GunID=3038&StyleID=2



WINCHESTER MODEL 70 - LEFT HAND - 375 H&H - CLASSIC STAINLESS - 24" BARREL - CONTROL ROUND FEED - OVERALL 98% - WALNUT STOCK - Bore as New - 13 3/4" LOP - 8 Lbs. 14 Oz. - Total Stainless Steel - Action Glass Bedded - Action & Feeding Set-Up by David Sullivan at West Wind Rifles
Style: Caliber: Price:
Bolt Rifle

375 H&H $1,175.00
Description:
#G178931, Winchester Model 70 LEFT HAND Classic Stainless in 375 H&H, Controlled Round Feed with a Claw Extractor, 24" barrel without opens sights, Standard 3 position safety, Standard Model 70 hinged floorplate, Jeweled bolt, Walnut stock with a cheekpiece for the left hand, Single cross bolt at the rear of the action, 13 3/4" LOP over the factory 1/2" pad, It will go 14 1/4" LOP with a 1" pad installed, 8 lbs. 14 Oz., The bore is as new. The piece is glass bedded both fore & aft in the action area. The feeding and the action were worked on to smooth it up by David Sullivan at West Wind Rifles in Erie, Colo. Mr. Sullivan builds long range and match competitive rifles and has done so since 1977. He has an excellent reputation.

Just for variety, here is a Whitworth Mark X, a Mauser M98 clone, re-chambered from .375 H&H to .375 Wby with the old 1947 freebore.
I call her either "Ol'Ugly" or "Linda Lovelace."



Since it has a pop-up peep on the rear Weaver base and another rear "iron sight" on the Ruger quarter rib on the barrel,
which also accepts a pair of Ruger rings in the scout scope location,
and a pair of "bespoke" aluminum Weaver bases on the action, to accept 3 Weaver rings,
I weighed it without rings: 8.188 pounds (8#-3oz)

Add the weight of your choice of any two or three-ring set to that weight. Ruger or Weaver.

BTW, the barrel is 24" long, and about 0.670" at the muzzle diameter, standard Whitworth .375 H&H contour, factory barrel and front sight.
The stock is the standard-weight Brown Precision blank that I finished by smearing some JB Weld on it and then some black Krylon spray paint.
This was my first ever adventure into rifle building in 1987 in Alaska.
The gunsmith who did the metal work was allergic to epoxy (he said) but I am not.
I might sand that stock down and actually finish it someday.

So Rip do you notice a real difference in recoil between 375 H&H and 375 Bee rounds shooting 300g bullets. My XCR II in 375 Bee which is a tad lighter is definitely snappier with Weatherby ammo. With 375 H&H it's a pussycat. Though I do believe your rifle is much prettier ... The XCR is truly ugly

I voted 8 pounds. I have a .375 CZ and a Mark X and the Mark X is lighter and more likely to get used than the CZ.

Chuck,

I don't notice any difference between an 8-pound scoped .375 H&H and a 10-pound scoped .375 Wby.

But if your scoped .375 Wby is a 7-pounder, you might notice a difference between it and a 7-pound, scoped .375 H&H:

Both with 24" barrels:
.375 H&H: 300-grain bullet, 72 grains of powder, 2530 fps MV.
vs
.375 Wby: 300-grain bullet, 88 grains of powder, 2740 fps

RCBS Recoil Calculator:
free recoil .... ft-lbs // fps

.375 H&H:
.... 7-pounder: 54.6 // 22.4
.... 8-pounder: 47.8 // 19.6
.... 9-pounder: 42.5 // 17.42
... 10-pounder: 38.2 // 15.68
... 11-pounder: 34.7 // 14.25

.375 Wby:
.... 7-pounder: 69.2 // 25.2
.... 8-pounder: 60.6 // 22.1
.... 9-pounder: 53.8 // 19.61
... 10-pounder: 48.4 // 17.65
... 11-pounder: 44.0 // 16.05

Also, I still think my rifle is uglier than yours.
Phil Shoemaker might have me beat with his "Ol' Ugly," but not you!

Other Chuck:

The .375 H&H CZ 550 Magnum in the Euro stock is right at 9.5 pounds before you add the 6-ounce set of CZ scope rings.
Grand total of 9.875 pounds with rings, no scope, no ammo, no sling.

Mighty close to a 10 pounder.
Yep, mighty close to 11-pounder when scoped. Charged with six rounds of ammo it is over 11 pounds. Add a sling to that and it is about 11.5 pounds.

I have not been able to keep one without re-chambering to .375 Wby:





Or 378 Wby:



The barrel is 25" and a lot like a No. 4 sporter contour, .667" muzzle diameter.
But it has added weight from the integral rear sight base and front ramp, and the recoil lug contraption on the barrel, including the heavy steel F-block imbedded in the forearm.

You can lighten it a bit by getting rid of the F-Block and putting it in the B&C composite stock.
The Phat American Safari-style stock in laminate or walnut is heavier than the Euro hogback.










.375 H&H with 24" barrel: 300-grain bullet, 72 grains of powder, 2530 fps MV.
vs
.375 Wby with 24" barrel: 300-grain bullet, 88 grains of powder, 2740 fps MV.
vs
378 Wby with 25" barrel: 300-grain bullet, 111 grains of powder, 2910 fps MV.

RCBS Recoil Calculator:
free recoil .... ft-lbs // fps

.375 H&H:
.... 7-pounder: 54.6 // 22.4
.... 8-pounder: 47.8 // 19.6
.... 9-pounder: 42.5 // 17.42
... 10-pounder: 38.2 // 15.68
... 11-pounder: 34.7 // 14.25

.375 Wby:
.... 7-pounder: 69.2 // 25.2
.... 8-pounder: 60.6 // 22.1
.... 9-pounder: 53.8 // 19.61
... 10-pounder: 48.4 // 17.65
... 11-pounder: 44.0 // 16.05

378 Wby:
.... 7-pounder: 88.2 // 28.5
.... 8-pounder: 77.1 // 24.9
.... 9-pounder: 68.6 // 22.1
... 10-pounder: 61.7 // 19.92
... 11-pounder: 56.1 // 18.11
... 12-pounder: 51.4 // 16.60

An 11-pound 378 Wby kicks about like a 9-pound .375 Wby or a 7-pound .375 H&H.

My Interarms Mark X with scope and full magazine weighs in at 9 pounds.

At one point in time I owned both a .300 and ,340 Weatherby. My normal loading in my .375 is 235 grain Barnes "X" bullets, the loads in my .300 Weatherby was 165 0r 168 grain Barnes and 225 grain Barnes in the .340.

Both of the Weatherby's were about 8.5 pounds with scope and full magazine. I killed a bunch of stuff with the .340 and often wish I had not sold it.

I still have the .300 and the .375, but I found out long ago, I could set at the bench with the .375 a lot longer than with either of the Weatherby's.

As a side note the last .458 I owned was a CZ 550 with the Luxe stock, and with the loads I used in it, it was not that bad recoil wise.

Interesting to see the poll results.... Maybe some of the bigger manufacturers need to see where they are going wrong!!! 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 lb 375's are not necessary.....

Cheers,
Mark.

6.5 before scope, ammo, and sling ...
makes it at or over 8# -- and a 375HH/ruger/steyr just doesn't kick that hard...

my HEAVIEST bigbore is 11.25# -- a 550 express --

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
6.5 before scope, ammo, and sling ...
makes it at or over 8# -- and a 375HH/ruger/steyr just doesn't kick that hard...

my HEAVIEST bigbore is 11.25# -- a 550 express --

Since when do we refer to the weight of a rifle as to having ammo or not?

I would put the ideal weight of a 375 at 8 3/4 lbs-one pound lighter than a 458 Lott and one pound heavier than a 300WM.

This is a good discussion with direct application for my wife of 110 pounds.
She has a Ruger Alaskan 375 Ruger for Tanzania but the rifle is currently in the US.
She does not look forward to carrying a 9 pound 375 (8 pounds plus scope) up and down mountains, especially when she has a 6.5 pound Tikka 270 (7.5 pounds with scope).

In Tanzania it is common to carry a rifle for short excursions up to one hour when hunting more common antelope. Longer tracking is usually only for more special animals like buffalo and eland. So she is not so concerned about carrying a 9lb. rifle on flat ground for a relatively small part of a day. But for an elk hunt, the question of rifle carrying weight is more serious than recoil. She handles the Alaskan well, though she normally only shoots loads that are at a recoil level of a 300Win or 9.3x62.

quote:

Originally posted by RIP:
Chuck,

I don't notice any difference between an 8-pound scoped .375 H&H and a 10-pound scoped .375 Wby.

But if your scoped .375 Wby is a 7-pounder, you might notice a difference between it and a 7-pound, scoped .375 H&H:

Both with 24" barrels:
.375 H&H: 300-grain bullet, 72 grains of powder, 2530 fps MV.
vs
.375 Wby: 300-grain bullet, 88 grains of powder, 2740 fps

RCBS Recoil Calculator:
free recoil .... ft-lbs // fps

.375 H&H:
.... 7-pounder: 54.6 // 22.4
.... 8-pounder: 47.8 // 19.6
.... 9-pounder: 42.5 // 17.42
... 10-pounder: 38.2 // 15.68
... 11-pounder: 34.7 // 14.25

.375 Wby:
.... 7-pounder: 69.2 // 25.2
.... 8-pounder: 60.6 // 22.1
.... 9-pounder: 53.8 // 19.61
... 10-pounder: 48.4 // 17.65
... 11-pounder: 44.0 // 16.05

Also, I still think my rifle is uglier than yours.
Phil Shoemaker might have me beat with his "Ol' Ugly," but not you!

Thanks Rip, yes Phil has us both beat

I voted 8lb so just over 9lb all up. Light enough to carry all day long but not uncomfortable to shoot.

This thread is a very practical question for my wife and myself.

My wife weighs 110 pounds, dripping wet. A 9# rifle (that is 8# plus scope) is really all that she wants to carry in a place like Tanzania where the land is flat and a stalk for common antelope is typically under one hour.

So she got a Ruger Alaskan 375 Ruger, the 20" model with a laminate stock shortened to a 13" LOP. The rifle is currently in the US because local hunting is closed in TZ this year and next.

This means that if we go on an elk-deer hunt next year in the US, she will need to choose between a 7.5# (6.5#+scope) Tikka 270Win and the 9# (8#+scope) Ruger 375 Ruger. The Western US, like Colorado or Montana often means a lot of up and down hiking, something that we are committed to. However, a 9# rifle starts to get old in that situation. The 7.5# Tikka looks pretty nice when she thinks about filling the deer tag and letting me go for the elk with my 338, also a 9# affair (assuming that I don't lug around my 416Rigby at close to 11#).

Practically speaking, it is the carrying weight of her 375Ruger that will probably lead her away from choosing it for a US hunt. Shooting the 270 and 375 are both OK for her. She rolls with the recoil and finds the noise more bothersome than the shove. Of course she doesn't shoot a lot of 375 at any one session, 3-4 groups are fine, and her loads are closer to a 9.3x62 or 338.

I also voted for 9lbs. My Model 70 Classic Stainless that wears an HS Precision Sporter stock and re-chambered to 375 Weatherby is very close to 9lbs un-scoped. I find the weight to be ideal, both to carry and for recoil dampening. The Weatherby is very 'snappy' compared to the H&H.

Cheers.

Mine is a Rem 798 action, 22 inch Lilja #3, Talley (steel) bases and rings, Leopold 2.5-8X, and Bell and Carlson Medalist stock. Comes in at exactly 8 pounds. Made for Alaskan hunting. 300 grain loads are pretty stiff, but not bad for what it is.