I'l looking for a good stainless/composite .375. I'm leaning towards a Kimber Talkeetna or a Win Classic stainless, both or which have controlled round feed and a good rep for accuracy. Thoughts? Any others I should be looking at? Anyone have something interesting for sale?

I think there is a 404J Stainless Winchester for sale in the classifieds.

Andy

Yes, it looks like a beautiful gun. I just can't imagine needing more than a .375 on this continent. If it wasn't for the larger bears I couldn't see needing more than a .300 mag.

I've never had anything to do with a 404 Jeffrey and would be leery of ammunition unavailability if I traveled for a hunt & my ammunition didn't arrive when I did. The 375 H&H is available worldwide (if not in Walmart).

404J would be a great caliber, albeit ammo is a little harder to find. The 404 is comparable in recoil to the 375, but with a bit more hitting power. That being said, I have a sako 75 stainless in 375H&H and would recommend one if you could find one. The remington 700KS (stainless kevlar stock) customs were pretty good. The winnies are ok, but some of the later New Havens require a bit of work to get them to shoot well. The Kimbers are pretty good, but a little pricey.

John

The best 375 is a 416.

you can always load a 404 down to 375 levels. You can't go the other way. Hornady sells ammunition and brass, as do several others.

Rich
550 Gibbs Magnum founder

If I wasn't building a 10.75x68 I'd probably acquire that 404Stainless, but I am also buying a 600OK and already have a 375H&H.

Rich is spot on. You can greatly download a 404 to the level of "lessor" rifles but you can't upload a 375 to a 404.

Buy it quick, unless you have some special attachment to 375.

JMO

Andy

If I wasn't to get a .375 H&H I think I would lean towards the .375 RUM or even the .338 RUM. My use is likely to be bears, moose & an elk or two. Since I am not shopping for an African safari round it seems flattening the trajectory to increase my range would do me more good than increasing frontal area. The .375 H&H was my first pick based upon cartridge availability. Thoughts on the RUM cartridges?

I've got a person trying to sell me his .375 Ruger Alaskan. I'm leery because of the barrel length — or lack thereof, and not knowing if this cartridge will exist 10 years from now. No other manufacturer has chambered for this round & that normally means a cartridge will soon die. Thoughts there??

quote:

Originally posted by Buano:
If I wasn't to get a .375 H&H I think I would lean towards the .375 RUM or even the .338 RUM. My use is likely to be bears, moose & an elk or two. Since I am not shopping for an African safari round it seems flattening the trajectory to increase my range would do me more good than increasing frontal area. The .375 H&H was my first pick based upon cartridge availability. Thoughts on the RUM cartridges?

I've got a person trying to sell me his .375 Ruger Alaskan. I'm leery because of the barrel length — or lack thereof, and not knowing if this cartridge will exist 10 years from now. No other manufacturer has chambered for this round & that normally means a cartridge will soon die. Thoughts there??

Forget the .375 Ruger, get an H&H. Ditto, for the Ultramag. If you want more velocity buy an H&H and punch it out to .375 Weatherby, it's a $100 job any competent smith can do. That way you can use standard .375 H&H ammo in a pinch.

I've had a couple of the factory M70 Stainless Classics and they are good rifles. I also have a custom built on a M70 CRF stainless action. Never owned a Talkeetna but I think they are overpriced for what you are getting.

quote:

Originally posted by wombat:
The best 375 is a 416.

And the best 416 is a 458!

quote:

Originally posted by JoeR:

quote:

Originally posted by wombat:
The best 375 is a 416.

And the best 416 is a 458!

And the best 4-anything is whatever you can shoot straight. I think the best .458 is a .375 as I cannot shoot the big ones very straight.

Dogcat's reply is one of my concerns: I've never fired a centerfire with more recoil than my 7 MM Rem mag & don't want to buy something that's more gun than I'll be comfortable shooting. (I do shoot a Benelli 3.5" 12 gauge.) From what I've been told I believe I will be able to shoot a .375 well, and shooting well is the primary objective. Someday might I buy something bigger? Sure, but that's someday. For now I'm planning on stepping "up" with 2 rifles, a .300 RUM (probably a Remington Sendero) & a .375. I've also got someone trying to do a trade that would get me a .338 RUM Stainless-Stalker with a brake. For now, anything larger than these is not going to happen.

Now back to the point, which .375s are people happiest with & why? I have always preferred longer barrels so I lean towards at least a 23" barrel in a .375. Thoughts on the other cartridges & rifles I'm considering?

quote:

Originally posted by Dark Continent:

quote:

Originally posted by Buano:
If I wasn't to get a .375 H&H I think I would lean towards the .375 RUM or even the .338 RUM. My use is likely to be bears, moose & an elk or two. Since I am not shopping for an African safari round it seems flattening the trajectory to increase my range would do me more good than increasing frontal area. The .375 H&H was my first pick based upon cartridge availability. Thoughts on the RUM cartridges?

I've got a person trying to sell me his .375 Ruger Alaskan. I'm leery because of the barrel length — or lack thereof, and not knowing if this cartridge will exist 10 years from now. No other manufacturer has chambered for this round & that normally means a cartridge will soon die. Thoughts there??

Forget the .375 Ruger, get an H&H. Ditto, for the Ultramag. If you want more velocity buy an H&H and punch it out to .375 Weatherby, it's a $100 job any competent smith can do. That way you can use standard .375 H&H ammo in a pinch.

I've had a couple of the factory M70 Stainless Classics and they are good rifles. I also have a custom built on a M70 CRF stainless action. Never owned a Talkeetna but I think they are overpriced for what you are getting.

+1; I have a Mod 70 stainless classic punched out to 375 wea. in a Mcmillan safari drop box stock. IT shoots 2800 FPS with factory 300 gr NP fodder out of a 24" barrel (Oehler chrono'd). A flat shooter and will digest 375 H&H ammo if required.

quote:

+1; I have a Mod 70 stainless classic punched out to 375 wea. in a Mcmillan safari drop box stock. IT shoots 2800 FPS with factory 300 gr NP fodder out of a 24" barrel (Oehler chrono'd). A flat shooter and will digest 375 H&H ammo if required.

How accurate is it? How many rounds through it? And you are asking how much?

Buano,

It is not for sale but I can tell you that the stock was about $450.00 and the sunny hill stainless bottom metal was another $400 and change. The reaming to 375 Wea was about what was mentioned above at $100.00.
I did a few more tweaks to my gun. Had a NECG Masterpiece barrel band front sight added and a Brockman peep on the rear of the Talley bases and typical action honing and trigger work.
The gun shoots about into a inch at 100 yards or a tad less. Point of Bear!

Sounds like quite a gun.

My favourite "used" .375H&H is an "old" Mod. 70 as these actions hold 4 down plus "one up the spout". I have both an original which is in a Borden-Rimrock and a Grizzly buster, using the P-64 action, a salvaged Classic sts. tube cut o 20", salvaged Micky stock, with NECG sights and Leupy QRWs; this shoots 300 NPs into tiny groups and is very nice to pack around.

I have a .458WM, an old Browning Safari-LE, it is being re-done with one of Duane's drop mags, whatever stock Ralf Martini can figure out and NECGs, however, I honestly do not see this as a really practical rifle for serious hunting as the .375H&Hs are, it is just a fun project to load and shoot.

My feeling is that most guys are better off to shoot a .375H&H that they can REALLY shoot and leave the .4+ rounds to the pros, who need to stop charges. But, it's all fun!

Buano, with the availability of 250 and 260 loads for the 375, that should flatten it out all you need without modifying the chamber. You should have your choice in rifles in SS & Synthetic, as almost all manufacturers offer a 375...Weatherby, Remington KS, Win Classic, Kimber Talkeetna, Sako 75 or 85, Savage Weather Warrior. Just got to Gun Broker, Guns Intl, or Guns America, and put in 375 in the search box.

Try a Browning Stainless Stalker in .375. They are ugly but extremely stout and accurate guns. I've toted mine many miles in the bush and have never worried about it. Its no safe queen.-Rob

I would go with a Mod. 70 "Classic" because they have the wonderful old Winchester trigger, the best there is for a big game hunting rifle. The barrel diameter on them is to big in my opinion. I have an old pre-64 and a newer "Stainless Classic" in .375. The old one holds 4 down and I had a gun smith modify the new one so it holds 4 in the magazine. Some of the "Classics" did not come with the Williams extractor and I would replace the factory one if it is not a Williams. I would also replace the magazine spring and pin the sleeve on the bolt handle as it is pressed on the bolt and not a one piece set up like the pre-64. The cocking cam on the bolt is easy to smooth up and a little elbow grease and some JB bore paste will smooth up the action. Go real easy on the locking lugs. Also, a proper .375 has to have good iron sights from NECG.

My 375 H&H is a SAKO and man is it ever accurate
Puts all its groups with in 1". Love my 375 H&H.

Buano:

Do yourself a favor and buy a Blaser R93 or the new R8. Great trigger, it will shoot like gangbusters right out of the box, the best scope mounting system on the planet, practically impervious to weather, and takes down into a very small case for travel.