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The .375 Wby was basically introduced as an improved .375 H&H. Later on it the .378 Wby was created to supercede the .375 Wby as it were. Where doe we stand today with the .375 Wby - is it still common or is it fading? Also who would prefer the .375 Wby over the .378 Wby or is speed the guiding parameter? Production of .375 Weatherby ammunition ceased in 1960 but was reintroduced in 2001 due to demand. Pieter | ||
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Moderator |
The .375 Wby. and .378 Wby. were never 'common'. The .375 Wby. is more popular among the 'cognoscenti' who want a little more velocity without the recoil of the .378. It enjoyed a temporary resurgence, but the introduction and wide availability of the .375 Ruger cartridge may have been its death knell. George | |||
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Yes, where it stood alone as "magnum" version of the 375 H&H, it is now in the company of the 378 Wby, 375 RUM, 375 Dakota, 375 AI, and 375 Ruger....probably more. | |||
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It was long gone for decades. One advantage it offers is that standard .375 H&H ammunition can be fired in the .375 Wby chamber. So, during its period of obsolescence, a few custom rifles were made for it and a handful of people chose it to rechamber .375 H&H to an "improved" cartridge. I'll bet it is the most popular cartridge for rechambering .375 H&H rifles. Then, about 15 years ago or so, Weatherby decided to offer it again as a caliber choice in at least one of their rifles. They did this for a short time and then it went away again. During that same time they also offered loaded ammunition. The reappearance of the .375 Wby rifles and ammo reignited interest for a while I just checked and Weatherby is offering rifles and ammunition again! Maybe it is part of their 70th Anniversary celebration. The rifles are available in the wood stocked Mark V Safari model and the synthetic stocked Mark V Dangerous Game Rifle which is fitted with a dropped magazine. The ammunition is a single load with Nolser 300gr Partition bullets. I expect this will raise a little interest in the cartridge again. I had a .375 Wby rifle built on a VZ-24 action. It kicked like a mule with .375 Wby ammunition but was not bad at all with the .375 H&H. For that reason I ended up shooting nothing but the H&H ammo in it. It is a good cartridge but it was too much for the weight and size of the rifle I had. If I was going to do it again I would choose a larger, heavier action and rifle for the cartridge. . | |||
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I have two...love mine...don't have a 375 HH but have 2 375 WBYs, and a 375 ultra... Ed DRSS Member | |||
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We have one in a 7.5 lb (with scope) XCR II. I and my youngest son love it. If you want more power than the 375 Ruger, you have it (300g at 2700 plus fps). If you want to shoot factory 375 H&H you can. Way less recoil than a 375 RUM or 378 Weatherby, yet shoots as flat as a 30-06 with 180g bullets with a 300g A-Frame. Regards, Chuck "There's a saying in prize fighting, everyone's got a plan until they get hit" Michael Douglas "The Ghost And The Darkness" | |||
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It's a funny thing, in a way. For years, everybody and their dog wanted a 35 Whelen, but nobody chambered them. Remington offers one, they sell like hotcakes for a year, and then sales went flat. The 375 Wby appears to be going the same route. Wby dropped both ammunition and rifle after several years of nearly non-existent sales. Then, everybody wants one. They bring it back, and after a flurry of interest, it is moribund again. Who can account for trends, these days...? Rich | |||
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I have one, it never appeared as common or even sort after by many, but it is a great cartridge that has zero issues with case life, separations and the like common with H&H chamberings. I get a genuine 200+fps increase in velocity, brass doesn't stretch, crack or grow and is slightly more accurate than when it was a H&H. The recoil is sharp, quite noticeable to the H&H round, but tolerable. It isn't as bad as a 378, I have shot one, it has worse recoil than 600gr 505 Gibbs rounds. Unpleasant. Cheers. | |||
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Really not sure how many Mfg. actually made a production rife for this cartridge? Perhaps just Weatherby? Face it, there is just such a small market for anything over 30 caliber. I had a 375 Weatherby made on a stainless Win model 70 action. It was a purpose built brown bear rifle. Shoots accurate and puts 300 gr pills at close to 2800 FPS in my 24" barrel. My hand load is a 300 TSX @ 2770 FPS. Basically the same results as Saeed's 375/404 which he seems to favor. Whats not to like? Yes it recoils. I also own a H&H which is a fine gun. All these big calibers seem to come and go because the market is so small. If fading is a concern just get a 375 H&H or a 458 WM. They will continue to survive for decades to come. EZ | |||
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For a commoner's rifle there is now a cute little Mossberg in 375 Ruger. It is close enough to the 375Weatherby to be a hunting equivalent, though in a more compact package. +-+-+-+-+-+-+ "A well-rounded hunting battery might include: 500 AccRel Nyati, 416 Rigby or 416 Ruger, 375Ruger or 338WM, 308 or 270, 243, 223" -- Conserving creation, hunting the harvest. | |||
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Mine still works... _______________________ | |||
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Some things are deeply entrenched and because they just plain work.....The .375 H&H is one of them. The "improved model" the .375 Weatherby gained a bit of acceptance but not enough to surmount the venerable old .375 H&H.....the .378 Weatherby was just too much of a good thing including hefty recoil......and the knowlege that it didn't kill "deader" than the .375 H&H and the gains in range wasn't something desired in Africa where drawing blood is the same as a wasted trophy fee. The .375 Ruger came along just in time to drive the last few nails in the coffins of the Weatherby offerings it seems. Seriously folks, I can't find a reason to have more "oomph" than a .375 H&H unless it's to go up in caliber and then one has to wonder if he's seriously gaining much. Had the .375 Weatherby come out prior to the H&H offering then things might have been different.....but that's not how it happened..... /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill | |||
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The only reason to get a 375 Bee in this age is to be able to shoo HH through it. We killed a moose with it at 500 yards. | |||
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The 375 Wby never was very popular, hopping up a .375 IMO is counter productive, I believe it to work best with a 300 gr. bullet at 2400 to 2500 FPS. Perhaps the monolithics change that to some degree, but the sale stats don't seem to back that up, the 375 H&H and the Ruger 375 are still the choice of most.. Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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I think if all the people who bought a 375 Ruger thinking it was a better hunting round than the venerable Holland got together at SCI next year and stayed at the same hotel, then left together to go to the convention on Day One, you could use a mini-van to take them. | |||
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Idaho, I'd go with Ray on this.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+ "A well-rounded hunting battery might include: 500 AccRel Nyati, 416 Rigby or 416 Ruger, 375Ruger or 338WM, 308 or 270, 243, 223" -- Conserving creation, hunting the harvest. | |||
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GeorgeS is right... the .375 was never common, even among Weatherby rifles. Roy "designed" the .375 in 1944 and production started in 1945, but the .378 was introduced only 8 years later in 1953. So the .375 was deliberately discontinued and replaced with the .378, and they didn't build a lot of .375s during those early years. Without access to their production numbers, it's still probably safe to say that the majority were (as now) likely .300s, followed by .257s and .270s. Therefore, if you can find an "original" .375 Weatherby, it'll probably be a rechambered Model 70 (pre-64, obviously) converted for a customer at the Southgate store, or one of the very early Weatherby-stocked rifles which were built on Model 70 or FN Mauser actions, also in Southgate. I have an original .270 that was based on a 1950 Model 70 Super Grade action. Regardless of the action type, you just don't see .375 Weatherby rifles for sale. I've seen exactly one original .375 Weatherby appear on GunBroker over the last several years, and it went for about $2,700 if memory serves, because they're rare as hell. That said, I have two .378 Weatherby Mark Vs (Euromark and Deluxe), and they're both pussycats, regardless of what 416RigbyHunter says. | |||
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Well Geez, it has to compete with the 375-404 Saeed. Of course it's fading. Regards, Robert ****************************** H4350! It stays crunchy in milk longer! | |||
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Ruger 375R and the ruger alaskan are exceptionally good guns/combo. Have one 375 h&h my go to ahr rifle and 3 ruger as a backup or for alaskan hunting. Have plenty of custom loaded 375R 300 grain tsx. Need to up my scopes on the ruger to swarovski like the 375 h&h - just not in the mood right now to spend 3 k on a scope for a 699 rifle. If I get another 375 h&h will be a platform gun - sauer 404 I may keep buying ruger 375R alaskan - its the best truck gun made and a scout rifle for the big bores. Mike | |||
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If all the new 375's fade away over the years (375 Wea, Rem UM, Ruger, 375/404). The H&H will still be around. If you ever want a little more, then fire a H&H in a Weatherby chamber and you have fire formed a 375 Weatherby. I hunt quite a bit but I know from this forum that Saeed probably has taken more large game then any 20 of us combined. He uses a 375 pushing a 300 gr copper bullet at 2750 FPS. His research has demonstrated it is optimum velocity regarding penetration for this projectile. That is what the Weatherby does. If it fades away with all the others you can still easily obtain/produce brass. Looking at the price of Safari type cartridges escalating. The Weatherby may still be the best/most economical choice for the hand loader who wants another 200-250 FPS over the H&H. H&H brass is easy to source.. EZ | |||
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At least for someone who is a handloader, there is no downside. In fact, I just picked up a new .375 Wby built on a stainless M70 as my new "elk rifle." A 250 gr TTSX or 260 gr accubond at ~2900 fps is fantastic elk medicine. And if and when I make it to Alaska, I can use .375 H&H ammo if there is some sort of airline incompetence. It is a niche cartridge for rifle cranks (admittedly, I've owned or own .375 H&H (x4), .375 Ruger, .375 RUM, .378 Wby., and 9.3x64) but it continues to serve a viable role even to this day. None of the other "factory available" .375 rounds can offer both an improvement in trajectory (for those inclined to use a .375 bore for 400 yard+ elk rifles) over the H&H while at the same time safely shooting H&H ammo in a pinch while on distant travels. That said, I am admittedly biased as I have no desire ever to go back to Africa. .416 Rem Mag or even .458 Lott could make strong arguments for an Africa-oriented hunter... | |||
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Dude, you left out the 416Rigby. For handloaders, 2820 fps, 350gnTTSX, works in Africa and ought to handle elk at 400 yards pretty nicely. Of course, 2900fps with 250gn will handle them, too. Enjoy your hunting. +-+-+-+-+-+-+ "A well-rounded hunting battery might include: 500 AccRel Nyati, 416 Rigby or 416 Ruger, 375Ruger or 338WM, 308 or 270, 243, 223" -- Conserving creation, hunting the harvest. | |||
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the smile you see is me looking at my VZ-24 custom in 404 Jefferys. Five-shooter, 400gr at 2350... | |||
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I would smile, too. And with new equipment and modern powder and brass, I'd test some loads at 2400fps, 2425, 2450, 2475. The Jeffrey ought to be good for the 5000-5500ftpd range, though bullets and bore sizes can be irregular so care is necessary and the results would lead to a different thread. The 375's appear pretty stable with a large selection of bullets. +-+-+-+-+-+-+ "A well-rounded hunting battery might include: 500 AccRel Nyati, 416 Rigby or 416 Ruger, 375Ruger or 338WM, 308 or 270, 243, 223" -- Conserving creation, hunting the harvest. | |||
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Pieter I purchased a 375 Wby a while ago. I still need to apply for the licence. Mine is a 1950's Weatherby built on a FN Mauser action. It also came with quite a bit of factory ammo. I think it is a great alternative; 350gr at 2500 fps and 300gr at 2700-2800 fps. I'm really looking forward to it as an alternative to my 375 H&H. I like the 350gr in the H&H, but it just goes that little bit too slow to my liking. Playing with QL I couldn't better the performance with a 375 RUM with our domestic powders. When I get it I'll get hold of you and we can go and shoot it. I guess that the alternatives - the RUM in the USA and the Ruger will make a comeback tough, but after looking around I think this would be my first choice in the .375 bore diameter, either a Weatherby, or possibly a JRS. | |||
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Yes, the 375 Weatherby is a great calibre and cartridge.
I would bet that you could find a powder that would use the extra 12 grains capacity of the 375RUM and turn it into increased velocity. That doesn't take away from the 375Weatherby, but the 375RUM has its niche, too. +-+-+-+-+-+-+ "A well-rounded hunting battery might include: 500 AccRel Nyati, 416 Rigby or 416 Ruger, 375Ruger or 338WM, 308 or 270, 243, 223" -- Conserving creation, hunting the harvest. | |||
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Moderator |
and Holland -- say, what was your peer reviewable methodology for gathering all that info, and how many people bought a 375 ruger because they wanted one, how many have several other 375s, how many bought one never intending to go to africa -- what was your sample set what does that have to do with the price of beans in Kenya?
the driver could also be the same for the 400 or 465 HH, the 1075x68,or 425 WR, or 577 NE if ALL the conditions were met of course, they could pick up the hitchhiker that had a wildcat or a 450 dakota (same thing, reallY)... so, just a bit of fluff -- it's kind of funny when a guy that hunts with a 450 dakota, and makes / borrows wildcats, poo-poos new rounds, that have ZERO impact on them opinions vary band of bubbas and STC hunting Club Information on Ammoguide about the416AR, 458AR, 470AR, 500AR What is an AR round? Case Drawings 416-458-470AR and 500AR. 476AR, http://www.weaponsmith.com | |||
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One of Us |
based on the fact that I can walk into just about any sporting goods store in towns over 10,000 and find H&H ammunition. Not so with this little boutique round of ruger's. I know literally dozens of people who own an H&H, and, aside from AR talkers, nobody who owns the ruger. I know two people who bought one, thinking it was superior to the H&H. At best, it is equivalent. And sold it within a year, then bought an H&H. They found out that they could not concoct handloads that would get close to matching claimed factory 375 ruger ballistics. My old Oehler is the, as they say, "the court of last resort...", and it is not impressed either. I have an FN Mauser commercial action based 375 Improved that is faster. That based on two trips to a range, and chronographed data. Alongside the two guys with rugers. My opinion, like yours, or anybody else's is just that; an opinion. My Oehler does not differentiate between cartridges, just velocity. There may be some small advantage to a shorter fatter case, some 3/8ths of an inch between these two. May be.. That said, 99% of the men in this country couldn't tell you if their wienie was 3/8th of an inch longer or shorter; just that it gets the job done effectively. Here's something you CAN take to the bank: the ruger offers no real world advantage over the H&H, and people should not expect any. Remington and Winchester rule the firearms world. Neither has seen fit to chamber for it. Want a fast 375, buy the RUM... as always, good to chat with you. I would request, that you refrain from taking my posts out of context to make a questionable point. regards, Rich | |||
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Given the recent rapid progress of Obama and the ANTIs, all hunting calibers are likely to be fading. | |||
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I see the 375Ruger slotting in nicely as a knock-around bear rifle. In the big-tent philosophy, it's pulling in more of the down-market, big-box manufacturers that might have topped out at 338Win. In the world of JIT manufacturing, a 30-06 length action makes the bean counters happy. If Howa, Savage, and Mossberg now have a stake in big game hunting, how is that a bad thing? African hunting is all about myth, romance, and literature. A "fine" rifle is just part an parcel of the whole package. One's just as likely to skip right to a caliber that starts with a .4XX. | |||
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Many people see the .375 Ruger as a handy short barreled bear rifle. Can someone offer any explanation how a 20" "guide" gun in .375 Ruger: To me it's all a bunch of marketing hype. If you need something more powerful than the .375 H&H than only a jump to .375 Weatherby or bigger will give any tangible gains. . | |||
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.375 Ruger has a shorter length action and therefore could cycle just a hair faster than a longer action. Personally, I really like the idea of the 375 Ruger. Just before they came out I happened upon a 20" Montana 1999 in .375 H&H. True, I get 2400 fps with a Partition and 75gr. of H4350. I suppose I could get more velocity but I'm not hugely motivated to on the whole. Regards, Robert ****************************** H4350! It stays crunchy in milk longer! | |||
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Try carrying a ruger alaskan around and then a cz 550 375. The ruger is a delight. Light handy short and built like a tank. I dropped mine 200 ft down a hill in alaskan - landed in soft sponge. Dragged it 300 yards across a stone runway - no problem. Left it in the rain for 7 days - no rust. Gun looks like new. Very impressed with it and cost on $599 on close out. I bought 3 at $699 - I suck. I look as the 375 as identical to 375H&H - just a smaller action and a nicer carrying package in a ruger alaskan. I bet the gun will be a hit with my guys in Zim if I take it over. Would have been the perfect gun for burkina where guns gets destroyed being strapped by rubber tire liners to the truck. Mike | |||
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My M70 Alaskan in .375 weighs 8.2 pounds with a 3.5-10 Leupold mounted on it. Just because CZ puts their.375 H&H in the same rifle as the .505 Gibbs doesn't mean that Ruger has a lock on portable .375s. | |||
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true but I am left handed - limited references Mike | |||
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Then a .257 Roberts will cycle a hair faster than a .25-06 and a .250 Savage a hair faster still. Once the bolt is lifted, if it takes 0.25 seconds to pull the bolt back on a .30-06, and the bolt of a .300 H&H has to move 10% further, then it will take an extra .025 seconds to pull the bolt back for the longer cartridge. Double that because the bolt has to move in both directions. That would mean it takes 0.05 seconds longer to cycle the .300 H&H bolt. Are we considering too fast a movement of the bolt?. No. It is fairly easy to cycle a bolt action, lifting, ejecting, reversing direction at the rear, and loading, in about a second. I can even do it with my .400 H&H. Now, can you notice an extra 0.05 seconds in cycling time? I seriously doubt it. Admittedly, you would need to move your hand just over 1/4" further but that too is not noticeable if you have practiced with the long bolt . Well that IS important. Unfortunately lefties have always been at a disadvantage in rifle choices. I'm willing to accept .375 Ruger as the left-handed man's cartridge. . | |||
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oh, BS -- Houston has over 1500 places where one can buy guns/ammo -- according to the "internet" -- i haven't been to all of them... however, i have seen 375 HH in, perhaps, 5 of them.. and not all of them in the same "chain" .. 375 ruger, is, of course, available whereever the 375 rugers are sold -- I have seen 416 rigby in ONE, and not a SINGLE box of 450 dakota, bwanna .. so, you are calling everyone that says they own one, on AR, a liar? You know me - i own THREE
funny, the case is larger, measurably -- "at best" you mean when loaded to even lower pressure, its an equal .. sure, and you could load a 450 dakota down to 45/70 .. why, that new whippersnapper .. oh, sorry, don't you own one, or at least hunted with one? this is a trick question, as I know you own 450 and 45/70 .. why is that okay, but not the hh+ruger? *I* own both sample set of one - see mike d's opine on that "claimed" loads? you mean like nearly ALL factory rounds until cheap chronos became available.. i've shot 375 hh, ruger, and 300 wsm over a chrono -- guess what? pretty durn close to stated. of course, the 10s of posters here that post loads of 300gr at better than 2500 must all be liars :my whizbang, totally undocumented, zero factory loads is faster" OF COURSE IT IS -- the 375 weatherby is a larger case.. oh, sorry, 375-improved-but-no-not-really-a-weatherby is a larger case. "no replacement for displacement" -- wait, what-- you said you never knew anyone that owns one, but now you are at the range with people with them? pick one -- awesome - your own position is the larger case wins... say, what's the barrel length on your 375 whizbang? longer than the rugers? yep.. unknown pressure in a larger case.. i don't think anyone on the planet would be surprised. did you compare to 30 year old federal HH loads? course not.. those are usuallt 2350-2400 about 1500 bucks in a custom gun.. that's some maybe umm.. that's your argument to work on... who does? no one.. not a soul.. oh, other than 1 to 2 lbs lighter than MOST 375hhs how in the HECK do you measure that? talking about HH and africa, and you bring in remington? do you measure that on firearms sold? yeah, those companies that "rule" the firearms industry, but number of units sold, aren't even american.. number of hunting rifles? Not going BROKE and selling to a better managed company? having bolt handles fall off? making the remington 710? no CRF for decades? Dude, seriously, china, russia, then mauser.. WHICH winchester? i think we are on licensee 4 now, right? winchester doesn't MAKE guns -- haven't in nearly 50 years so, then if remington and winchester chamber for it, you love it? when are you buying a 300 wsm? an excellent round.. down load it to 375hh and the cases will last forever-- what was taken out of context? I would appreciate if you wouldn't stoop to innuendo and inference -- where you quoted out of context?
simple question.. do you own a 450 dakota? No tricks.. no hoopla... opinions vary band of bubbas and STC hunting Club Information on Ammoguide about the416AR, 458AR, 470AR, 500AR What is an AR round? Case Drawings 416-458-470AR and 500AR. 476AR, http://www.weaponsmith.com | |||
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Being right handed and left eye dominant is probably the best thing for me. If I was right handed I would own way too many rifles. This way my gun purchases are curtailed cause I just dont see that many left handed guns. Initially I never liked the ruger 375 - always thought it was a gimmick rifle created to marginally add to the 375 H&H which needed no adding. I dont think 375 ruger adds anything in performance. But as a package with Ruger 375 alaskan it is wonderful. And at $599 for old (the better without the crappy muzzle brake model) model it is a bargain. Very few bargains in the gun world especially the lend hand big bore rifle world - the ruger 375 alaskan and african is one. Hell 3 cost less than a basic cz 375 H&H in left hand. And every cz needs to go to Wayne/AHR to get to its full potential. Mike | |||
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I can't speak to all gun stores, but .375HH is readily available in Alaska, and in Africa I'm told it's in all the shops as well as likely being at the lodge or camp. I do think the Ruger is a better cartridge though. If the Newton cartridge family had caught on we'd never had have anything with belts. | |||
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I'll reply just to count as one more that has a 375 Ruger (African model). Also own an H&H (older Sako). I like both guns. The Ruger seems a bit handier. So far haven't shot it very much but initial results suggest it's very accurate. Oddly it seems to get very similar velocities to the H&H with similar charges. I had expected it to need more powder, and have a little more recoil, to get the same velocity as the H&H. So I'm pleased. I don't care to exceed the velocities of the H&H; just like the gun. The express sights are good. Of course, loading it to H&H levels, the pressures are mild. No law (so far) against having both, not that it's necessary. So, how widely available is 375 Ruger ammo at this point in the US, and in Africa? | |||
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