Does anyone use the 375 h&h mag for roe deer hunting, or is it to big for hunting roe...

KB

My first rifle that I had were a 375 H&H. It will work fine on roedeers, but it's like killing flies with a sledgehammer

I used cheap 270 and 300 grain bullets in mine. The wound were one hole in and out, no meat loss for thoose who are greedy

However I would say that there are perhaps better suited calibers for hunting roe deer than 375 H&H

Cheers
/JOHAN

Not being able to anticipate what will be driven out by the hounds, we routinely use 9,3's, so the difference with the .375 HH is, shall we say, academic...

KB,

I shot a roe buck a couple of years ago with my 375H&H. Dropped him in his tracks! Range was 50-60 m, and the exit wound was about 12 cm. Used a 235 gr. Woodleigh PP at 880m/s.
Overpowered? Hell yes!!!
However, I used the 375 only because I was`nt finished with my 30-06`s laminated stock....
In my opinion, even the 30-06 is too much gun for roe.

Regards

Hi there!

To echo the other replies, I have taken a few Roe with my .375. The bullets have always shown sufficient penetration (!)and have tended to pass through rather than expand and cause much meat damage.

I love the .375hh but would have to say that whilst this calibre can be used on almost any beast you are likely to encounter, it is too much gun 99% of the time.

Having said that, I have even had some sucess with it on pigeon (on the ground please) and rabbit! Theres no meat damage either...... provided you take limit yourself to taking headshots!

Regards from England.

IanF

Ian,

Did you experience any difficulty with the police in being allowed to use your .375 in the UK? I had problems in this regard, i.e. only allowed to possess non expanding ammunition, only to be used at Bisley or abroad. I'd be keen to hear how you got round these restrictions.

Regards,
Eric.

New guidance to Association of Chief of Police Officers should help.

Depends on the area you live and the eloquence with which you put your case. BASC are very helpful and tend to know which phrases will work with which individual firearms licencing officer.

I too have shot roe (and muntjac) with my 9.3x62 and it works fine allthough I only do so before heading off for somewhere with bigger things.

KB,
I haven't a .375HH but a 9.3x62. One time I've used it also to shoot to a fox and a roe deer cow. But that time, that rifle I had and that rifle I used. If I choose I try to have the right rifle for a specific hunt.
B.m.h.o. for roe deer .375 it is super extra overpowered.
But as Andr� says if you can shoot from capercaillie to moose and bear well that is a good choice
bye

Eric.

When I first applied for an 'Open Variation' on all my firearms, the local licensing officer immediately called me back, suggesting the sort of restrictions you have mentioned.

I am a firm believer that any police licensing official will rightly wish to be able to cover his back, and demonstrate he has not granted permission for any firearm to someone irresponsible - or possibly inexperienced! Give him reasons to grant the request and he will be likely to oblige!

To this end, I try to provide logical reasons for possession and use of whatever item is in question - in the knowledge that my answers are likely to be logged, word for word, to defend a decision to grant!

1)I have purchased the rifle with the aim of using it on large and dangerous game worldwide & I need to be practiced and totally familiar with the firearm - BEFORE looking down the barrel at an upset Cape Buffalo!

2) I only take a shot with ANY rifle, if I can see a solid earth backstop behind the target. As such it makes no difference if the rifle in my hands is a .22lr or a .50BMG!

3) I am retained by the landowner to control vermin as well as Wild Boar/Deer etc thus I need permission to legally use any rifle should I encounter a Fox whilst out stalking other species, to ensure...... 'I do not inadvertantly find myself in breach of conditions on my FAC!'

4) Naturally, I also need permission to zero the firearm on any ground I assess as fit - so that should my sights require alteration.....'I do not inadvertantly find myself in breach of conditions on my FAC!'

This approach has always left me with whatever I require on my license - and conditions that allow me to shoot without concern. I have a sneaking feeling that .375hh is about as large a calibre as can be justified for regular usage in the UK however.

Best of luck - See you on The March!

regards

IanF

KB,

I haven't shot roe deer with a 375H&H - I have tho shot a buck with a .378 wea. magf and 300 grains Partitions. Did it do the job - of course. Would I do it again - not if I had a choiche. Why did I do it - I didn't hav a choicheat the moment.

Remember that many hunters bring their .375 H&H to Africa and use only that gun for everything from buffalow and Eland (600 to 1000 kilo) to klispringer, duickers and oribis etc. (some weight less than 10kilos).

So of course the .375 can do the job, and with some bullets I guees quit well. But no one should ever call it a roe gun !

Best regards

Mads

I have used the .375H&H as well as a .300WBY on roe deer, and in neither case was there excessive meat damage, in fact I'd say minimal.
They did drop as if struck by lightning though.
I took a very nice roe stag about a recently with a .243win and initally, he did not react to the shot at all. After several seconds, he began to walk away, and rolled over and died after about 15meters.

dead is dead, right?? but saying that the 375 is way overkill for the Roe deer--the things aren't that big and don't require that much firepower--anything from a 243 to the 270 would be a great gun for Roe deer in my opinion---of course if you don't have such a gun then smack them with what you have--also when roe deer hunting you may hunting moose or something else that would be better off shot with a larger caliber, so that's why many are shot with a larger rifle....chris

While we're on the topic of overkill for roe deer, I would like to add that IMHO even a .243win is "overkill".
I have never seen a roe that was not completely passed through by one.
Maybe a .222 or .223 would be more like it, even a .22hornet.
Some countries have calibre restritctions therefore excluding these calibers but I would dare say that they are plenty adequate for roe deer.

kb,

I used a .416 Rigby for my first roe buck with good result. the 350 grain speer mag tip at 2300 fps dropped it on the spot with very little meat damage.

I have heard from someone who shot a few bucks with his .375 that it was best to use soft (not premium) bullets as the effect was too much like a FMJ or a solid otherwise = not too good effect despite the calibre.

For this roe y have used one 416 rem mag special bullet

I shot one roe buck with a 300 grains Hornady roundnose bullet out of my 375wby. Not a pretty sight...

I have shot several duiker with my .375. and meat damage was not bad, bullet just passes right through

Aleko

Deine bullett Gian-Marchet ciaou Reto

I've shot plenty of Roe with the .375 H&H and the 9.3x62.

My expereince is pretty much the same as everyone else's here, they expire quickly, most never even twitch - with very little meat damage.

.375H&H: Sierra 250 & 300 grain SPBT's, Nosler 260 grain BT's, 300 grain Partition's and 260 grain Accubonds, no problem whatsoever but also waited for standing braodside shots right behind the elbow so haven't had any serious bone issues except the fragile ribs.

Ditto for the 9.3x62 with Nosler 250 grain BT's and Speer 270 grain Semi-Spitzers.

Same results with Steinbock, Duiker, Klippspringer and other smaller African antilopes, too.