.375 H&H Spoons

[Jeff Higgins]

One of my all-time favorites, some of you might remember I added yet another to the collection last year, this time in the form of a Ruger #1 Tropical rifle. I hadn't had much time to play with it until recently, and had only fired it with loads I had assembled for a Model 70. It had actually done quite well with those loads, a Nosler Partition and a Sierra boat tail, both weighing 300 grains and both propelled by a healthy dose of W-W #760.

Well, after trying several different powders and a couple of other 300 grain bullets (I won't go light - that's what .338's are for), it turns out those originally tried M70 loads were the ones it liked best. So, I now find myself in the happy situation of having the same loads for my two "working" .375's. Anyway, here it is wearing a Leupold 1-4x. I'll probably hunt with an XS ghost ring peep setup to trim the rig down a bit, but the scope helped during load testing.

[Super_Dave_D]

Man how do you guys get your pets to pose with your guns??? The other thread has a guys pet rabbit posing with his pistol. My cats just wont do it!!!

[RPKESQ]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

One of my all-time favorites, some of you might remember I added yet another to the collection last year, this time in the form of a Ruger #1 Tropical rifle. I hadn't had much time to play with it until recently, and had only fired it with loads I had assembled for a Model 70. It had actually done quite well with those loads, a Nosler Partition and a Sierra boat tail, both weighing 300 grains and both propelled by a healthy dose of W-W #760.

Well, after trying several different powders and a couple of other 300 grain bullets (I won't go light - that's what .338's are for), it turns out those originally tried M70 loads were the ones it liked best. So, I now find myself in the happy situation of having the same loads for my two "working" .375's. Anyway, here it is wearing a Leupold 1-4x. I'll probably hunt with an XS ghost ring peep setup to trim the rig down a bit, but the scope helped during load testing.

Nice trophy Jeff. But isn't a .375 a little big for that?

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Great pose!!!

[Joeaksa]

Always liked the #1 Ruger. Excellent spoon and good caliber!

[The Gaijin]

Very, very nice.


The zombies do not stand a chance..

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by RPKESQ

Nice trophy Jeff. But isn't a .375 a little big for that?

Katie is tougher than she looks. Besides, she was charging - with a tennis ball in her mouth. Just full of evil intent...

[vash]

my first big game hunt..i had my beater 30.06, my jr high principle had a .375 with a muzzle brake..we bothed fired...mine sounded like a firecracker. amazing round. my sheep ended up dwarfing his..hahahha.

300gr bullet? what are you hunting for? remember when that was the standard medicine for cape buffalo and lions?

[JTO]

I have shot and hunted with the .375 H&H quite a bit, most in Alaska while I lived there. I shot the little Sitka blacktail up to caribou and black bear. It was amazing how it killed so instantly but did so little meat damage. It is one fine cartridge.

Nice one Jeff.

Troy

[Jeff Higgins]

The old .375 H&H is actually a pretty darn good "all - around" (I hate that term...) big game caliber. The only real drawback is rifle weight, with the accepted range being from 9 to 11 pounds or so.

I've used it on pronghorn, mule deer, black bear, elk, and caribou. Like Troy points out above, it inflicts a good deal less meat damage than one would expect. Certainly less than the .270/.30-'06/7mm mag/.300 mag class of cartridges. The bullets are constructed much heavier (in anticipation of shooting bigger, tougher game) and they don't fly quite as fast. My 300 grain loads just top 2500 fps. The combination of a heavier, tougher bullet and lower velocity just adds up to less meat damage. Yet the 300 grain Sierra boat tail will shoot as flat as most 180 grain .30-'06 or 150 grain .270 loads, and will out-penetrate 400 grain .45-70 loads up close. What more could one ask for? Other than lighter rifles...

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

What more could one ask for? Other than lighter rifles...

One could ask for way less recoil, noise and blast.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by m21sniper

One could ask for way less recoil, noise and blast.

My .375's kick less than most 12 gauge 3" mag duck guns. They make less noise than typical 7mm or .300 mags. They really aren't the bucking, fire breathing monsters most seem to think they are. Anyone who can shoot a typical '06 class bolt gun well can teach himself to deal with a .375. Then, when you go back to the '06, it seems like child's play.

[m21sniper]

I think i'd rather just run over the game animal with a cadillac. LOL :-P

[vash]

jeff who was the writer/hunter that made the .375 H&H (holland and holland, right?) famous by shooting african animals with it? lions, cape buffalo, and other dangerous game..leopards.

i remember reading the stories when i was a kid. i wanted a .375 bad..

[m21sniper]

I think .375 is considered the floor for the big 5 African dangerous game.

[vash]

not back in the day..those guys were insane.

maybe jack o'connor. cant remember.

[JTO]

I think Peter Hathaway Capstick wrote a bunch about the .375 H&H.

Jeff, just as a data point regarding rifle weight; I had a Sako Tikka in .375 H&H that weight about 7.5 lbs naked. I shot it from the bench with a towel between me and the buttstock. It made sighting in and load work up really tolerable. I guess the more modern style rifles (not the "Express Rifle" ilk) tend to be a little lighter.

Troy

[Jeff Higgins]

There have been a number of famous hunters/authors who have sung the praises of the .375 H&H in Africa. John Taylor had high praise for it, along with Robert Ruark and later Finn Aagaard, Peter Capstick, and many, many more.

The .375 H&H fills a unique niche at the small end of what are commonly called "dangerous game" calibers. It has more velocity than the true "heavies" like the .458 Winchester and Lott magnums, the .470, .500, and similar nitro expresses, or the .404, .416, .425 class of cartridges. As such, it's the only "large bore" that is really suitable for open country hunting of large, thin skinned game. I think it's the ultimate elk caliber, still nudging out even the .338 Winchester mag.

With solids it reportedly penetrates better than any of those previously mentioned large bores, but I can't personally speak to that. I've never pointed mine at anything that would demand solids. Even at that, however, I have never recovered a bullet, and all I use are Partitions or Sierra boat tails. The furthest I've seen one penetrate was a frontal shot on a large caribou bull, where I was about 30 yard away and planted a 300 grain Sierra in his brisket. It exited one of his haunches, right next to his anus. This, with a plain Jane "cup and core" bullet that, if one believes the advertising hype these days, should have blown up on his chest hairs. Oh well...

As an interesting aside, I repeated the shot three or four days later on another bull, but this time with a heavy cast bullet .45 Colt load from about ten yards. Same result - stem to stern penetration on a full grown caribou bull. Even more interesting, both bullets weighed 300 grains, where the rifle launched its at 2,500 fps and the Colt at about 1,150 fps. Damage in the chest cavity was far more severe with the rifle, but one would expect that from the much higher velocity. Damage to edible meat was the same "you could eat right up to the bullet hole...".

Packing one out, late September on the Tagigawick River, with my .375 H&H Model 70 in hand:

[ODDJOB UNO]

i shot a SAKO .375 off the bench while sighting in my .338 mcmillian. it was irksome at 1st not having shot one ever.


guy had a zeiss zoomy big buck scope on it with beautiful blonde wood stock.



i was hesitant at 1st but when i pulled that trigger..................it wasnt even a problem. shot about 10 rds thru it and it was a tack driver. sort of pushed your shoulder, not a smack like the 45/70 or a 30.06 or even my .338 win mag



dont even want to know what it costs. it was so damn nice i want one.



thats a nice ruger numba 1 jeff. happy hunting with that.



whats a box of 20 quality name brand .375 ammo go for now?

[KarlCarrera]

That is a verrry nice firearm, and an excellent caliber for anything I might be interested in, However,.....

I notice a scratch on the barrel, you may need to ship it to me for re-bluing..................

Karl
88 Targa