Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Finally got the .375!

Ladies and Gentlemen:<P>Finally, after a couple of years of searching and saving, I finally broke down and bought a .375 H&H. Save the comments about it being too big for North America ... I wanted it and I got it.<P>I chose the M70 in Synthetic/Stainless, and am planning on mounting Dave Talley's QD rings and bases, and a Leupold VXIII 1.5x6 in matte finish. Love to hear comments on these choices before I drop the bucks.<P>Also, I think I might restock it if I can find something with a bit more length of pull. I figure before I spend $125 on pillar bedding a factory Win stock, I may as well buy an aftermarket that fits better and has an integral bedding block. Anybody have any suggestions. I like H&S and MacMillan, although they seem a little pricey, and am a bit intrigued by the Hogue overstock concept. Are these latter ones heavy? Any opinions on the Hogues? I don't know too much about them?<P>Thanks for the help in advance.<P>Rick

Rick:<P>Congratulations on the new rifle. I won't ask what you're planning to use it on.<P>Why not the Leupold rings and bases to go with the scope? I have always used Leupold products and found them to be outstanding.<P>Also, I don't know too much about the Hogues, but my impression is that McMillan are the best stocks out there. I'd leave the factory stock on the rifle until you can afford the best. But that's just me.<P>Let us know how it shoots!<P>Teach

Rick:<P>WOW, that is a BIG gun. I can't see why you'd want a thing like that for American hunting. <P>But since you got it, I think you should put the best bases and rings you can get on that sucker. I would go with the Taleys or with the Warnes. Forget the Leupolds. Teacher is crazy. They'll do allright on less powerful guns, but on a 375 you'd be crazy to go with the cheapos. The scope is a great choice though. So, why DID you buy that thang.<P>way

Call me crazy.<P>I get all caught up in reading stuff by Capstick and Ruark, pick up a few magazines with pictures of Boddington and Alaska hunts, and see a gun on one of my many visits to a gun store, and there you go.<P>Also, I plan on hunting Alaska in the next few years, and I also hunt elk outside of Yellowstone. When in grizzly country, I like to be prepared BOTH with bear spray and a bear gun. Hell, the .375 is a great elk caliber to boot.<P>Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. <P>Rick

I would love to have a 375. I wonder why you chose the Winchester instead of the Remington (or other). Did controlled round feed have anything to do with it? I started a thread on this topic, so if you want to respond over there, that's cool.<P>Also, did you consider the .338 Ultra Mag, and if so, why didn't you buy it?<P>Jim

Congratulations on your rifle. I killed my first two bull elk with a .31 Arisaka (approx same ballistics as a 30-06), and they each piled up after about a 100 yard run. Both were one-shot kills. Then about 1954 a pre-64 Model 70 in 375 H&H sort of fell into my hands. (The previous owner could not handle the recoil.) I hunted mule deer and elk with that rifle for 36 years. Same trajectory with a 270 grain bullet as a 30-06 with a 180 grain. Jack O'Conner called the 375 H&H The Queen of Rifles. Awesome caliber! I loved it! No elk ever moved over 15 steps from where I hit it, even on a lung shot. Enjoy your gun. Ignore those who have no experience with "The Queen". (And no, I cannot imagine what O'Conner would have considered the king!)

I've always wanted one of those things, but it seems like there is always another rifle or shotgun I need more. To be honest, everyone should probably have a good .375.<P>But now I have a question for you. If you get charges by a grizzly bear, do you go for the spary or the Winchester first?<P>I'm just asking cuz I don't think you'll have time for both, pard. <P>Anyways, congratulations from me too, and check out the Swarovski ProHunter scopes. They are very expensive, but if you have the money, I hear they are real nice.<P>elian

Thanks all.<P>Elian: I'd like to think I'd go for the spray if I could. I hear it's really powerful stuff.<P>There's a new show called Jackass in which a few guys who really ARE jackasses do outrageous, stupid, dangerous things for the camera. Anyway, in one episode, a guy lets himself get stun-gunned, tasered, and pepper sprayed. The stun gun left him unconscious. As to the taser, you should have seen how much trouble it took for them to get those barbed prongs out of his skin. Yeee-ouch! I thought for sure that would take the cake, but the Jackass said that the pepper spray was the worst of the three by far. Go figure.<P>I'll tell you what, though, he ain't been hit by a .375 yet! And as a lifelong hunter and shooter, I know my first instinct if a bear is charging will be to shoulder the gun and try to break him/her down. That's just honest.<P>Truth be told, I hope I never have to shoot a charging grizz ... unless I pay for the hunt of course! But that's giving myself credit for more b@!!$ than can rightfully claim as of now. Again, just being honest.<P>Thanks to all for the congrats. Still breaking in the barrel. I'll let you all know how it shoots.<P>Rick<P>

Rick, <BR>Thanks for sending me over. I will let you know how I like the 375 H&H. I also hunt just outside of Yellowstone and in griz country. I will not get a scope for it until next year and will also go with the VARI X III. Just can't get everything at once. This is my third since spring. Got a lever 45-70 in May and a .454 in Sept. and now the Win M70 in .375. If you are ever in my neck of the woods, I would buy you a cup of coffee.

I might consider the .375 as backup to the pepper spray but not the other way around. Should you be unfortunate enough to get between a sow and cubs, don't bother with the pepper spray.<P>If you are close enough to pepper spray a bear in the first place, you have probably screwed up in a big way. If you get out in one piece, you should seriously reconsider what you have been doing. After pepper spraying a bear I would want to leave in a hurry because there will certainly be one irritated bear.<P>This could pose a serious risk to others because if a very irritated big boar grzzly happened across anyone else, the results could be most unfortunate. Pepper spray is an interesting thought, but I wonder how much field testing has been done. I can see it now, "Batch number 5 was ineffective, need new testing personnel". I wonder how many of those marketing this stuff have gone out and hosed down an attacking bear with it.<P>Kind of like the Wall Street trader that went fishing in Alaska a few years ago. When queried by his aquaintances as to what sort of bear protection he would be carrying he scoffed at the idea that a large coastal grizzly could be dangerous. Mr. outdoor expert made it to the river and there were indeed plenty of bears. Seeing an empty point that was the best fishing spot on the river, one that all the other bears were avoiding, he marched right out and started fishing. <P>Needless to say, the other bears were avoiding that point for a reason as it had been staked out by the biggest boar in the area. The bear popped out of the brush and was not impressed with the stock traders shouts or his standing his ground. The bear promptly attacked and killed the stock trader.<P>The pity is that the bear had to be destroyed because of an idiot who apparantly got his knowledge of the outdoors from watching cartoons.<P>Bears tend to not confront humans, but this should not give the false impression that they fear humans. As with any large predator, they are cautious and will not risk injury which could be fatal in the wild, unless threatened or in the case of a large boar, challenged.

RickBin,<BR>Just a question, did you consider Burris sig series in a 1.5x6 with posilock?<BR>I have tried both under the same conditions and the Burris is brighter and clearer, pluss a little less costly.<BR>Congradulation on your 375 i traded a 340 W for my 375 Win, and prefer it over all.<BR>Old Timer

RickBin,<P>I saw a link to this page on Huntamerica, right next to ours.<P>You have picked a great cartridge. There is nothing that walks this earth that you cannot hunt with it.<P>I have hunted with many different calibers, and finally settled on a 375/404 of my own design. Now I use this one to hunt Africa every year, shooting everything from duikers to elephants with it. Never felt I needed anything bigger.<P>For those of you gentlemen who like big bores, you might like to visit our site and have a look at the Humor and Video section. We have a number of braves enjoying shooting the 577 Tyrannosaur on video. I hope you enjoy watching them.<BR> <A HREF="http://www.accuratereloading.com" TARGET=_blank>www.accuratereloading.com</A> <p>[This message has been edited by Saeed (edited November 26, 2000).]

Congrats on the new rifle. Great choice! There is nothing wrong with the 375 for N. American game. But then again this is coming from a 378 Wby Mag fanatic! I love big rifles. Both bull elk that I shot with the 378 traveled four feet....vertically! Your choice of scopes is truly outstanding. As far as the mounts I use Leuopold quick Detachable on he 378 but hey, I do not think there is a wrong choice. As far as the stock...McMillan all the way! Stronger stock in the world and man can they bed a rifle. I just rebuilt my 378. I had a Pac-nor ultra match stainless steel barrel installed, completely blueprinted the action, accubrake installed and fully cryoed. As we speak McMillan has the barreled action and they will pillar bed it in their McMillan Classic WBY MKV stock which will be painted battleship grey. This gun should be a one holer. Good luck.

I also have this same rifle and it is by far my favorite rifle. Don't let anyone tell you it is overkill. I have used it on both hogs and deer and it does no more damage than the good ole 30-06 and if you load it down to around 2500fps w/270-300gr it will do less. My other rifles are gathering dust as this rifle will do it all! I plan on putting a set of QD rings on my scope as well. It feels great with just the open sights. Well have lots of fun. I just bought a new Marlin guide gun so I will be taking a break from the .375 for hunting pigs this winter. But I'm sure it won't be for too long!

Hey, Rick. You probably saw my post about the pre-64 Win Model 70s. I loaded ammo for that 375 H&H a few years ago, and test fired it. Shot 3 shot groups under MOA. And I still have the load data for it!! <BR>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR><I><B>Critr</B></I><BR> <A HREF="http://www.SaguaroSafaris.com" TARGET=_blank>www.SaguaroSafaris.com</A>

I am about to make up a 375 Ackley with a number 5 Shilen barrel. I have been wondering if I am not going too heavy in the barrel department. I would like to hear from some of you 375 users what dimensions the factory is useing. I worked in a store where we got in a 700 Clasic in the year's caliber of 375 H&H. It had what to me looked like Remington's standard magnum barrel, and I don't think that I'd have wanted to shoot it.<BR> Anyhow, if someone out there owns a 375 and a set of calipers I'd like to hear from you. Re-inforce area, infront of the inside curve, muzzle diameter, and length. Also let me know if it isn't a straight taper.

Maybe I can measure one, after Christmas ....... <BR>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR><I><B>Critr</B></I><BR> <A HREF="http://www.SaguaroSafaris.com" TARGET=_blank>www.SaguaroSafaris.com</A> <BR> [img]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1305003&a=9758335&p=32537492&Sequence=3[/img]

I have known 2 guys who owned 375's. One broke the front stock bolt on it when sighting in. ( get ready for a real wake up jolt). The second said his was the best shooting rifle he ever had in terms of accurracy. Different bullet weights went to nearly the same point of impact at 100yds, held tight groups and reached out to long ranges with ease. Good luck - it is not too big for coastal grizzlies in the bruch alders by the way.

RickBin, your handle seems familiar. If you've heard this before ignore me. A while back I to purchased my first .375 and I've never regretted it. Mine is a stainless Model 70 Classic. I had it tuned up a bit and it now wears a Rimrock stock that has been bedded and free-floated. A Leupold 2.5-8X mounted in Leupold QD rings and bases contributes to sub-MOA all day long with its preferred loads. There's no doubting that you have some power in your hands but I don't think I'm going out on a limb by saying it is one of the easiest magnums to shoot. My rifle weighs about 8 1/2 lbs empty. An accurate .375 is a truly versatile piece of hardware. Good luck, Troy.

Troy:<P>I been around a bit. Used to post on AllOutdoors back in the old days befor it got commercialized and fancy. Used to be a good crowd. Perused shooters of and on for the last couple of years, under different handle the rare times I posted.<P>Ring any bells.<P>Rick