Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Ruger No 1 .375 H&H for Africa?

Hello Everyone,

New guy here and was wondering the collective thoughts on a Ruger No 1 in .375 H&H for a first time trip to South Africa? I shoot it accurately, am somewhat quick on the reload (still working on it though) and like the thought of a somewhat classic rifle going over there with me. I think that there are some members here that have taken their No 1's over and would like to hear their experiences, both good and bad...

Why not? Just get your field practice in.

That would be like bow hunting.Best to put yourself on the right road from the beginning and go with a Ruger 77 MK2 or similar in 375.

I believe Mule Deer used his there.

I hunt with a model one . Makes me a better hunter knowing I only have one chance of getting it right. It will be fine.

Yep, not only on plenty of plains game but a bull buffalo.

The big "trick" in shooting dangerous game is putting the right bullet in the right place.

My fellow gun writer Jon Sundra took what was then the Big Five (elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard) with Ruger No. 1s, some when hunting on his own, without a PH, back when that was possible. Dunno if it is anymore.....

I would not even hesitate to use a #1.

I have known 11 pro-hunters who did business in Africa and I have spent many months there myself.

All my pro-hunter friends there say seldom if ever use big 40+calibers to do their own hunting. All say the same thing : big bore stoppers are for wounded game that may get away or fight back. Hunting for there own game they ALL prefer 375s (and some even smaller) because if you place a good bullet in the right spot the hunt is over.

International clients are OFTEN known to be poor shots (largely because of gun laws in most other countries) and so if the pro HAS to shoot the hunt is already F-ed up and that is why most of them like the bigger more powerful rifles when guiding. But when alone most don't use the big bore heavies.

If you can shoot well and know your own rifle inside and out you will have NO problem at all with a 375, and a single well delivered 375 H&H bullet is just fine.

If you are unsure of yourself I'd say it's best to spend a lot of money on ammo (or components to load ammo) to practice with ------and not a lot of money on some new and more powerful gun which you will not shoot any better then the Ruger #1 you own now.

Thanks for the replies everyone! I really like the rifle, have been shooting it for the last six months or so and have got it dialed in well. I'm still a "new guy" with the sticks, but am grasping the concept as I go along. They come with me to every range session now and get shot off of as part of the "learning the new process/style"...definitely a different style than deer and hog hunting that I grew up with.

No reason whatsoever to not take it with you.

I was fortunate enough to buy a 375 H&H Number One that had belonged to "Mule Deer" aka John Barsness, years ago. He'd taken it to Africa, and that was a dream of mine. All I've shot with it is three black bear, but it surely did a fine job on them. One was at about 15 feet! I was following up a bear that had been wounded by another hunter. Found out I surely could reload that rifle in a hurry! Farthest bear was a tad over 300 yards, a one-shot kill. I'd urge you to look up some of John's articles on the 375 H&H. His loads work well. Easiest doggone load development I've ever done, all I did was copy his loads, worked up in the same rifle.

If I could, I'd take it to Africa in a half a heartbeat. Accurate, reliable and deadly. Not real rough on the shooter either. That's nice.

Regards, Guy

I remember someone, maybe boddington using a wrist cartridge holder, and someone else showed how to hold cartridges in the hand ready for reloading fast.

Maybe someone remembers this.

My fast reloads come from cartridges in a plastic holder (cut from factory ammo boxes) shoved into the left pocket of my hunting shirt.

It's real fast and easy to eject the empty, pluck a fresh cartridge from the pocket and shove it into the chamber. Amazingly fast with a little practice.

Guy

Yep, go for it!

My Ruger No.1H Tropical is a .458 Win Mag and will be hunting black bear this spring, God willing. The load will be factory - the first ever in any .458 I've owned. Federal's 400gr TBBC said to leave the muzzle at 2250 fps - should be practical and mild. I'll be hunting alone - no partner and no guide, but lots of practice before the hunt in using some of my own handloaded 400s at around that same MV.

I've owned a lot of single-shot rifles and the No.1s are a favorite. The key in using them is familiarity and confidence.

Bob
www.bigbores.ca

One of the best things about No. 1s is the adjustable ejector. Adjust it for the particular case and what you want, and it works great, whether for .22 Hornet cases when prairie dog shooting or back-up shots with far more powerful rounds.

Whatever system you use for reloads, practice with it until it becomes second nature. I use a stock cartridge holder for my .458 (aand any other single-shooter I own). It can hold up to seven, but in .458 that adds a lot of extra weight on the buttstock, so I usually load 2 - 3 on the stock and one in the chamber. We need to practice to the point of not having to think about it,

Bob
www.bigbores.ca

Take it! My son and I both took one to Zimbabwe about 12 yrs. ago. He took a cow cape buff and a hippo with his, and I shot a tuskless cow ele with mine. You will have a ball.

Outstanding! I've got a bunch of RL15, a fresh box of TSX 300 grainers and about 55 shiny new cases. Gonna do some load development this weekend and see how these print. I'm figuring 66 grains will get me a little over 2400 feet per second and should place pretty accurately in this rifle.
Hey maddog, I saw a reference to you and your sons hunt during a basic search, do you still have pics of your Zimbabwe hunt?

Sorry Goopy, I dropped photobucket a few yrs. back, and all the pics, were dropped from my old posts. However if you want to read what I posted, look up "I danced with the Zambezi ladies" parts 1 and 2, and what I wrote is still there.

Copy that- will do.
Thanks bud

maddog- sorry about a specific direct question to you like that, I tried to PM you but apparently I cant PM people until I reach an allotted number of posts or thread starts...I'm too lazy to look up that number right now!

I think that I remember reading that! Did you also post that story over on Marlin Owners forum?

Regards, Guy

And from CZ550 “We need to practice to the point of not having to think about it,”

Sums it up.

I did a good deal of hunting years ago with a break action fully rifled 12 gauge and could get aimed shots on target as fast my brother with a pump gun. I used a buttstock holder for reloads. What Ingwe calls a bubba buddy. I like them. I used one on a bolt action .375 when hunting buffalo.

Get inventive with your practice. Water jugs at various distance. First shot off the sticks, follow up shots from offhand. Shoot from the sticks kneeling and sitting. Set goals, time yourself, if you have a buddy willing to play “race” with him, this creates a level of stress in your practice.

Besides being fun you will develop a level of familiarity with the rifle where as stated above you do not need to think.

I've had several #1's make the trip. Took a 338-06 on my first trip. This last trip I took a 35 Whelen, my daughter took the 338-06 and ny son took my 338WSM. All performed flawlessly!

I don't see an issue with it, in fact you'll have a lot of fun with it. Personally though I would not use it on dangerous game.

What game are you hunting? The vast majority of game in RSA is PG and doesn’t require a 375 H&H. Additionally, follow up shots under stress are uncommon in that setting. Zebra, blue wildebeest, and even eland will fall to a good bullet from one of the 300 mags or 30-06 class cartridges.

However, as JOC said, “Hunting is about fun and games,” so if you enjoy a classic SS rifle, take it. Using a favorite rifle is the capstone to a hunt and in the case of a first African safari, using your own favored rifle adds immeasurably to the experience.

Practice and go for it!!

Courtenay Selous used a single shot Gibbs Farquharson in 461 No.1 Gibbs to kill just about everything that can be killed in Africa. However he was considered by many to be one of the best African hunters ever considering the time in which he lived. There are several other notable things he did in life that went far beyond his abilities as a hunter.

Take your No. 1 and have a great hunt.

Just make sure you practice off sticks....that's how it's done over there.

Have taken a .375 No. 1 to Africa twice. The first time was to South Africa, on a "cull" hunt in the Karoo, where trophies could also be taken. Took around a dozen animals, but the "best" was my biggest gemsbok. (The scope was a 1.75-6x Leupold, since discontinued. My hunting partner also took a similar gemsbok with my rifle, after the scope on his rifle went bonkers.

The second time was a a year later, when I did an all iron-sight hunt in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. The rear sight was an NECG aperture, combined with the factory front bead. Got a good buffalo, but also took several plains-game animals, including a kudu, warthog, impala, tsessebe and red lechwe. The lechwe was the longest shot, around 225 yards.

John - very cool. Thanks for posting those photos. I'm a big fan of that rifle.

Guy

When my son was earning his PH license in Zambia he used a Dakota No10 9.3x72 to take two buffalo.
He has used Ruger No 1 in .375 for grizzlies here in Alaska when hunting on his own.

Single shots can be operated a lot quicker than most realize and are the ultimate for those who tout “controlled round feeding”

Thank you for all the replies! I love the No 1 in .375 H&H

Larry Weishun (sp?) was hunting Cape Buffalo with a #1 in 416. Buffalo came close less than ten yards. He made a great broadside shot, the buffalo turned AWAY and ran. Had he turned the other way and charged, he would have been SOL with a single shot. CRF has nothing to do with it. I personally would not hunt DG with a single shot...or a Remington 700

PS; I hunt with a Weatherby, I like CRFs but it's not a showstopper for me.

". . . less than ten yards." "Had he turned the other way and charged, . . . ". From less than 10 yds shooting a .416 dealing with the recoil, could he have gotten off an aimed second shot from a bolt-action? My question is: why was he shooting a cape buff at less than 10 yds, was it charging? Not likely since it turned away and ran. If charging it would have landed in Larry's lap, dead or alive! Where was the PH? There are good enough reasons for magazine repeaters, but in my view and experience in hunting bears with my single shooters, I have a different mindset than when using my magazine repeaters, or pump slug guns.

Bob
www.bigbores.ca

It was in the video, maybe the yardage was off and this was in my opinion double rifle work. Bottom line is a single shot loads a LOT slower than a bolt, even a long action like a Rigby's. All I can tell you is what I remember from the video. In addition, there is another video with Boddington, alos using a single shot and he says he would never do it again. Can you hunt with one? sure, only don't tell me "it's just as good as a bolt" much less a double rifle when quick follow up shots are needed.

"much less a double rifle" , with that I'd agree - though the only double I've owned was a shotgun. "To each his own" would be the consensus here. It is a particular "mindset". But all on this thread have been positive without ambivalence. I tend to concur, but I said with a particular mindset. It must be a natural action born of intimacy with the rifle, and confidence in it as well as self. A hundred rounds in practice is minimum - more is better, with much of it in realistic settings.

Bob
www.bigbores.ca

I’m not as experienced as many here, though I’ve handled rifles since I was a youngster and have hunted on four continents. I’ve done four plains game hunts in Africa but only one for buffalo. To each his own. I was happy to be hunting with a Mauser action and three in the magazine. But that’s just me.

That’s all that matters. Take it and have fun.

Not a .375 but I enjoyed hunting with a Ruger #1 in 270win back when I lived in South Africa. The shorter length also makes it a pleasure to carry. I say take it and enjoy.

I suppose I shouldn't talk but at one time I'd planned a hunt in Africa. Even found a good deal on a Ruger #1 in .375 H&H. Now I have others including a .404 Jeffery and .416 Rigby. Unfortunately life got in the way and the hunt never came about. However, from 1975 when I found my first Ruger #1 chambered to 30-06 I'vw acquires more than a few and hunted with them almost exclusiveey unto 2009. I did a few elk hunts on a ranch that single shot rifles were not allowed.

With all that said, I thought I'd throw a small bit of advice to the OP. Take it for what it's worth. Basically, it is how I practiced rapid reloads with my .375 H&H. I took 20 new cases and loaded them with IIRC, 53.0 gr. of H4350. Bullets were the RCBS #37-250-FN.Velocity was around 2100 FPS plus or minus as I never chronographed them and recoil was about like a stiff 220gr.30-06 load. Just enough to know you shot something. I loaded only one box which I used in practice and when I was done shooting those 20 rounds did one rapid reload with a full power load. I got pretty darn quick getting that second AIMED shot off into the target.

If the grip had come to pass I would have taken the Ruger .375 H&H and a#1B in .300 Win. Mag. running 200 gr. Speer Hot Core. That bullet worked well on an elk so I figure it would do. I hope this helps.
PJ

great read

well now i was all ready to take my Winchester model 70 with the claw , but for the last 25 years i have used only my Ruger #1 for deer and antelope hunting and never had an animal get away from that Ruger #1 yet . i guess i am going to dig out one of my Ruger #1`s in a 30-06 and see how it shoots i just might change and take a Ruger #1 instead now ? good luck on your hunt ,i will be going too S.E. Africa this may 2024 also. Pete53

I wish I could find that Larry Weishun video and it would clearly show the issues with single shot rifles and hunting dangerous game. Also, Boddington has a pretty blerb on it as well

yes those would be great reads !

https://sportsafield.com/2021/single-shots-on-safari/

Jorge, Is this the Boddinton piece you have in mind? I take it that a major concern he has with a single shot on dangerous game is the follow-up shot when you don’t really know exactly what your first shot accomplished. The PH has split seconds to decide and may shoot while you are reloading. With a double or magazine rifle you could get your own second shot off quickly.

I had one back when I lived in Alaska. Great rifle. Sadly, I never took a bear with it before moving back to Texas and selling it to my deacon friend. As I recall, 300 grain Partitions over a healthy dose of IMR 4350 was my standard load. That sure would ring the 300-yard gong at the Isaac Walton range...

When hunting Dangerous Game, it is wise to use a repeater. If the shot is not perfect, the animal may take the fight to you. Cape buffalos often don't go down on the first well placed shot, especially if they are agitated or wounded. I had one bull soak up 8 rounds of 500 grain bullets from my 458 Lott before it gave up. The first two shots were heart/lung hits! My insurance was the cartridge belt around my waist and plenty of practice reloading without looking at the rifle.
I have never been a gambler and never will be. Just my thoughts on the subject. -- T.S.