Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .375 H&H. best bang for your buck !

And the last may be the most important factor.

Generally "liking" a rifle means you can shoot it well, it feels right in your hands, it looks good to you, it stays sighted-in, and the bullet/load do the job. Which is exactly why I like my old Mark X .375--and you like your Model 70. If there's all of that, then you'll kill well!

Hey, like bras, the bigger the better but up to a point. I shot most of my PG with a 375 H&H, but given one rifle choice, it would have to be my 300 Weatherby. jorge

My $0.02 is that if I needed a .375 to go to Africa I'd just go buy a .375 Ruger Hawkeye African Model for $875 instead of putting $3,500 into a CZ550. I'd go to Africa a lot earlier with the difference.

As for the .375 H&H Rugers, when I checked into this about 5 years ago, Ruger was "saving money" by using the same barrel contour for their .458 Lott, .416, and .375. That's why the .375s were so heavy. More metal, less hole.

Further--again if money for the safari was a problem--if I wasn't going to hunt dangerous game I'd forget the .375 and use whatever good rifle I already owned.

Like Jorge, I prefer the .300 Weatherby. I started using it for hunting because I had inherited one. With a good hit it kills with one shot, the game never (yet) goes more than about 75 yards and usually less, and it nearly always leaves an exit hole with Partitions.

I had a look at the sako web site,
That Kodiak version of the 85 looks real cool to me. Its got a laminate stock so it could be cut and a new pad installed, and its got a a barrel a just under 22 inches. I like that !
Its not real traditional in apearence, but it looks like a great tool for the job ! Wonder about the price ?
...tj3006

Indy,

He was going to have the CZ rebuilt, including a custom fancy-walnut stock. That's what the $3500 was about.

I pointed out that in much serious hunting with a pair of CZ 550's over the past few years, from Alaska to Africa, I have never found reason wish for a Winchester-type 3-position safety, since the 550 safety is a 3-position and also much handier to use than a M70's. The trigger is completely adjustable and works very well. Those sorts of things (which don't need to be done) were going to eat up about $500.

The rest was the custom stock, and he wanted it because he didn't like the "Bavarian" style stock on the 550 in .375. Then he realized that this rifle is now available with an "American classic" style stock, so that doesn't have to be done either. he can get a CZ 550 .375 for about $1100.

I have owned and used both the CZ's and Ruger Hawkeye African. They are both very good values for the price. The CZ has nicer wood and the bedding doesn't have to be beefed up, as it does in the Hawkeye African to make sure the stock doesn't split. The CZ comes with a very adequate recoil pad, the Ruger doesn't. The CZ's trigger is better, though the Hawkeye's is pretty good. They both feature dovetails on the action for scope rings, and good iron sights. The CZ comes in the "traditional" .375, which would be a plus for some people but not for others. To me it's pretty much a toss-up. The Ruger needs some upgrading (recoil pad, stock bedding, maybe a trigger job) and the CZ doesn't, so in the end the price will come out about the same.

As far as cartridges, just about everybody who hunts big game in the Lower 48 already owns a plains game rifle. I have not only taken the gamut of plains game with cartridge from 7x57 to .375, but seen maybe 10 times what I've shot taken by other hunters. If you have a rifle from .270 up it will work just fine, given the always-noted good bullets and good shooting. The only plains game animal I might go a little heavier that a .270 for is eland--and then again I might not. Certainly a .30-06 will do the job if anybody absolutely disbelieves in the under-.30's.

MuleDeer: Have you seen the Remington 798 Safari in 375 H&H? If you have could you comment on it as compared to a CZ550 American in 375 H&H?

idahoguy101

It wouldn't be too bad a choice. I am not crazy about the trigger-safety on the 798 action, and would probably replace it with a 3-position. But other than that it's a good rifle--not as esthetic perhaps as the Ruger African or CZ Safari, but it's a Model 98 action, always a point in any rifle's favor.

My own .375 H&H is based on a Whitworth barreled action, the rifle that years ago was the forerunner of the 798. I've had some work done to it (including a 3-position Gentry safety and NECG express sights) and stocked it myself in pretty plain black walnut so that it comes up perfectly with my eyes aligned with the sights.

I'm a bit late on this conversation, so I'll apologize early to those who've post similar post. I've tried to read them all, but one never knows exactly where one is at on these long posted topics.

First of all, if you're looking for a large caliber rifle, around
or similar to the 375 H&H you need to consider all your options.
To acknowledge my own bias, I own/prefer a 375 H&H, so much so,
I'm seriously considering having my 300 H&H rebarreled to 375 H&H.

However, that may not be YOUR best choice. Depending on YOUR
sense of felt recoil, possibly a .416 Remington might be a better
choice. On the other hand, possibly the 375 Ruger might be a good choice. There are a lot of variables here, not the least is recoil. Also not the least if you handload, volumes of powder!

My point is lets start at the beginning! This is probably better covered in Kevin (Doktari) Robertson's book, "The Perfect Shot for African Game". Kevin's suggestion is that the 375 H&H is
over powered to take Dangerous African Game. Suggesting that
somewhere between 2300 & 2400 fps might be the 'better' velocity
for a 300 gr bullet from the 375! Providing better penetration
and 'killing' power than a bullet fired at 2500-2600+ fps! NOT
to mention less recoil!

I won't go into the details at this point, but leave it simply to mention, a 300 gr bullet from any 375 cal rifle traveling
with a MV of 2300 fps, loaded with a premium bullet should pass
thru both shoulders of a Cape Buffalo shot at 50-60 yds out.
(Typical range most Cape Buffalo are shot. Whereas, some 375
cal bullets weighing 300 grs with a higher MV either fail or,
pass thru and kill another animal on the opposite side. Something to be aware of if you're hunting in Africa, as this results in more trophy fees, or worse depending on what you're
hunting.)

But here is my point, a 300-gr any kind of bullet has less recoil
than the same 300 gr bullet launched at 2500 or more fps from the same rifle.

I'm not an experienced African hunter by any means, but you could do worse by listening to many that are. And, that is my point. African game has been traditionally hunted with large caliber, slow moving bullets, and been quite successful. On the
other hand, the chap using the latest and geatest .460 Weatherby
have actually MISSED the animal at 50 yds, or worse, non-lethal
wounding the animal. Shot placement is critical. Muzzle velocity
is relative to shot placement and the hunter's ability to absorb
recoil.

I went the .375 route a couple of years ago, though all I do is daydream of Africa.

I lucked into a Model 70 Classic Super Grade in 7mm mag at a good price, and Conrad Gerega offered me a Winchester factory SS .375H&H barrel with sights that he had in his rack.

He modified and trued up the action, installed the barrel and added a set of Leupold QD mounts & a Leupold 2x-7x VXII scope for me.

He also modified the rails to allow a four-round magazine capacity.

My only complaint is that the rifle weighs in at over 10 pounds, lovely to shoot but not to carry.

I'm still tempted by that Ruger Hawkeye African model though . . .