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What's your experiences with the Ruger #1? I�m thinking about getting a Ruger #1 in .375 H&H for an all-around caliber.

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I had one years ago, and it shot very well. I think you'll be very happy with it.


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Have shot my buddies 1-H in 375, it hurts from both ends! It 'seems' to recoil harder than his 458 WM, 416 Rigby, or my 300 WBY.

It does have some great wood though.



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Please correct me if I'm wrong, but my reasoning behind getting a .375 H&H cause I�ve heard you can load it up with a 270 grain bullet and get similar ballistics of a .270 win. and you can load it up with a 300-350 grain and take down larger game.

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Wow! Rather than going by "what you've heard", you may want spend some time studying.

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Ruger #1 is a great rifle and the .375 H&H is a great cartridge that can do it all but I might look a bolt action rather than the #1 because it's going to kick like hell in a #1. With a 270 gr bullet @2,700 fps trajectory is similar to a 30-06 with a 180 gr bullet. I've killed buffalo, hippo, moose, antelope, etc with it and it's just a great cartridge, fantastic for elk as well. I've moved on to the .375 Weatherby just because I like to play with different cartridges but if I could only have an H&H I wouldn't be disappointed.

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There are other chamberings in the #1 and other rifles chambered in 375 which will beat you worse than the #1-H 375. It's a very doable, learnable rifle/chambering combination. If you have any experience at all with bigger recoil chamberings, the 375 isn't all that tough to learn to shoot well.

Last edited by Klikitarik; 11/21/12. Reason: Spelling, duh!

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IMHO, there is nothing in the USA that requires the hurt generated (on both ends) by a .375 H & H, except perhaps the giant bears of Alaska. In my magnum days, I owned several different .375 rifles. I found that the best part was that I could usually turn a nice profit on them. Great round, but far from an all around rifle, unless you live in Africa. Even there, one would want a double or a magazine rifle for dangerous game. Just my thoughts. Your money, your choice. jack


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The Ruger #1 is a light package for the .375 H&H but the .375 has a tapered neck and body that does not deliver a sharp jab anyway. The recoil is quite manageable once you put a serious recoil pad on the rifle.

I have had shoulder surgery and avoid all the big boomers but I can easily shoot a box of .375 H&Hs w/o getting beaten up badly.

They shoot great groups -- often to the same POI no matter the variety of ammo --and are a pure pleasure to carry and use too. As a one shot hunting tool you will not even notice the recoil with that simple fix.

One thing you should know is that the long cases have a tendency to hit the safety on ejection and stay there. A simple flip of the wrist throws the empty case aside with almost no delay in reloading. It would be nice for Rugeer to recess the safety a bit but....they don't deem it a problem worth addressing.

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The range of opinions on recoil of a 1B in .375 H&H should give a warning to the OP as to whether or not it's the cartridge/rifle combination he's looking for; I have a feeling he may not be that experienced with rifles or with game animals.

FWIW, I've had three .375's: A Brno/CZ 602, a custom-stocked #1, and a SAKO AV Mannlicher. The #1 was the most uncomfortable to shoot with the full range of .375 loads, but still bearable. The SAKO is the lightest of the three, but also the most comfortable to shoot as well as the most accurate... and it's the one I still have.

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Originally Posted by Mesabi
The range of opinions on recoil of a 1B in .375 H&H should give a warning to the OP as to whether or not it's the cartridge/rifle combination he's looking for; I have a feeling he may not be that experienced with rifles or with game animals.
There's a LOT of that on this board. A lot of crap gets repeated and regurgitated, a lot of basic facts ignored, a lot of basic common sense cast aside, etc.


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Originally Posted by lance1
What's your experiences with the Ruger #1? I�m thinking about getting a Ruger #1 in .375 H&H for an all-around caliber.


Okay, my experience with a Ruger #1 in .375 H&H- it's very accurate and it kicks like hell.

For comparison - had a stainless Model 70 in .375 that weighed 10 lbs 5 oz, I could shoot it from prone without discomfort. 50 rounds in an afternoon were not painful, and one memorable afternoon I fired 80 rounds from all positions - standing, kneeling and prone - with no ill effects.

Had a Model 70 Safari Express .375 H&H with a wood stock that weighed just about 9 pounds. It kicked more, noticably more. 20 rounds in an afternoon was okay, 30 was enough, 50 rounds was not fun.

Had the aforementioned #1 .375 that weighed about 8 pounds all up with a scope. It kicked the snot out of me compared to the other two, but it would shoot three rounds under an inch. 20 rounds in an afternoon was all I could take. I fired 40 once and it was more a test of my pain tolerance than anything else. Whether it was the recycled tank tread Ruger calls a recoil pad or the stock shape, I don't know. I had bought it for the same reson you're contemplating, I had this "one round, one rifle, one world" vision in my head and that #1 literally knocked that vision right out of my head right quick. I sold it pretty quickly as well.

FWIW, I was a very healthy 49 years old at the time, stood 5' 11" and weighed around 185.


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Originally Posted by Jim in Idaho

......... I had this "one round, one rifle, one world" vision in my head and that #1 literally knocked that vision right out of my head right quick. ........


Thanks for the chuckle. I've not shot any #1's and the talk of recoil is making me curious. I have an 8lb scoped .375 that isn't uncomfortable to shoot, but the stock and recoil pad probably help.

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lance1,

Welcome to the Campfire!

I see you've also been "welcomed" by some other members, with some already giving you grief. That's the way this site can work sometimes, unfortunately.

I had a No. 1 .375 H&H for several years and along with some hunting here in Montana took it on two African safaris, one just for plains game and the other including Cape buffalo. I left the factory recoil pad on, and never found it kicked all that bad. The load I used on the plains game safari was a 260-grain Nosler at 2700 fps, and on the other safari three different 300-grain bullets at 2600 fps, both fairly stout.

I suspect the fit of the No. 1's stock to individual shooters has more effect on felt recoil than anything else. On the first safari I used a Leupold 1.75-6x scope, and the rifle's weight with scope was over 9 pounds. On the second safari I used an New England Custom Guns receiver sight and the rifle only weighed 8-1/4 pounds. I couldn't feel any practical difference in recoil, perhaps because the No. 1's buttstock is actually a better fit with iron sights, with most shooters better able to get their cheek down on the stock.

I kind of regret selling that rifle, but another Campfire member, GuyM, eventually ended up with it and likes it a lot. he's only used it for local hunting in Washington so far, I believe, but there's no reason not to use the .375 for all-around big game hunting, especially if you handload. One of the loads I used here was the 220-grain Hornady flat-nose designed for the .38-55 Winchester at about 2000 fps. It worked great on everything from prairie dogs to deer, and hardly kicked at all. A 225-235 grain spitzer at 2900-3000 would be a fine load for almost any North American hunting, with a trajectory very similar to the .270 with a 150-grain bullet. The trajectories of the conventional 270 and 300-grain bullets are more like the .30-06 with 180-200 grain bullets.


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Not that ya need it, but your stock continues to increases in value as far as I'm concerned.

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Welcome to the Campfire!

I see you've also been "welcomed" by some other members, with some already giving you grief. That's the way this site can work sometimes, unfortunately.


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One of my favorite rifles is the .375 H&H Number One that used to belong to John Barsness! I got crazy once and offered to sell it back to him. THANKFULLY he declined, I came to my senses and treasure that rifle. Some owner between John and me put a Pachmayer Decelerator recoil pad on the rifle, and it is pretty nice. I really don't mind the recoil at all. Was pleasantly surprised by what I'd describe as a big push, instead of the sharp recoil I was expecting. Yeah, it moves, but if a guy gives with it, no big deal. Typically I get about MOA accuracy, sometimes better.

Generally I shoot a load I also got from JB: 69 grains of RL-15 and a 260 gr Nosler Accubond. It's accurate as all get out and polished off a black bear at 306 yards in fine fashion. He managed to crawl all of about 8 - 10 feet after the Nosler went completely through him, wrecking everything in the path. Sad to say, that's the only big game I've take with the rifle.
[Linked Image]

Last summer though I had the .375 at the rifle range with a box of ammo loaded with the 300 gr Sierra. A rockchuck had the temerity to show himself while I was cleaning up and putting things away. For a moment I was unhappy, since I didn't have my varmint rifle along. Then I thought "Hey, there's a .375 in the Jeep." End of one rockchuck! grin
[Linked Image]

My son snapped this photo of me shooting it at 300 yards prone - which wasn't a problem. I use a 200 yard sight in distance, and the 300 yard gong rings easily enough, just aiming near the top of the gong. Maybe 9" of drop. Great practice since the bear managed to get shot at just over 300 yards!
[Linked Image]

A 100 yard sight-in target, from sitting, no bench, when I put the new 1.5-5x scope on it:
[Linked Image]

I've carried it on elk hunts and deer hunts, just for the heck of it, but haven't had a shot-opportunity while I've been carrying it.

Ridiculously large cartridge for deer, bear and elk? Yeah, probably, but it shoots great and sure is a lot of fun to load & shoot. The Ruger rifle itself is terrific. 1B pointed out that a spent cartridge case can get stopped by the safety. I've just trained myself to cant the rifle a bit when ejecting a spent round, and that works just fine. The short overall length makes a surprisingly compact hunting rifle. The accuracy is excellent, and yeah, I really like the way it carries and shoots. Somehow it became one of my very favorite rifles, though the cartridge is far more powerful than anything I need.

Regards, Guy

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Everybody should have a "big" rifle as defined by the individual. I've owned a couple #1s in 375. Yeah, they kick a bit, but adding a good pad makes a huge difference, and they are good rifles. My current "big" is a 416 Rigby in the Ruger M77RSM magnum rifle. It weighs about 10 lbs and I would not want it any lighter. It's muy funo with reduced loads. That reminds me, I need some bullets for it.


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Guy,

That's exactly the same technique I use when wanting a fast repeat shot with No. 1's.

I generally set the ejector spring so the case comes out and is stopped by the safety. This makes it easy to remove the case and put it back in the box, but if I need a fast repeat shot tilting the rifle a little dumps the case on the ground.
With extra rounds in the left pocket of my shirt I can get another in the chamber and be ready to shoot again about as fast as most people cycle a bolt handle.

I took my biggest gemsbok with your rifle on it's first safari. The shot was about 200 yards and the bullet landed at the rear edge of the shoulder muscle. I ejected the empty while tilting the action, then slid another one in the chamber, closing it and aiming again just in time to see the gemsbok go down after staggering 30 feet--so reloading didn't take long!


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Originally Posted by Mako25
Not that ya need it, but your stock continues to increases in value as far as I'm concerned.

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Welcome to the Campfire!

I see you've also been "welcomed" by some other members, with some already giving you grief. That's the way this site can work sometimes, unfortunately.



Thx guys, you beat me to it

Dober


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Originally Posted by lance1
What's your experiences with the Ruger #1? I�m thinking about getting a Ruger #1 in .375 H&H for an all-around caliber.


Welcome - I currently have four No.1's, but none are in 375 H&H. I did have a No. 1 in 375 H&H for several years and liked everything about it. I shot one cow elk with it and then traded it off for a No. 1 450/400 NE when Ruger came out with those. Both of those cartridges in that rifle have more recoil than I like for volume shooting from the bench, but using them as they were intended to be used are not bad to shoot at all. The novelty of the 450/400 has worn off and I wish I had the 375 H&H back. I think if I were to do it all over again I would go with the 405 Win in that particular rifle, but none of the cartridges mentioned are what I would choose for an "all-around caliber".

Last edited by JGray; 11/21/12.
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