for N american whitetail and a trip to africa perhaps someday

30-06 Everyday ending in Y

30-06. I think one rifle for everything is BS. If I can afford a trip anywhere that I'd need anything bigger than 30-06 a 2nd rifle will be pocket change.

For PG the 30/06 is perfect, save the money on the second rifle and I can get you more trophies instead.

Truth and wisdom here!

I call BS.

Many of us who have gone to Africa did it on a shoestring, and the cost of another rifle with associated government fees and permits means one less animal on the hunt.

Except for dangerous game, a 30-06 is a great one-rifle choice.

But.....
If DG is going to be on the menu a 375 is the perfect all rounder. And even though I love the old -06, a 375 can do anything an -06 can do, granted with a bit more kick and powder.

Yeah, a 30-06 and 375 H&H will work quite nicely for these things you speak of...

If you don't listen to this advice, you'll wish you had....

Mostly N. American WT's with a perhaps an African trip, the '06 is a no brainer. I have a great .375 H&H, but wouldn't want to be using it exclusively for WT's and such.

With the '06 suitable for most everything, I'd sure go with it and if a bigger gun was needed in Africa, I'd borrow one from the PH.

That old "only can have one" idea is enough to cause bad dreams and severe anxiety...

I can't be thinking such thoughts.

DF

my brother-in-law is a gunsmith. he said his job is based upon people buying and building what they want vs. what they need.

he said if everyone bought a basic .22 and a 30-06 based upon their hunting "needs" vs "wants" he would be out of business.

granted if you want the dangerous game of africa that isn't going to hold true but I think I would just go with a nice 30-06 and borrow a rifle if I decided I wanted to shoot something bigger in africa

Get the .375 H&H.

I don't know? Wisconsin has some HUGE Dangerous whitetails! LOL

These questions make me shake my head when I see every bodies suggestions without knowing much more. But based on what we do know I'd likely suggest the 06.

That said if you are going to reload & you can only have one. My choice would be the 375H&H as it has been for me since 1996. I've hunted everything from rock chucks to elk with it and enjoyed every outing. Could I have done it with a 30-06 sure. But I'd always wanted a 375H&H so I got one. Had 30-06's in the past plus a bunch of other rifles in other chambering. But I never kept them and used them as much as I have the 375H&H. It's a real fun cartridge to hunt with if you want too. For me the long HUNTING history of the 375H&H as being "The All Round Hunting Cartridge" drew me to this fantastic round.

I guess you need to look at what you want. Do you want to lug a rifle that weighs in around 7 to 8 pounds (06) or 9-1/2 to 10 pounds (375H&H)? Do you want to reload or use factory ammo? All the expert advice given still comes down to what you want. Which ever you choose, shoot it a lot and enjoy it.

Cheers!

BTW: I asked the same question to myself in 1996 with the exception instead of a 30/06 it was a 300H&H.

My plan has always been to buy a .375 if and when Africa came up, then sell it when I got back. I have previously owned several pre 64 Winchester 70s in the caliber, one Browning Safari, and one Mark X. In my opinion, there is no need to tolerate either recoil or rifle weight of a .375 for deer/elk. Just one opinion.

Jack

I'd rather have my 375 H&H in Africa over any other rifle that I own. Bring the rifle that will handle the biggest animal that you have any chance of encountering.

A hearty "Amen" from the back row! I borrowed the outfitters rifle on my first safari, which was in SA....several of the loaners were -06's.

A serious reloader could make a .375 do about anything... But those guns tend to be pretty heavy for general use.

A serious reloader could make a 30-06 do about anything...

A non reloader would just about have to go with the '06. Plenty of ammo options on the dealers shelf for the '06. Not so much for the .375.

IMO,

DF

IF you do not intend to hunt Dangerous Game, then take the 30-06 and live happily.

IF you do intend to hunt DG, then buy a .375 in the same make/model as your '06 some 4 months before going. That will cost you maybe $1200 if you get a Winchester or Remington...Sell it when you get back.

I have a .375 in the safe...and candidly I have no idea why...except one day I do want to hunt Cape Buff. In the meantime it's just a useless hunk of steel...

BLASPHEMY!!
Take that 375 out and use it. BTW mine only weighs a couple of ounces over 9lbs. Not a lightweight but certainly light enough to hunt with regularly.
And I certainly would never hunt DG with a borrowed rifle.

Gonna disagree with you DF.

In a .30/06 I would use a 180 gr bullet of either Nosler Partition or Swift A-Frame.

In a .375 H&H it would be a 300 gr in the same choices and a solid from Hornady.

Don't need a bazillion of factory ammo choices,just one bullet weight in each. Remember the KISS method...Keep It Simple Stupid.

I don't know anyone who can afford to hunt Africa that only has one rifle. That includes those that couldn't afford it but managed to scrape the money up. Then there's who have dozens of rifles and feel that they can't afford Africa but that's a somewhat different topic. I could say something to the effect that if you absolutely can't have more than one rifle you will struggle to afford to shoot a .375 any meaningful amount, since the cost of real shooting quickly makes the purchase price of normal rifles seem like chump change. So does the price of a safari to be frank.

That's the bad news, it gets better. If I had a dollar for every time that someone told me that I wouldn't make it to Africa I'd have made it there 10 years sooner and still be hunting on the change. You can do the same, and will if you want it bad enough.

It would be easy to say that a .375 is a great one rifle for the world choice and it would be true enough. I've shot animals from steinbuck to giraffe with them and its seldom a bad choice. Taking a M70 Alaskan in .375 on a brown bear hunt in British Columbia in 6 weeks.

Its just as easy to say that a 30-06 is a fine whitetail and most of North America hunting choice, even if much of the coolest NA hunting costs more than much of Africa and those hunters that I know that are doing it seldom seem to be packing a 30-06. It is also a great choice for much of the plains game. Ranges tend to be short, and anything that you would happily clobber an elk with will handle most of it.

I'd recommend that you get what suits your needs right now, and spend less time worrying about possible future uses. If and when you go to the dark continent buying another rifle will seem cheap compared to the cost of everything else. If you are shoe-stringing it remember that a plane ticket and no rifle will get you closer to Africa than a rifle and no plane ticket. You can same enough in ammo cost shooting a 30-06 to pay for the .375.

Here is a Remington M 700 .375 RUM,as is in the pic it weighs 7lbs 12oz.



Great to carry,but brutal to shoot. It's being re-stocked with a laminated stock as I type this. Hopefully bringing up the weight to 9lbs +.

Just remember a lighter rifle is gonna recoil more,no matter the cartridge. And since practicing with it is important I like a little more weight, 8lbs is good for a .30/06 and 9lbs + is good for a .375.

I get disagreed with all the time.

Have an office staff of women and one at home...

But, Loonies won't be content with just two basic bullet types in the .375. Just because they will work doesn't really mean a lot to that audience...

My point being, one can down load, do a bunch of creative stuff with the .375 as a reloader, those options are more limited at the store. Full house 300's are a bit much for everyday WT hunting. 220's, 225's, 235's loaded appropriately, at least in my mind, make a lot more sense.

DF

Now, that's about the best answer to this question I've read and a great summary in general.

DF

Think you missed the point about factory ammo,the choice is limited in the .375,but pick one and use it for everything. Factory ammo for a .375 H&H is hardly "fast" with it only going 2530 fps for a 300 gr bullet. The recoil from that load (to me at least) is not that bad. It'll kill WT all the way up to Cape buffalo and elephant (using a solid),which is pretty versatile IMO.

Reloading does open up a new venue for a .375,but I'd rather use a 300 gr bullet. Keeping it simple.

The 270 and 300 grain bullets have long been the standards for the .375, and like many others I gave little notice to those in the 230 grain range. Having been told over and over that although they started out fast they slowed down just as fast and weren't very flat shooting. Everyone knows that right? Right?

Well, when I started playing with my M70 Alaskan I couldn't help noticing that it was much lighter than it was catalogued at. 8.2 pounds with a Leupold 3.5-10 x 40 to be exact. This is so much different than the 10 pound .375s that I'd been packing around that I got to thinking that I could likely pack that anywhere I'd take a normal rifle around home. A 10 pound rifle doesn't seem like much in Africa when you probably will kill a couple animals a day, but its a bit much when you carry it for a week and shoot once. As it turned out I had a couple boxes of Cutting Edge Bullets' 230 grain ESP Raptors that I'd added to an order on a whim. 74 grains of H4895 in Winchester brass got them up to 3025 fps. I'd actually took them up to 77 grains before pressure signs started, but never bothered chronographing those. Besides, the 74 grain load shot right a MOA and was producing plenty of velocity so why push it? Loads heavier started getting more compression than I cared for.


The eye opener for me was when those loads tracked to a B&C reticle exactly like a .300 Win and many others out to 500 yards. Hmmm, maybe they don't have a clue what their own BCs are? The fact that they just double the BC of any bullet with the optional tips does suggest that there wasn't a lot of testing involved. All this does make a guy wonder what an 8.2 pound dressed walnut and steel rifle that will group 230 grain fragmenting mono bullets under 5 inches at 500 yards with a .300s trajectory and a ton of retained energy wouldn't be good for. I think Misters Holland and Holland's old cartridge is about to step out and take some new ground back from the smaller magnums, when the downsides of rifle weight, recoil and trajectory disappeared. 'Course, it can return to its "normal" configuration and push buffalo around just with an ammo swap.

230 gr. fragmenting Raptors at 3K does open new doors of possiblilties, even at extended range.

Keep us posted. May want to try that combo myself.

DF

I see where you're going with that.

But, you may be KISS'ing too much Loony stuff out of the equation...

Hard core Loonies don't want it too simple...

DF

DF,true on the looney stuff. I loaded 235,240,250,260,270 and 300 gr bullets in the Super Express I own.

Finally just settled on the 300 gr for it.

By the way had the SE for 21 years. Taking it to Africa next fall for a lioness hunt.

Also have a Stainless Steel .375 H&H loaded with 260 gr NP and right now I'm tossing the idea of using a 300 gr Hornady or NP in it. Just to keep everything simple (sort of) by using just one bullet weight.

Lots of positive talk about the 270 TSX in the .375 for big stuff. Have you tried those?

DF

Get the 30-06 for now and save up for the 375 down the road.

If I could afford a Holland and Holland, I'd pack up my 45-70 Guide Gun and go to Africa twice. Then again my 45-90 slings out some 545 grain slugs. Might take that if something of substance was going to show up.

I used both the 270 and 300 grain TSXs with good results. I've bounced back and forth, and although I want to say that the 270s kill a little faster it sure wouldn't be by much, if in fact there is any difference at all.

My standby load for the .375s is now the 270 grain A-Frame. No problem telling a difference when those hit, compared to a TSX. I've shot 9 buffalo with that bullet, and a bunch of smaller stuff.

Randy and Connie Brooks definitively preferred the lighter weight TSX bullets in the 375 and 416. In their testing, they seemed to kill faster.

Yeah, that's what they told me too.

No.

Have tossed the idea of using Woodleigh 300 gr softs and solids in it.

Those 230 Raptors have my attention.

Gotta get a box and try them.

DF

An old rusty push feed Remington 700 ADL in 30-06 shooting 150 grn Accubonds at 2900ish killed everything my wife and I pointed it at back in 2014

11 different species of game

As for the H&H

.375 Ruger for me.......or 9.3x62

Okay I will bite. Why can you have only one rifle? You are basing this on a "trip to Africa perhaps someday"? If you can't afford two rifles, you probably will never make it over there. But then to answer the question, get the '06. Perfect for plains game. DG on you bucket list? Much more expensive; see above. 30'06 is lighter, easier to lug around, and less expensive ammo. Don't know if you reload.

Hell, just get a CZ550 in 9.3X62 and you are covered.

"Perhaps someday" is code for "more than likely NOT going to happen.

Get the 06.

Too right!

With any luck at all I'll shoot a coastal brown bear one, in Sept. Should be able to find a moose as well. Until then, I've only used the 230 on whitetail and a black bear. It was quite decisive on those, but then again they are pretty soft targets.

Where I do have some experience is with the 420 grain Safari Raptor loaded to 2350 fps in .458. Killed about 50 animals with those; mostly water-buffalo.

I like both and have both. Having one center fire rifle is what I had in the early 60's. Have not had that problem since.
Personally, I have shot more game with an 06 than all other center fires combined.
But, reloading allows a person to load that 375 down to 38-55 power. Use cast bullets on deer, 235 grain bullets on elk, 270 or 300 on bear and use 300 full metal jackets on the big stuff in Africa.

However, buy both, get a second job until you can come up with enough money to buy a Ruger American in 06 or something similar - it should take only a week or so. They are so inexpensive that it would be nuts not to have an 06 also.

.30-06.

Or, get a 9.3x62 and cover both bases.

If you only use factory ammo, get the 30-06. If you reload and are recoil tolerant then go with the 375. Same trajectory as the 30-06 but has power for almost any situation. The new Ruger 375's look like an economical choice.

Handloads .375. Factory loads 30-06.