Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only FTW vs Alaskan in 375 Ruger

Will the short 20 inch barrel on the Alaskan cause inordinate amount of muzzle flash and concussion? I sure wish the FTW had iron sights on it. I like the longer barrel of the FTW but would like irons on a heavy rifle. What do you think?

Rolly, This is just MO! In the H&H, velocity loss with the short barrels is pretty minimal, figuring yours would be similar. As a handloader, you may be able to go to a faster burn powder and minimize muzzle flash,while maximizing velocity in the short barrel. Again, that's just a guess! memtb

I don't notice any inordinate amount of blast from my 20" guide gun. I don't use the muzzle device though. I think the 375 Ruger is fantastic in a 20" barrel, though it does start to weigh on me and since all of my shooting is with a scope, I wish I had the FTW for the lighter weight.

I dont know what "an FTW" means. Regardless.

As far as a 20" barrel, that is a preferred length by many for dangerous game rifles. Not all, but many like short and fast. I would not hunt with a muzzle brake on anything, The blast should not be objectionable for the occasional shot in the field with a plain barrel. Naturally hearing protection is advisable for practice. The big bore guns tend to burn up the powder quicker than something like a 7mm-08 in a like length barrel. If this Ruger has a brake, I would remove that and install a thread protector for hunting. Objectionable would probably be an understatement.

I've got the Guide Gun at 20 inches. Only about 50 rounds so far, from the bench, working on loads. I've been using the brake, in a lead sled to dial in some loads. Pretty much there. I'm working on 200 gr GSC HV monos at 3100+ with IMR 3031 I put in a spring from Ernie the Gunsmith; the trigger is excellent, at about 2.5. I'm not seeing any fire out the muzzle. Everything kinda turns gray after the shot. Not sure if its is muzzle blast or gray-out from absorbing G's. There is a slight CAT 3 hurricane in your face following the shot, but it just gives you a nice whiff of that IMR. Takes a bit to get used to....but it's fun. Kidding aside, I think the most I've fired is 30 rounds at a session. I just ran out of ammo for what I was doing. With the brake and the sled, there isn't much recoil left to deal with. I'm sure I could do 100 rounds with that configuration easy. It just takes time trying to keep the barrel cool and working at at public range. When I get the load dialed in, then I'll switch to shooting those 270 gr seconds I got from Midway, offhand and with sticks. After that, more of the same without the brake. I'm just getting back into shooting/hunting after an 18 year break. Trying to ease into the 375. The FTW in 375 has a 22 in barrel, so you would be giving up about 50 FPS. The African is a 23 in barrel if you want more. I had to do some work on the stock to open up the grip. Its not purrty yet, but it feels much better. I moved the comb back about an inch. I haven't bedded it yet, but I did float it. I think the float helped some vertical stringing. I also crafted some shims for the bottom metal to free up the mag box about .032.. The little extra depth, along with a bit of work on the ejector, fixed the problem of the ejector jamming on the rim of the top round of a full mag. This is only an issue for LH models. Ruger decided to use the same follower for LH and RH actions, but the ejector for the LH is right over the top round in the mag. Before the mods, I couldn't close the bolt with 3 down unless I nudged the top round forward about 1/8 in to make room for the ejector to descend. I notified Ruger they have a design issue, surprisingly, they haven't responded! Other than that, they have been very easy to deal with. They sent me new rings and some other parts free and without me asking. Sorry for the ramble...

My first 458 lott had a 21" barrel which included the muzzle brake. Muzzle blast and concussion weren't an issue. My son's 243 has a 20" barrel and I worked up some loads with H-335. Talk about muzzle blast and concussion!

It's been my experience that the medium and large bores tend not to have excessive muzzle blast and concussion. It's the high stepping small bores that make the racket. The worst offended I've seen was a braked 30-378 Weatherby. My luck was the only free bench at the range was next to that guy, and I didn't end up shooting that day as the concussion was intolerable.

I run a 270 Hornady over 62.0 gr IMR4895 from a 20" 376 Steyr and average 2580.
There's no offensive blast.