Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire 375 H&H for Alaskan Moose

There's a pretty decent book by Tony Russ called "Bear Hunting In Alaska" that makes some good points about calibers and cartridges appropriate for big game.

One, is should be something that you shoot well.
Two, the caliber should be one that assures quick, reliable kills [even if something goes less than perfectly.]
Three, bears are scary, especially in the AK environment where they are found, so you want to anchor them quickly.

There are other factors too, but anything from 308 or 30-06 on up should work, if used with 200 grain or more good quality bullets. Note that Phil Shoemaker, the famous AK guide who also is on the "Fire" is a proponent of the 30-06. (Possibly he's thinking about guided hunts.) Moose are easier to kill, but you can't go wrong up there with something that will handle bears too.

Many people like the .338 WM. I currently have one, a LH Model 70 that I bought from a fellow who had used one for bear in AK. They should be fine for large animals, especially dangerous ones. However, I have lots of rifles, including one custom LH .375H&H that I had specifically made for a bear hunt in AK but never used for that. I did take it to Africa, though, and used it on big stuff there.

I now have a total of three bolt actions in .375H&H. Personally, I find them much easier to shoot than the .338s I've had. Maybe weight is a factor, but the recoil is much more pleasant. I can shoot them better because of that.

Norm

Sorry, but have to disagree, and strongly on Tony and his books.

The book you reference include gems like avoiding Mausers "...because they tend to jam..." and other such things. His abandonment of an extremely competent archer in the field created a situation where he now has more time to work on his writing. Last I saw his license has not been reinstated.

And there is much, much more.

If you have the money go for it. Always fun getting a new rifle.

Many years ago on for Alaskan moose I made do with a 350 RemMag, but my hunting partner had a .375 H&H in a short barrel full stock Sako. They both worked just fine, and everyone nearby knows when you pull the trigger.

30-06 can bring all but a few of the worlds biggest game, i.e. such as elephant, rhino, lion, etc. Sam Fadala even got special permission to shoot a Cape Buffalo with a 30-06 due to having a bad shoulder and got his bull but I do not remember the bullet he used off hand. 30-06 with a 200 NPT PENETRATATES. But you WANT a 375 get it over with.

I'd have to listen to the consensus of those Alaskans. They are living it. They know the conditions of both ground and game.

That said, my primary elk rifle is a 338 Win Mag shooting 225 grain TTSX's. My secondary that I bring along on all elk hunts is a CZ 550 375 H&H shooting handloaded 270 grain TTSX's. People here in Colorado are killing elk by the thousands with deer rifle calibers. My limited experience in elk hunting has shown me that I will get maybe one shot every several years and I have to make it count. So for me, my answer is enough gun in a common enough caliber for when everything goes wrong.

Moose hunts are going for 25-30K and with that kind of investment I'll pay the extra expense of a rifle if for nothing else the peace of mind.

I have a Bison and Nigali hunt somewhere on my bucket list.....

We tend to use much the same rifles for moose as deer hunters everywhere use. I've seen folks take moose with 243s and 460 Weatherbys. In our family moose have fallen to a 308, 8x56 MS, 35 Whelen, 400 Whelen and a 45-70. A kid who used to do yard work for me took his first bull, and a big one at that, at 15 with a 30-30. You'll find no shortage of folks carrying 270s, 300 Savages, 30-06s and 7mm RMs. They all kill moose.

The 375 is a great choice based on the OP's parameters. He wants a back up rifle and is looking at other continents. I assume that means Africa. With that in mind I'll paraphrase Townsend Whelen, "the 375 H&H is never a mistake."

Do you have the space and weight considerations to have two guns along?

Go buy the gun you want, 375 Ouch and Ouch will kill any moose anywhere. So will a lot of others.

I am really curious what game in Australia would require a 375?

Best of Luck with your hunt whatever you decide.

As a guy that has way too many rifles for a wide variety of uses, let me provide my 2 cents!

When I went to AK to hunt moose I took my .338 WM as my primary rifle and also took my .375 H&H as a back-up. I was also planning on hunting Brown Bear with the .375 if I was successful on the moose. That's exactly what I did. I was successful on the moose, but couldn't find a big bear so never fired the 375. While hunting moose, I also knew that if we ran into a bear, that the .338 would work just fine since I had previously shot a Brown Bear with that rifle. Bottom line: Did I really need the .375? No, I would have done just fine with the .338 or as others have said, an even smaller caliber. However, I took the .375 because I wanted to shoot a bear with it just for the heck of it.

I've also used the .375 H&H in Africa along with a .416 Rem. Did I need the .416 for Cape Buffalo if I have a .375? No. I just wanted it and wanted to mess with a new rifle, cartridge, and see it perform for myself on large game.

In your case, if you have a desire to hunt Africa or Australia (see Water Buffalo and/or Banteng for Dangerous Game hunting in Australia) for dangerous game, then you have even more incentive to buy a .375 since that is a sensible minimum for DG. And, yes, I know there have been all kinds of guys that have used a .30-30, 30-06, or 7mm Mauser to down DG in Africa, but most PH's in Africa will want you to have something akin to a .375 for Buffalo, Lion, Hippo, or Elephant. Similarly in Australia, I would imagine.

One last point. Having a backup rifle is never a bad thing in my mind. I've seen it multiple times in both AK and Africa where something goes wrong with a rifle or scope or someone's rifle just doesn't make it to its intended destination. I've loaned my backup rifle to other guys a few different times. It might not be the rifle that goes bad, it might not be the scope, but if something goes wrong, it sure is nice to pick up another rifle and not have to waste time figuring out what is wrong and how to correct it. You just pick up the new rifle, ammo, and get back to hunting. I know it really is a pain to pack two rifles, but especially in AK, in bad weather, it can sometimes be a great insurance policy. Especially with a high dollar hunt.

Water Buffalo in Australia for the 375. Problem is getting your rifle into Aussie. People I know who have hunted there just used the outfitter's gun. Africa is pretty easy getting your rifle into.

To my mind as I age, and this is only in theory, the same rifle doubled, would be the ideal backup.

BUT you won't go wrong with a 375. I have a 458 too, and while I don't know how often if ever I might use it, its still there.

Moose. Right bullet. Right spot. Shoot until down. Simple enough. Caliber really isn't that big of a deal actually for the most part.

What is my go to moose gun currently? 338-06 just cause... before that it was 30-30. But before that it was 338-378. All will work. There is a lot in between there too.

Good luck and have fun!

I didn't know anyone needed a reason to buy a .375 H&H.

For moose the last four bulls I have shot died from a 165 or 168 X from a 30-06. I have shot them with a bunch of bigger and smaller cartridges and the '06 does it all handily. If I did not feel like using an '06 a 7x57 would likely be second in line....

Ranting?

Buy what you like, take what you like. I always liked the .375 H&H, carried one for several years on USFS trail crew up here. Only ever shot a few night-time cqbin-chewing porcupines with it. It did fine. HUGE cloud of quills!

Never owned one, but would like to.

Of 20 some moose I've killed, I have about evened out the take between the '06 and .338. Neither the moose nor I noticed the difference. Ditto with moose I've taken with the .243, 12 ga shotgun, .270, 30-30., 308 Norma.

Next up will likely be the .260 (caribou, elk, wolf) so far) I haven't fired the .338 in about 10 years now.

When I hunted in Alaska for caribou the pilot did not want me to bring a rifle case in order to save weight. He might have had a stroke if I wanted to bring a backup rifle. I read Petersen's Hunting magazine they said as soon as you shoot the guide will shoot just to make sure. So what difference does it make what caliber you use?

Are you flying in a bush plane?

Not much that hasn’t been said already. Out of curiosity, where in AK are you headed?

Listen to Colorado bob. I've killed several with a 270. That said, a 375 would certainly work.

That 338-06 would make a nice bear rifle I think.