Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Companion rifle to .375 H&H

Hello all -

I am in search of a new rifle project and was thinking of this: I have a model 70 ss classic in .375H&H which is intended to be my 'go anywhere, do anything' hunting rifle. I was thinking it would be nice to have a companion rifle, also model 70 ss, in a smaller caliber. I was thinking of the .300H&H, but I don't know if that does much more than the .375 WRT long range shooting, big varmints (coyotes, etc), and so forth. I don't expect to use this companion gun as an actual varmit gun, say antelope or coyotes will be the smallest game pursued with it.

So my question to the collective wisdom of the group is this: what caliber (just one) would you select to compliment a .375 H&H?

Thanks for any suggestions,

tq

Wow!! Those must be some tough coyotes and antelope.

JimF

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Yeah, well, there is *no question* that the 300H&H will kill a coyote, so I figure that is a good place to start :-) I know for a fact that the .375 is a smidge overpowered.

Put the 06, 7mm Rem, and .300 Win in a hat and have someone pick one out for you.

257Wby..................

.244 H&H Magnum...and it will give you something to do with all those .375 H&H cases you have laying around.

Your first idea is the best, 300 H&H. Same length as .375, same no. of cartridges in the magazine, same slick feeding sensation, make up matched rifles with the same feel. I did this circa 1990, hunted in Botswana with a Sako Safari .375 and a Ruger 77 7mm Mag, one mag held five, the other four, safeties and balance differed, I got confused. After returning I found another Safari .375 and had it barreled to .300 H&H, used the same Leupolds on both. Had the .300 barrel fluted so that in the hunting car I could feel for the rifles and tell the difference, except for that, an absolute match. Not much difference in weight, a few oz only.

BigStick has probably identified the most flexible cartridge to go with the .375. Along the lines of what Miki said though, the .257 Wby uses a shortened case, which will change the way to two rifles operate. The .244 H&H is a dandy idea, fitting in with the overall idea (thanks Ricciardelli!), but I have seen a whitetail deer take hit with a .243 that would have dropped it with a .270, but instead it ran off looking sick. One extensive trail and chase was enough to convince me that consistent kills with a 6mm takes more skill than I have. It is too bad the full-length .275 H&H (is that the .275 belted rimless magnum?) is no more.

I really like Miki's idea of basically matched rifles, and the fluted bbl trick is great. I will use that. I think I will pursue the idea of the 7mm-300H&H and see how that goes. Failing that I will just live with a shorter bolt throw and use the .257 Wby.

Thanks for your help everyone!

tq

How about a .358 STA? That would make a good companion to the .375H&H.

Dumazuri

The 244 H&H is a tad bit faster than the 243 Win. About 500fps. It would make a dandy long range rifle for 'yotes to Deer. It would also be the only one on the block. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

All that being said a matched 300H&H would be very nice.

It may bore you to tears, but I would pick the .30-06 for the similar trajectory (assuming similar sectional density/BC for the bullets, e.g., 180-gr. .30-06 matched with a 270-gr. in the .375).

Or, if you are feeling African/Euro/traditional, the 7x57 loaded by a similar philosophy. The .280 could be much the same.

Hmm, one vote for the 300Winnie.

True Eyes

.300 H&H. Done. Nice classic combo. Although the 7 RM would really be hard to beat.