Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Shoemaker's 375 Ruger Article

........When it comes to dangerous game, I will not hunt alone. I will use PH`s or outfitter guides with back up rifles.

I can barely handle the anxiety......I know, I know....the Ruger MIGHT get 75 fps over the old Holland round........bigsqueeze, you are a very entertaing guy! You are, not doubt, gonna be well armed on your first Brown Bear hunt! Thank god the 375 Ruger came along....where the hell would all be if it had not?

Poor Brian! He has not yet figured out that his chances of survival have been increased with the Ruger round ..... I suspect Brian sorta knows what's going on,donthcha think?

Fair enough, I understand and appreciate your opinion.

But, you see I've lived and hunted in B.C my entire life - and even when you're not HUNTING dangerous game - the best places in B.C. to hunt Rocky Mt. Elk, Roosevelt Elk, Moose, Bison, Caribou, Rocky Mt. Big Horn Sheep, California Big Horn Sheep, Dall Sheep, Stone Sheep, Mtn. Goat, Wolves, Cougar and Black Bear - generally have pretty fair Grizzly populations too. Sometimes, even the good Mule Deer, Whitetail Deer and Blacktailed Deer spots can have pretty fair Grizzly populations. Did I miss any other reasons that I can brag about living up here?

In this province, Grizzlies just have a habit of popping up when you least expect them to! And just 'cause you aren't actually hunting them - while in B.C's wilds - it doesn't mean one might not be hunting you. They also get real ornery near salmon or trout spawning steams - and which streams in B.C don't have those species in abundace? More bragging. They also really get pissed if you come upon one of their kills! And sows are a might protective about their cubs. Downright nasty!

So, hunting in these conditions can, just possibly, end up colouring one's opinions.

So hows come , if'n you run into truculent bears tougher'n sherman tanks every time you go out to pot a deer , one of your favorite huntin' sticks is a 22 bore hotshot ?

Or how come , you have been argueing for years that a 6.5x55 is the type of cartridge everyone should be using for moose , after all shot placement is everything...?

Seems like Brian got big bore religion late in life (grin)

I'm with Brian on this one having hunted in some of the more remote climes of North America. I'd rather be in a position to adequately do the job than have to rely on someone else to bail me out of trouble. That's why my #1H will stay in the safe and my RSM will go with me to the Zambezi Valley. More ammo is always better. Bottom line. No exceptions.

To give BS a Californian parallel, if I was going for groceries to a corner store in Watts, I'd rather load my 1911 with Shooting Star mags (8 shots) rather than the factory 7 shot mags.

I'm sort of interested in saving my skin as it protects my body.

Good point!

I've never felt unsafe with my 25-06 or any of my bigger bigger calibers and cartridges in grizzly country - with Barnes Bullets or Nosler Partitions on top of the case - of course. In fact, I've always felt "comfortable" when armed with such.

The .22 centerfire doesn't count - I only use the .22 CHeetah locally, for Mule deer in clear-cuts and Whitetails in farmers alfalfa fields - all within an ATV ride of home. I've only bumped into one Grizzly on my ATV - while driven from home. So, I'm OK with those odds.

But - I retire in four years - at the end of 2012 - and if they are still available, and as plentiful as they are today, I plan on doing a lot of Grizzly hunting - nothing spins my crank more than hunting big bears! Feeling "comfortable" with a rifle, in grizzly country, is quite different, at least to my way of thinking, from saying "I want to make a practice of actually hunting Grizzlies with a 25-06."

Plus- as everyone here can understand - I'll invent reasons to buy a new rifle now and then - if I have to. I actually said to my wife "Honey, I can probably kill a grizzly with any of my rifles - but a 375 H&H would be a whole lot better protection - should I run into a mean one." She loved me enough to say "Buy the gun." I sure felt like a lucky man when she said that!

And, after I retire I'll be able to spend a whole lot more time fishing on Salmon, Steelhead and Trout steams - and, a whole lot more time in the northern part of the province - where the Grizzly population is exponentially greater than it is locally. My trips will into the wild be a lot longer than they are now too. I'll have many more chances to "interact" with large bears - as the greenies say.

SO...

I hope to find myself in a whole lot more "interesting situations" - soon in the future.

If I'm going to make a practice of it - and since I love the new rifle so much - I think I'll try and pack a rifle that makes a bigger hole, with a bigger bullet from a bigger cartridge - especially if I plan on spending my future years the way I hope to!

"Looking for trouble" - as my wife would say

........What makes UUUU think I haven`t hunted any dangerous game such as bears? Never said I haven`t!!

I did own a 375 H&H there `ol Bobin. Didn`t always punch paper with it either!!! I didn`t exactly buy that big bear rug now lying in front of my den fireplace at the flea mart. Shot with an H&H!.....Nice try!!! BTW! I`ve always been a .375 H&H fan! I just like the Ruger round better!! To-da-loo!

Big squeeze: Just flushing you out!!Enjoy the Ruger!!

I don't think the 3+1 capacity in the RUger is a real big deal. Here is why: If I am out hunting and run into an angry grizzly, chances are I am carrying my 300WSM, 7RM or .223, so I am going to use what I have, and shoot well.

If I am grizzly hunting, I am going to take one or 2 well placed shots and if the bear isn't dead right there where I can see it, I am going to top off the magazine before I go in to investigate.

I'd much rather take the chance that I will be carrying my compact, trim Ruger 375 than choosing to leave behind my old, heavy, cumbersome Brno .375 H&H

Clarke, I'll give you $50 for that old clunker, seeing as you're too old and feeble to pack it anymore.

..........That`s a right!!!! Gimme my handy and very fast 40.25" 375 Ruger Alaskan anytime!

But think of what a 7lb Sako Model 85 would feel like!

If you haven't shot or handled one - you owe it to yourself to take a look. If short barrels turn your crank - look at the Kodiak model.

The Sako Kodiak looks like they thought Ruger Alaskan was a good idea, so they tried to emulate it. It's a little longer than the Ruger and about the same weight.

Sako has many fans and it's well deserved, they are fine rifles, and I like the 85's as they are CRF, which I prefer... But I'd still pick my 375 Ruger over the Kodiak.

http://www.sako.fi/pdf/specs/85SyntheticSS.pdf

The Kodiak looks like what a European thinks a Safari rifle should look like, except they chopped the barrel a few inches and added a laminated stock...

I sold it a few years ago. It just didn't meet my needs. I was going to get a .375 *something* built, which would be Stainless, CRF, 20" barrle, Macmillan stock, etc...

I bought a Mdl 70 7STW as a donor action and was considering a few cartridges, including .375 Weatherby, 375 Taylor, etc...Then the .375 Ruger came out in the Alaskan model and I bougth it, sold the donor action and added my McSwirly stock, and had the rifle I wanted from the start!

..........I agree. The Kodiak although good looking, doesn`t have that rough it look like the Alaskan which I prefer. Also, in checking that link, I read a 14" LOP for the 85`s. Same LOP for the Kodiak with the 21.5" barrel?? If so, even for my size, a 14" LOP on top of a full compliment of thick hunting clothing in cold weather, isn`t my type of a quick and handy shouldering rifle.

I would prefer a rifle that`s a half pound heavier, that has a shorter LOP along with the shorter barrel as well, as opposed to a lighter rifle with a longer LOP, a longer barrel with a longer OAL. It`s not all in the weight that makes a rifle a good handler or not, it is in the dimensions too.

Yes! I too believe that Sako with their Kodiak is following Ruger`s lead with a more compact DGR. I suspect that there may be more makers that do as well.

Wow! Isn't it interesting that a new 375 causes so much histaria.
I am open minded and Bought a 375 H&H CZ. It didn't feed, but after some personal time with a dremel tool and files, I was able to make it smooth. CZ was the first rifle and the 1st 375 I've had to make feed properly along with my 1st in the caliber. So I thought CZ might just come with the buyer expecting to pay $500 more to make it a great rifle. I recently had Awesome luck with Ruger rifles in bigger calibers. So I sold the CZ, to get a lighter better handling rifle, for a Ruger alaskan 375 Ruger. I was excited to get the Ruger home and see it feed so smoothly like all other rugers I've owned. I made up some factory spec rounds. To my surprise, the new 375 ruger wouldn't feed. For me, It seems to be a curse on the 375 caliber. Instead of trying to smooth it out my self, I sent it right back to ruger. Now I realize Any rifle needs work to make it what you want. The 375 ruger and h&h are considered equal with similar velocity, but Both have there perks. 375 Ruger has more case capacity, higher velocity per capacity, available in cheap a 375 rifle. But the H&H has a ,once tuned, smooth feeding action, ammo every where, and a proven track record. Since they both have equal velocity the track record is based on ammo availability and feeding reliability.
I say it goes on what you want.

gohip, What were the symptom of your Ruger failing to feed? All of them I have seen feed fantastic but I realize that sometimes things slip up and get sent. Did ruger make it right and how is it now?

Veeeedy interestin!!.......... I NEVER have had a feeding problem with my 375 Ruger Alaskan. After several hundred rounds, not a one! I presume you fully sized your cases properly at the shoulder? Shellholder touching the bottom of your sizing die, plus tighten another 1/4 to 3/8ths turn clockwise on the die?

If you had the proper die adjustment on your press and the feeding problems still continued, the problem could have been with your sizing die not sizing the shoulder down enough causing the feeding problems.

Well with all the controversy between the Ruger 375 and the 375 H&H, I just rebarreled my CZ 375 to 500 Jeffery just to ease my mind ...



Chuck

Having just read the article in the title I'd like to take a moment to tell Phil Shoemaker that it was a very enjoyable article.