Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Cheap 700 7mmRM = .375 or .458...help me decide

Crusty ol' 700 ADL in 7mm Rem Mag may fall into my hands for a pittance. If the barrel shoots Fed PowerShok 150s into snug little clusters I may keep it that way awhile.

The temptation, however, is to turn it into a .375 Ruger or H&H or a .458 Win. Mag.

Your opinions appreciated.

P.S. I've just started shooting a No. 1 Tropical in .375 H&H but it wouldn't kill me to sell it.

Is the bolt face, cartridge box and action length compatable with a 375H&H or would there be modifications needed?

I have a SS LH 375 H&H converted from a 7RUM. It required very little work to convert and would be my choice.

Personally, I'd turn it into a 375 Ruger. I've run some dummy rounds thru my old 700 action and it works just fine.

I'd go with a 4.5 weight Schneider cut to 23" and go forth and fill up an ark.

Dober

No modifications required for the 375HH. All standard Remington parts work just fine.

RH

Are any other mods necessary to turn it into a .458?

I would make it a 375. The 458 would be my choice for a DG African hunt but it's not much use for American hunting IMO - too short the useful range. A 44mag rifle would probably work nearly as well.

375 H&H or 375 Ruger would be the way to go. Or 358 Norma!

Or just punch it out to 7 STW or RUM, or rebarrel to a small bore Magnum. Dang it. So many belted calibers so little dough.

Why not leave it as a 7mm Rem Mag? Unless you're shooting 175g bullets at in excess of 3000 fps, I don't see any advantage. If I was going to do that I'd get a 300 Wby Mag and shoot 200g bullets. I guess I'm not a big fan of the RUMs

Chuck

Faced with a choice of 375 Ruger or 458 Win Mag, I built a 458 Win. Cheaper bullets made the difference. Bullets intended for 45-70 are common. I killed 2 deer with my 458 this year.

ColdCase1984....I myself would turn it into a .375 Weatherby, then you can shoot both .375H&H or the .375 Weatherby, which is just about the same in ballistics as the new .375 Ruger.

I have a soft spot for a 416 Taylor.

Dober, I'm surprised at you ......no good words for the 375 Roy ?(grin)


I really like the idea of the Ruger cartridge, but a 700 action is already long enough for the Roy.....

I think the 375 Wby is an awesome round, superior to the 375 Ruger in every aspect but cartridge OAL. I was going to rechamber my 375 H&H to it, but then got such a deal on rebarreling to 500 Jeffery ...



Chuck

Now at the time I decided to do this to my model 70, it cost me a total of $125 dollars American. Now I have a rifle that shoots 375H&H as well as the Roy super duper .375Wby.

Mike;

That's a traditional view of the 458, not a current one. The 458 with a 22" tube and a good load can send a 350TSX at about 2600 fps. A 300TSX at 2700 fps. A 24" 458 can add 50 fps to those MV's. My 25" CZ 550 can quite easily fire the 350TSX at 2700 fps. The 375 H&H or Ruger can't keep pace with that.

The 44mag??? THAT'S A JOKE!!!

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

I turned my 700 into a 375 Chatfield-Taylor. Something different than an H&H.

............The 375 H&H or Ruger can`t keep pace with your 25" CZ550?? OH REALLY??......Have you visited a downrange external ballistics calculator lately and punched in some #`s. It doesn`t matter what the #`s are from the muzzle. It`s the downrange #`s that are far more important.

350 gr TSX, BC=.278 @ 2700 fps MV (458 caliber)

At 100 yards.......Vel = 2385 fps.....4422 lbs energy
At 200 yards.......Vel = 2092 fps.....3402 lbs energy
At 300 yards.......Vel = 1821 fps.....2578 lbs energy
At 400 yards.......Vel = 1576 fps.....1931 lbs energy

With a 200 yard zero, there is a -10.3" drop at 300 yards and a -31.2" drop at 400 yards.



300 gr. Nosler A/B, BC=.485 @ 2580 fps MV (375 Ruger 20" Alaskan) My chrono`d results from this past weekend.

At 100 yards.......Vel = 2402 fps......3842 lbs energy
At 200 yards.......Vel = 2231 fps......3314 lbs energy
At 300 yards.......Vel = 2066 fps......2844 lbs energy
At 400 yards.......Vel = 1909 fps......2428 lbs energy

With a 200 yard zero, a -9.3" drop at 300 yards and a -26.7" drop at 400 yards.


At the 200 yard mark and beyond, the .375 Ruger takes over in both the velocity and energy depts. Add 3" of barrel length to the 375 Ruger African Hawkeye for even better results. Even if you add on another 50 fps to your 2700, the 375 clearly has the #`s advantage at 200 yards and beyond, along with being a flatter shooter as well.

Cold Case......If you want a longer range flatter shooter, with more than enough down range stopping power capability, go with a .375.

Colorado,

You missed this in my OP:
"If the barrel shoots Fed PowerShok 150s into snug little clusters I may keep it that way awhile."

Those Fed 150s are going for $17.97 @ my Wally World!