Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only .375 ruger vs. 375 H&H

IMO part of what is pushing the 375 Rugger sales is the package. IMO the feel is right and I can't that of any H&H's that I've seen in a long time. Excepting for maybe the 700 SPS and XCR or HCR or whatever it is. And or the #1.

Point being if people are trading in their old H&H's IMO its cause of the rifle and not the round.

Both rounds are very good and very capable.

Dober

..........That`s exactly what I did!......It`s not just the cartridge. More importantly, it is the whole package. I traded primarily for the rifle itself, the 375 Ruger cartridge just happened to follow along.............Dammit! Woe is me!

I COMPLETELY agree with #1 and #2.

#3 doesn't make any sense in most people's world - cost is always a factor and usually a major one. Also, lighter/shorter being better is mostly personal opinion and has nothing to do with myths.

#4 is often mentioned and I am sure it happens but would not stop me from taking a 338Fed or 375Ruger to Africa. If I have to buy or borrow ammo, my rifle may like it or it may not. If my luck was that bad it probably would not. In either case, IMO it would be better to just borrow the outfitters "loaner" rifle. It would be interesting to here from our safari outfitters on how often it occurs.

D'Arcy Echols makes awesome rifles - no doubt as evidenced by a long waiting list and prices north of $10K. His chamberings are only a reflection of what his customers want. His customer base is a very small minority of hunters. Ruger is not going after that piece of the pie. But, I would guess that if asked to make a 375Ruger, he would.

The fact of the matter is that for on-game performance, there is NO difference. You can get both in as light a package as you want. If you want a really light 375(H&H or Ruger), get a Rem700 magnum action, have it rebarreled with a thin contour and put it in an EDGE stock. I can do the same with a Win70 too but it will weigh slightly more. I've shot both and there isn't any difference in recoil or lethality - given the same barrel length, stock design and weight.

RH

The 375 Ruger is not on D'Arcy's list of common calibers however he did recently make one for a Zambian PH to use as his camp loaner. That PH is a very knowledgeable rifle user who uses the best equipment he can get.
At last year's SCI convention I also talked with a Zambian wildlife researcher who was also planning on buying a 375 Ruger and in their case it was a matter of price for performance. And that is something Ruger has always done well.
I also hear that Ruger ammo is starting to show up in many African countries.
Here in Alaska folks are still trading in their 375 H&H for Rugers and this past week I've seen two MkX/Whitworths for sale for 1/2 of what new Rugers cost.
People are voting with their wallets

I've always heard that "light" in an H&H, as in the specimens mentioned above, was a negative in respects other than carrying around. What a fickle bunch we are, eh? (I have it on good authority - in the form of a 270+ pound, 6' 5" friend- that those light Rems, while great to stalk with, can be hell when fired repeatedly in pursuit of whales. Very effective, but there is a cost at both ends.)

Dober[/quote]

I've always heard that "light" in an H&H, as in the specimens mentioned above, was a negative in respects other than carrying around. --- but there is a cost at both ends.) [/quote]

Recoil lasts but for a fraction of a second - while gravity is forever.

The recoil of the 375 is over rated and is no more than that of a heavy 12 ga shotgun load.

...........Then I should really worry, when I start hunting whales,,,,,and shooting at them repeatedly too!!!!!??? Quite an analogy. I`ll have to remember that when the next time I go on a hog hunt. Those hogs might start lookin like whales!

Bring the whales on!!

Hell uh????.....Have your big friend try 40 (hot loaded) rounds (on the bench), using 500 grainers from a 460 Wby sometime and using NO lead sled. My (big mouthed, deep pocketed) rich buddy bet me that I couldn`t do it regardless of what I wore. I took him up on it. He loaded up 40 rounds of his max 500 gr loadings and then using his un-scoped rifle with no more than 60 seconds between shots (in order to get it all in between the range breaks), I proceeded to win 50 crispy 100 dollar bills or $125 per shot!...More than paid for the Ruger, the scope + a few other little goodies, including the shoulder ointment which I had in my range bag to begin with.

Helps to have dumb rich friends that love to bet. Keeps the costs low.

I`ve never seen or have done myself, a continous repetition of shots exceeding three at any given time in the field. A lighter rifle in a 375 Ruger or H&H, is a piece of cake, with no cost on either end from my standpoint.

It's not a "he's better or lesser than" deal in any way. (Though your example of personal machismo was pretty impressive, at least until you mentioned the money.) I'm only commenting on what real people say. His perspective is that of a fellow who has had no small quantity of experience with the big rifles - although he wields the smaller stuff very effectively. I would hasten to add that he also would probably put a large majority of folks to shame with rifle skills from a moving boat at targets of momentary and moving opportunity. That takes no small level of skill to excel at. And he manages quite handily with a handgun too; same basic scenario. IOW, he's no piker, yet he has commented more than once about the increased level of recoil that the light Remington has over the M70 and how one more quickly realizes a recoil headache from the lighter weapon, something I've never heard from him about any of the shotgunning he does with 12 or 10.

I'm not making a judgement either way about the weight on these rifles. Light obvious recoils more than a heavy, and that can be okay, especially from the carry aspect. But the recoil of any light 375 has often been the source of comment. I'm only adding to the obvious. We, hunters collectively, ask for certain things like lighter rifles, bigger cartridges, beltless cases, etc, only to realize that sometimes that which we had was really no worse in some ways and better in others than what we get. Seems fickle to me. And I'm not immune.

If I didn't already have enough 375 calibers as well as other stuff nearly as big as well as bigger, I imagine one of my favorite rifles, the Ruger M77 chambered appropriately would be one I'd look closely at. But I seriously doubt that I'd find anything spectacularly outstanding about one that wasn't quite balanced by another, chamberings notwithstanding.

I've always heard that "light" in an H&H, as in the specimens mentioned above, was a negative in respects other than carrying around. --- but there is a cost at both ends.) [/quote]

Recoil lasts but for a fraction of a second - while gravity is forever.

The recoil of the 375 is over rated and is no more than that of a heavy 12 ga shotgun load. [/quote]


Actually not sure how my name got in this, by accident I spect as I feel that most 375's are very user friendly and have spent more than a fair bit of time in chuck colony and pd fields sporting one.

Heck of a yote round I say...

Dober

My Ruger 375 is light and you make a good point. I tossed on a set of warne QR rings and a Leupold 2-7X scope. I just had to keep the option of using those better than average iron sights ruger put on the rifle. The CZ I remember handling in a gun store had a much broader rear sight but was beefy and solid. Firing the 375 H&H Winchester I do notice a wieght diffence and recoil. Ruger went and put a new soft red rubber pad on instead of the older red pad of yesteryear to help, I say this is marginal. I have an old red spare in the gun box to make it look like its Ruger stable mates.

Compaired to my origanal African - They vastly improved the sights, converted from push feed to CRF, and Ruger cleaned up the stock to metal points better from the MK I. My 458 MK I needed glass bedding to head off some splitting on the tang. They also gave it a non gloss finish - another field plus.

To an earlier request - 375 Ruger and 375 H&H would have no detectable difference on the recieving end. The H&H case being that old I suspect was built to handle cordite as was the 303, hence the long taper to handle the propellant strands and to prevent any case sticking issues as pressure problems my arise in very hot conditions. The belt being used to ensure head space uniformity as the case has a very timid shoulder, it eliminate the rimmed cartriage feed issues and also is robust enough to handle modern pressures. The ruger is a more balanced case built for todays powders around the same ballistics as the time proven H&H. I like it and so I bought one.

Clearest explanation of the differences, if there are any, and of the reason to buy one or the other 375.

Squeeze: Lost baggage and arriving at destinations without your gear is a fact of life...it happens frequently.If it has not happened to you,you ain't traveled to hunt very much....My first brown bear hunt was held up a day while they located my rifles in Alberta somewhere;next trip the rifles were on the tarmack in Ketchikan while I was in Sitka.....I went to Manitoba,while my gear (and ammo) wnet to Alberta.....there have been other examples I could give.......

And "no" I am not gonna use an outfitters rifle if I can buy factory ammo for mine......why any rifleman would be satisfied with using an unfamiliar rifle unless he absolutely had to is beyond me....

I may be jaundiced from being around too long,but I have been hearing this "newer is better" stuff for too many years,and how things like the 270,30/06,375,etc were going to be obsoleted by the latest "in cartridge" for decades....and it never happens....most of the newcomers wind up eating the dust from the older stuff....my prediction for the 375 Ruger is the same.It ain't going to overtake the H&H unless other manufacturers of rifles and ammo jump on the bandwagon, too.

Other than the fact that it's "new",I see utterly no advantage to it for a traveling hunter...YMMV

I recall reading some old gun magazines that I bought at a yard sale many years ago. Seems there was this new cartridge called a "three hunnert magnum" that was so much better that it was going to be only a short time before the .308 Win and 30-06 disappeared...

Still waiting...

My first .375 went down the road because it was just too heavy (a Brno 602). My current rifle is lighter and handier. A .375 H&H Sako with 22 inch barrel, McMillan stock, old style Sako rings and Leupold 3x scope weighs 7lb 7 oz -- I think it is pretty handy.

I have not held the Ruger rifle mentioned above, but it sounds just as handy (if not more). It is nice to see lighter factory rifles available in .375 bore. As noted above, much of this thread is about factory rifles and not the cartridge per se.

Overall though, I have to agree with BobinNH that sticking to a common cartridge so that one can get factory ammo is not a trivial consideration.

John

If that line of thought was common we would all still be shooting muzzle loaders.

I bought a 375 Ruger as I liked the Alaskan rifle.... it is light, designed well, and the price is right.

......................Bobin,,,,,,,,,,,As I previously mentioned, baggage handlers and airlines are not discriminatory, and play no favorites when it comes to which rifles, which calibers and which gear is lost and what gets through ok to the destination. Your 375 H&H rifle and ammo, can get lost as easily as a 375 Ruger rifle with that ammo.

So what are you going to do, if your rifle and ammo don`t arrive in time for your hunt?? NOT HUNT??? As for me, I`ll gladly take my chances with a backup rifle owned by the PH (as they all have them for just such emergencies), AND THEN I`LL,,,,"GET FAMILIAR",,,,WITH THAT RIFLE. It`s called adapting and overcoming when things don`t go to plan!!! Play with it for awhile and make sure it`s in great working order, sight it in to the desired zero and go on the hunt! I`ve done just exactly that!

Secondly, as far as your "newer is better" comment. I never stated that the 375 Ruger was going to displace or upstage the 375 H&H. The `ol 270, 30-06, 375 H&Hs will never be displaced, AS they shouldn`t be.

However, you cannot deny the fact, that the 375 Ruger since its intro about 3 years ago, has gained more in popularity, in such a short period of time, than any other round in US history (per Boddington, not me). Go gripe at him if you happen to disagree!!.....You also cannot deny, that as a previous poster on this thread has stated, that more PHs in Africa are getting 375 Ruger rifles and that Hornady factory ammo is currently being made available in many African areas or provinces, which BTW confirms EXACTLY, my past conversations with the sales staff at Hornady, "that in fact" Hornady was securing the necessary permits for their ammo distribution in Africa. Unlike the other newcomers in the past that fell by the wayside, you would not to wager that the 375 Ruger will do the same as well. You`ll lose that wager very handily!

Other manufacturers joining the 375 Ruger bandwagon??? How about Legacy Sports chambering their M1500 (whenever those get here) in the 375 Ruger? "Betcha" that others will follow given more time. Though if not, then so what!

At some point SOONER OR LATER my friend Bobin,,,,,ALL of this business about the "lack of ammo" in Africa and worldwide will dissipate, as the H&H fans will not be able to "use" ammo availability as an excuse against the 375 Ruger anymore....At some point in the future,,,,there will be no more "what if" scenarios when it comes to ammo availability when traveling overseas or domestic travel....At some point,,,,,questions about the prove-ability of the 375 Ruger cartridge will have completely dissipated and come to pass, if not done so already for the most part.....And at some point,,,,,many (not all), will not view as much or associate as much, the 375 H&H in terms of nostalgic, of historical significance, of classic and so on.....To many in the furture, the only thing the H&H will have,,,,is a 95 year seniority. For those that want that and need that in a cartridge, then go for it!

So after all this comes to pass, (which the evidence in that direction is clearly and factually un-deniable), WHAT ARE YOU and all the other H&H fans GONNA SAY THEN??? What are you gonna say, when all the "so-called" 375 Ruger dis-advantages run out? Whatcha gonna say then, when Ruger ammo is plentiful in Africa and in many other parts of the world? What are you going to say when other manufactures such as HOWA, start chambering and offering the 375 Ruger? If others don`t, that still won`t stop this cartridge`s snowball`n affects from getting larger.

If 375 H&H owners are happy and satisfied, I certainly don`t advocate trading them in for a 375 Ruger, although quite a few already have done so.

Five or ten years from now, when threads like this involving this very subject matter arise, I wonder what the H&H fans will say after all of the excuses have fallen by the wayside and are no more.

Can`t use the ammo availability issue anymore!! Can`t use the prove-ability issue anymore!! Certainly can`t use an accuracy issue!!

By then, it will simply all come down to a personal rifle choice chambered in both of these cartridges, and how much creedence if any, any new 375 buyers and existing 375 owners will put in a cartridge in terms of seniority, nostalgia and classic.

Whatcha gonna do then??................. .....

Squeeze:.....I don't give a shidt who says what....I don't care what Boddington or anyone else says cause I don't listen to Boddington,and I know enough about rifles and cartridges to make up my own mind.....I don't care how popular you think it is,or how much better it is...you use it if you want and I'll use the H&H....

It's a newbie...you want it, have at it.I could care less because I got over jumping on every new cartridge bandwagon in the world years ago, after I grew up.....the [bleep] thing is not a cure for cancer...it pushes bullets out a bore and kills big game animals.Big friggin deal.....and the only one that loads it is Hornady..I wouldn't go around the corner to shoot a BG animal on an important hunt with a Hornady...

I think it sucks...you happy now?

Bob, breath deep, count to ten, place BigSqueeze on ignore and go plan your next hunt. This internet banter about "how many angels can dance on the head of a pin" differences can be hard on the blood pressure.

..........You mad there a little Bobin? Maybe a little denial?Such anger!!!!

The facts that the Ruger; excuse me, the "NEWBIE`s" success, are factual, whether you choose to believe it or not. It`s not a matter of what I think about the Ruger`s popularity. It is what it is!! And I don`t jump on every newbie cartridge bandwagon either. In fact, hardly any!....A cure for cancer too? You have such an equitable and credible analogy!

It`s good to know that "you wouldn`t go around a corner with a Hornady!" Good! I`ll load some up later then!

Traditional cartridge folks like you, who are set in their ways, is fine! But, there is alot of resentment out there among people, when a very successful newcomer comes along, which directly threatens a beloved and traditional `ol standby. That`s obvious by the tone and language in your last post.

I owned an H&H for many years, so it`s not like I have no experience with the H&H. It is a great and reliable round.

So in summary, as these threads pop up now and again, we`ll still see and read the arguments and the opinions for and against, including the usual ammo availability overseas and elsewhere issue, or that the 375 Ruger has not been proven yet, or it hasn`t the history and tradition like the vaunted H&H and so on.

But sooner or later as you well know, or wish to deny, (which is what really it your nerve), is that most of the usual arguments against the Ruger round by the H&H fans will simply fade away with enough time. That is what is really bothersome to a few if not many more.

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Bye Squeeze..you're on ignore ...not missing much as you never really have anything intelligent or interesting to say....same banter about 20" 300 mags and shorter/lighter.......to say I won't be missing anything is a dramatic understatment.I get better information from the Sunday comics than anything you've ever posted.......like most things that originate in California,there's a lack of substance and rationale thought;the novelty wears off quickly,and dgenerates into a landslide of senseless blather.... I should know better than to think anything really "bright" can come out of Anaheim..

You really are not very good at anything other than making fun of people,and I doubt that are very intelligent at all..kinda like a big clown with nothing to say.....matter of fact you should change your handle toBozo the Clown...it fits better than "Bigsqueeze".

Oh, and don't forget to catch the next episode of Western Extreme...you'll learn a lot from those guys.BTW, what's your favorite part? Where they shoot the exploding arrow into the gas cans to light the big fire?That should give you a pile of jollies .....lots of appeal to someone with the intellect of a 5 year old at the circus....Or someone who moans and wails cause his barrel is too long or he has to pull a bolt back another 3/8 of an inch.

.but I guess that's where you get your experience...the boob tube or the next exciting episode of Boddington's gear test articles.....how's it feel to get all your info second hand? Moron...anyway, enjoy the "ignore status"...you richly deserve it.BTW I have a 375 Ruger being built on an Encore with a 12" barrel...wanna try it out?

Good Bye!