Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only 375 Ruger Again?

lovemy99:My 375 is built on a pre 64 M70 action,custom contoured barrel and Brown Precision stock.It was built back in the 80's and is on it's second barrel.With two piece base,rings, and 4X scope it weighs 8 pounds on the nose.

We can confuse factory rifles and custom here.Like I said,most factory H&H's have heavier barrels than needed. The bottom line is that the difference, in weight,between any 375(whether H&H or Ruger),is in barrel contour,and stock.

Ruger did a great job in the African and Alaskan,using a nicely contoured barrel,and in the African,a nicely shaped stock to give the rifle a trim contour and reasonable weight.I don't care for the Alaskan stock at all but that's a matter of preference.

My only point is not to disparage the 375 Ruger,nor the rifles.....only to point out that if you are building a rifle,you can build one just as light as the other in either caliber by getting a lighter barrel and stock.That is where the weight savings will be.....not in the "shorter action" of the Ruger chambering,as I have seen erroneously stated on here.The actions are not shorter on the Ruger; the magazine length and bolt throw are shorter....that's all.

In a factory offering, the Ruger is lighter than, say, a M70 Classic in 375.OTOH custom makers have been building H&H's that weigh exactly what the Ruger rifles weigh, for decades,in both synthetic, and higher end wood stocks.

It would be dead nuts simple to build a factory offering in 375H&H tomorrow that is just as light as the 375 Rugers;but manufacturer's are sometimes slow to catch on with many things.

BigS-

I pretty much see it that way too. As much as I'm nostalgic for the H&H and love it's excellence in moderation, the Ruger is the H&H in a more compact package and that includes the Hawkeye African rifle. I used the H&H in Africa and came to an appreciation for what's been known for decades now. That said I'm a lefty and am getting a Ruger African in their version of 375. The CZ 550's specs sound more appropriate for the 416s--too long and heavy for me. Of course I'm talking OTC rifles not custom.

The stuff about traveling with cartridges that get lost I think is over blown; I can think of 5 or 10 things that concern me more on An international flight than that.

...............Yep! It`s not just the 375 Ruger round, it is also the rifles too. A shorter, better handling, and handier packaged 375 rifle such as my Ruger Alaskan with its 20" barrel which duplicates 24" and 25" tubed 375 H&H ballistics, was and still is quite appealing.

And imo, lost rifles and ammo, is over blown. The African PHs have the situation covered should that occur with their back-up rifles and ammo.

But anytime new cartridges are intro`d that easily overlaps the `ol tried, true, and proven standbys etc, there are always going to be those detractors saying either,,,,"the new round won`t last",,,"there`s no need for it",,,"why for",,,"we have too many 375`s already",,,"what if you can`t find ammo?",,,"what if the rifle and ammo is lost in transit?",,,and on, and on, and on.

The 375 Ruger already has and will continue to blow its detractors (so called marketing geniuses) and their predictions completely out of the water. .... A few or maybe many diehard H&H fans imo, are just a foaming at the mouth waiting for the day when the 375 Ruger dramatically declines in popularity and/or goes bye-bye for good.

You know who you are, and you`ll be waiting a very, very, very, very long time.

Booowaa,,,hahahahahahahahahaha!...............

...........I can think of one!..........HI SWAMPY!!!

I am not bashing either the .300 H&H or .375 H&H rounds as they are classics with a proven track record but when the .375 Ruger came out I predicted that it would eventually supplant the .375 H&H for the same reason that the .300 Win supplanted the .300 H&H. It does everything the H&H design does, is a more modern design and fits in a standard length action.

It does everything that the 375 H&H does except feed as well

I can't make a direct comparison as I've never had an H&H. I will say that my Alaskan has yet to have any feeding issues.

George

A model 70 in 375 H&H will feed empty cases. The sloping body taper aids in feeding and extration both of which are big PLUES in a dangerous game rifle, something that Phil apparently has forgotten

given Phils opinions tend to be tempered in use while actually going after dangerous game i tend to give his opinions some weight....

And rewmeber his daughter had a jam with a Ruger and the Hornady ammo, that would not have happen with a M-70 and its cone breach which also aids in feeding. The jam could have had an unhappy ending if the bear had of pressed on,

But of coures you can follow that path if you wish

I have used the 375 H&H for over thirty years and am quite familiar with it's virtues. I have also done considerable shooting with the 375 Ruger and for my use - which is actually hunting big bears rather than speculating about it , and I don't see any reason to load empties, I'll take the Ruger.

And the jams? Straight wall cases do not feed as well as tapered cases, no speculation just a fact

that is pure speculation and BS as I have been on a stalk with another of my guides who was using a M-70 375 H&H and when the bear charged the bulet jacket of his second round caught on the sharp edge of the damned coned breech and he bent the round so bad that after I had finally killed the bear with the third shot it was only 20 feet from him he was still trying to extract the bent round. the problem I mentioned about my daughter's rifle was simply due to the shape and construction of the Hornady DGX bullet. they cause problems in both of my 375 H&H's as well.

Is that is why 45acp pistols are much less reliable than 9mm's ?

Now you want to compare a center feed hand gun round to a staggered feed bolt gun. You are a funny amn

I thought we were talking feeding issues and cartridge shapes and you said it was no speculation but "fact". Care to elaborate and explain to all of us why your favorite pistol is different?
Are you in the habit of loading empties in it as well?

I have a question about the Ruger Alaskan. Can you close the bolt on a round hand fed into the chamber giving you 3+1 capacity?

You can on the one's I have tried and for your information you can as well with even military M-98 actions if you pinch the middle of the extractor as you close the bolt.

as soon as i can find an alaskan with the barrel band, i'm gonna get one and slap it in a paddle stock with either a 1.5-5 or 2.5-8 leupold and be ready for anything.

that makes about as rugged, light, lithe and lethal a rifle as you can make - but you can see I used the Ruger sling swivel rather than the barrel band.