.375 H&H, tell me about yours

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  • TheOriginalMexicanBob

    Ultimate Member
    BANNED!!!
    Jul 2, 2017
    33,290
    Sun City West, AZ
    I own a Colt Coltsman rifle in .300 H&H. It's built on the FN Mauser action with a contemporary Colt scope mounted. The barrel says .300 Magnum but it's the H&H variety as the .300 WinMag wasn't released until this series of rifles were discontinued.

    It's a fine shooting rifle.
     

    byf43

    SCSC Life/NRA Patron Life
    Back in '82 or '83, I went to the sportsman's club to sight-in a new .22lr bolt gun.

    At the #1 firing position, a fellow member was sighing in his Ruger #1.
    This guy was Wayne Faatz.
    He had just completed the re-barrel and bluing of this beautiful rifle, in .375 H&H.

    He had done (shaped/threaded/filed/polished) the octagonal barrel himself, along with all fitting of the barrel to the receiver, and had Roland Jorgensen (Accokeek Sports) do the bluing.

    He offered to let me shoot this magnificent rifle.
    "Heck yeah!"

    Note: Wayne was wearing his shooting coat, and was quite prepared.
    I was wearing khaki slacks and a t-shirt. (And was NOT prepared for what I was about to experience.)

    I 'saddled up' behind that #1, and laid the forend on the sandbags, and chambered a round.
    I took careful aim at his target, at 100 yards.
    "Booooooooooooooooom!"

    The recoil ROCKED me backward!

    He handed me another round, and said that I had 'hit the black' on the target. (SR-1 target).

    I extracted the empty, and chambered another round.
    When I fired that second round, it did the same thing as the first.

    Wayne was smiling from ear-to-ear!
    I had placed the second round, beside the first.

    He asked if I wanted to 'go again'.
    "HELL NO!!!"

    Next day, this guy was SORE, and my shoulder was black-n-blue!


    Rest In Peace, Wayne. Your #1 kicked my butt!!!!!!
     

    jimbobborg

    Oddball caliber fan
    Aug 2, 2010
    17,131
    Northern Virginia
    As some of you know, I skipped the 375 and got a 458 WinMag. I wanted a 404 or 416 but I got a deal on the 458. Anyway, I haven't looked for 375 bullets, but it was fairly easy to get 458 bullets for reloading. Plus I have a few 300 WinMag empties and can convert brass easily.
     

    pamungus

    Member
    Dec 9, 2020
    1
    i have the 375h&h and the 375rum... both Are great guns when loaded correctly for deer. they also give you access to africa.

    i also have the ruger and 458win
     

    TEN-X

    Member
    Aug 16, 2011
    31
    Prince Frederick MD
    CZ Safari Magnum

    I bought this rifle about 10 years ago. I planned on going to Africa to hunt Cape Buffalo; that is until I found out the cost!!! But I kept the rifle and like it very much. I am 71 yrs old and have had a lot of rifles. This is the best put together rifle I have ever owned. I worked up a load for 300 gr Hornady bullets (all types) with IMR 4350. 2500fps+ Shoots MOA.

    Recoil? Stout from the bench but better than full power 12 G slugs and better than my 300 Weatherby Vanguard with 180gr bullets. The Vanguard is a good rifle but I think the CZ is better. The rifle weighs 10lb+ and has a good soft recoil pad. Shooting from a standing position is almost pleasant. I sent the rifle to CZ's custom shop and had them shorten the stock and cut the barrel back to 23" and glass, steel bed the stock and installed a front barrel band and crossbolts in the stock for a very reasonable price. The top of the action is actually the scope bases and it has very good English Express iron sights. The scope is a Burris 1.75X5 which regretfully they don't make anymore. Warne QD mounts.

    I will not be going to Africa but I am keeping this fine rifle. You never know when the Elephants might escape from the Zoo and show up in YOUR backyard!!!!!!!!!!
     

    Bohemian

    Member
    Nov 7, 2009
    60
    So because I have nothing better to do I have been contemplating buying a 375 H&H from Weatherby. Specifically the vanguard dangerous game model. Why you ask? Why not a 350 legend or something that has an actual use in MD? Because I am not smart and have gotten it into my head I need some sort of big bore rifle to add to the collection. So folks who own them, how are they to shoot? Anyone reload for them? I own another vanguard model that I've been very happy with.

    Link to rifle I'm considering
    https://weatherby.com/store/vanguard-dangerous-game-rifle-375-hh/

    I own a Winchester Model 70 in .375 H&H and I reload for it, .375 H&H ammo was expensive before the plandemic...

    I live in Nevada and I travel to hunt.

    The 30-06 has and will kill anything that is in North America and has killed more deer, bear, moose, elk & other critters and put more meat on the table since 1906 than any other caliber in North America, no other caliber will ever catch up. It's too flexible a caliber for reloading or over the counter, at least before the plandemic when primers were still available...
    You could be in the most isolated, remote places in North America, Africa and other parts of the world and could find 30-06 ammo... it's that popular.

    In North America the only thing you can justify a .375 H&H for is Large Elk, Grizzly and Polar Bears and Moose, that's it... A 30-06 can & has knocked them all down.

    IF you have a Africa hunt on your bucket list, a .375 H&H can & has dropped everything that walks that
    continent, including Rhino and Elephant...

    POTUS Teddy Roosevelt was fond of the .375 H&H in Winchester lever rifles as well for use in Africa.
     

    cornstalk

    Active Member
    Mar 13, 2013
    138
    I met a guy at the range once getting ready to sight in a 458 Winchester magnum. I jokingly asked him if he hunts elephants. He answered, "Yes, as a matter of fact I do," then told me about some hunts he'd been on, and showed me a solid brass bullet on his keyring with no deformation that came out of a large bull.

    His rifle was a big Winchester 70 with open sights. He told me you never target practice with such a rifle as it's too unpleasant, just sight it in and leave it. He had built a recoil mechanism with a harness to hold the buttstock and what looked like springs from a dirtbike. The whole contraption clamped onto the front of the concrete shooting bench.
     

    pre64hunter

    Active Member
    Mar 19, 2010
    682
    Harford County
    More Concussion than recoil

    I don't think the recoil is all that serious but the concussion is hard to take. It's like having a 55 gallon metal drum over your head and somebody whacks it with a hammer. I shot beer cans full of water at 50 yards, the aluminum comes down like snow, the can disintegrates. I've had several pre 64 Model 70 Winchesters and still have one that I might sell. Beautiful rifles, nice to have even if you don't shoot it and a good investment. I sold all the ammo and reloading stuff once I realized some day past me, sold the rifle, then bought two more along the way. Just something nice to have.
     

    GBMaryland

    Active Member
    Feb 23, 2008
    954
    MoCo
    I have a Model 70 pre-64 action...

    ...and, ironically, about 500 rounds of 375 H&H 265gr Nosler BTHP for it.

    No critter is safe within 400 yards of my place.

    I will agree that they tend to have quite a bit of recoil, but it depends on the load. 300gr Speer tungsten rounds are an ass kicker.
     

    tsavo303

    Member
    Feb 6, 2010
    2
    I Have a Kenny Jarrett built Remington 700. It will cloverleaf at 50 yds Pretty awesome. Never been a weatherby fan but nothing wrong wit that.. prvi partisan makes ammo that isn’t expensive. Like $30/20 rounds before craziness. Haven’t shot a critter with it yet
    Doesn’t hurt like my 9.3mm did. Due to better designed stock.
     

    Wardove

    Member
    Jul 23, 2017
    46
    Blairsville, GA
    I have a mint Ruger in 458 Win Mag I am about to ship off to auction......It has a Burris 3x9 sitting on it that I will probably pull. I stuck that on there as I did not have to adjust the rings coming off another Ruger. I just decided I do not really plan to make much use of this. Have ammo and dies too. Never shot it. Not afraid of it, just love my other stuff too much. I shoot out at the Ike’s at Mullinax Mill near Damascus. Also, about to move a Stag Fat barrel and might do a Palmetto AR10. All are fairly minty. Vortexes and Leupolds available.
     

    u911

    Member
    Aug 9, 2013
    4
    Very versatile. If you want to use it for whitetail and can hand load, check slugs at Vollmer Precision. He make bullets tailored to some of the older cartridges that will expand if you have velocity backed off. Lots of the 375 bullets are hard to run at full house 375 velocities and they act like solids below 2000fps or so.

    No such thing as overkill for anything that needs killing. Stopped a bear charge in Wyoming with one shot from a 340 Weatherby on an Elk hunt turned people hunt. If I knew I’d be facing the same thing again, I’d take at least the 416WM. When something gets Dead Right There, you don’t want you eulogy to start with “He thought it was enough gun, but...”

    Note - If they’d put an Accubrake on that Vanguard, recoil would probably be in the range of a 30-06. It would be an amazing set-up.
     

    GBMaryland

    Active Member
    Feb 23, 2008
    954
    MoCo
    I had a 1980s push feed type Model 70 someone gave me when I was younger, also in 375 H&H. I had it rebarreled with a McMillan stock, and a JP brake put on it. No real recoil, but it the muzzle break was not kind to anyone not standing directly behind me.

    I load the 265's in the 2450 FPS range, and they a find to shoot. Fairly accurate too... an honest 1 MOA or slight less off a bag.
     
    Last edited:

    Chix2111

    Member
    Jan 18, 2021
    6
    So because I have nothing better to do I have been contemplating buying a 375 H&H from Weatherby. Specifically the vanguard dangerous game model. Why you ask? Why not a 350 legend or something that has an actual use in MD? Because I am not smart and have gotten it into my head I need some sort of big bore rifle to add to the collection. So folks who own them, how are they to shoot? Anyone reload for them? I own another vanguard model that I've been very happy with.

    Link to rifle I'm considering
    https://weatherby.com/store/vanguard-dangerous-game-rifle-375-hh/
    I bought my .375 about 6 months before I went on a Brown Bear hunt in Alaska. It was a Remington "Guide Model 700".stainless. It was just plain brutal to shoot, especially off a bench. The muzzle would jump so hard and quick that it would force the butt under your arm, which allowed it to send the scope toward your eye or nose. You had to keep that in mind with every shot or pay the price. That being said, it was super accurate and shot 3 shot groups that often made only one hole. As for it's performance on bear, it was awesome. I wrote a magazine article about the hunt in Petersen's Hunting magazine. Record book Black Bear took one round through both front shoulders, and I recovered one of my two face on shots on the brown bear just under the hide on his rump. These were hand loaded Nosler bullets.
    As far as rifles, if I was going to do it again, I would probably buy a Weatherby with a longer barrel and a brake. There is no need for a brush type rifle for Alaska bear as you will be mostly on the beach and grassy tide flats.
     

    Steelteacher

    Member
    Feb 19, 2020
    27
    PG county
    Very few people buy only the guns they ‘need.’ Guns are fun- So if you want it, buy it! Have fun and enjoy it! If you don’t like it, drop me a line- I’ve thought many times about buying one myself...
     

    TheOriginalMexicanBob

    Ultimate Member
    BANNED!!!
    Jul 2, 2017
    33,290
    Sun City West, AZ
    Very few people buy only the guns they ‘need.’ Guns are fun- So if you want it, buy it! Have fun and enjoy it! If you don’t like it, drop me a line- I’ve thought many times about buying one myself...

    Some years back...probably twenty years ago...I decided I wanted an assortment of heavy caliber rifles...just because. No particular reason...just for the sake of having some. I picked .458 WinMag...I ended up with a Winchester Model 70, a Remington 700, Savage 110, Ruger Model 77, a Browning FN Safari, a Colt Sauer and a Weatherby Mark V in .460 Wby Magnum.

    All were super rifles in their own right but I ended up never firing any of them. When our daughter went off to college I sold them all to pay a nice portion of her tuition. I do wish I had kept the Colt Sauer and Browning though...they were a cut above the others.
     

    Jerry M

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 13, 2007
    1,692
    Glen Burnie MD
    I own a Winchester Model 70 in .375 H&H and I reload for it, .375 H&H ammo was expensive before the plandemic...

    I live in Nevada and I travel to hunt.

    The 30-06 has and will kill anything that is in North America and has killed more deer, bear, moose, elk & other critters and put more meat on the table since 1906 than any other caliber in North America, no other caliber will ever catch up. It's too flexible a caliber for reloading or over the counter, at least before the plandemic when primers were still available...
    You could be in the most isolated, remote places in North America, Africa and other parts of the world and could find 30-06 ammo... it's that popular.

    In North America the only thing you can justify a .375 H&H for is Large Elk, Grizzly and Polar Bears and Moose, that's it... A 30-06 can & has knocked them all down.

    IF you have a Africa hunt on your bucket list, a .375 H&H can & has dropped everything that walks that
    continent, including Rhino and Elephant...

    POTUS Teddy Roosevelt was fond of the .375 H&H in Winchester lever rifles as well for use in Africa.

    I'll bet that 45-70, .30-40, and .30-30 are right up there with the.30-06 for shooting game in the USA. Also, the .303 British in Canada and Africa.

    Theodore Roosevelt was fond of the .405 Winchester for lions. Winchester never chambered .375 H&H in a lever gun.

    Having seen a rhinoceros near a Cape Buffalo, it made the buffalo look small. I have not seen a elephant in the wild; but have been told the size difference is again striking. .375 H&H may be adequate for the rhino and elephant but not excessive...
     

    GBMaryland

    Active Member
    Feb 23, 2008
    954
    MoCo
    Supposedly, the 375 H&H was designed to go through 8 inches of elephant skull. That, or something like it, was the goal.

    In WW I the British use it to shoot through German front line wheeled armor plates. One would assume that they could make AP ammo for a 375 (I know I had some at one point), and that under 200m it would be a nasty surprise.

    I have shot 3/4 inch plate with a 375 with AP rounds, and it goes right through them like a drill press. The holes are even clean with the slightest about of deburring required. (THAT was a surprise.)
     

    PaFrank

    Member
    Apr 2, 2020
    75
    I got a SAKO AV in 375 H&H LEFT HAND

    My first 375 was a newer Winchester. I couldn't get it to shoot to my satisfaction so I sold it.

    Now I have a Sako AV LEFT HAND model and it is probably the most accurate rifle i own. Surprisingly accurate. under 1/2" group when I do my part. It has a Leupold 1-5X24 on it

    My favorite load uses Winchester 760 and either the Speer 285 gr RNSP or a Nosler 300 gr RN..

    What I like about the 375 is that it has roughly the same ballistics as the 30-06

    Recoil is stiff and when i first got it, and shooting from the bench, i could feel the rifle torque in my hand from the shot. I installed a recoil reducer in the stock and that solved that problem.

    I doubt I'll ever use it again, so if your a lefty and interested, look me up!
     

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