375h&h on elk

[FredIII]

300 grain swift Aframe 75 grains of RL17 fed 215, 2610 fps
Rifle is a pre64 375 H&H that was cleaned up and bedded by Wisner.
Shot was 220 yards and very very affective.
My wife's elk was taken with a 7-08ai shooting 162 eldx.

 

[FredIII]

Yes it was a muddy mess and I cleaned for hours before they went into the cooler.

 

[deewayne2003]

Nice, where were you hunting?

 

[mauserhunter]

When I was 12-13 dad had John van patten build me a 358 Norma mag on a 03 Springfield for a elk hunt we had planned, parents got divorced and never went on the hunt. Used the gun for other things like range fun and a few deer, tried some gallery type loads with 357 bullets. Was broke and had to sell the rifle, I like it very much and the Norma mag was fun.

But if I was doing it today and building a belted magmun rifle for elk or similar sized game I'd probably would make it a 375 H&H.

Some nice animals and hope you all had fun.

 

[FredIII]

Washington state on the west side.

 

[FredIII]

I bought the rifle for an africa hunt that I had to push back until 2025 due to ankle surgery's.

 

[Scott CWO]

Yes it was a muddy mess and I cleaned for hours before they went into the cooler.

I know how you feel. We hunt in a burn and we carry contractor trash bags or small tarps now to keep the meat clean while we work on it. Of course, we also use game bags.

 

[HuntingGold]

Elk are a lot of work unless you can get a tractor to them. My bull this year fell 300 yards from one road and 100 from another. The 100 yard route was steeply uphill to a logging landing and out of the question. I went with the 300 yard route and it still was a killer.

 

[HuntingGold]

Not meant to hijack the thread. Just a demo of how much an "easy elk" can still be a ton of work.

 

[poco]

I need to go on another elk hunt and use my 375
we have shot a fair amount of nilgai with 375 h&h 275gr , it’s such a versatile cartridge
congrats on a successful family hunt

 

[FredIII]

Not meant to hijack the thread. Just a demo of how much an "easy elk" can still be a ton of work.

Absolutely no problem I hope everyone will share a picture or two if not more of there hunts. Thank you for sharing.
We use 9/16 crab line and a half a dozen blocks if I can get the truck with in a mile it's coming out whole.

A boat cleat in the receiver and they hit the road in one piece. Those two cows came out in the same pull. About 350 yards of line and a couple passes and they were on the road.

 

[poco]

Absolutely no problem I hope everyone will share a picture or two if not more of there hunts. Thank you for sharing.
We use 9/16 crab line and a half a dozen blocks if I can get the truck with in a mile it's coming out whole.
View attachment 583660View attachment 583661
A boat cleat in the receiver and they hit the road in one piece. Those two cows came out in the same pull. About 350 yards of line and a couple passes and they were on the road.

My uncle Hank did it like this on moose when he lived in Maine, pretty nifty

 

[FredIII]

Saves the back.

 

[Tra3]

@FredIII Congratulations!
Why carry a heavier gun when the 7-08ai works just the same! (I guess you don’t need to answer that.)
Moving an elk is massive work. It is amazing how easily a calm horse can drag an elk. Even more amazing is how fast a not-so-calm horse can drag and elk. Your crab line system seems safer!

 

[HuntingGold]

I can't like that enough times.

I actually made a call to my logger buddy who was supposed to be running an operation just a few miles away. He answered the phone in a whisper asking what I needed. As it turned out he had a rifle in his hand and was hot on a little group of elk himself. He sent a text to his son in law who was still on the logging job and he came over to help bail us out.

 

[FredIII]

@FredIII Congratulations!
Why carry a heavier gun when the 7-08ai works just the same! (I guess you don’t need to answer that.)
Moving an elk is massive work. It is amazing how easily a calm horse can drag an elk. Even more amazing is how fast a not-so-calm horse can drag and elk. Your crab line system seems safer!

The long story is I bought the rifle off an old friend I meet at the rifle range. He ended up being a class mate of my late grandfather and after 15 years of asking about the rifle he sold it to me with the promise I would kill a pile animal with it. This elk was the third animal I have taken with it. The first two were bison . The plan is a couple black bear and a Cape buffalo if my 404j is not done by 2025.
The rifle shoots sub moa to 750 yards that and the wife and kids shoot the 7-08ai's

 

[FredIII]

 

[Safari Dave]

IMHO -

The following are the best elk cartridges:

1. .340 Weatherby
2. .300 Weatherby
3. .338 Winchester
4. .300 Winchester

A .375 H&H will certainly do the job, as will a .30/06, but there are better cartridges, especially if you are forced to take a long shot.


My New Mexico 5x5 was taken at a little over 400 yards with a .300 Weatherby.





With a 100 yard zero, you would need to aim 50 inches high at 500 yards with a .375.

 

[Tra3]

The .375 would be an “elk at any angle” caliber. This is inspiring me to bring my .375 out west this fall. I’ve usually used a .270 win or my now preferred 7 mm RM.

More importantly, 500 yards of crab rope and a winch!

 

[Safari Dave]

Not meant to hijack the thread. Just a demo of how much an "easy elk" can still be a ton of work.

My hunting buddy killed a 5x5 only 200-300 yards away from our truck, just as the sun was coming up on the side of a mountain one morning.

It took us the entire rest of the day to get the backstraps, tenderloins, quarters, skull and cape into the truck.