375 H&H

TomC

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Hello to All,
I am in the market for a 375 H&H Mag. I am looking for suggestions.
CZ 550, Winchester 70, Remington 700, Ruger??? any help!
Thank you, TomC



"Some want it, Some Wish it, Others do it, Just do it"
 
IMO you can never go wrong with the Winchester Model 70.
 
I was in the Same Boat, all great Choices,,I opted for the CZ550 American, a Little more Bullet capacity Great trigger and an attractive price, maybe the only downside I found was the 550 is no Lightweight with scope and mounts it tips the scales at a little over 12# which will help absorb some recoil
 
IMHO the 550 and the Winchester mod 70 are the 2 best that are available

the CZ although cheaper needs a good polish and adjusting but once this is done this is my favorite

good luck you won't go wrong with either.
 
IMHO the 550 and the Winchester mod 70 are the 2 best that are available

the CZ although cheaper needs a good polish and adjusting but once this is done this is my favorite

good luck you won't go wrong with either.

I agree fully with your statement!
 
IMHO the 550 and the Winchester mod 70 are the 2 best that are available

the CZ although cheaper needs a good polish and adjusting but once this is done this is my favorite

good luck you won't go wrong with either.

I also agree, but I want to emphasize the NEED for some gun smith work on the CZ.
So don't buy a CZ to save money :)
 
I recently purchased a Remington 700 in .375 HH and have been very happy.It cycles smoothly and the trigger is to my liking,it is also adjustable.
A caveat is that there is a recall on the trigger,if you purchase one make sure it has been taken care of or it needs to go to the factory.All the information is on the Remington website.
Mine was made in 2012 it was a special model celebrating the 100th anniversary of the .375 HH.I paid a little over a grand.
I can't wait to try it on whitetails this fall then on plains game next year.
Good luck in whatever you purchase,the research is half the fun.
Regards,
Shoedog
 
I also agree, but I want to emphasize the NEED for some gun smith work on the CZ.
So don't buy a CZ to save money :)
Thank you for your reply, what gunsmith work is needed?
 
IMHO the 550 and the Winchester mod 70 are the 2 best that are available

the CZ although cheaper needs a good polish and adjusting but once this is done this is my favorite

good luck you won't go wrong with either.
Thank you for your reply, what gunsmith work is needed?
 
On most CZ guns I have tried, the trigger needed some work and also the bolt often don't go smoothly before some polishing or lots of shooting.
Some also needed some work done to feed perfectly.
 
My personal H&H is a Ruger RSM. Great action, I love the look of the rib. The iron sights are basic, as the should be, and work very well. The only drawback is it is a little heavy, but not a deal breaker in my mind. I once owned a Mauser 3000 375 that weighed just under 7 pounds. I didn't keep it very long lol.
 
My experience is quite a bit more limited than others here as I only have experience with the CZ so take what I have to say with a grain of salt. On my 1st trip to SA the last day of the hunt I dropped my rifle and knocked the scope off. My PH loaned me his CZ 550 in .375. I fell in love and didn't look at any other makes before purchasing mine shortly after I got home. I bought mine with the Euro stock and I have been happy. The bolt does not always feed as smooth as it should but for my purposes it has not been a problem and I have found no fault with the trigger, I have been very happy with accuracy of the open sights. I paid right at 1K for mine. I absolutely love the rifle and have become very fond of the .375 H&H. I will eventually address the bolt, probably the trigger and new sling mount but until then I am more than please with my decision to go with the CZ.
 
I worked my bolt on my CZ for a while then when I sent it out for a trigger adjust I had the Smith polish the feed ramp as well as polish the bolt,,,not a bad idea no matter what you decide
 
Mine is a CZ. As was mentioned the bolt was a little stiff. I didn't polish it. Just cycled the bolt a few hundred times and it works fine now.

As Rob mentioned, it is a heavy rifle to carry around all day. The upside is it doesn't kick any harder than my 300wm.

The CZ is a big rifle. Probably larger than any of the others you mentioned. The stock is fairly thick. If you are around six feet tall or larger it will probably fit you well. If you are smaller (like me) the other rifles you mentioned will probably fit you better. Check them out in your local sporting goods store to see how they fit you before you buy one.

I wasn't sure how I would like the set trigger when I bought the CZ. Surprisingly, I prefer it now. I used it twice last month on longer shots.

My fathers was a M70. It was a fine rifle as well.

All the best in your choice.
 
this is a list of what work I have done to all my 550's

shorten the barrel
fit a barrel band ( although the 404 has one already )
polish the action
adjust the trigger
fit a fibre optic front sight bead
widen the v's on the open sights
have my gunsmith lap my scope rings

all of this costs me an extra $350 but worth every cent.
 
Interarms 375 think the guy wants something like $750??
Mine's a SAKO, barrel shortened and a leupold 1.5X5. I am goig to Africa (first time) taking my 7mm for plains game, but my NEXT safari will certainly be a 375 (unless I build a 416...)
 
Big Model 70, 375 H&H fan here, however...

I just ordered an H-S Precision PHR in 375 Ruger at SHOT. Theoretically, the more modern cartridge design of the Ruger variant is slightly better and it does have the potential to get you another 100 fps, though I doubt that translates to any real field advantage.

The Ruger is further complicated by the availability of factory ammo. I've seen two of the Rugers in the possession of African professional hunters and both have sung its praises, ammo is on the shelf over there, albeit not as widely as the Holland & Holland. The way ammo is now handled when traveling makes it very unlikely yours would be lost anyway.

The real issue is bullets. The only factory ammo I am aware of is Hornady, I'm not a big fan of conventionally constructed bullets on Dangerous game. Therefore firing the 300 Barnes, Trophy bonded, Nosler homogenous solid, etc. is strictly a handloaders proposition. If you're not a handloader, or willing to sit behind a 375 for dozens of rounds working up a load at the bench, the H&H is a better choice because of the huge selection of bullets on the shelf in factory loaded form.

I have three 375 HH's, a Ruger #1, M70 and the Kimber Caprivi. One of the PHs I hunt with has the CZ. All are superbly accurate, no doubt accuracy inherent in the time-tested round when chambered in a good barrel. Nothing to choose from here.

I've taken the M70 on four hunts now and done-in perhaps 20 animals with it, from steenbok thru giraffe, buffalo and hippo. Next up is elephant. It sports a new 26" 5r Bartlein, VAIS muzzle breaked barrel so it gets 2650 out of factory 300 Barnes, pounds them in under an inch and kicks like an '06. With the McMillan Hunter stock I was surprised to see it accepted four in the box, one in the pipe makes five. I believe it's the perfect, do-all African gun and highly recommend these particular upgrades.

It's my go-to African gun. My PH says that if I should show up without it, he'll be happy to wait while I go back and get it. That perhaps says it all.

The Number One Tropical is of course a single shot and kicks like a mule so it hasn't seen any overseas field use. It'll cloverleaf 260 and 300 Noslers all day long and would be a superb large-plains rifle.

The Kimber is a bit heavier, holds an extra round in the box (4) over a factory Winchester and comes up quickly and naturally. It's not quite as accurate as my custom 70 yet. Aesthetically, it's a stunner, looks like it just belongs in Africa. As a Model 70 'clone' I believe it'd make a great safari rifle but I haven't taken it yet.

I see the CZ as more of a professional hunters rifle than clients due mainly to its weight, and a lot of them carry one. Their weight comes from the fact that they have a magnum Mauser receiver, not necessary on a 375 but is useful in larger bores. In a 416 Rigby they'd be very high on my go-to list. They are widely distributed over there, relatively inexpensive and that is a big factor in their popularity. Some guys that own them swear by them.

The CZ stock design seems to take Americans a bit of getting used to, as does its cock-on-close functioning, and they almost all need some gunsmithing or a lot of use to smooth-up the actions as others have mentioned. I keep hearing about their stocks cracking so I'd be sure to bed it as aftermarket fiberglass stocks hard onto come by for the CZ magnum. At some point I'd surely like to have one, top of the heap in big bores, but for the 375 I'll stick with the 70, 700, 77 and the like until I feel the need for a big-bore bolt gun.

Will the new H-S Precision 375 Ruger supplant my M70 Dragonslayer (as my PH calls it) once I get it? That remains to be seen...
 
It sure appears you are getting some great Information here as did I when I was in the Market for a 375,,I will mention the CZ is available in two stock designs the Europeon and the American as far as stocks cracking I heard that about early models also .the wood used on Big Bore CZs tend to be a better grade as mine has an interesting grain pattern,,it's also my understanding that CZ will drop the American stock Version I also Looked at a Browning which had a Screw on Muzzle Break option, An Interarms might be worth a look, built on a HD Zastava Action. they kind of have that old school Mauser sporter feel and look,Rob
 
My first rifle purchase after becoming an African addict was a M70 in .375H&H. All it does is shoot accurately and perform reliably. The latter however does require me to crimp rounds which you should probably do anyway. If rounds are not crimped, the occasional hang up on feeding into the chamber occurs. The only time the rifle has shadowed the doorway of my gunsmith was to discuss this issue. The rifle remains as it came out of the box. The only criticism I have is the stock, it's a little on the fat side. I would slim it down both at the grip and the forearm.

I've owned a CZ and had no real issue with it outside of the trigger. I sold the rifle before I fixed that, but it would've been an easy not so expensive thing to do. Why did I sell it? Because it was a .416 Rigby and while I could handle it and shoot it accurately, that didn't mean I enjoyed it.
 

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