375H&H or 458Lott

Rikard87 · Jul 20, 2018

Hi guys i´m planing a trip to africa to hunt buffalo and i have a brno zkk602 375H&H but i´m thinking of getting another zkk602 375H&H and rebarrel it to 458Lott what do you think should i just stick with the gun i have or should i get the second one and rebarrel it?

Papabear55 · Jul 20, 2018

The 375 will work fine, but if you can handle the lott and can shoot it accurately, more is always better in my opinion. No replacement for displacement and more guns is always a good excuse

IvW · Jul 20, 2018

Stick with what you have and use some 350 gr bullets.

Ridgewalker · Jul 20, 2018

There’s an old saying here in the US “beware the man with only 1 gun, because he probably knows how to use it”. I’d stick with the 375 H&H. If you can reload 350 gr bullets, or buy loads there with them, they are a step up. You will have a PH well practiced with a big cartridge backup rifle.
JMO

MikeDeltaFoxtrot · Jul 20, 2018

You never need an excuse to buy another rifle. If you want it and can afford it, buy it and don't look back. I have a .375 H&H that I am very happy with (Win M70 Safari Express). I returned a few weeks ago from my first trip to Africa, and I am starting to plan a return trip, probably for 2020. My goal will be buffalo, and I will be bringing a bigger rifle just because I want to. I am currently leaning toward a Sako Brown bear in 500 Jeffery. As a caveat, I am a big guy, and am not even remotely recoil sensitive. Don't buy more rifle than you can comfortably and accurately shoot.

WAB · Jul 20, 2018

When we lived in Alaska my .375H&H was my go to gun. I took some very large black and brown bear with it and it's performance was absolutely devastating on the big brown fuzzies. I finally got to Africa and could not believe how much more punishment a cape buff could take. They would take a well placed 300 or 350 gr bullet (I tried both) and run off to think about it before agreeing that they were dead, not the effect I was looking for! For my third buffalo hunt I stepped up to a .458 Lott and I've never looked back. When I hit a buffalo with a 500 gr bearclaw the difference in effect vs. the .375 is dramatic. I still love my .375 but if buffalo are on the menu I grab the Lott. I should say that I don't mind the recoil of the Lott and shoot both rifles equally well. All that said, more buffalo are likely killed by the .375 than anything else. It's a fine cartridge but in my opinion, when it comes to buffalo, if you can handle more, take it. Besides, it's an excuse for another rifle!

matt85 · Jul 21, 2018

the difference in recoil between the two cartridges is substantial but if you dont mind getting pushed around a bit then the 458 Lott is pretty tough to beat!

a tip if your going to switch the rifle over to a 458 Lott you may want to add some weight to the gun. a good comfortable weight for a 458 Lott is around 11 pounds. i have shot a 10.5 pound Lott (stock CZ 550) and it wasnt bad at all but i dont think id go any lighter.

-matt

Boyd Brooks · Jul 21, 2018

I used my PH's CZ 458Lott to dispatch my Blue Wildebeest, having never shot it before. He said it was dead on at a hundred and that was all I needed. Didn't even feel any recoil and the shot was dead on. If you are a practiced shooter I would go for the Lott

! I find when shooting at game, I don't feel the recoil or hear the retort of the rifle, I just concentrate on shot placement. I wish I had used the PH's rifle to shot my Duiker the 30-06 made a small hole on one side but made a mess of the off side.

AZDAVE · Jul 21, 2018

Asking us here on AH if you should get another rifle? The answer will always be YES. having a second Bruno is a no brainer. But like most folks said take the rifle you are most accurate with. The step up in recoil is very noticeable! A 350gr 375 in the vitals vs a 458 in the guts... It is all about shot placement. Make no mistake unless spine it or brain it short of a RPG your buff will ruin a little distance, the bigger the hole the more the shock in the vitals he will decide he is really dead sooner. Shot my buff with 450NE double 1 shot at 22 yards through the heart(500gr A-frame), second shot 26 yards (Soild) through the lungs, (solid) 3 shot going away at 70 yards through the liver and lung. Any one of the three would have killed him. He still ran 125 yards before he decided to stand still and figure out he was dead.

sestoppelman · Jul 21, 2018

Another ask a question and get many different answers situation. All depends on the intended use. The .375 is fine for buffalo, if hit properly and if not hit properly the Lott is no better. A gut shot is a gut shot. For the visiting sportsman, backed up by a PH with a heavy, the .375 is more than enough.

meigsbucks · Jul 21, 2018

If you are going to hunt plains game in addition to buffalo and only want to use one gun, I'd just stick with the .375 H&H. However, for buffalo only, the Lott would be great. I think calibers that begin with a 4 are the best for buff. But keep in mind, as several others have said, you're going to have almost half again as much recoil.
Just to throw a wrench in your thought process: I own both calibers but chose to use the.416 Ruger for my buff. I took the .416 and a .375 on that safari. I only used the .375 on three animals and used the .416 on the buff and seven other animals. The .416 kind of splits the difference between the .375 and .458 Lott and has a little flatter trajectory than the Lott with about 15 ft lbs less kick.
As someone stated, shooting at game you may not notice the recoil but practice is another ball game. For me, I can do about 24 .375 or 15-18 .416 but only about nine .458 Lott in a practice session. After that I start to feel like the gun's winning.

WAB · Jul 21, 2018

Having shot multiple buffalo with both calibers I will respectfully disagree with some of the comments. A well placed shot with either caliber will do the job. The Lott just does it better. If you can’t place the shot accurately with the Lott, use the .375. If you can place the shot accurately with the Lott, you will not regret the extra power. Mine is extremely accurate and I have used it effectively on plains game. I would be comfortable with it to about 200 yards.

Ridge Top Ranch · Jul 21, 2018

Where you shoot is more important than what you shoot. Ask the old elephant hunters.

matt85 · Jul 21, 2018

Ridge Top Ranch said:
Where you shoot is more important than what you shoot. Ask the old elephant hunters.

ive heard that said plenty of times. yet curiously the most popular elephant cartridge during the height of elephant hunting was the 577 NE.

-matt

Papabear55 · Jul 21, 2018

matt85 said:
ive heard that said plenty of times. yet curiously the most popular elephant cartridge during the height of elephant hunting was the 577 NE.

-matt

But they like shot them straight and stuff

WAB · Jul 21, 2018

Ridge Top Ranch said:
Where you shoot is more important than what you shoot. Ask the old elephant hunters.

Agreed, but what you shoot matters.

Ray B · Jul 21, 2018

it would be nice to be able to try one first- even if you can get something similar. If an acquaintance has something that shoots similar weight/velocity as the Lott, shoot it a few times and get an idea of what you are getting into before you jump. I shoot a 458 Win Mag and it is significantly more noticeable when fired than a 375 H&H. Work yourself up to the max loads in steps and you should be able to shoot both without a noticeable twitch.

Rikard87 · Jul 22, 2018

thanks for all your tips and ideas of course a lott is no good if i can´t shoot it well and ofcourse it´s always nice with another gun that is one part of it also

Daga Boy · Jul 22, 2018

Follow IVW's advice.
If you feel you need a bigger gun then go for a. 416 both the Ruger and the Remington cartridges are nice.
.458s are basically close range weapons and they are more than you need for buff. They also belt!

Rikard87 · Jul 22, 2018

Daga Boy said:
Follow IVW's advice.
If you feel you need a bigger gun then go for a. 416 both the Ruger and the Remington cartridges are nice.
.458s are basically close range weapons and they are more than you need for buff. They also belt!

why not yhe 416Rigby?

375H&H or 458Lott

Rikard87

Papabear55

IvW

Ridgewalker

MikeDeltaFoxtrot

WAB

matt85

Boyd Brooks

AZDAVE

sestoppelman

meigsbucks

WAB

Ridge Top Ranch

matt85

Papabear55

WAB

Ray B

Rikard87

Daga Boy

Rikard87

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