375 H&H Vs 375 Ruger

[Royal27]

Generally, I don't mind a right handed bolt for any other types of shooting. My .375 Ruger is the only left handed gun that I own, but for the purpose of the rifle (hunting) I wanted to be able to cycle the action without losing my sight picture like I do with the right handed guns.

you lads have made my mind up , the next firearm l buy will be a leftie.
since l was knee high to a duck , ive only used righties. and don't know any different .

Bluey now I know why I like you so much!!!!

A left hand bolt is definitely something that you don't know what you're missing until you have one. I'd never a lefty either until my .375. First time I tried to load it I had problems because it was all backwards. LOL

But now that I have one I will never purchase another right hand bolt. I can not only reload faster, but I stay on target as Rukus states. That sure was nice on the second shot on my buffalo while he was running off. I'm sure I will always hunt with my .30/06, but my plan is to semi retire it and get probably a .300 mag in left hand.

I need to get a couple pictures of my rifles and start a left hand rifle thread....

 

[Geoclarkclark]

OK Ses, I'll go the other way on this one. My son and I have both owned 375 Rugers for several years and have taken them to Africa twice. We have killed everything with them that we ever shot at. We have never looked at the H&H's cause they just don't interest us. Just sayin!

I used my Ruger Hawkeye African in 375 ruger a few months ago in SA. With my handloads of Barnes TTSX 250 gr. bullets, it was deadly on everything from Springbok to Lion. MV is 2880 fps, and with a Leupold VX3 2.5-8x glass, an extremely versatile and accurate package. At 9 lbs. all up, it's no problem for long spot and stalk hikes. I have used a 375 H&H in the past, and prefer the Ruger

 

[Kenneth McMillan]

375 Ruger for me

 

[Tom Leoni]

The main difference between the two is case length and case design. The .375 Ruger was designed to fit in a standard length action, while the .375 H&H needs one that will accommodate the extra .270." Also, the .375 Ruger is designed to produce .375 H&H velocities out of a shorter barrel. This means that with similar barrel lengths, a full load of .375 Ruger will give you approximately 150fps more in velocity.

On the other hand, if you want to get into the nitty-gritty, the H&H is gentler on barrel life (read: less throat erosion), it having a minimal shoulder and thus generating less heat all other things being equal. Some ballisticians may disagree, but I fully subscribe to the Venturi Effect theory, and its internal ballistics corollary that (essentially) the higher the ratio between powder burned and bullet diameter, the greater the velocity and heat generated by the constriction. The H&H has exactly half the shoulder angle than the Ruger.

With a cartridge as noble and rich with history as the H&H, I wouldn't need any other round in that class. Cartridge choice is as much an affair of the heart, and mine is wholly with the 1912-vintage King of Rounds. Bottom line: you'll be fine with either one.

 

[Nhoro]

If a bullet leaves the barrel at the same weight and velocity then you can expect the same results when it reaches the target.

H&H can be found under every rock in deepest darkest Africa, I even found when in the well in my garden-true story. I also found 2x 458 Win mag in the back garden-powder poured out like it was loaded yesterday-no sign of the legendary powder clumping but I digress. So to me, only two practical considerations are ammo availability and which action is chambered for the round.

I would agree with many other posters-Winchester M70 or CZ 550 or one of the other Controlled round actions and 375 h&H because it literally is down every well in Zimbabwe

 

[Firebird]

I’m just wondering how many people can say they have shot the barrel out of any .375 caliber. . . Whichever the OP chose back in 2014, I hope they had many opportunities to enjoy their selection

 

[ldmay375]

Velocity wise, the Ruger has slightly more “potential”. I personally consider them the same.
What I like about the Ruger cartridge is the slightly smaller action and slightly less bolt throw length on factory rifles. Plus, when Ruger brought these out, the barrel contour was slimmer than the typical 375 H&H.
I cannot help but like the 375 H&H, and have more than one. But, here in Alaska the Ruger is what I use.

 

[colorado]

375 Weatherby. Shoots 375 H&H factory if you want. Faster than both with handloads or 375 Weatherby factory ammo.

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

I’m just wondering how many people can say they have shot the barrel out of any .375 caliber. . . Whichever the OP chose back in 2014, I hope they had many opportunities to enjoy their selection

Valid point

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

The main difference between the two is case length and case design. The .375 Ruger was designed to fit in a standard length action, while the .375 H&H needs one that will accommodate the extra .270." Also, the .375 Ruger is designed to produce .375 H&H velocities out of a shorter barrel. This means that with similar barrel lengths, a full load of .375 Ruger will give you approximately 150fps more in velocity.

On the other hand, if you want to get into the nitty-gritty, the H&H is gentler on barrel life (read: less throat erosion), it having a minimal shoulder and thus generating less heat all other things being equal. Some ballisticians may disagree, but I fully subscribe to the Venturi Effect theory, and its internal ballistics corollary that (essentially) the higher the ratio between powder burned and bullet diameter, the greater the velocity and heat generated by the constriction. The H&H has exactly half the shoulder angle than the Ruger.

With a cartridge as noble and rich with history as the H&H, I wouldn't need any other round in that class. Cartridge choice is as much an affair of the heart, and mine is wholly with the 1912-vintage King of Rounds. Bottom line: you'll be fine with either one.

Valid concern I think

 

[ldmay375]

375 Weatherby. Shoots 375 H&H factory if you want. Faster than both with handloads or 375 Weatherby factory ammo.

Yes, the 375 WBY does have that flexibility and velocity advantage. If I wanted more velocity than a 375 H&H is capable of that is the route that I would go. I like the 375 WBY.

I wanted the Ruger for the basically the same 375 H&H velocity, housed in a rifle near identical to my 338 Winchester. The Ruger version does this nicely for me.

I have 20”, 22”, 24” 375 H&H’s. The 20” Ruger is my favorite.

 

[colorado]

All nice calibers, so many good choices

 

[Tom Leoni]

Valid concern I think
View attachment 441067

@Wishfulthinker580 --thanks for that chart, great stuff.

Far be it from me to presume adding anything to what the good folks who made that chart have figured out (whom I know to be fantastic ballisticians), but I believe that the abruptness of the shoulder angle is also a factor in the throat-burning equation. I don't know if Roy Weatherby himself came up with the term "Venturi Shoulder" as a marketing gimmick, but the designs of his cartridges for the most part have a very aggressive shoulder angle (we can debate whether the double radius attenuates this...).

Essentially, that's a big reason why he was able to push his .300 Wby Mag 300fps faster than the .300 H&H out of the same parent case. The Venturi Effect dictates that fluids passing through a constriction it will increase in velocity proportionately to the narrowness of the constriction. Hence the aggressive shoulders on most hyper-velocity cartridges, which--by their abruptness--cause an abrupt increase in velocity.

The problem is that with the slow powders necessary for a lot of these cartridges, kernels of un- or partially-burned powder will sizzle out of the cartridge mouth at dizzying speeds, contributing to throat erosion in spite of there being less pressure after the constriction (= shoulder) than before. More gradual shoulder angles like on the late-19thC. military rounds have a much gentler shoulder, which contributes to less throat erosion in spite of the powder-weight/bullet diameter ratio.

No, as some other poster rightfully said, few of us will ever shoot out a .375 barrel, but since this is also an academic discussion, I gave an equally academic reason (for me, at least) to prefer the old, gently sloping .375 H&H to more modern variants with aggressive shoulder angles.

 

[BeeMaa]

@Wishfulthinker580 --thanks for that chart, great stuff.

Far be it from me to presume adding anything to what the good folks who made that chart have figured out (whom I know to be fantastic ballisticians), but I believe that the abruptness of the shoulder angle is also a factor in the throat-burning equation. I don't know if Roy Weatherby himself came up with the term "Venturi Shoulder" as a marketing gimmick, but the designs of his cartridges for the most part have a very aggressive shoulder angle (we can debate whether the double radius attenuates this...).

Essentially, that's a big reason why he was able to push his .300 Wby Mag 300fps faster than the .300 H&H out of the same parent case. The Venturi Effect dictates that fluids passing through a constriction it will increase in velocity proportionately to the narrowness of the constriction. Hence the aggressive shoulders on most hyper-velocity cartridges, which--by their abruptness--cause an abrupt increase in velocity.

The problem is that with the slow powders necessary for a lot of these cartridges, kernels of un- or partially-burned powder will sizzle out of the cartridge mouth at dizzying speeds, contributing to throat erosion in spite of there being less pressure after the constriction (= shoulder) than before. More gradual shoulder angles like on the late-19thC. military rounds have a much gentler shoulder, which contributes to less throat erosion in spite of the powder-weight/bullet diameter ratio.

No, as some other poster rightfully said, few of us will ever shoot out a .375 barrel, but since this is also an academic discussion, I gave an equally academic reason (for me, at least) to prefer the old, gently sloping .375 H&H to more modern variants with aggressive shoulder angles.

Exactly...slower is faster. I tell this to apprentices all the time. Take your time and do it right, you will always have time to do it right the second time. 375H&H all the way. Velocity above 2400 fps in .375 caliber brings diminishing returns. Heavy and slow is the way to go. Long and slick will feed past the lips.

I just made that last bit up.