Saw that this old thread still has some life in it. Felt compelled to share the story of my fall from grace as well… Like many of you a 375 was my gateway drug… I’ll revise that, my personal journey started out in a pretty straightforward manner, but once I hit the fork in the road I started sliding downhill and have never successfully stopped myself. I’ve always been a fan of the classic calibers, growing up in New England and seeing 257 Roberts, 7X57 Mauser’s, 35 Remington’s as well as the more than occasional 375 H&H and 45 & 50/70’s well represented in the deer woods in the 1970’s. While in college in Northern Wisconsin, I was frequently hanging out after class in my favorite local gun shop while I was shopping for something to upgrade my 30/30 and 35 Rem lever guns, which given where I was hunting (logging clear-cuts) sometimes left me needing something with a little more reach. The owner showed me a Remington 721 in 300 H&H (to my eyes a classic, along with 6 boxes of Winchester silver tip ammo) that he had just taken in as part of an estate sale and offered me a deal on the friends and family discount that I could not pass up. At the range, I excitedly prepared for the first shot, I had been hunting deer with an 870 and slugs in Massachusetts as a kid so Sandor told me to expect recoil about like that or a little less. After the first shot as I carefully worked the bolt, (I am an avid hand loader so I save and scrounge brass to this day) I noticed that the fired brass looked radically different than the unfired round. I hurried back to the gun shop and after examining the fired brass Sandor re-stamped the barrel to show 300 WBY. He explained that it was common for 300 H&H’s to have been rechambered (I’m still crying about that) and that it is safe to fire 300 H&H in a 300 Weatherby as the headspace was on the belt. Everything else about the rifle checked out and I proceeded to shoot EVERYTHING with that rifle. I loaded 110 grain hollow points for “varmints” and 200 gr Partitions for elk (at that time still a dream) and tried every bullet weight in between in the interest of load development and getting to know my rifle. Before I graduated, Sandor showed me another rifle he thought would complement my 300 WBY. He had taken it in under similar circumstances, it was a custom 375 built on a 1917 action, Weatherby styled walnut stock, bedded with a 26” Douglas barrel. The catch was it was a 375 Weatherby. After Sandor explained that I could avoid buying the expensive Weatherby brass by fire forming much cheaper 375 H&H as this was also safe due to Roy’s “genius” in designing these cartridges and both cartridges were simply “improved” versions of both H&H cartridges. I also used that rifle to shoot everything (except varmints, well maybe a woodchuck or two) with hundreds of rounds going downrange as load development and sheer fun. That was only the beginning over 30 years ago, enamored with how effective bigger bore bullets were on everything I shot them at, I was smitten. Hot loaded 45/70’s in a Ruger #3 and new Marlin followed, black powder loads in my trapdoor, as well as a 405 in a new 1895, 416 Remington in its inaugural year, the longer 45’s (90 and 110) in both Sharps and Rolling Block actions with a new Winchester 1886 in 45/90 on the way as well as a new (to me) 416 Ruger African; I stole it with 4 boxes of factory 400 gr DGX and 2 boxes of the solid version (Only 5 rounds fired before the former owner decided it was too much fun for him). This “affliction” extends to handguns as well, as I now consider a 44 a small bore, and currently my main hunting handgun is a 480 Ruger Super Blackhawk… what’s not to like: 400 grain bullets at trapdoor velocity! Like any “addict” I still have that wish list and I’ve determined that I am “hopeless” as I hope I never find a “cure”! So I’m afraid that the answer to the original question is that it’s a permanent affliction. Enjoy it to the fullest!
