.375 is considered medium..... as well as 9,3....but the Ruger No. 1 in .458 Winchester will match and they are abundant as flys.. So, grade up.... HWL
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!
Do go on...I am listening. What do you think of it? I know...the Lott has my eye for sure. I like the dual fuel option.
There is one at the local gun show, guy has had it on his table for almost two years as I’m sure he will deal. I will shoot you a couple pics in a couple weeks at the next show. It is a very nice rifle!
Owning rifles in calibers .375 H&H, .404J, .450/.400, .416 Rigby & .470 Nitro. I have found the one that I enjoy shooting the most is a "original Rigby .350R rebored by Rigby to .404J" . Which one do I depend on to use a stopping rifle, my original .416 Rigby or .470 George Gibbs double. Bullets I depend on Woodleigh Solids. Woodleigh Hydro shocks. Trophy bonded Sledge Hammers.
Despite the fact that I have hunted in Africa for almost 30 years mostly with a rifle caliber 460WM or 500 Schüler , I am also more and more of the opinion that rifles caliber .416 or 404 Jeffery are sufficient. I have also shot big game in Africa and Asia with other cartridges so that i can compare. For the elephant hunting , maybe rifles caliber 45 and more are still justified.
I am a firm believer excessive recoil will eventually cause you to pay a price, either physically or mentally. Of course not using enough gun can be very damaging to ones physical & mental health!!! After saying that I would rather have a .375 H&H with woodleigh or trophy bonded bullet than a .416Rigby with a unreliable bullet! Or any caliber with a unrelia bullet!
I don't have any physical problems yet , but mental damage , i don't know. It's a problem , you cannot judge for yourself !
Balderdash! Excessive recoil is just God's way of telling you that A. He is still in charge and B. If something were not there to cause to cease the excitement, you'd be standing on a mountain of cases not having accomplished anything else that day.
I took this photograph in 1958 , when l had visited an auction house in Sirguja , India with my Abba ( father ) . I was fifteen years of age at the time . This is a .600 Nitro Express calibre double barrel rifle built by the firm , Holland and Holland for his Royal Excellence, the Maharajah of Sirguja . I saw an American gentleman purchase it for 80,000 Rupees . It came with three cartridges from ICI Kynoch which had 900 grain blunt head metal envelope bullets . His Royal Excellence would use it to shoot Gaur bison . It left a massive impact on me and by 1962 , l had become a professional Shikari . Of course , there were other factors , namely Stewart Granger's excellent films " King Solomon's Mines " and " Harry Black and the tiger " which influenced me greatly . Sadly , in my career , none of my clients brought anything larger than a .458 Winchester magnum calibre rifle . It has been my life long dream to be able to fire a .460 Weatherby magnum and / or a .600 Nitro Express calibre rifle someday . Next year , it looks like my dream about the .460 Weatherby magnum may come true , thanks to another forum member here.
It is not the same recoil. Both rifles have a strong recoil , whereby the one of the rifle caliber 460WM comes quickly and also stops quickly , and on the other hand , that of a DR caliber 600NE comes slower but it takes longer. Both rifles have also a different weight. Except for the elephant hunting , otherwise is a rifle caliber 460WM only partially usable. Nobody needs a DR caliber 600NE today , and nobody needed that before , but is still a piece of history and an experience to shoot something like that !
Kurpfalzjager Thank you so much for explaining things to be from a practical perspective. However , have you ever had a childhood desire to ever try a cartridge merely out of whims and nothing else ? That is how l feel about these two cartridges. The desire to satisfy a childhood desire to fire one
I also had one , a rifle caliber 500 Jeffery. The cartridge was not longer available at the time in the sixties. In the nineties it was time , I had one built and shot a few elephants with it.
Kurpfalzjager Between the .460 Weatherby magnum and the .500 Jeffery ( of which l have no experience ) , which do you like more ?
I prefer the cartridge 500 Jeffery than the 460WM , but this is pure love and not objective. In practice , both are cartridges for elephant hunting and both are not really comparable. The ballistic of the 460WM is superior to that of the 500 jeffery. With the 500 jeffery one has the advantage of the larger caliber with a heavier bullet , but if that is so relevant , I don't know. None of us shoot enough DG nowadays to judge that. In reality I shoot the cartridge 12,7x70 Schüler ( alias Romey Hybrid from A-Square ) from before the normalization , and not the cartridge 500 Jeffery.
