Your opinion on potential advantages of the .375 Weatherby?

[Schüler Jumbo]

Hello everyone,

I’d appreciate hearing your opinion/experience with the .375 Weatherby and if there are real advantages of the Weatherby over the great .375 H&H.

Thank you in advance. Yes, I did an online search and searched our forum but did not find what I was looking for therefore am asking here.

Good Hunting.

 

[375Ruger416]

I have a 375 H&H. The weatherby DG cartridges increase muzzle blast, recoil, and the risk of over penetration out of proportion with any potential increase in terminal performance. Craig Boddington and Kevin Robertson do NOT recommend them. In fact, Kevin Robertson has said that if he was still working as a PH and a client wanted to bring a weatherby DG cartridge he would suggest the find another PH!

In my inexperienced opinion, I would look at a 416 or a 404 if I wanted a more powerful cartridge that was almost as versatile. In fact, I have been drooling over nice Heym’s, Rigby’s, and Dakota’s/Parkwest that have come up for sale in 416, and weighing that against getting a 416 Rem barrel for my R8. By a whisker, I have managed not to bid or buy any of these beautiful wood CRF rifles that have come up for sale and plan to finish shooting the 250 rounds of 375 that I have and then decide. The Winchester 70 in 416 RM is a great option too.

 

[Firebird]

The advantage is not much-a couple hundred feet per second Assumkng Your rifle can Accurately shoot them that fast. It can also shoot .375 ammo which is handy but a silly selling point in this day and age.
I can’t tell a difference in recoil but I suspect this is specific from one rifle to the next.
I bought mine because it was a good deal and a toe in the water to test a caliber I could hunt dg with as well as use for plains game or similar. Mine was easy to reload for and very accurate and has served me well. I would buy this caliber again without question and have zero issues with weatherby calibers. My rifle is a sako in .375 wby with synthetic stock.
It is easier to find reloading dies etc for the more popular .375 h&h but wby brass has been in stock at sportsman’s warehouse forever while h&h has not.
My hunt where I took a buffalo, warthog and tsessebe is on YouTube-“Buffalo and plains game with game4africa 2025” and might provide some useful visuals to satisfy your questions a bit.

 

[coyote wacker]

375 H&H is a very old war horse. I've owned a few 375 Weatherby's over the years and do like them just a little more velosity than the 375 H&H. Basically just a blowen out 375 H&H like many wildcats. Really they don't come up for sale very often.

 

[USMA84DAB]

I have to opine in the manner of 375Ruger416. I read Robertson, Boddington, and Woods. Their counsel is that Wby is just too much of a good thing - more muzzle blast, more recoil, more velocity forcing the use of ONLY ultra-premium projectiles so that they don't blow up/effectively inflict terminal ballistics, more over penetration, less number of reloading on the cartridge case/more expensive ammo - the list is long. When I ran ammo production at A-Square I had the "opportunity" to test fire a .577 Tyrannosaur - I passed. My .495 A-Square was enough.

My .375 Ruger is less expensive in terms of the cost of the action, cost of brass (when Hornady makes it!), weighs less, carries better, beats up the PH less with blast - yet it dropped a 3,000 lb giraffe bull with one shot into the heart. It is enough for what I want to do.

You would not be "wrong" to get the .375WBY. Free world - you make your choices and take your knocks. I feel that the tick marks on the disadvantages column vastly outnumber the ones in the advantages column.

I hope you find a rifle/cartridge combo that is your Goldilocks place!

 

[grand veneur]

What is important when hunting is an optimal impact velocity of the bullet and that will depend on the shooting distance. The advantage of all these cartridges is that they allow you to shoot at longer ranges when needed, while still maintaining good wound ballistics. At shorter distances a higher muzzle velocity can have a negative impact, but this also depends on the bullet used. Nevertheless, within a caliber class I would always select the cartridge with better external ballistics.

 

[JimP]

Don't mistake a 375 Weatherby for a 378 Weatherby.

The 375 Weatherby is just a 375 HH with a blown out shoulder that will give you a couple hundred more fps and the 375 HH can be shot in the 375 Weatherby. The 378 Weatherby is a totally different round that either the 375 HH or the 375 Weatherby.

 

[DaddyFlip]

Opinion: the 375 WBY is extinct as new rifles and loaded ammo go, replaced internally by the 378 long ago while never having dethroned the 375 H&H. If you have one and reload for it, enjoy it and don't look elsewhere. If starting fresh, then the H&H or the Ruger is they way in 375. From the efficiency thread, here is the Ft.lb per powder grain charge rankings for various powders and bullet weights in 338-366-375. The WBY doesn't stack up.

 

[Twraska]

I find it amusing that there was a thread about the 375 H&H being too light with lots of responses…… and then a faster Weatherby cartridge is too powerful.

 

[450 Dakota]

I like the 375 Weatherby, getting ready to build one. Have 2, 375 H&H Ackley Imp and a 375 RUM. I have one H&H and it is my least favorite. In my experience few rifles shoot well with loads maxed out. You can back off the Weatherby and still have a great shooting round. If you don’t reload then get the H&H. Bullets today are so far ahead of what they were 40 years ago and many are still using info from 40 years ago. 375 Ruger is a great round, rifle selection not so much.

 

[uplander01]

I have never owned a 375 Weatherby, my first thought was there may be disadvantages . However , it seems like you may be able to shoot 375 HH in it? ----does anyone know if thats possible? If that's the case, there are no disadvantages. In Africa my $ would be on never finding 375 Weatehrby ammo.

 

[grand veneur]

I find it amusing that there was a thread about the 375 H&H being too light with lots of responses…… and then a faster Weatherby cartridge is too powerful.

This should not be judged negatively, as it reflects for what a hunter uses such cartridges. Many only see their own sphere of activity, but the caliber 9,3mm and .375 are universal calibers and depending on the use, one need more or less power.

 

[450 Dakota]

I have never owned a 375 Weatherby, my first thought was there may be disadvantages . However , it seems like you may be able to shoot 375 HH in it? ----does anyone know if thats possible? If that's the case, there are no disadvantages. In Africa my $ would be on never finding 375 Weatehrby ammo.

Yes, you can. You can fire form regular brass to make cases if you want but they end up a little short in overall length but are useable.

 

[analog_peninsula]

I have a .375 ICL, now a wildcat very similar to the .375 Weatherby, and I’m currently planning on taking it on a South African hunt this summer. I don’t think it’s really a significant ballistic improvement over the H&H, but the rifle is a decades long safe queen and I doubt it’s ever been fired in anger. It’s time to get a few scratches on it, and to knock down a couple or three large animals with it.

 

[375Ruger416]

Opinion: the 375 WBY is extinct as new rifles and loaded ammo go, replaced internally by the 378 long ago while never having dethroned the 375 H&H. If you have one and reload for it, enjoy it and don't look elsewhere. If starting fresh, then the H&H or the Ruger is they way in 375. From the efficiency thread, here is the Ft.lb per powder grain charge rankings for various powders and bullet weights in 338-366-375. The WBY doesn't stack up.
View attachment 733500

You seem to be correct. Weatherby has recently reintroduced the Mark V DGR but aren’t offering it in 375 Weatherby. Only 375 H&H, 378 Wby, 416 Wby, and 460 Wby.

Mark V® Dangerous Game Rifle – Weatherby, Inc.

weatherby.com

 

[JG26Irish_2]

Sometimes more is simply more and not necessarily better. I am not a Weatherby fan. The 375HH is not a perfect package but it is a tried and true package that is found everywhere big game or DG are found. Alaska, Africa, you name it, it has done it. While the Weatherby is faster, so what? I get over 2600 fps out of my 300g 375HH loads (factory ammo). How fast does it need to be?

As stated Weatherby is faster, louder, recoils more and may over penetrate in many cases. Plus go try to find ammo for one in Bulawayo, or Hwange? Doubtful. But the good old 375HH will be everywhere you look. Your buffalo will be just as dead either way. I agree that if I want more gun, I go with 458wm or Lott or 416 Rig. All three trump the Weatherby in my view. Disagree? Convince me I am wrong. I have an open mind. But I own two 375HH rifles and one 458wm.

 

[Twraska]

Sometimes more is simply more and not necessarily better. I am not a Weatherby fan. The 375HH is not a perfect package but it is a tried and true package that is found everywhere big game or DG are found. Alaska, Africa, you name it, it has done it. While the Weatherby is faster, so what? I get over 2600 fps out of my 300g 375HH loads (factory ammo). How fast does it need to be?

As stated Weatherby is faster, louder, recoils more and may over penetrate in many cases. Plus go try to find ammo for one in Bulawayo, or Hwange? Doubtful. But the good old 375HH will be everywhere you look. Your buffalo will be just as dead either way. I agree that if I want more gun, I go with 458wm or Lott or 416 Rig. All three trump the Weatherby in my view. Disagree? Convince me I am wrong. I have an open mind. But I own two 375HH rifles and one 458wm.

Weatherby too powerful???? Cut the load back….. most can be downloaded 20%, maybe more. Or use a lighter or more ‘fragile’ bullet?

458WM, why not 460WBY and load it lighter?

As to getting ammo anywhere…. Have you ever had to buy extra ammo on a hunt?

I don’t personally own a Weatherby, but my son has several. They all shoot good.

 

[Twraska]

You seem to be correct. Weatherby has recently reintroduced the Mark V DGR but aren’t offering it in 375 Weatherby. Only 375 H&H, 378 Wby, 416 Wby, and 460 Wby.

Mark V® Dangerous Game Rifle – Weatherby, Inc.

weatherby.com

FYI, the 375 WBY is basically a 375 H&H, the 378WBY is the same case as a 416WBY and a 460WBY. The 375WBY is pretty rare, even by Weatherby standards.

 

[Firebird]

some people clearly don’t read the previous posts before responding. . .

 

[jlb1036]

WITH THE 375 WBY I FOUND THE ADVANTAGE WHEN LOADING 350GRS WOODLEIGH BULLETS
DRIVING THEM AT 2400-2500 FPS IS LIKE A 416 RIGBY/REMINGTON WITH ENERGY AND EXCELLENT PENETRATION ITS A REAL KILLER BUT YOU CAN ALSO DO THE SAME WITH PLAIN 375 H&H FOR DANGEROUS GAME IN MY EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN WITH THE OLD CAPE BUFFALO AS RESULTS FROM THE 375WBY MAG .