Your opinion on potential advantages of the .375 Weatherby?

[sgt_zim]

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.

What can you do with a 300 gr bullet at 2700 fps that you can't do at 2450 or 2550 fps?

Better is better, and faster is faster. But it doesn't follow with necessity that faster is better.

Ol' Roy had some pretty good ideas in small bore, but big mediums and large bore...the game is very different. I won't call his ideas in mediums and large bore bad, just a solution in search of a non-existent problem.

Stick with H&H.

 

[DaddyFlip]

What can you do with a 300 gr bullet at 2700 fps that you can't do at 2450 or 2550 fps?

Better is better, and faster is faster. But it doesn't follow with necessity that faster is better.

Ol' Roy had some pretty good ideas in small bore, but big mediums and large bore...the game is very different. I won't call his ideas in mediums and large bore bad, just a solution in search of a non-existent problem.

Stick with H&H.

Not quite true; you have to remember the context. Weatherby wasn't designing practical calibers as a solution; he was claiming the top speed in carts for every caliber class and he succeeded. Weatherby was the biggest and the best you could get in a US factory rifle for awhile. Later Remington would try the same thing with the RUM carts (though in a limited line) which are totally not necessary or practical BUT some folks like them. Unfortunately for Rem, Winchester turned the tables and the trend went to short and fat (WSM, PPC, RCM, SAUM, etc.) such that any post war overbore cart is obsolete. Weatherby cartridges should be obsolete but because it's a proprietary ecosystem that's been around for 80 years, it has its own customer base and still has an allure. I still like Weatherby rifles but I've never owned one because the carts aren't for me, but they are still relevant.

 

[meigsbucks]

I have a Sako.375 H&H that throws a 300gr Barnes TSX at 2550 fps. I had a barrel built for my Blaser R8 in .375 Wby. It throws a 300gr TSX at 2770 fps. It might generate higher velocity with a different load, but the first powder I tried (H4350) gave that velocity with sub inch groups. Why mess with that?
I haven’t hunted with it yet but it gives me 200+ fps more. Great accuracy. Recoil is more, but not by much. The H&H is the legal minimum for DG in most African countries. This takes some of the “minimum” out of it. Flattens trajectory some. And worst case scenario, you can still shoot H&H ammo in it. As an experiment, I shot some 270gr Remington factory thru the H&H and the Wby. It lost about 90 fps out of the Wby. (Note: The Wby has 2” more barrel.)

 

[analog_peninsula]

I actually like both the 378 and 416 Weatherby and think 95% of the bad reputation (Ballistics in Perspective etc.) comes from the days before we figured out how to make bullets stay together at high speeds. Then again, neither of my rifles was made by Weatherby (Mauser custom and HS Precision), and both handle recoil relatively gracefully.

 

[sgt_zim]

Not quite true; you have to remember the context. Weatherby wasn't designing practical calibers as a solution; he was claiming the top speed in carts for every caliber class and he succeeded. Weatherby was the biggest and the best you could get in a US factory rifle for awhile. Later Remington would try the same thing with the RUM carts (though in a limited line) which are totally not necessary or practical BUT some folks like them. Unfortunately for Rem, Winchester turned the tables and the trend went to short and fat (WSM, PPC, RCM, SAUM, etc.) such that any post war overbore cart is obsolete. Weatherby cartridges should be obsolete but because it's a proprietary ecosystem that's been around for 80 years, it has its own customer base and still has an allure. I still like Weatherby rifles but I've never owned one because the carts aren't for me, but they are still relevant.

The salient point is what can you do with the Weatherby that you can't with an H&H? Extend lethal range by an extra 75 yards? That might be useful in Coutadas 10 and 11. But where else?

A 300 gr bullet at 2700 doesn't kill buffalo any deader or more reliably than it does it 2500. I just don't see the point.

 

[DaddyFlip]

The salient point is what can you do with the Weatherby that you can't with an H&H? Extend lethal range by an extra 75 yards? That might be useful in Coutadas 10 and 11. But where else?

A 300 gr bullet at 2700 doesn't kill buffalo any deader or more reliably than it does it 2500. I just don't see the point.

The point was that Weatherby had the fastest 375 (and all other calibers) on the market. That was the goal in those days and it was appreciated for that fact alone. Same reason the 460 is still lauded as the most powerful shoulder fired rifle. Specific achievement was the goal. Whether the result is required for any specific hunting situation was/is irrelevant or up to the purchaser to decide.

 

[BryceM]

The reason I like some Weatherby cartridges is that they let me get the same velocity and energy a bit further down range. For dangerous game, I don’t see the practical point. For hunting buffalo or lion at 300-400 yards, it would be excellent…. But, nobody does that, and for good reason.

Maybe for certain polar bear or brown bear situations it would be helpful. Rare thing though.

 

[JimP]

I'd like one for the idea that I could load it up or down to suit the hunt.

You can always load a cartridge down, but you can get into a lot of trouble loading it up if it's not capable.

 

[grand veneur]

The point was that Weatherby had the fastest 375 (and all other calibers) on the market. That was the goal in those days and it was appreciated for that fact alone. Same reason the 460 is still lauded as the most powerful shoulder fired rifle. Specific achievement was the goal. Whether the result is required for any specific hunting situation was/is irrelevant or up to the purchaser to decide.

At that time, Roy Weatherby initially wanted to limit itself to the single most powerful cartridge caliber .375, meaning the 378 Weatherby Magnum. Back then, people placed a great accent on kinetic energy and its supposed killing power. This opinion was still very prevalent over decades and it was not without reason that we all in Europe were at this time also big fans of Weatherby cartridges. Roy Weatherby is said to have designed the cartridge 460 Weatherby Magnum in response to the emergence and success of the cartridge 458 Winchester Magnum. Unfortunately, he initially made some mistakes with this cartridge, as there are differences between designing a high-performance cartridge in medium calibers and one in large calibers, where very different problems arise. To improve the cartridge 375 H&H Magnum by designing the cartridge 375 Weatherby Magnum was certainly not a bad idea, in line with the many other improved cartridges actually in use and also designed on basis well-know good working cartridges.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

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.

I just see the 375 wby as the answer to the question nobody asked. As for shooting well, most Weatherby rifles shoot great. Many of the old ones are based on the German JP Sauer design which is one of the most accurate factory rifles ever made. I am just not a fan of the proprietary cartridge approach and super fast design. As for down loading, I normally do not re-load for my hunting rifles since they never get shot enough to justify the equipment and modern factory ammo quality is so much better than years past they it is tough to exceed it with my hand loads.

This year while hunting buffalo and Kudu, and Zebra, I ran out of my 375HH loads and was forced to hunt with scraps. This we because of a scope issue that forced me to return to the range multiple times to re-zero the rifle after a few days of very rough roads. While I did not buy more ammo, it was still an option to by or borrow from my PH for the rifle. I had brought some A-Frame loads that had been made for me that turned out to have bad primers and failed to fire on four shots which then forced me to discard that ammo from use. I had enough Barnes TSX ammo to complete my Buff hunt but then was using the rifle for Kudu later. So, yeah it is possible to run out. In my cause I always knew it was not an issue with a common cartridge such as the Holland and Holland.

 

[AZDAVE]

The 375 weatherby is the only weatherby round I like. It's real advantage over the 375 H&H is that the brass won't need to be trimmed as often and brass life in longer. It is really a reloader's rifle only.

I sold my 375W years ago and have a 375 H&H.

 

[coreydb]

If you hand load, you have a lot of latitude.

 

[hoytcanon]

There is only one advantage... shooting beyond 300 yards. If you only shoot 300 yards an under there is ZERO advantage.

 

[analog_peninsula]

I would argue that there are real velocity thresholds in hunting. It's clear that solids with a velocity below 2000 fps are prone to inconsistent penetration, and it's equally clear that velocities above 2400 fps have very little value. On the other hand, it's equally clear that velocity adds value to soft points assuming they hold together. If we had zero recoil rifles that could send a 300 grain bullet 4500 fps and that bullet held together, I don't think it's a stretch to say that it would have truly impressive performance on game.

 

[dgr416]

It does take a longer barrel for the 375 weatherby to work good .A friend rechambered his 26 inch barel to 375 weatherby and cut the barrel to 22 inches .It was a powder blaster after that .I think a 26 barrel is needed for the weatherby.

 

[Safari Dave]

I am a Weatherby fan, but have never understood the .375 Weatherby Magnum. (It came along in 1945)

(I see it as a .375 H&H with a bit more recoil and marginal power improvement, but little more).

IMO, I would just stick to a .375 H&H for a medium-bore DG cartridge.


Being the eccentric that I am, for some stupid reason, I see the .340 Weatherby Magnum as more useful than a .338 Win Mag.

But, I'm still looking for a reason for a reason for a rifle chambered in .375, .378, or .460 Weatherby.

If something new comes along (that doesn't require a muzzle break), please send it my way.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

I didn’t read any of the previous posts,

If you loose your ammo before you start your Safari, you don’t have to worry about the extra recoil…

 

[Safari Dave]

I didn’t read any of the previous posts,

If you loose your ammo before you start your Safari, you don’t have to worry about the extra recoil…

I came very close to loosing all of my ammo when flying from RSA to MOZ, because no one explained to me that I had to take the ammo out of my checked baggage and put it in a separate piece of checked baggage for MOZ.

Upon arrival in MOZ, my PH told be that there was no place to buy ammo between the airport and the concession.

I got lucky.


I had a .416 Rigby and a .470 NE and it all worked out.




It may not happen very often, but I bet that it happens occasionally, when a somewhat "obscure" cartridge rifle ends up in a camp in the middle of no where with no ammo available.





This is where a .375 H&H and a .458 Win might just "shine"

 

[JimP]

I think that the developement of the 375 Weatherby came to be the same way that the 300 Weatherby, 340 Weatherby, and the 460 Weatherby came to be.

Old Roy saw the 375 HH and figured that he would step it up a little, so the 375 Weatherby came to be. You can get the same results by calling the the 375 HH Improved or AI. Same with the 300 Weatherby that is just a small step above the 300 Winchester, but like the 375 Weatherby you can shoot their parents case in them. You can shoot 375 HH in that 375 Weatherby and you can shoot 300 HH in the 300 Weatherby.

 

[analog_peninsula]

As a historical note, remember that when the.375 ICL and .375 Weatherby were developed, accurate chronographs weren’t readily available. If you read P.O. Ackley’s books, you’ll find that velocities for the ICL cartridges are significantly exaggerated, and I assume similar claims were made for the earliest Weatherby cartridges. Remember, in those days, “AI” meant another 250 or more fps. We know better now, of course, but I think it’s helpful to view these cartridges within their historical context.