.375 H&H - Choices, choices... decisions, decisions

[obssd1958]

So, I'm back to chasing down a .375 H&H to satisfy my Jones - shouldn't have sold the Weatherby...

I've been looking for a used rifle, already chambered for .375 H&H, but no luck so far. Gunbroker and the common retailers aren't helping me much either, since everything I've found there has been very expensive (my opinion!).

The alternatives I'm considering are these:
I have a Savage 110 that was originally chambered in .300 Win Mag, that I have been swapping barrels on. So maybe just find a new barrel for it.
or...
I have a sporterized 1917 in 30-06, that is an okay shooter (2 inches at 100yds, with most ammo) that I could have rebarreled, or bored and chambered by Jesse O.

I'm looking for any and all input for the journey, so what do you all (or y'all ) think??

[vzerone]

A barrel for that Savage 110 sounds like the cheapest route to go. You opposed to a new CZ in 375?

[dragon813gt]

You're not going to find any "cheap" rifles chambered in it. Used ones hold their value because of the round. It's a cartridge where you have to pay to play. The rifle is going to be the cheap part of the equation over time. It eats up a lot of powder in a hurry.

[Good Cheer]

Do not rechamber a 2nd hand .375 Winchester No.3 Ruger.
It'll shoot great but the recoil is way over the top.

[kens]

Ruger #1H Tropical.
you want it?

[obssd1958]

"You opposed to a new CZ in 375?"
Not at all, but $1100+ is much more than I can scrape together, or want to spend.

"Ruger #1H Tropical. you want it?"
Want it? Of course! Afford it? Most likely not... but I appreciate the thought!

Don't give me too bad a time, but I had a Weatherby Mark V that I bought from a close friend, and thoroughly enjoyed shooting. Then life intervened, and bills were due, and the rifle was sold to pay said bills - for $550 - a few years ago. I would gladly buy it back, but I can't afford it either.

I can get a brand new barrel for the Savage, for around $250-$300. But I lose the convenience of being able to just take it out and shoot it, without doing the barrel swap.

The 1917 "might" be able to be done for about the same price. $225-$250 to have it rebored and rechambered, and I'm not sure how much to have the bolt opened up for the magnum case. I don't even know where I could get that done. (I'm not a dremel fan, so I wouldn't attempt it myself!)
A couple of advantages to using this rifle, is it already has the weight to take down a little of the recoil. And I already have a 30-06, so it would actually add the .375 caliber without losing anything else.

I appreciate all the input. Keep it coming!!

[Larry Gibson]

The Savage may also require a modified magazine to feed reliable. A friend of mine just had a M70 300 Win mag rebarreled to three six bits and it never would feed right.

I'd keep saving up and keep looking for a used post '64 M70 CRF. If you don't mind PF then a used M700 Rem or post '64 M70s can be found. Also Browning A Bolts were made in three six bits. If you save enough pennies then the CZ is certainly worth a look.

[Soundguy]

i've got a ruger #1 trop in 375.. hoot to shoot...

[vzerone]

The switch barrels you have for your Savage, are any of them magnums? I ask because if you have magnum barrels that means you already have the magnum bolt head. If you do have them how do they feed? Again if you do have them try some dummy .375 H&H round to see how they try to feed.

[AZ Pete]

Takes a pretty long action to feed a .375, not all long action bolt guns can do that without modification.



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[Drm50]

I bought my first 375H&H in 1968, a Sako. Shortly I had a Rem 700, Win 70 pre 64 and finally
a Herters Mauser. I held onto the Sako and M70. The Rem and Herter shot fair but both kicked
the Herters the worst. The Sako you could shoot all day with 300gr. It had 26" barrel and weighed
more than the m70. Both gun equal on accuracy. I sold all my magnum big game rifles 2 yrs ago,
bad back & age. The one I most regret selling was the Sako even though I have no use for a 375
any more. I think the 375H&H is one of those cartridges that is a perfect conception. I have
shot a lot of them and they all were accurate and owners bragged on them.

[Thundarstick]

I've got any 1885 Winchester (Moroku) that I just love. I've also worked up a nice cast boolit load that's accurate and don't rattle my filings loose. I paid about half what one usually cost because it is a .375 H&H, Go figure.

[Texas by God]

A Rem 700 long action will work.
Just get one in 7mm, .300, or .338 and rebarrel it. Or better yet have JES rebore it to .375 Wby.

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[smoked turkey]

If you have an Encore, you could go with a 375 H&H barrel for about as cheap as its going to get to get to the 375 H&H territory. I have the ProHunter for mine and recommend it as a good shooter and with cast boolits it is not too bad to shoot. Used it on a whitetail and it is potent medicine for sure.

[obssd1958]

The Savage started out from the factory as a .300 Win Mag, and is currently wearing a .458 Win Mag barrel.

I am guilty of making a few assumptions, so now that we have this conversation going, I thought I would verify or refute the things that I thought I knew.

First one: Will the .375 H&H factory ammo, fit in the Savage 110 stagger-feed blind magazine? The answer is... NO
I thought from everything I had read, that it would, with no modification.

Second one: Will the .375 H&H factory ammo, fit in the blind magazine of the P17? Once again, the answer is... NO
So in addition to having the rifle bored and chambered for the new round, and the bolt face opened up for the magnum casehead, I would need to modify the magazine (and maybe the feed ramp) to get it to the point I want it.

I have a M700 that is chambered for .358 Norma Mag, so I checked to see if it's magazine would accept the .375 H&H factory ammo.
And the answer is... YES - easily. But no way am I modifying this rifle to anything other than what it is!!!

So now the search shifts...
I'm probably not going to use any of the rifles that I currently own, and I'm not really a single shot fan - anybody know someone who can't handle recoil anymore and would want to make me an amazing deal on their bolt action .375 ????

[dh2]

The 375 H&H Mag. is for hunting things that will trample , bit and in general kill you I would not buy any rifle of this or any dangerous game caliber that was not control round feeding.

[Soundguy]

Why not, nothing like running from a cape buffalo while trying to get your rifle unjamed and a round reloaded

[obssd1958]

Unless I win the lottery, I'm afraid that my dream of hunting Africa has little to no chance of coming to pass. This rifle would be for shooting Elk, Deer, Black Bear, or whistle pigs (ground squirrels!), and of course paper!
I promise, that if I win the lottery and get to go to Africa, I'll buy a new rifle with controlled feed.

[wmitty]

I bought a M 70 pushfeed .375 when I was 19 and then rebarrelled a M 700 7 mag to .375 about ten years back. I’m 64 and won’t see Africa or Alaska but I sure enjoy sending boolits downrange with those rifles.

[afish4570]

Mossberg Patriot in 375 Ruger with a synthetic stock is the lowest price to get your eye balls clicked together. Hornady brass is only source and can be bought for $1 each if you shop around. Not a beauty but functional and reports seem pretty good accuracy wise. Even with cast bullets you should have a lot of fun and plenty of power for hunting anything in the U.S. afish4570