.375 H&H barrel length suggestion

[Three44s]

I am on the horns of a dilema:

I know of a deal on pre-fit barrels for Savage bolt guns in .375 H&H.

There are two barrels to chose from:

Both are stainless. Both are threaded with protective caps that can be fired through. Both are the same contour (1.050" at the muzzle) and both are new.

The price is the same and very attractive from a reputable source.

The only thing I need to decide upon is which length:

The choices are 24 1/8" vs. 25 3/4" ........ that's all.

Suggestions would be appreciated!

I will undoubtedly shoot J-words and boolits though it.

I don't do African or even Alaskan hunts but could find my self hunting ole' Mr. Elk with it and that would mostly be in eastern slope timber country. My open spaces would be something flatter for caliber.

As soon as I can decide and get one of them ordered, I'll post the links for anyone else interested.

Best regards and thanks in advance!

Three 44s

[starmac]

FLIP A COIN. lol I myself would go with the shorter one, then if you decide to add a screw on muzzle brake it would be close to what the longer one is anyway. Iirc the muzzle brake adds about 1 1/2 in to mine.

[MaLar]

Take the longest you can always cut shorter later.

[Three44s]

starmac,

That's exactly what I was thinking. A brake when installed would bring it close to 26".

If I do the same with the longer one, it will be trading on 28" territory ...... I have a rifle with a tube that long in 7mm Rem Mag and that's fine for open country but it's a spec long for timber ... even our somewhat more open stands here in Eastern Wa.

Best regards and thanks!

Three 44s

[Three44s]

MaLar,

I thought of that but I want to keep it threaded for a brake. That would add cost to a barrel chop.

[fouronesix]

1.05 at the muzzle is going to be heavy!- no matter if it's 24 1/8" or 25 3/4". A muzzle brake is noisy and IMO not the best idea in the long run. The recoil will be tamed somewhat by the heavy barrel. Plus the recoil in a 375HH only becomes an issue shooting the heavier full throttle Jbullet loads anyway.

[starmac]

I shoot the full throttle jwords out of my 375, and like the brake myself. Others mileage might vary.

[Three44s]

1.05 at the muzzle is going to be heavy!- no matter if it's 24 1/8" or 25 3/4". A muzzle brake is noisy and IMO not the best idea in the long run. The recoil will be tamed somewhat by the heavy barrel. Plus the recoil in a 375HH only becomes an issue shooting the heavier full throttle Jbullet loads anyway.


I was thinking if any smithing was inorder, turning the outside dimension might be a good idea.

I will also shoot J-words though.

Best regards and thank you

Three 44s

[Three44s]

I shoot the full throttle jwords out of my 375, and like the brake myself. Others mileage might vary.

I like having the option of brake or not. I am going to likely run J-words from time to time and heavy!

Thanks


Three 44s

[wlc]

Honestly, I would just flip a coin. You'll never really see any difference as those lengths are so close. Personally, I'd go with the shorter of the two.

[Three44s]

wlc,

That's what I have been doing through Christmas ........ flipping the coin and it keeps landing on it's edge ..... LOL!

I have decided to order the shorter one for sure and may add the longer one as insurance and for a possible 375 H&H Ackley project.

They are $106 each ....... you can't buy that much fun anywhere else .... that I know of ....

Best regards and thanks to all who have helped thus far.

Three 44s

[Andrew Mason]

i built my own .375h&h

i settled on a 25'' barrel

seemed like a good compromise

and also, 25'' in uncommon, so there was also that.

[Lloyd Smale]

id go with the short one. Even 22 inch is fairly efficient with a 375

[Three44s]

Lloyd Smale,

That's what I have heard pretty consistently ....... that 22" worked pretty well.

Lighter to pack, handier in the brush ....... especially if there is something in there that is not very happy to see you in there with it ......

I'll use the shorter of the two barrels as it is for a while and it will likely be more for cast and moderate J-word loads. I don't like the contour on these barrels but if I ackley the longer one, I might be glad for extra iron there.

................... and I could shorten the "cast" shooter and have it turned down. A neighbor suggested having it fluted.

Best regards

Three 44s

[Three44s]

Andrew Mason,

Yes, that's the advantage of doing it yourself ......... it gets done right!

Thank you and best regards

Three 44s

[RobS]

I would like to find a Savage 375 H&H barrel with a 1:14" twist myself.........and saying that, to the original poster I would go with the shorter barrel.

[Three44s]

I would like to find a Savage 375 H&H barrel with a 1:14" twist myself.........and saying that, to the original poster I would go with the shorter barrel.

I just checked and these Savage barrels are 1-12".

While I was at it ....... I looked the specs over more throughly and the barrels are in fact .810" in diameter just behind the threading.

Color me red faced! :oops:

I like the smaller diameter ........ and what's more ..... it's threaded for Savage's adjustable brake.

Three 44s

[starmac]

I just checked and these Savage barrels are 1-12".

While I was at it ....... I looked the specs over more throughly and the barrels are in fact .810" in diameter just behind the threading.

Color me red faced! :oops:

I like the smaller diameter ........ and what's more ..... it's threaded for Savage's adjustable brake.

Three 44s

Rats, now you have me interested. As long as you were talking heavy, it was pretty easy not to get too much interest. lol

[RobS]

I just checked and these Savage barrels are 1-12".

While I was at it ....... I looked the specs over more throughly and the barrels are in fact .810" in diameter just behind the threading.

Color me red faced! :oops:

I like the smaller diameter ........ and what's more ..... it's threaded for Savage's adjustable brake.

Three 44s


Yeah, most barrels are 1-12" twist and for a slower twist it will take a custom barrel and $300+ later.

[fouronesix]

I just checked and these Savage barrels are 1-12".

While I was at it ....... I looked the specs over more throughly and the barrels are in fact .810" in diameter just behind the threading.

Color me red faced! :oops:

I like the smaller diameter ........ and what's more ..... it's threaded for Savage's adjustable brake.

Three 44s

.810 @ muzzle makes more sense. No problem. That's still going to be plenty heavy. Given all that, I'd go with the longer barrel (muggly threaded portion and all :)). Try it without a brake, try it with a brake and see which you like best. Then it's an easy option, if desired, to cut off the "muggly" threaded portion to whatever bbl length you want. I would not however go straight to a 22" length to begin with…. that leaves near zero options.

[Three44s]

Fouronesix,

Hey, for the price on these, I would still buy one or two if they looked like Hillary Clinton's back side! ....... I'd just buy a real dark pair of sunglasses so my friends could not recognize me!

I agree with what you are saying.

After some reflection though and in light of the price ....... I read it's 107.50 shipped .......... I am still leaning towards one of each. I'll play with both of them as is. If the shorter one is fine for cast, that one will get shorter ........ maybe.

The long one may be an ace in the hole and then again, it may end up as a .375 WBY ...... the older one or a 375 Ackley.

You gotta admit it's a lot of fun for 215.00!

Best regards and thanks

Three 44s

[fouronesix]

Absolutely. 215 per 2 is about 1/3 price for most any decent barrel. Many options open up. Be watching for posting of range report if you go with a brake and shoot some full throttle loads. :)

[Three44s]

An update:

I finally ordered the shorter of the two barrels and it arrived today!

Here's the link: http://www.gunpartscorp.com/ad/1252050.htm

It's surprising ....... their inventory of these barrels has been pretty static all these months ......... around 15 of them or so.

They have a bunch of the longer barrels ......... over 100 .......... !

Here's the link for the longer model: http://www.gunpartscorp.com/ad/1252060.htm

The barrel I received from Gunparts carries no markings other than a "C" ......... it's a stainless like advertised, I think the muzzle thread protector is not stainless, it had a bit of light rust begining to form.

I took after the barrel with a fine steel wool pad and some regular steel wool as well. The bore was dirty ...... I don't know what the story is there ...... but a few passes with a dry brush and it looked a whole lot better.

For point of reference, these barrels are what is know in the world of Savages as "small shank" ...... so any standard long action Savage or Stevens should do for a conversion ....... you may need to change magazine followers or not and if your particular rifle is not a magnum, you will need to change the bolt head.

You can tell what is a long action by the distance between the action mounting screws. If it's a hair over 5 inches ....... it's a long and if it's anything shorter ........ it's a short action ...... as I recall, there are three lengths with a dimension of 4.4" being the center to center of the longest (current production) of the short actions.

I have a mold bought here on Boolits the other day that's made by NOE ......... a .378 and a set of used RCBS dies coming from another source. I also procured a good amount of brass from another member on this forum.

Anyway, I'll give another update as I get it mounted up and start flippin' lead!

Best regards

Three 44s

[Good Cheer]

Once upon a time I had my No.3 in .375 Winchester rechambered to H&H.
It was a tack driving retro rocket. That's my .375 short barrel experience.

Sure do wish I'd tried it out with paper patches and FFFg.

[Three44s]

Once upon a time I had my No.3 in .375 Winchester rechambered to H&H.
It was a tack driving retro rocket. That's my .375 short barrel experience.

Sure do wish I'd tried it out with paper patches and FFFg.

That sounds like the only .375 H&H past experience I have had!

A number 3 in .375 H&H!

I recall seeing it at a local shop and months later a friend showed up with it to shoot at my lead bank.

I watched him shoot it and then he hands it to me ...... I took the bait, fired it standing like he did ....... and took him up on his offer of firing a second shot ....... passed on his offer for a third shot! LOL!!

I will know how a Savage bolt gun treats me soon enough!

The factory loads I have will not be spent foolishly however, as I have a good amount of brass and a NOE 378 275 GC mold ....... and a set of RCBS dies .... all found on this forum the past few weeks ..... thank you Cast Boolits!

Thanks Good Cheer and best regards

Three 44s