375 H&H Accuracy

[Hoss Delgado]

Sorry to resurrect a somewhat old thread , but l didn't wanna make a new thread unnecessarily. Does anyone know the Barrel life of a .375 H&H Winchester Model 70 ? I have a pre war model which which my great granddad got in '38 or '39 and passed it on to my Granddad , who gifted it to me. It's fired over a thousand rounds ( from Kynoch round nose 300 grain solids in my Grandfather's days to Norma modern loads ) . It works as accurate as ever . Has anyone here actually shot out the barrel of their .375 Model 70 ? I was reading Finn Aagard's son's online article which implied that Finn's model 70 in .375 needed a barrel change after 2000 shots.

 

[bruce moulds]

suspect that if it did it was not from erosion caused by shooting.
308 palma rifles get over 3000 rounds easily, and they would erode faster than a 375.
higher pressures, higher rate of fire, higher string counts when hot, and so on.
and that is for serious target accuracy.
bruce.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

suspect that if it did it was not from erosion caused by shooting.
308 palma rifles get over 3000 rounds easily, and they would erode faster than a 375.
higher pressures, higher rate of fire, higher string counts when hot, and so on.
and that is for serious target accuracy.
bruce.

Thanks Bruce . It shoots 3 inch groups at 100 yards. I am guessing that's an okay thing for a cape buffalo.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Hoss, 3” groups depending on the bullet should kill any buffalo out there.
That said, I’m a varmint hunter and mentally I cannot have any load I use in the field shoot more than 1” groups at 100 yards. It’s an illness I have!

 

[Red Leg]

Thanks Bruce . It shoots 3 inch groups at 100 yards. I am guessing that's an okay thing for a cape buffalo.

Are you doing three-inches with open sights or a scope?

 

[Hoss Delgado]

Are you doing three-inches with open sights or a scope?

Red Leg , Iron Sights for myself. But my wife occasionally uses my rifle ... Then l attach a scope. The 3 inch grouping is virtually the same with both iron sights and scope. I use Norma and Federal Ammunition . I recently ordered some Kynoch 300 grain round nosed solids , just for the nostalgia factor ( l read so many old books about the old elephant hunters using these rounds and also this is what my granddad used in '68 to take his elephant ) . I will try them out when they come .

 

[Hoss Delgado]

Hoss, 3” groups depending on the bullet should kill any buffalo out there.
That said, I’m a varmint hunter and mentally I cannot have any load I use in the field shoot more than 1” groups at 100 yards. It’s an illness I have!

You're a perfectionist ! I used to own an old model Savage Model 99 in .22 Hi-Power ( which l foolishly sold shortly after getting my .375 ) . The gun was my VERY first Hunting rifle. It was a tack driver of a gun ( not something you typically expect from a lever action ). Back then , you could legally use a .22 Centre fire in Maine to take deer ( maybe you still can . I haven't done it in years , so l don't know ) , and l used mine to take some pretty big critters ! I always opted for the neck shot and the old Savage always delivered. But one day , l made a rash decision to sell it , after l nearly lost a buck with it while trying a heart shot. It's something l still regret to this day. Accurate little gun .

 

[Red Leg]

Red Leg , Iron Sights for myself. But my wife occasionally uses my rifle ... Then l attach a scope. The 3 inch grouping is virtually the same with both iron sights and scope. I use Norma and Federal Ammunition . I recently ordered some Kynoch 300 grain round nosed solids , just for the nostalgia factor ( l read so many old books about the old elephant hunters using these rounds and also this is what my granddad used in '68 to take his elephant ) . I will try them out when they come .

A pre-64 model 70 ought to give you 1.5 inch groups with a load it likes. I am sure you know that pre-64’s in general can have considerable collector value - a .375 especially. So be very conservative doing any “tweaking “ of that rifle.

With respect to accuracy, I’m pretty much MOA fixated as well. Out to 100 yards you will be ok with a 3 MOA .375. Beyond that, “threading a bullet” through cover becomes problematic. And of course, you likely will be hunting things besides buff. I would take my time and find a load it likes.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

A pre-64 model 70 ought to give you 1.5 inch groups with a load it likes. I am sure you know that pre-64’s in general can have considerable collector value - a .375 especially. So be very conservative doing any “tweaking “ of that rifle.

With respect to accuracy, I’m pretty much MOA fixated as well. Out to 100 yards you will be ok with a 3 MOA .375. Beyond that, “threading a bullet” through cover becomes problematic. And of course, you likely will be hunting things besides buff. I would take my time and find a load it likes.

Red Leg , thanks for the useful advice . In regards to tweaking , I'm afraid you're 40 years too late ! During my Granddad's time , the stock split and he used some sort of strong adhesive and ( what l believe to be ) car door bolts to repair the stock and hold it together. He also smoothened the feed ramp so that it could feed certain types of ammo. My model 70 holds 4 in the magazine , unlike the modern model 70s which have a 3 round magazine and allow you to have one extra round in the chamber. But my model 70 can't be topped off with a 5th round in the chamber . A gunsmith once told me that he could try " opening up the extractors to allow the gun to be topped off with a fifth round " but l immediately refused.