.375 H&H Do Critics Exist?

[Rifleman]

One can have a round in the chamber and still have 3 in the magazine. Either closing the bolt over the brass or a little trick of pushing the 4th round into the mag until the plate bottoms out and then closing the bolt.

Would it be nice to have 5 down? Sure, but then it'd be nice to have 10 down to. Not sure when enough is enough, but if I've not got it done with 4 shots.....

As the ancient saying goes, "and you could probably do it with a frozen herring, but what's the point?" I'll have to look into both, read some testimonials, before I make a final decision. Like I said in a different post, I come from the "tacticool" community, so its hard to give up capacity. It goes against my nature.

 

[Pondoro]

Do not opt for the Hogsback stock!!! Too much drop at the heal sends the rifle recoiling straight up instead of straight back!! That also tends to slam the stock comb into your face from the bench. The straight stocks are way better.

I holeheartidly agree....I bought my ZKK 602 with a bavarian stock. It is shootable but gives far more muzzle-jump than neccesary. I opted for an (expensive) restock to cure that, big difference. Buy the 550 with a straight stock..

 

[Pondoro]

As the ancient saying goes, "and you could probably do it with a frozen herring, but what's the point?" I'll have to look into both, read some testimonials, before I make a final decision. Like I said in a different post, I come from the "tacticool" community, so its hard to give up capacity. It goes against my nature.

5 down was never wrong...

 

[BigSteve57]

I went with .375 H&H on my trip to Africa. I think modern ammunition has pushed the cartridge beyond its original performance.

 

[Velo Dog]

The .375 H & H is so good that sometimes it is too good, so I like to load it down to the ballistic level of the old .375 Flanged ammunition with 300 grain bullets.
In other words 300 grain round nose at 2400 fps.
This load has been magical for me here in Alaska as well as in Africa.
It is accurate in any .375 I have owned, it dispatches game animals quickly, has a bit less recoil than the factory 2550 fps ammunition does, ruins very little edible meat and yet easily breaks large tough animals shoulder bones, such as wildebeest and the like.
The .375 H&H is definitely my favorite hunting cartridge.
Although I would choose a different caliber for buffalo elephant or hippo on land, by reputation the old H&H will do the job.

 

[Bert the Turtle]

They offer another with a straight stock. I've never looked into it, but I haven't heard anything bad about the European stock. I'll do some more research.

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I've had my 30-06 bite me at the sling swivel. I can imagine that CZ will bite a lot harder. There is a reason to put the swivel on the barrel for the heavier recoiling rifles.

Whether you get bit or not will depend on how you hold the fore end, but be aware of the possibility if you get a .375 with a swivel on the stock like the one pictured.

 

[Wheels]

Have taken elephant to guinea, plus stuff in between with the H&H. Great rifle, great round.

For those of us that hunt DG with a PH, the 375 is great if that is what you want to use. If you are hunting DG alone, a larger caliber might be a good idea.

Have never shot the straight stock version of the CZ. The hogback version doesn't seem to kick very hard or have significant muzzle rise in my opinion. Not saying the straight stock isn't better, just that the hogback version seems perfectly fine.

 

[bassasdaindia]

They offer another with a straight stock. I've never looked into it, but I haven't heard anything bad about the European stock. I'll do some more research.

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I agree with Phil , rather get the American straight stock !

 

[bassasdaindia]

as far as the caliber goes , 375 is a great caliber and should be one of the rifles that all hunters NEED to own !

 

[M70HUNTER]

I have a Winchester Safari Express in .375 H&H, it is a fine rifle and is a joy to shoot. It was mentioned that it only holds three rounds though and the CZ holds five which is a advantage for the CZ, but I feel if I were in Africa and needed more than three rounds at one time I'm probably not the only person shooting at that point so I am not too terribly concerned about only having three rounds.

 

[bassasdaindia]

I have a Winchester Safari Express in .375 H&H, it is a fine rifle and is a joy to shoot. It was mentioned that it only holds three rounds though and the CZ holds five which is a advantage for the CZ, but I feel if I were in Africa and needed more than three rounds at one time I'm probably not the only person shooting at that point so I am not too terribly concerned about only having three rounds.

I was waiting for this post ,

I have both the CZ and the M70 and although I know the M70 is the better rifle out of the box , I somehow prefer the CZ .

don't ask me why but the CZ is more of an African rifle to me .

just to add , my M70 out shoots my CZ all day long !

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Hi guys. Given the choice CZ or M70, I would choose M70.
Witold

 

[M70HUNTER]

I was waiting for this post ,

I have both the CZ and the M70 and although I know the M70 is the better rifle out of the box , I somehow prefer the CZ .

don't ask me why but the CZ is more of an African rifle to me .

just to add , my M70 out shoots my CZ all day long !

Just to clarify I wasn't bashing the CZ in anyway or claiming that the Winchester is better. The best rifle you could ever get is the one you feel comfortable with and can shoot well.

 

[Velo Dog]

Have taken elephant to guinea, plus stuff in between with the H&H. Great rifle, great round.

For those of us that hunt DG with a PH, the 375 is great if that is what you want to use. If you are hunting DG alone, a larger caliber might be a good idea.

Have never shot the straight stock version of the CZ. The hogback version doesn't seem to kick very hard or have significant muzzle rise in my opinion. Not saying the straight stock isn't better, just that the hogback version seems perfectly fine.

The reason I am poor is that I like them all.
Furthermore, I fired a couple shots from a "hog back" CZ custom built .458 - 3" Express.
I found that with a 500 gr bullet at about 2150 to 2200 fps (guessing at the velocity as the camp has no chronograph) the recoil was stout but not unbearable.

So now, I quit believing what many of my fellow Americans have been writing about that stock shape being painful to shoot, etc.
And now, I have had a .458 Lott built on a CZ magnum action but the stock is just a dreaded factory CZ "hog back" style.
It does not seem to have any more felt recoil or muzzle jump than any other .458 I have fired (and I'm a recoil sissy).

Perhaps it simply boils down to individual body shape.

 

[TokkieM]

Gentleman, the only time the Hogsback stock will have a "more" recoil feel is off the bench. There is however a diffrance in the way the Hogsback stock recoils,more up than backward. How everyone feels it or perceives it may differ,the stock design itself dictates the recoil direction and physics do the rest when the gun is fired. Next time you have a Hogsback and straight stock rifle together just stand them on their recoil pads next to each other and you will see what drop in the heel a Hogsback has,that dictates direction of recoil. Its not a thumbsuck,I owned 2 Hogsbacks and 2 American style stocks in Brno and CZ 375H&H,458WM and 458 Lott, no doubt in my mind the straight stock is better.

 

[Velo Dog]

I freely admit to being unable to bear .458 level recoil while seated at a shooting bench.
When I had a .450 No2 NE, from the bench I fired a grand total of 6 shots but it had a "slow recoil" compared to either my .458 Winchester or the Lott - IMO.
Even so, 6 was all I could take (final load development).

 

[siml]

I never keep more than 3 rounds in my CZ, not good for the spring.

 

[Pondoro]

Velo...use a limbsaver to ease the recoil when at the bench...its very effective to take the sting from recoil.

Yesterday I shot in a scope on a ZKK 602 (wich is really too light in .458 win.mag.).

I fired 15 rounds of Federal factory 500 grainers to make it zero.....no bad side effects....last two rounds could be covered by an Euro coin..

 

[Wheels]

I never keep more than 3 rounds in my CZ, not good for the spring.

I normally only carry four down for the same reason while hunting. Do you think the difference from four to three down increases longevity/strength of the spring on the CZ?

 

[siml]

Wheels, I do feel it does make a difference, maybe the amount of time our rifles are loaded also puts pressure on the spring.