375 Ruger or H&H

[Philip Glass]

After joining this forum & being weak regarding rifles & influenced by you
people i am thinking about a 375 , I had a Winchester 70 African 375 H&H
& in a fit of stupidity sold it. The 2 readily available options in my budget are a Zastava 375 H&H or a Ruger 77 Hawkeye in 375 Ruger, the Zastava is rough but could be cleaned up, the Ruger Has a much better finish please tell me about the 375 Ruger cartridge i have a number of Ruger MK11 & Hawkeye rifles.

The Ruger is superior in every way possible. It comes down to the rifle you really want. The performance on game will be the same. Find the rifle that you really like and go for it. So sorry you sold a good one.

 

[rdog]

Thank you all for your input i think i may go for the Ruger if i cannot find a mod 70 Win in 375 H&H, from what i have seen the Zastava appears to have a lot of metal removed at the feed ramp area which does not leave much metal for the bottom locking lug to lock against . Are they all like that? The 375 Ruger cartridge has little case taper & sharper shoulder & that style of case is usually harder to get to feed out of the mag smoothly , but from what you have told me that Ruger has got that right. At 75 & this damm virus i do not think i will get to Africa so ammo may not be an issue.

 

[Fred Gunner]

We Love our Ruger Hawkeye Guide Gun in 375 Ruger. My wife and I have both taken everything from Springbok to Cape Buffalo with it...That said I've visited 5 gun stores in both Namibia and South Africa...nobody was ever seen that cartridge...you will not find one single round on the continent. I've visited stores that list Hornady 375 ruger in on line advertising...nothing and the clerks behind the counter have never seen a single box? SA air and Air Namibia have yet to deliver all my baggage on any trip...We fly First class our luggage is tagged Priority...pack ammo in every legal container. Don't worry about African regulations on ammo unless you plan and taking excess back home...Once it's on the plane from the USA nobody checks it again as long and the luggage tag shows it's check thru to your final destination. Double check the baggage tags and insist it's perfect. I forced the Idiots at Newark to re-tag my our bags last June. PS. I've left ammo with three different PH's that paying it forward!

 

[BeeMaa]

I prefer the 375H&H, but (as others have stated) the animal will never know the difference between the two. Also, I don't get hung up on the PF/CRF debate. Have your rifle gone over by a competent gunsmith to make sure it loads, feeds, fires and ejects reliably and go hunting.

You didn't mention what your budget was, but I'll make an assumption that you want to be completely done with a reliable hunting rifle for under $2K (minus the scope). Here are two rifles that will put you in that ballpark with some money left over to make necessary adjustment or repairs.

Win M70 375H&H for $1.5K - I believe this is a push feed, but I'm not sure.
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/922474348

Other end of the spectrum going stainless & synthetic is a Browning X-Bolt.
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/922386683

 

[rdog]

I prefer the 375H&H, but (as others have stated) the animal will never know the difference between the two. Also, I don't get hung up on the PF/CRF debate. Have your rifle gone over by a competent gunsmith to make sure it loads, feeds, fires and ejects reliably and go hunting.

You didn't mention what your budget was, but I'll make an assumption that you want to be completely done with a reliable hunting rifle for under $2K (minus the scope). Here are two rifles that will put you in that ballpark with some money left over to make necessary adjustment or repairs.

Win M70 375H&H for $1.5K - I believe this is a push feed, but I'm not sure.
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/922474348

Other end of the spectrum going stainless & synthetic is a Browning X-Bolt.
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/922386683

Thank you for your help but i live in Australia getting a rifle out of the US can be done but its more hassle & paper work than i want, the Australian fire arm distributors
have all this paper work set up, for an individual its a lot of BS.

 

[CBH Australia]

Thank you for your help but i live in Australia getting a rifle out of the US can be done but its more hassle & paper work than i want, the Australian fire arm distributors
have all this paper work set up, for an individual its a lot of BS.

@rdog
Agreed, it's a hassle to import but there are business that will do it for the individual. But you are right. And I'm not sure I would try for something you should find here.
BeeMaa is a regular here, been good for a yarn.

 

[CBH Australia]

417567 – Used Guns

usedguns.com.au

Does this help? Brno 602 are sought after

 

[rdog]

417567 – Used Guns

usedguns.com.au

Does this help? Brno 602 are sought after

Thank you a Brno would be great,i do not like the drop in the stock.But i may give them a call Grafton is about 5 hours south ,of where i live, A Cz550 American would be nice if i could find one.

 

[CBH Australia]

Thank you a Brno would be great,i do not like the drop in the stock.But i may give them a call Grafton is about 5 hours south ,of where i live, A Cz550 American would be nice if i could find one.

Then your about 20 hours north of me.
$100 as could get it to your firearms dealer. Yes that's a pain but that's how it is now
I have a CZ American but I here go in d things about the Brno 602,

 

[BeeMaa]

Thank you for your help but i live in Australia getting a rifle out of the US can be done but its more hassle & paper work than i want, the Australian fire arm distributors
have all this paper work set up, for an individual its a lot of BS.

Sorry about that. Didn't realize...

Thank you a Brno would be great,i do not like the drop in the stock.But i may give them a call Grafton is about 5 hours south ,of where i live, A Cz550 American would be nice if i could find one.

You can pick up a Bell & Carlson synthetic stock and have a much more weather resistant rifle for less money than buying it new that way. This is the one I had...

 

[CBH Australia]

Yep, a B&C might be an option. Maybe $500 here but would work in bad weather.

 

[Fixfire]

What one will do the other will do.

But there is only one H&H.

So true!! I hate internet forum comparisons. You could put up 375 HH versus 22 LR for Cape Buffalo and get equal support on both sides!!!

 

[AZDAVE]

Flip a coin on performance, ballistics are basically the same. Get the one that apeals to your eye, fits you, and you get the best deal on. Then go hunt.

 

[ldmay375]

After joining this forum & being weak regarding rifles & influenced by you
people i am thinking about a 375 , I had a Winchester 70 African 375 H&H
& in a fit of stupidity sold it. The 2 readily available options in my budget are a Zastava 375 H&H or a Ruger 77 Hawkeye in 375 Ruger, the Zastava is rough but could be cleaned up, the Ruger Has a much better finish please tell me about the 375 Ruger cartridge i have a number of Ruger MK11 & Hawkeye rifles.

Cartridge performance wise, virtually identical. Factory loaded ammo the H&H definitely has the advantage. I hunt in the USA / Alaska.
I have rifles in both cartridges. I actually have a couple of the Interarms Mark X’s in the 375 H&H. One with a 20” barrel and one with the factory length. I also have some 375 H&H M70’s, 22” and 24”. I was a 375 H&H fan long before the 375 Ruger’s arrival.
I got my first 375 Ruger not long after it was introduced. I have a favorite Ruger 338 Winchester and thought I near identical rifle in 375 would be neat. I definitely use the 20” 375 Ruger more than any of the other 375’s. This includes includes another 375 Ruger that I had an aftermarket 23.5” barrel installed on.
I feel your pain of the rehoming of M70 375 H&H.

 

[BigFan375]

You can see from my avatar what my thoughts are. H&H for sure. As I'm a lefty also, shooting a camp gun is an option I don't relish. We spend a lot of money and shooting an unfamiliar rifle is a chance I don't want to take. Like 'Nevada Mike', I have not shot a right handed rifle in 40+ years. I found a Rem700 LH(280 Rem) when I lived in Canada in the late 70's. Still have it and still love it. Since then, my search continues for left handers. Recent purchase includes a Ruger Hawkeye in .308. Will try it out this spring.

Anyway, that's my two cents and all the best to all members..........L

 

[C.W. Richter]

Everyone views things differently, but ammo availability in country doesn't concern me much since missing luggage means we are just as likely to have a missing firearm as the ammo. And it's rarely lost, just misplaced for a day or two. I think in terms of back ups, in this case there's camp rifles that will work until my luggage shows. I can roll with that. This was true with @Shootist43 on a report of his, and I forgot that returning from South Africa I had a similar issue. My bow case with ammo showed up to Anchorage on my flight, but my rifles got mixed up in LA and didn't show up until the next day. Had this occurred going to South Africa we would have gotten them the next day since I did an overnight at Afton Lodge anyway. Honestly I'm far more concerned about my bow being damaged or not showing since I'm a left handed bowhunter. it's far from optimal but there might be a right handed bow that could be tuned to their specs in camp, far less a chance for me. Yet I still take the risk every time, just the nature of the beast.

Not true. The ammo is bagged separately from the guns. It is VERY common to have select bags (w/ ammo) separated from the guns, and temporarily lost by airline personnel (it's even a bit of a racket in certain locales). We've had it happen several times in Africa (Namibia in particular,) and we were stuck without our guns' pet handloads for days. Luckily, 2 of our guns were very common (375 H&H and 300 WM and the PH had factory ammo for us to re-sight and use. That said, we couldn't use two much less cartridge guns for days until our baggage was returned.) IF we had the Ruger, we'd have spoken fluent Himba by the time it arrived. Get the HH: It's likely a tad larger, manages recoil better, and thus you shoot it better. The tapered cartridge is one of the slickest-feeding there is, and that alone could save your life in a pinch.

 

[Bonk]

Had both. Liked them both. Ruger and CZ. There aren't two calibers on earth more similar in terminal performance. They both get there a little differently but the end result is virtually identical.

I kept the H&H simply for nostalgia reasons. I agree with those above that say pick the better rifle and no matter which caliber it is you'll be very satisfied.

 

[Ryan]

Not true. The ammo is bagged separately from the guns. It is VERY common to have select bags (w/ ammo) separated from the guns, and temporarily lost by airline personnel (it's even a bit of a racket in certain locales). We've had it happen several times in Africa (Namibia in particular,) and we were stuck without our guns' pet handloads for days. Luckily, 2 of our guns were very common (375 H&H and 300 WM and the PH had factory ammo for us to re-sight and use. That said, we couldn't use two much less cartridge guns for days until our baggage was returned.) IF we had the Ruger, we'd have spoken fluent Himba by the time it arrived. Get the HH: It's likely a tad larger, manages recoil better, and thus you shoot it better. The tapered cartridge is one of the slickest-feeding there is, and that alone could save your life in a pinch.

I've been to Africa four times, twice to Namibia and twice to South Africa. Three of the four I had both firearms and a bow along with ammo, the fourth just a bow and a suitcase. My 375 Ruger and its ammo went on one trip to Namibia and one to South Africa. No missing firearm, bow or suitcase with ammo on any trip. And I recall another gent hunting with my outfitter on my third trip showing up at the same time as me from Canada with his prized 270 Weatherby, it too showed up along with the ammo, no hitches. So five trips with a weapon and another piece of lugguage, no issues. Were it VERY common I'd assume at least two of those would have had missing second piece of luggage. It happens, but my experience it it isn't common. As the saying goes "Your Mileage May Vary".

 

[Tommy_Fontaine]

rdog,

I have had a lefty Ruger Hawkeye African in 375 which I really like. It surprised me with consistent sub moa groups with the 270gr btsp. A couple things i think are nice also are the free set of ring mounts, barrel sling band, and the more classic traditional shape and materials used. If you're into that kind of thing.

Tommy

 

[hseII]

You make a good point. I am a left handed shooter and have not shot a right handed bolt gun in years. My PH has a 'camp' 470 double rifle and asked me if I'd like to shoot a buff with it. Being a long-time SxS shotgun guy, I said I'd love to do so.

There’s more of us lefties than the gun shops & online marketplaces seem to suggest.

I’ve a hankering for a .375 Ruger. I believe I’ll choose the Alaskan version because of the extra 3” of barrel length in the LH choice.