375 Ruger vs 375 H&H

[Daisy]

Equating higher MV with "higher performance" has always amused me...

So getting same muzzle velocity from 4 inch shorter barrel and shorter action not better performance? Also, you must be speaking of 1980’s bullet technology. If using A frames (a great time tested bullet), I agree faster not always better. But we are talking about same ballistics of H and H with shorter barrel. If talking about newer hammer and raptor bullets, then velocity offers a clear advantage.

With all the talk about practicing a million time, practicing on sticks, what optics to use on dangerous game here, how is having 4-5” of shorter gun not just as important in the bush? If someone goes on 4-5 safaris then it might be several more animals harvested in tight windows. And safer for dangerous game.

I love the idea of classic calibers. It’s cool. But having a shorter barrel is way more important than 4oz less optics in dangerous situation.

Not as many components, not as many factory ammo options. Absolutely. But throwing the same projectile faster is something that’s hard to overcome imo

 

[Daisy]

I just bought a Ruger Alaskan and it is sitting in the passenger seat next to me, I will get a scope mounted this week and shoot it. Brass isn’t easy to source, loaded ammo is high from what I’ve seen. It is typical of any Ruger firearm, not smooth out of the box, but I haven’t had one that didn’t wear in easily.
You have to decide what you want to do with the rifle, if you are going to be climbing in and out of pack raft in the interior of Alaska a SS rifle makes a lot of sense, shooting game in the veldt, bring the pretty girl along for the ride.
The only fault I can find in the H&H is the fact it is smaller than .40 cal.
As far as the 375 WBY goes I would find it cumbersome to drag the 55 gallon drum of K-Y Jelly around that you would need to make the ass raping a little more comfortable when buying ammo or brass. But ballistically a fine cartridge. I’m just a little sore after buying some 338-378 loaded ammo a couple weeks ago.
Good luck in your search!

I had a 375 ruger barrel made for a Blaser r8. You can get a Blaser receiver and 375 ruger barrel for around 4k. Maybe 4500. Then you get straight pull which is known to be faster than rotating bolt. That’s also about the price for most 375handh outside the model 70.

 

[Velo Dog]

Equating higher MV with "higher performance" has always amused me...

Higher velocity equates to louder muzzle blast, increased recoil, more bloodshot / ruined meat and for the handloader, shorter brass life.
In the specific example of the newer .375 Ruger cartridge, we can add that finding ammunition is difficult, if not sometimes impossible as well.

And, those things are somehow “better performance”?

Evidently I must have skipped class the day the Professor was teaching us kids that the above listed things are defined as “higher performance” and therefore “better” for our needs, than what has been working pretty close to perfectly, for well over 100 years now.

Someone once said:

“If it works, don’t fix it”.

 

[Daisy]

Higher velocity equates to louder muzzle blast, increased recoil, more bloodshot / ruined meat and for the handloader, shorter brass life.
In the specific example of the newer .375 Ruger cartridge, we can add that finding ammunition is difficult, if not sometimes impossible as well.

And, those things are somehow “better performance”?

Evidently I must have skipped class the day the Professor was teaching us kids that the above listed things are defined as “higher performance” and therefore “better” for our needs, than what has been working pretty close to perfectly, for well over 100 years now.

Someone once said:

“If it works, don’t fix it”.

By definition it’s better performance. If moving same weight bullet at faster speeds isn’t better performance for a cartridge, what would it be??

The things you mentioned are all trade offs for that better performance.

I agree on your last statement. I often wonder if you take a steamboat to Africa like was required when 375handh was invented. That certainly wasn’t broke and would get you there perfectly fine. A plane gets you there faster…..thank god for better performance!

 

[DrBob]

Ballistics are so similar it's a coin toss and both are excellent rifles.

Action length is the only real reason 375Ruger exists. They wanted to cram 375H&H performance into
a regular action. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The downside is in order to achieve similar ballistics the Ruger also gets a bit more recoil.

The H&H has 100 more years of history and legacy than the Ruger but that only matters if such things matter to the potential owner.

If you throw all that into the mix I'd choose 375H&H over 375Ruger. History and legacy matter to me, I couldn't care less about action length, the ballistics are the same, ammo availability favors the H&H and the H&H has slightly less recoil.

All about cost..... standard action versus the magnum.... re-packaging which is what we are seeing more and more of. The H&H still rules.

 

[USN]

375 Ruger

375 H&H

That Sir says it all

 

[375Fox]

In all seriousness, if you have good access to ammo, there is zero question the 375 ruger is better.

The two arguments people have brought up in thread have no relevance to you. They have said availability of ammo (you already said they have plenty in your area) and availability of gun (once you buy one, and I sourced three in a week) why would that matter at all?

It’s shorter, shoots faster with more pop. That’s all.

When your rifle arrives but your bags and ammo do not for 9 days you will be glad to have a 375 H&H and not the 375 Ruger. The 375 H&H gives a flexibility in Africa the 375 Ruger just doesn’t have. You’ll find 375 Ruger ammo in South Africa and Namibia but probably not elsewhere.

 

[93marlin]

Something tells me that this issue (debate?) will not be settled for quite sometime.
I bought my Ruger Alaskan simply because it was available in a left-handed rifle WITHOUT costing a few thousand dollars. Accuracy and power it has! All that I'll ever need.

 

[USN]

Ford vs Chevy either works, however, I own a model 70 safari express in 375 h&h that I just took the first time to zero. Out of the box with factory ammo .5 groups and smooth. Still laughing at Rosie! Well done

 

[Daisy]

When your rifle arrives but your bags and ammo do not for 9 days you will be glad to have a 375 H&H and not the 375 Ruger. The 375 H&H gives a flexibility in Africa the 375 Ruger just doesn’t have. You’ll find 375 Ruger ammo in South Africa and Namibia but probably not elsewhere.

What are chances the outfitter you go with has a 375 handh as a camp gun? Pretty high me thinks.

That said, I agree with you on all your points. 375ruger ammo is an absolute pain right now.

 

[ldmay375]

I’m looking at acquiring one of the 2 stated above, ammo is readily available where I’m at for both so that’s not an issue. I’m looking at the Ruger Hawkeye African and the Winchester Model 70 Safari Express. TIA

I will be interested to see what you choose.
I have rifles in both cartridges. Though neither in the precise rifle model that you mention.

The current M70 Safari Express classic, that I have is a 416 Remington. In my opinion, this rifle is more to my handling likes than in a 375 H&H. I have had other factory blued/walnut M70's in 375 H&H. I had the same opinion.

The blued 375 Ruger that I have is a very early production, prior to the additions of barrel band sling stud, the additional stock cross bolt, and muzzle brake. To me, a much more lively/ lighter handling rifle. I have only shot the rifle a few times. Because, shortly after its purchase I acquired a stainless 20" Alaskan. I recently put the 23" blued rifle in a Bell & Carlson synthetic stock. It added a few ounces of weight and any potential stock issues. If I recall correctly it is now 7 pounds 13 ounces.

I have other rifles in 375 H&H with shorter and longer barrels than the 23" 375 Ruger, but the Ruger feels better in my hands. The same applies to 20" stainless version.

 

[Velo Dog]

By definition it’s better performance. If moving same weight bullet at faster speeds isn’t better performance for a cartridge, what would it be??

The things you mentioned are all trade offs for that better performance.

I agree on your last statement. I often wonder if you take a steamboat to Africa like was required when 375handh was invented. That certainly wasn’t broke and would get you there perfectly fine. A plane gets you there faster…..thank god for better performance!

Steamboat = muzzle loader.

“Better performance” = exactly what ?

 

[Brian]

I have a newer Winchester Mod 70 in 375 HH, Very smooth. First rifle that I bought in years that I didn't decide to polish the trigger a bit. It now lives in Africa.
Perfect off the shelf standard rifle as fa as I am concerned.

I also have a 375 Ruger Mag, 24 inch barrel, that is a rebarreled Tikka 7MM Mag. I smoothed the action and trigger up a bit and installed a wood stock and painted the whole thing green. The choice of Tikka detachable box magazines are nice too. The Tikka action is sweet and I have never heard of a tikka or Sako push feed action jamming like most people say it does. It lives in Canada.

 

[Lee M]

That Sir says it all

The top pic represents a much older and heavier bullet.

 

[Jim Golden]

I built a .375 Weatherby on a Model 1917 Enfield action with a Douglas barrel that I chronographed a 300gr at 2889 ft/s. I also chrono'd one at 2885 ft/s. So they're close. That's about 5600 ft-lbs of energy. More than a .458 Win Mag. I think it eclipses the Holland and Holland and the Ruger...by a lot. But I can and have fired about 60 rounds of Holland and Holland out of it. I'm within 100 ft/s of a .378 Weatherby...which is pretty much an atom bomb if you can tolerate it. Between these two, I'd go with the H&H. I do own an H&H and smoked a 230lb Russian Razor Back hog with it. But, I think the Weatherby is better than either of them You really need to handload if you're going to shoot these boomers. Otherwise, factory loaded ammo is scarce and expensive. Get yourself a basic RCBS Rock Chucker kit and have fun. It's addictive and you'll find yourself making all kinds of load combinations that you cannot buy commercially. Cheers!

 

[RLL]

What are chances the outfitter you go with has a 375 handh as a camp gun? Pretty high me thinks.

That said, I agree with you on all your points. 375ruger ammo is an absolute pain right now.

My preferred outfitters have 375 ruger ammo handy should mine disappear…

 

[Velo Dog]

Regarding the hunting of hoofed game:

Those who believe that velocity boosted beyond what has already been working, pretty much perfectly, for well over 100 years now, are entitled to their opinion.

Personally, I do not understand what they base their line of reasoning on but again, they are entitled to believe whatever they choose.

If everyone was of the same opinion as myself (“use what already works extremely well”), indeed the world would be a boring place.

It might have been Mark Twain who said:

“Differences of opinion are what make for good horse races”.

 

[Safari Dave]

.375 H&H


Once you get to .375, why bother with anything other than traditional, cool, historic, cartridges?

Nothing created in the last 50 years will make them critters any more dead.

 

[uplander01]

The shooting sports industry is desperate to keep coming out with something that people feel they need to buy. Without the guys stacking firearms up like cordwood the firearms industry would have been dead 30 years in the U.S. examples,..6.5 this and that, ruger short mags, Winchester short mags, Dakota calibers, lazzaroni back in the day——what ever happened to that guy,…and on and on.

 

[Velo Dog]

The shooting sports industry is desperate to keep coming out with something that people feel they need to buy. Without the guys stacking firearms up like cordwood the firearms industry would have been dead 30 years in the U.S. examples,..6.5 this and that, ruger short mags, Winchester short mags, Dakota calibers, lazzaroni back in the day——what ever happened to that guy,…and on and on.

I’m +1 with your opinion.
People who fall like dominos for advertising gimmicks (6.5 Creedmoor, .375 Ruger, short magnums, super short magnums, ultra magnums and many more), are entitled to their joy.
However it is frustrating for those of us who don’t waste our time and money trying to discover a better shape for the wheel than round.
With that, we’re having to put up with retail stores cluttering their shelves with a lot of egg shaped wheels, square shaped wheels, triangular wheels.
And all the while, more often than not these days, no tried and true round wheels (6.5x55, 7x57, etc.,) available.

I’m getting old and watching the firearms market trends is like watching someone out on a huge open space, sprinting in erratic patterns here and there, ignoring gold nuggets, rubies and emeralds, in favor of frantically snatching up bottle caps, penny coins and scraps of aluminum foil, while being very enthused about their finds.

Getting old is not for the faint of heart.