375 Ruger

[BoarHog375]

Who has experience or owns one of these rifles, whether it be the African or the Alaskan. Looking for pros and cons. TIA!

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Rugers are solid rifles. I've had a 375 Ruger for 10 years. It's an Alaskan model, laminated stock with a 23 inch barrel. They only made a few with 23 inch, as most Alaskans are 20 inch. Hornady developed the cartridge to get 375 H&H performance out of a rifle with a 20 inch barrel. They succeeded, as the two cartridges have essentially the same performance. The Rugers tend to be a little on the light side, compared to the H&H rifles, so felt recoil is very noticeable. The Ruger will give you a lower cost entry into big boy caliber rifles. Buy a bunch of factory ammo and reload is the way to go. You might want to buy a Lead Sled too.

Links to a good article

375 H&H Vs 375 Ruger Part I of II Godzilla Vs Mothera…With Handload Data – Real Guns

realguns.com

375 H&H Vs 375 Ruger Part II of II Good Grief! Anyone Have an Aspirin ? – Real Guns

www.realguns.com

 

[Rem280]

I own one and love it. Smashed a 49 inch cape Buffalo last year with it. Only down side is limited ammo options. My gun shots Buffalo Bore 270 grain TSX amazing. Just save all your brass.

 

[Mnovak]

Love mine, I have the Alaskan model. Ammo is a little limited, Swift has factory ammo with the 300gr A frames. Hornady offers the most factory ammo in 270gr and 300gr options. There’s a few other small batch run offerings and it’s hit and miss to get your hands on. If you reload that’s definitely a plus. Save your brass, other components are fairly common. I’ve had great success with H4350 and R15 powders. Gun handles nice, shoots great and it’s my go to if I ever hunt anything requiring a big bore, but that’s not very often unfortunately.

 

[Ndczerwinski]

I have a Gunwerks Skuhl chambered in 375 Ruger and love it. I reload 270 gr Barnes TSX at 2800 fps and it duplicates the factory 300 gr ammo energy with much better accuracy and much lower recoil.

I’m able to hit steel plates with it no problem out to 500 yds. I used it on a safari and took animals with this loads from 50 yds to 200 yds off of sticks. All animals were absolutely devastated by this load.

Animals taken:
-Cape Buffalo
-Sable
-Kudu
-Zebra
-Water buck
-Gemsbuck
-White Blesbuck

 

[Ryan]

I own a African model, picked it up very lightly used in 2011. I used it for giraffe in '13, then buffalo and four plains game in '21. I did upgrade the stock with a laminate from Accurate Innovations early on. Great rifle in my opinion.
Positives. Left handed (I am), reasonably priced, well made. Reliable -cycles well for me. Accurate.

Negatives. The stock was a bit light by most peoples standards for a 375. As I mentioned, I upgraded. The Ammo and brass availability has been up and down. In the early years, ammo was spotty but brass was everywhere, so I got into handloading. Now, it's impossible to find brass but Hornady ammo is available. Very little if any other manufacturers are making ammo. Compare to a 375 H&H which has plenty of choices. Ruger safety is very safe, but not the best for a DG rifle. A tang safety is a better choice there. Practice with it a lot. I know of one PH who had an issue with his Ruger safety when a buff charged and ended up in the hospital. He has since removed it.

 

[John Wasmuth]

I’ve got an “08”model Hawkeye. Got no complaints about it.

 

[ryno111]

Love mine. It is the Alaska model with rubberized stock. Used it on bears most recently in Canada. Paired it with a 1-8 scope.

 

[WI-2021]

I currently own about 2.75 rifles in .375 Ruger. I'm a lefty, so it was the easy way into a .375 for me, and I may have gone a bit overboard. I have a 20" Alaskan with laminate stock and a 23" African with walnut. Both bought cheap when CDNN was clearing out the original (non muzzle brake) versions. I like them, but they're toys for me, not serious hunting rifles, since I don't currently hunt anything requiring a .375.

They're well built for their price point and accurate. The sights are nice and I like the 3 position safety, though it is a bit small. They handle like a typical deer rifle, but the sporter stocks have had some cracking issues. Mine have not cracked, but I had both glass bedded to help prevent this. Factory recoil pads are not good. Both mine were replaced with Pachmayrs, which helped tremendously. The African in particular was a little sporty in the recoil department due to being fairly light and the factory pad being a hockey puck.

The other .75 of a rifle is a custom build that's just waiting for a barrel. Once that's finished and working, I'll either sell the African or finally turn it into a .458WM, which was my original intention when I bought it. I stuck with the Ruger cartridge for the custom simply because I already have a stockpile of ammo.

As others have mentioned, ammo options are somewhat limited, but it is available. .375 H&H would definitely be a better choice when it comes to ammo and brass options.

 

[Daisy]

I started with an African and two Alaskan models. Really liked them but switched to a barrel for my Blaser r8. Now have 375 Ruger and 416 Ruger barrels. I really like it and I enjoy having them at 20”. I do shoot suppressed.

 

[Bandera]

I have a left handed African, actually my second one.
The first was an early model without the comp on it. It was down right unpleasant to shoot factory ammo. 6 shots off the sticks and I had a headache.
The sling point on the stock was a bad idea Ruger had.
This kinda gun needs the barrel band sling point.

My current is a new model with the comp on it. Very pleasant to shoot compared to the first one.
Accuracy with the 300 grain loads is great.
Accuracy with my 270 grain loads is fantastic.

I also put a 1” red recoil pad on it. That also calmed it down.

I have a party of 7 (myself included) going to Africa with me in June.
Three of the party wanted a do all rifle. Hunt anything anywhere.
I suggested the 375 Ruger. 2 of the guys went the Guide gun.
The other with the African.

One is carrying a 30-06
One is renting.
Four are carrying a 375 Ruger.
One a 375 H&H.

So I read that at least on person experienced a failure to extract working the bolt fast & hard.
I put that to the test. I could not duplicate it.
First shot 50 yards 4” target on sticks.
Second shot 25 yard target off sticks full size silhouette target 8” spot on it.
Goal under two seconds.
So maybe the guy short stroked it. Maybe he broke or chipped his extractor. Who knows. There is always the Murphy factor.

Is it a Rigby? No.
Is it a functional rifle that looks good and shoots great? Yes
Ammo is not hard to find.
Reloading?
Brass is hard to find, 375 H&H is not so hard to find.
Projectiles are easy to find.
Powder is easy to find.
Magnum primers a bit more difficult.
Dies are easy to get.

Ruger’s customer service is first rate.

Now if you have to have a CRF rifle, Savage is now making rifles in 375 Ruger.

 

[Taylorz1]

I have a ruger alaskan with the hogue stock and love it. I may even like it better than my model 70 safari express in 375 hh and I love that gun. That little stainless ruger works for dangerous stuff in Africa, and elk hunting in the US, or bear hunting...or deer hunting or just a bad weather gun for anything...or a good weather gun for everything. Its very versatile. I much prefer the hogue stock to the laminated wood one. The worst thing about the 375 ruger is hornaday. They never make runs of brass for it and you are basically stuck with their soft or solid loads as nobody else is producing it to my knowledge. You can make brass out of the prc cases in a pinch but that doesnt help you of you need to travel to places that check headstamps.

 

[WI-2021]

I have a ruger alaskan with the hogue stock and love it. I may even like it better than my model 70 safari express in 375 hh and I love that gun. That little stainless ruger works for dangerous stuff in Africa, and elk hunting in the US, or bear hunting...or deer hunting or just a bad weather gun for anything...or a good weather gun for everything. Its very versatile. I much prefer the hogue stock to the laminated wood one. The worst thing about the 375 ruger is hornaday. They never make runs of brass for it and you are basically stuck with their soft or solid loads as nobody else is producing it to my knowledge. You can make brass out of the prc cases in a pinch but that doesnt help you of you need to travel to places that check headstamps.

Buffalo Bore also makes loads for it. I haven't tried them, but they're available. I suspect they use Hornady brass.

 

[WI-2021]

Regarding the failure to extract comment; I haven't heard of that and, short of the claw extractor breaking I'm not sure how it would happen. I have had an issue with failure to eject on a .308 Ruger Scout rifle, but not my .375's. The ejectors in these rifles are spring loaded and pop up as the bolt nears the end of its travel. In the case of my .308, the ejector didn't pop up fast enough when the bolt was run fast and the case head was past it by the time it was in position. Some polishing of the ejector and a stiffer ejector spring mostly solved the issue. Test for it by running the bolt as fast as you can starting with an empty case chambered. Do this repeatedly, both with an empty magazine and a full magazine. If the case is extracted but remains in the rifle, that's your problem.

 

[WI-2021]

Regarding the sling swivel on the forearm; if your rifle has one, replace it with the lowest profile screw you can find. Bandera is right, that was a really bad idea on Ruger's part, especially since they have a barrel band. My Alaskan came with a front swivel stud, but the African had a low profile screw in its place out of the box. I swapped the Alaskan to a screw. While I never bashed my hand with the stud on the .375, I did it once with my .300. It doesn't feel good.

If you happen to shoot suppressed, be aware that the current iterations of these rifles are threaded 5/8"-18, not the standard 5/8"-24; another poor decision on Ruger's part. To suppress it, you'll either need a thread adapter, or a custom hub adapter (and obviously a hub compatible .375+ can). Mine were the older, unthreaded version, so I had the Alaskan threaded 5/8"-24. Not an inexpensive undertaking due to the barrel band front sight needing to be removed and replaced. I use a .458 Rex Silentium MG7 on mine. It's small, so not very quiet, but it helps and it isn't huge. It's also very affordable by silencer standards.

 

[USMA84DAB]

Thanks to all of you for your input/sharing on this thread. This is a quite enjoyable read for .375 Ruger fan boys such as myself.

I like the Ruger Alaskan so much that I bought a spare/have a brace of them. One is stainless with no brake, the second is an earlier production in the black coating and no brake.

(After the South African Police (SAP) tried to steal my Alaskan, I got kinda anal about it. The PH said "people in the van, weapons and trophies in the bakkie". He then rolled the bakkie on the highway and the police gleefully tried to intimidate me into fleeing the country to avoid arrest for breaking their gun law requiring me to have the rifle in my possession at all times. They claimed it would take 6 months to test fire the rifle to prove it was a functional firearm prior to my court hearing. Now, when you go to SA and are never separated from your rifle, you can whisper "Thanks, USMA84DAB, for being the poster child on this issue." Since Somerby did a phenomenal job of standing behind me - Drom & Sune got the PHASA chief counsel to defend me up to the SAP general, put me up at zero additional cost while this played out - just perfect moral/ethical behavior - everyone running safaris in South Africa has learned the lesson, I am told.)

One Alaskan is currently sporting a VX5HD 3-15x44 with firedot and CDS dial. The darker copy has a VX6HD 1-6x24 firedot with CDS dial. Having fired a Guide gun version with laminate stock, I much prefer the Hogue overmold stocks. They flex during firing, absorbing some of the recoil, and I really like being able to hold onto the rubber coating. The PH christened the stainless version "Stubby" due to the 20" barrel vs. the standard H&H length barrels going 24"-26". My experience with the platform in Africa and deer hunting here in the States is that the shorter barrel and action make it a Goldilocks rifle for me. Truth be told, I am actually thinking of getting a third Alaskan just because I love it that much. I used to be like Toby on here - ALWAYS buying and selling rifles like Imelda Marcos buying shoes. The Alaskan has pretty much put an end to that.

I am more than livid with Hornady for their failure to support the reloading of this cartridge. They claim to have not been able to catch up with demand after the scamdemic. Around Thanksgiving the first run of .375 Ruger brass since covid, hit the stores and for about 1 week it was available. I bought 150 cases, and have another 100 inbound. I know one can pretty much always find 300gr ammo for $80 a box of 20, but I find the 270 grain TSX and SP-RP to be wholly adequate for my needs.

 

[USMA84DAB]

Buffalo Bore does indeed make ammo for the .375 Ruger as well. I took a box with me in 2021 - it was about $125 then, if I am remembering correctly.

 

[Papa72]

+1 on the African’s factory stock being too thin. I am a tall guy with long fingers and need more wood in the wrist area and I suspect most folks would agree. I purchased mine online without having handled an African so here we are.

 

[ldmay375]

Who has experience or owns one of these rifles, whether it be the African or the Alaskan. Looking for pros and cons. TIA!

I am a fan of the cartridge and the rifles. I am particularly fond of the 20" stainless. I am not a big fan of the Hogue stock. It is serviceable, does provide a good grip when wet, but the forend is fatter than I care for. I have replaced those with McMillan, Bell & Carlson, and H-S Precision (with Decelerator pad) stocks. Triggers can be slicked up or replaced with aftermarket ones, or left as is. The 20" are favorite carrying rifles. I have have very good accuracy with hand loaded Barnes 270 grain TSX and LRX at ~2720 fps from the 20".

My rifles are pre-muzzle brake, and one or two pre sling stud barrel band. I had one stainless re-barrel'd to a 23.5". Though have hardly used it, since the 20" work well for me.

I jumped on the 375 Ruger bandwagon early in its production. Mostly motivated by 375 H&H performance in a platform very close to a favorite 338 Winchester in a Ruger rifle. I have not been disappointed. The 20" stainless 375 Ruger and 416 Ruger are my most used moose hunting rifles.

I have no shortage of 375 H&H rifles. But, the Ruger version quickly became my preferred .375.

 

[30.06king]

I have owned, and more recently started using, a 375 Ruger in Left Hand for a couple of years. I really like the Ruger M77 CRF actions and the Ruger company is one of those saintly manufacturere that makes good rifles for lefties. Manufactured in 2013 it has the excellent trigger used at that time, and maybe still today.
I bought it "used" at reasonable cost. The owner had fired exactly three shots before deciding to sell and I acquired his unwanted ammo into the deal. It was, I believe, an Alaskan model , 20 inch barrel , laminated stock. But I wanted a 23 inch barrel and synthetic stock. Off it went to a gunsmith for a Shilen barrel and Pendleton synthetic stock with glass and pillar bedding for the action.
I handload ammo and wanted this rifle to shoot Barnes TSX 270 gn and almost all of my range work has been with this bullet. Initially I mounted a Swarovski Z6 1.7-10 Illuminated scope. The ocular portion of this scope is long and it whacked me in the forehead enough times to convince me change was needed. I swapped the scope for a Leupold Patrol 6HD Illuminated with shorter eyebox and longer eye relief which solved the issue.
The range shooting revealed a "flyers" problem. The first two shots were always at POA and the third shot "flew". Even different powder chages and different bullets produced the same behaviour. I decided to exchange barrels and had a new one made, same length and contour, but could only obtain a 1:10 twist instead of the original 1:12. Renewed range work with load development shows much better shot placement consistency with Barnes TSX 270 gn with a sweet spot MV around 2680 - 2700 fps. I know higher MV is doable but where it's at is fine for me. As configured now the overall rifle weight is 4.041 kg ( 8.91 lbs ), so not overly heavy but not crazy light. There is no suppressor or brake on the barrel.
With shooting what I notice, compared to the 375 H&H, is the recoil property is much "snappier" by comparison. I believe this is related to case design and also, possibly, enhanced by the 1:10 barrel twist. Maybe the recoil pad is implicit also ? I don't regard myself as recoil sensitive but I find a session of shots with this rifle causes me to develop headaches. So, I limit myself to sessions of about 20 shots on the range to avoid this. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't.
Comparatively, my favourite 375 H&H rifle ( M70, LH ) at 3.867 kg ( 8.52 lbs ) is a delight to shoot and even after a 50 shots session causes no discomfort or reaction issues whatsoever. I do notice the difference in the recoil "characteristic" between the two rifles with the 375 H&H being more "gentle" even with heavier powder charges and bullets.
So, it's not that I won't hunt the 375 Ruger. In fact I definitely will due to great respect for this very capable cartridge. And on a hunt who notices recoil anyway ? But I now know I have limits with range sessions with this cartridge.
I'm not sure if this info is what the OP was looking for after my ramble, and apologies if not, but at least I feel good getting it off my chest
And, while here I should make a comment about Hornady brass. For my handloading I have a stockpile of Hornady which as other have found is about all one can find correctly headstamped. So far I've lost three cases with neck splits even with working up modest loads. My cases are sized for my chamber so losses are not headspace related. I believe it's just due to the lower quality of Hornady brass. I don't like the thinner rims on the 375 Ruger cases. Have a close look to see what I mean. For what is regarded as a DG cartridge the rims should be heavier and I'm surprised that Hornady, being in the business they are, didn't design this in to start with. OK, rant over on this point. Hornady deserves Kudos for much other stuff but I believe could do much better with overall brass quality.