Into to large caliber rifles

[Dublinpiper90]

I’ve been looking into a safari rifle, Ive used the 300wsm round but looking for something larger to get a custom to for a safari trip down the road and a good caliber

 

[ChrisG]

.375 H&H/Ruger will get your feet wet. Have you ever fired anything bigger than your 300 WSM before?

 

[Bert the Turtle]

375 H and H is the gateway. Big enough to get a taste. Small enough to be generally useful.

 

[Dublinpiper90]

.375 H&H/Ruger will get your feet wet. Have you ever fired anything bigger than your 300 WSM before?

I haven’t

 

[Tra3]

+1 .375 H&H. Easier to find both the rifle and the ammo. And easier to sell of you get rid of it.

 

[ChrisG]

I haven’t

Then .375s are for you! They aren't going to be that much of a jump and are immensely useful! They shoot like a butterfly and sting like a bee! (To modify a Mohammad Ali phrase)

 

[Dublinpiper90]

I was thinking it would probably be easier to get rid of if it don’t work out however I’ve looked into the winchester model 70 or the cz 550

 

[Deepfork]

+1 .375 H&H. Easier to find both the rifle and the ammo. And easier to sell of you get rid of it.

Not really in the US from a dealer perspective. In .375 Ruger right now I can get you rifles made by Ruger, Savage or Mossberg. Nothing in stock at the big wholesalers in .375 H&H. Better availability of the Ruger offering on the ammo side too.

Cool used rifles is a different story, I get that!

 

[Tra3]

Not really in the US from a dealer perspective. In .375 Ruger right now I can get you rifles made by Ruger, Savage or Mossberg. Nothing in stock at the big wholesalers in .375 H&H. Better availability of the Ruger offering on the ammo side too.

Cool used rifles is a different story, I get that!

I wouldn’t have guessed that.
On an international level, I’d suspect the .375 H&H will be more available for ammo.

 

[Michael70]

H&H rules the roost down under as well.

Ruger ammunition is hard to find and the components (brass) even more so.

A shame really as their offerings are good and affordable. A 416 Ruger Guide Gun is on the buy list and more available than a 416 Rem Mag Model 70, which is only available on the wish list.

PS. Second-hand rifles are generally cooler...to me anyway.

 

[John1989]

Not really in the US from a dealer perspective. In .375 Ruger right now I can get you rifles made by Ruger, Savage or Mossberg. Nothing in stock at the big wholesalers in .375 H&H. Better availability of the Ruger offering on the ammo side too.

Cool used rifles is a different story, I get that!

I don’t believe for a second there’s more “offering on the ammo side”

 

[Deepfork]

I don’t believe for a second there’s more “offering on the ammo side”

I said better availability of the Ruger offering, 100% different from what you quoted me as saying. Let me explain availability.

I Just logged into largest whole sale house in the US and checked on 375 Ruger and 375 H&H ammo. The are only five loadings listed for the 375 Ruger and three of those are in stock, I could push a button and order cases for the store. As far as the 375 H&H goes there are 19 different choices and Zero (0) are available.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

As a client hunter myself, I've been enjoying the greatest success with the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum caliber ever since my first African safari to Kenya in 1974. Penetration is immense. Trajectory is extremely flat. Recoil is very very manageable. I have been successfully using it to take multiple heads of 4 members of the African Big over the years (barring rhinoceros which I have not yet had the good fortune to hunt). The only department where it falls short is for body shots on bull elephant.

It is also increbibly versatile. You can use it to hunt African plains game. You can use it to hunt the great bears, elk, moose & caribou in America & Canada. You can use it to hunt Sambar, scrub bulls, banteng & water buffalo in Australia. You can use it to hunt the antelopes of Central Asia. It's the Swiss army knife of rifle calibers. It's not over-gunned for any game on the planet and under-gunned for only 1 (and ever so slightly in that department). For a one-rifle safari to Africa, you can't pick a better choice.

I have been using .375 Holland & Holland Magnum rifles loaned to me by my white hunters throughout most of my African hunting life, but in recent years... I started using my son-in-law's Remington Model 700 Custom with an M-16 extractor fitted and a Timney trigger installed. It is serving us incredibly well. But amongst currently manufactured rifles in this caliber, the Winchester Model 70 Safari Express is very decent value for the money. On the second hand market, keep your eyes peeled for a BRNO ZKK-602 (preferably a pre 1974 variant with the little pop-up peep sight in the receiver).

Ballistically speaking, the .375 Ruger can do whatever the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum can do. In Africa, the ammunition for the Holland & Holland Magnum will be relatively easier to source than that of the Ruger.

I have hunted African dangerous game with other calibers too, over the years.

Such as .404 Jeffery

.458 Winchester Magnum

And .600 Nitro Express

But none match a .375 Holland & Holland Magnum in terms of versatility & practicality.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I just finished building a 404 Jeffery on a post-war Czech 98 Mauser. Great cartridge and a fun project. I think the 404 is fast becoming the current "darling" African gun, much like 6.5 Creedmoore is in North America. A similar comparison would be 30-06 (NA) to 375 (Africa). Finding ammo or components for 404 can be a challenge but bound to improve as its popularity continues to skyrocket.

 

[PCC600]

I wouldn’t have guessed that.
On an international level, I’d suspect the .375 H&H will be more available for ammo.

Agree 100%. 375H&H is everywhere .

 

[PCC600]

As a client hunter myself, I've been enjoying the greatest success with the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum caliber ever since my first African safari to Kenya in 1974. Penetration is immense. Trajectory is extremely flat. Recoil is very very manageable. I have been successfully using it to take multiple heads of 4 members of the African Big over the years (barring rhinoceros which I have not yet had the good fortune to hunt). The only department where it falls short is for body shots on bull elephant.

It is also increbibly versatile. You can use it to hunt African plains game. You can use it to hunt the great bears, elk, moose & caribou in America & Canada. You can use it to hunt Sambar, scrub bulls, banteng & water buffalo in Australia. You can use it to hunt the antelopes of Central Asia. It's the Swiss army knife of rifle calibers. It's not over-gunned for any game on the planet and under-gunned for only 1 (and ever so slightly in that department). For a one-rifle safari to Africa, you can't pick a better choice.

I have been using .375 Holland & Holland Magnum rifles loaned to me by my white hunters throughout most of my African hunting life, but in recent years... I started using my son-in-law's Remington Model 700 Custom with an M-16 extractor fitted and a Timney trigger installed. It is serving us incredibly well. But amongst currently manufactured rifles in this caliber, the Winchester Model 70 Safari Express is very decent value for the money. On the second hand market, keep your eyes peeled for a BRNO ZKK-602 (preferably a pre 1974 variant with the little pop-up peep sight in the receiver).

Ballistically speaking, the .375 Ruger can do whatever the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum can do. In Africa, the ammunition for the Holland & Holland Magnum will be relatively easier to source than that of the Ruger.

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I have hunted African dangerous game with other calibers too, over the years.

Such as .404 Jeffery
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.458 Winchester Magnum
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And .600 Nitro Express
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But none match a .375 Holland & Holland Magnum in terms of versatility & practicality.

Yes the BRNO ZKK 602 rifles with the flip up peep sights are lovely rifles . My go to rifle is a CZ 550 Safari Classic in 375H&H . Has a Leopold 1.5 -6 magnification scope . . Have never used anything more than 1.5x.
A great all round combo of cartridge , rifle and scope .

 

[Philip Glass]

I’ve been looking into a safari rifle, Ive used the 300wsm round but looking for something larger to get a custom to for a safari trip down the road and a good caliber

I don’t recommend a custom rifle for various reasons. Believe it or not I’ve seen more problems than I care to mention on safari. Seriously look into a Blaser R8. Then you can switch calibers easily. Of course starting with .375. I know it is very different to the person who has not shot one but it is the best platform. We just had this long discussion on DG scopes and I was hearing many complain of trouble mounting scopes due to the bolt being in the way on various models. This won’t happen with an R8!
Your custom rifle will cost as much or more than an R8. Keep that in mind.

 

[Aussie_Hunter]

I recommend the 9.3X62, perfectly capable of taking game up to and including buffalo and the legal calibre limit in alot of African countries for buffalo. Less recoil than the 375 H&H and mostly chambered in smaller, lighter and handier rifles. I fell in love with the 9.3X62 over the last 18 months, used it on big dangerous game and couldn't be happier with how it performed.

 

[BeeMaa]

Don’t get too carried away with the 375H&H vs 375RUGER. In Africa the Ruger is catching up with the H&H in availability…but it still favors the H&H by a good bit.

Have a budget of around $5-8K to include a scope, mounts along with some PPU practice ammo and get something to enjoy.

My recommendation would be a Blaser R8 but they would blow your budget. A Kimber, CZ550, Winchester M70 or Ruger will serve you well for entry level working rifles that will last a lifetime.

Lastly, don’t buy into the big CRF vs PF argument. Just make sure YOUR rifle is reliable and if you have questions or problems, have it sorted by a professional gunsmith.

 

[PARA45]

I second what @BeeMaa said.