Porting The Barrel On A 375 H&H

[Mountaineer]

I bought an x-bolt in 375 H&H at Christmas. I hunt some in Africa, but every year in the Rockies. The lighter the rifle the more trips it will make it into the field. The recoil is tolerable. Buy the gun and try it. If it kicks too much, break it.

 

[Colorado Luckydog]

I may be wrong, but I think he was commenting on your response to @Bonk. We have no shortage of opinions, but we try hard to treat each other with respect as we offer them. There is a lot of expertise on this site. If you want it, it is offered freely.

My response to Bonk was respectful. I told him what I had to say and then thanked him. Bonk assuming and then saying that I was afraid of guns, probably wouldn't practice enough and put animals at risk of suffering from inhumane kills was ridiculous. Then he said I didn't really want a light rifle. When you hunt in the Rockies and hike in for the day or a week, every ounce counts. Guys even measure how much water and food they are bringing. Then to say that I need to save up to buy a gun because I made a joke about Honey don't know money? Come on man! But I'm done with talking about that.

If I do get a 375H&H, I'm going to check with my gunsmith about a brake or porting. I'm probably leaning towards a brake if he can do it without adding very much length to the rifle. If he can't, then I'll shoot it first and decide if porting is something I want to do. Thank you to everyone for your opinions and input.

 

[Colorado Luckydog]

I bought an x-bolt in 375 H&H at Christmas. I hunt some in Africa, but every year in the Rockies. The lighter the rifle the more trips it will make it into the field. The recoil is tolerable. Buy the gun and try it. If it kicks too much, break it.

Thank you! I'm really excited to try a 375 H&H.

 

[7MAG]

I just think for a few hundred dollars more you can get a better rifle. Winchester, ruger

 

[Colorado Luckydog]

I just think for a few hundred dollars more you can get a better rifle. Winchester, ruger

I'll check them out. What Models are you referring to? I have always like the Brownings.

 

[Woodcarver]

I can tell you have never hunted in the mountains of Colorado. Having a light rifle is very important.
And I'm lucky enough guy that at this point in my life, I can afford whatever rifle I decide to buy without saving up for it!! LOL! And I'm not scared of the recoil on any rifle. The reasons I'm considering the Browning is for the exact reasons I stated. Not the ones you are making up in your head. Thank you.

I have hunted the mountains of Colorado every year for the past 39. The rifle I used to hunt my bighorn at 13000'+ weighs 9.4#. It was my regular elk rifle for over 15 years; now it goes along as backup as I started carrying a 45-70, then a 9.3x74R, and probably a 375H&H this coming season. The light one is the 9.3 at just over 9# scoped. If that extra 1.5# is too much for you to hike with in our hills, you might want to get out and exercise a little this summer.
You asked for opinions and then seem to get a little huffy when they are offered. IMO, brakes suck. Get a rifle that fits in a suitable weight, shoulder it correctly, recoil becomes a non-issue. Good luck in your search.

 

[7MAG]

I'll check them out. What Models are you referring to? I have always like the Brownings.

Winchester Model 70 Safari Express 375 H&H
Winchester Model 70 Alaskan 375 H&H
Ruger Hawkeye African 375 Ruger
Ruger Hawkeye Alaskan 375 Ruger
Ruger Guide Gun 375 Ruger

If you don't care about having a rush feed you may consider a used Rem 700 in your price range
Also, check gun broker for used cz550's you can find them on there every once in awhile.
I know some old school guys like the original A-Bolt in 375, you may be able to find one on gun broker or guns international, I find them a bit better quality than the newer brownings.

All just my opinion

 

[Colorado Luckydog]

The Ruger is 10lbs 10 oz. Too heavy for me. But darn it is a nice looking rifle.

 

[7MAG]

I'll check them out. What Models are you referring to? I have always like the Brownings.

Personally, id rather carry a little extra rifle weight if I can. One shot with a Ported/Braked rifle, w/o ear pro will result in permanent hearing damage. IMO, if you are going to run a brake invest in a very good pair of ear pro. A quality set will not be cheap.

 

[John J]

Thank you! I'm really excited to try a 375 H&H.

A braked 375 felt to me like a 30 06. If you are in CO, High Tech Customs in the Springs put a break on a friend's rifle same day a while back. I don't believe he used a standard thread pitch so you will have a one off muzzle device. I'd say shoot her as is for a bit. I have had people shoot my average weight 375 and were ok with it and decent accuracy to boot.

 

[WAB]

My response to Bonk was respectful. I told him what I had to say and then thanked him. Bonk assuming and then saying that I was afraid of guns, probably wouldn't practice enough and put animals at risk of suffering from inhumane kills was ridiculous. Then he said I didn't really want a light rifle. When you hunt in the Rockies and hike in for the day or a week, every ounce counts. Guys even measure how much water and food they are bringing. Then to say that I need to save up to buy a gun because I made a joke about Honey don't know money? Come on man! But I'm done with talking about that.

If I do get a 375H&H, I'm going to check with my gunsmith about a brake or porting. I'm probably leaning towards a brake if he can do it without adding very much length to the rifle. If he can't, then I'll shoot it first and decide if porting is something I want to do. Thank you to everyone for your opinions and input.

Well your definition of respect and mine are somewhat different. “Not ones you are making up in your head.”? Judging by your attitude, I suspect many of us were dragging critters off the mountains when you were still in diapers. I wish you the best, but I for one will not be wasting my time trying to provide you with any advice, which you obviously don’t want.

 

[Colorado Luckydog]

Well your definition of respect and mine are somewhat different. “Not ones you are making up in your head.”? Judging by your attitude, I suspect many of us were dragging critters off the mountains when you were still in diapers. I wish you the best, but I for one will not be wasting my time trying to provide you with any advice, which you obviously don’t want.

I'm not going to argue on the forum but I will send you a pm.

 

[Tra3]

You don’t need a .375 for elk. I’m sure you already have a good elk rifle for mountain hunting, keep using that one and put your money into a properly weighted .375. Get exactly what you want the first time so you don’t have to end up buying 2-3 rifles to learn what you don’t like.

I elk hunt a fair amount in Idaho and Montana. An extra 1-2 lbs of rifle is not a big deal. Limiting weight in one’s pack and rifle *might* help with hiking, but when you shoot an elk, that extra 1-2 lbs is a very small amount compared to the amount of meat that must be carried out.

 

[7MAG]

I’m sorry I misunderstood your original post, I thought you were planning on hunting DG in Africa as well. If you don’t plan to pursue DG in Africa or Alaska, I’d opt for something like a 338 win mag or RUM. You will probably be able to find ammo easier as well as a lighter weight rifle. If you go that route save up $$ so you can get into something like a zermatt action. Then you can fully build to the weight you want. I’d look at AG Composites or PEAK-44 for a carbon stock. Proof or Bartlein are the top barrels but if you don’t want to dish out that much, carbon six or OMR will be fine. As far as scopes, zeiss conquest v4 is going to be one of your lightest options. All said and done you could be around 7.5 lbs with optics. But I don’t think I’d want to be on either side of that gun in a 338 or 375.

 

[colorado]

I do own a Rem XCR II in 375 Weatherby. It weighs 7 1/2 lbs with Talley QR rings and a Leupold 1.5-5x. A 300g A-Frame loaded to 2700 plus fps shoots flat enough for elk and is good for brown bear too. If i'm elk hunting I usually just take my 270 . Here's my XCR II, TriNyte finish, rings are CeraKoted. It aint pretty but it works.

Here's the bear i got with it

 

[7MAG]

I do own a Rem XCR II in 375 Weatherby. It weighs 7 1/2 lbs with Talley QR rings and a Leupold 1.5-5x. A 300g A-Frame loaded to 2700 plus fps shoots flat enough for elk and is good for brown bear too. If i'm elk hunting I usually just take my 270 . Here's my XCR II, TriNyte finish, rings are CeraKoted. It aint pretty but it works.

Here's the bear i got with it

What did he square?

 

[Colorado Luckydog]

That's a good looking bear!!

 

[Alaska Luke]

I cut my 375 Ruger down to 6.5 pounds if I recall. It's about 7.5 with a scope. It most definitely gets your attention. I would not do that if max power loads and 300 grain bullets was the plan. But loaded a bit below full power with 260 grain bullets its okay. Technically a light 35 Whelen, 376 Steyr, etc could have got me to the same place but I worked with what I had. I can always put a heavy laminated stock on it and add a pound or so back if I want to. For now I only hunt in Alaska so light weight is nice and I don't feel the need to load it to the max.

If I had your budget I'd make a 5 pound rifle for Colorado and a 10 pound, longer barreled 375 for Africa. Then you can forget the break or porting. Back when my Ruger was 10+ pounds a max load was pretty mellow. And an occasional shot without ear plugs probably won't deafen you (yes I know it's bad still but breaks make it really really bad)

 

[Newboomer]

Maybe I'm missing the point here, but why do you want a 375HH for NA hunting unless you're going for big bears? That's a dg rifle for Africa, not necessary for the states. For anything outside Alaska a good old 30-06 is all you need. And in spite of what you say about recoil, it sounds like you're just a little afraid of a big bore. If not, why port or brake? Big bores need a little weight to mitigate recoil--naturally, without frigging up the muzzle.

 

[Colorado Luckydog]

Maybe I'm missing the point here, but why do you want a 375HH for NA hunting unless you're going for big bears? That's a dg rifle for Africa, not necessary for the states. For anything outside Alaska a good old 30-06 is all you need. And in spite of what you say about recoil, it sounds like you're just a little afraid of a big bore. If not, why port or brake? Big bores need a little weight to mitigate recoil--naturally, without frigging up the muzzle.

You are right about one thing! I want a 375H&H. I don't need one. And why in the world would you think (besides your assumptions) That I'm afraid of a big bore? I shoot thousands of rounds of 12 gauge almost every year. If you add weight to mitigate recoil, what's the difference if I go with a light rifle and a brake?