Porting The Barrel On A 375 H&H

[sestoppelman]

BREAKER BREAKER 19! I need to BREAK out some bucks so's I can BREAK my eardrums to BRAKE an un needed lightweight .375 magnum to hunt large deer with!!
Give me a BREAK or is it brake? Now I am confused... LOL....
Little late night humor.....

 

[spike.t]

Of course they don’t - you are the client. As I say, I do not know a single one who doesn’t hate them.

Beat me to it

 

[spike.t]

I have never even thought about comparing firing a 12 bore to the bigger rifle calibres...I don't consider them comparable at all...as I said never thought about it....possibly on par with a 30-06 or even smaller calibre...but honestly never thought about it as the recoil has never registered as anything noticeable...so using it as a fact in stating you have no problem with recoil,... to me is kind of irrelevant..

 

[uplander01]

Don't do it.

 

[TOBY458]

I'd say if you're going to install a brake, make it removable. Then have a muzzle weight made for when you're hunting so the POI doesn't change. (Similar to the Ruger Guide Gun system). That way you can practice with the brake installed, and hunt with the weight installed. You won't feel the recoil when hunting anyway.

 

[AZDAVE]

I grew up in colorado and have backpacked over half the fourteener's and hunted a fair bit in the 9-12000 foot level. I hate brakes, but it is your rifle. I would recommend a couple things. Get the rifle and shoot it without the brake and see how you react to the recoil, make sure the rifle fits you properly, rifle fit in the big mid bore (9.3 and 375) is where improper fit starts to rear its ugly head. Take the gentlemen up on his offer to shoot his 500 Jeffery, after you shoot a big bore like the 500 a couple times the 375 feels like a 308. The big bore resets the giro in the brain housing group to a after this everything small is easy.

The last is that off all the things you will take out for a day hunt, bino's, spotting scope, day pack with food water survival gear are all more important weight wise than your rifle weight. Do some serious working out and hiking at altitude and the 2 lbs difference in a browning vs CZ, Sako, Winchester, and ruger will feel irrelevant.

Last if you do put a brake on it don't take it to africa should you ever decide to go as it is more than your hearing that will be affected.

 

[JimP]

Ii have a removable brake on my 340 Weatherby MkV. The only time that the brake is on it is when I am shooting from the bench.

I also live in Colorado and have packed that rifle up and down more hills chasing elk than I want to count, and all that time the brake was sitting at homr

 

[Alaska Luke]

Sounds like you just want to try a 375. By all means go for it. It might be fun. In Colorado the break or Magnaporting will come down to personal preferences.

But a few thoughts. I have used a 375 Ruger a bit and I don't feel it kills smaller game like black bears and Caribou any faster then a 358 or 7mm08, at least with the bullets I use. For Colorado I hear "heavy with no real gain." I'd much prefer an ultra light 30-06 or 300 Mag. Easier to carry, better at long distance etc. You could buy a Kimber and have a super light rifle ready to go. That's what I'd do there.

If you do insist on trying a 375 then you probably won't need premium bullets. You might want something a bit softer. My Nosler Partions probably didn't open fully on Caribou.

 

[TerryBlauwkamp]

Sorry, to keep bugging you guys but I have another question. If I bought a lighter 375 H&H like the Browing X-bolt would it be okay to port it? I already own several guns with muzzle brakes and they don't bother me at all. However, I wouldn't want to put a muzzle brake on an open sight rifle. I might add the kick on a 45/70 or a 12 gauge doesn't bother me at all. But I think the 375 H&H might be be more especially in a gun that weighs less than 7 pounds. I'd appreciate your thoughts on this matter please.

The reasons for me wanting the Browning over the heavier rifles are; it's lighter to carry, I can actually find one in stock and the price fits my "hush money Honey don't know about account and budget"!!

I ported mine with a 23" barrel and was very happy with it.

 

[rookhawk]

Sorry, to keep bugging you guys but I have another question. If I bought a lighter 375 H&H like the Browing X-bolt would it be okay to port it? I already own several guns with muzzle brakes and they don't bother me at all. However, I wouldn't want to put a muzzle brake on an open sight rifle. I might add the kick on a 45/70 or a 12 gauge doesn't bother me at all. But I think the 375 H&H might be be more especially in a gun that weighs less than 7 pounds. I'd appreciate your thoughts on this matter please.

The reasons for me wanting the Browning over the heavier rifles are; it's lighter to carry, I can actually find one in stock and the price fits my "hush money Honey don't know about account and budget"!!

If you want a ported 375HH, there are many $10,000-$30,000 ported 375HHs out there to choose from, unsold, unsaleable, for $3000-$6000.

Beyond making all your crew deaf on safari, and the fact you won’t get a Christmas card from your PH, there are better ways to deal with recoil.

My 100lb eleven year old hunts dangerous game with a 375HH with zero complaints. Properly weighted gun + quality recoil pad + a wisely designed hand load with the right bullet and powder and you should have no problems at all. 26lb-28lb Of felt recoil, less than a 7mm Mag or 300 Win Mag.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Sounds like you just want to try a 375. By all means go for it. It might be fun. In Colorado the break or Magnaporting will come down to personal preferences.

But a few thoughts. I have used a 375 Ruger a bit and I don't feel it kills smaller game like black bears and Caribou any faster then a 358 or 7mm08, at least with the bullets I use. For Colorado I hear "heavy with no real gain." I'd much prefer an ultra light 30-06 or 300 Mag. Easier to carry, better at long distance etc. You could buy a Kimber and have a super light rifle ready to go. That's what I'd do there.

If you do insist on trying a 375 then you probably won't need premium bullets. You might want something a bit softer. My Nosler Partions probably didn't open fully on Caribou.

"My Nosler Partitions probably didn't open fully on Caribou". Years ago, a hunting acquaintance told me the same thing about his son shooting through a caribou at 100 yds with his .300WM using Partitions. Interesting? I still use them though.

 

[Nevada Mike]

It's all about application. A seven pound .375 is a great gun for, say, an oil geologist walking around the arctic, or any application where the bigger gun is (possibly) needed, seldom shot and carried a great deal.

I know of no animal in the Colorado mountains that requires a .375 H&H, so I am wondering why you would prefer one to say, a .338 WM, or even a 7mm RM?

Ultimately, it's YOUR rifle. You should have it exactly as you want it. Nobody here is going to carry it or shoot it. If this floats your boat, go for it!

 

[CoElkHunter]

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.

Richie at High Tech makes his own muzzle brakes from his design. My father in law has them on two of the rifles Richie built for him. I personally don't like brakes and don't own a rifle with one. However, for some shooters and certain circumstances, I believe they can be beneficial. A shooters physical limitations, sighting in a rifle from the bench, etc., would be a couple.

 

[Monsai52]

If you install that brake, just don't shoot it at the range if there's anyone else around, or you'll be make to feel very unwelcome.

Best regards,

 

[colorado]

What did he square?

Just under 9 feet

 

[revturbo9967]

To add to the brake debate. Chad Dixon of long rifles inc has designed a brake which seems to be much quieter then most. On my recent pronghorn hunt my guide joked he was going to need triple stuffed ear plugs to be near me when my rifle went off. Well to his surprise the brake more so drowned out the sound to a low pitched thud then a tooth rattling blast. He was ultra impressed and took pictures of my brake. Now this doesn’t mean much, but some are better designed then others when it comes to how loud they sound.

 

[rookhawk]

To add to the brake debate. Chad Dixon of long rifles inc has designed a brake which seems to be much quieter then most. On my recent pronghorn hunt my guide joked he was going to need triple stuffed ear plugs to be near me when my rifle went off. Well to his surprise the brake more so drowned out the sound to a low pitched thud then a tooth rattling blast. He was ultra impressed and took pictures of my brake. Now this doesn’t mean much, but some are better designed then others when it comes to how loud they sound.

If BATF knew this to be true the guy would be in prison for making unlicensed silencers. A muzzle brake can only redirect gasses and by doing so, redirect sound outward. The variable can be the direction to the side of the shooter where the sound travels, but generally the farther to the R/L, the worse the brake.

 

[revturbo9967]

If BATF knew this to be true the guy would be in prison for making unlicensed silencers. A muzzle brake can only redirect gasses and by doing so, redirect sound outward. The variable can be the direction to the side of the shooter where the sound travels, but generally the farther to the R/L, the worse the brake.

Where did I say it was quieter then a non braked rifle?

 

[colorado]

Just under 9 feet

Shot him at 13 yards, I was stalking him and we surprised each other.

 

[Forrest Halley]

I am pretty sure the A Bolt I looked at in .375 H&H had a BOSS system mounted. If so you should be fine. If it is a BOSS-CR (the unported conventional recoil design), you could probably have someone thread a muzzle break to that pitch and get an effective recoil killer and world shaker. If you were really sharp, you'd get it as a suppressor adapter and have the option to suppress the thing if you wanted to. I'd suggest doing so for covered ranges or proximity to other shooters or any sort of position where the wonder blast is liable to cover you in something (dust, foliage bits, pollen). Best of luck and welcome to the muzzle energy obsession.