Ah! this is good stuff! excellent discussion.
More so because I'm dead set on getting a CZ .375 H&H.
I have shot the .375 and find the recoil to be very manageable, in fact to put it simply, I like it a lot!, ironically, I have a 30.06 that i have loaded with 220gr PMP's, I have loaded it with lighter bullets, more powder, less powder, and I absolutely HATE it, I have never shot well with it at all, I'm sure as a hunting rifle it would perform very well with those 220gr PMP's, but just not in my hands. I think the recoil to rifle weight ratio is what bothers me about this 30.06, anyway, at this point I'm bloody minded beyond all repair and I mean to sell to promptly!
On the other hand, my 6.5 Laupa is, in my humble opinion a very effective and accurate rifle. I have supreme confidence in this rifle, I would wager that I could easily put down most plains game with it, key factor being shot placement, but I still would not try it on DG for any amount of money.
Without going too far off topic, I must admit, I'm talking more from a shooting perspective than from a hunting perspective., but i think the fit of the rifle to the shooter and the fit of the caliber to the quarry are equal parts of the equation. It is my opinion that a lighter caliber can be very effective up to a point, and this can be stretched quite far i think, however, if for whatever reason that shot was not so 'well placed', one could be in for a very long and frustrating walk at best, or a lost and wounded animal at worst, or in the case of dangerous game, a very short and exciting life with the promise of soiled underpants at the end.
I guess it comes down to the age old question of the right tool for the right job, can one do it with a smaller caliber, but also, should one do it with a smaller caliber?
Depending on what I was hunting, I personally would much rather shoot the heaviest caliber that i can manage confidently than shoot a lighter caliber.
In other words, I want that .375 in my life!!
