9.3x57
(.450 member)
22/08/14 11:20 PM
Re: Is the 375 H&H too much for an everything rifle?

Everything you've got from the membership so far is spot on. Daryl's point about the round as a cast bullet tosser is 100% true, too, making it cover all the bases. RIPP's point is right on the head, too.

I used mine for about 15 years for everything; varmints, deer, elk, coyotes, feral cats, whatever. Then I contracted a nerve disease that severely damaged my shooting shoulder plexis. That took some years to heal and due to that, I went the other way and jumped on board with 6.5x55's in modern {Ruger} actions.

What I found was that I saw no killing difference on deer and elk and littler critters between the .375 and the 6.5x55, 7x57 and .30-06, the rounds we were using at the time. About that time I read an article by Aagaard that said he really didn't see any difference between the .375 and other rounds like .30-06, etc for such game either. This was in line with opinions of the locals where I lived in South Africa who chuckled at my use of it over there and ribbed me about it as none of them used any such caliber, sticking with .308, .30-06, 7x57, .270 and .303 mostly {one friend had a Mannlicher-Schoenauer 9,3x62 I admit I coveted...}.

So it sort of had me rethinking the .375. Lots of powder, expensive bullets, no really definite advantage for the game and varmints I shoot. Sure, it has some advantage for certain shots, but really, those shots are rarely needed on medium game. And tho I enjoy shooting it every now and then, the expense for all-year and all the practice we do really isn't justified by any ballistic advantage in the field.

It is a superb caliber, one that deserves every bit of acclaim directed at it, but for the stuff most folks do it really is in a sense, "too much".

Today I've settled on three calibers; 9.3x62 carbine for chasing bear, 6.5x55 {and sometimes .264 Win Mag for deer/elk} and for the rest of the year, and I hunt all year, the 5.56/.223 in AR's which I've become an absolute nut for. My old .375 sits in the safe waiting to be handed over to my son whenever he needs something bigger than his meat gun, his .30-06 or his coyote gun {.270} or his all-year everything-that-needs-killin' gun {AR.223}.

The old SAKO might have to wait a long time...



Contact Us NitroExpress.com

Powered by UBB.threads™ 6.5.5


Home | Ezine | Forums | Links | Contact


Copyright 2003 to 2011 - all rights reserved