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Hunting >> Hunting in Africa & hunting dangerous game
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mikeh416Rigby
.450 member


Reged: 24/02/03
Posts: 6051
Loc: The beautiful Oley Valley, PA....
.375 H & H or .375 Improved
      #28117 - 22/03/05 09:21 AM

Have any of you who own a .375 H&H ever decided to go with one of the .375 Improved versions like the Ackley or 375 Weatherby? I rechambered my H&H to the Ackley version, and even though it shoots great groups, I was disappointed in the fact that I was only able to get another 50 or 60 fps more than the H&H. What are your experiences with the improved versions, and would you do it again? I'd do it again, if only because when I tell someone I've got a .375 H&H Ackley Improved, it generally elicits a bunch of ooohs and aaahs.

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luv2safari
.400 member


Reged: 09/11/03
Posts: 1408
Loc: United States
Re: .375 H & H or .375 Improved [Re: mikeh416Rigby]
      #28136 - 22/03/05 03:33 PM

Mike,

I have smaller calibers in the Ackley and Saturn improved calibers, and they are improved! I have a Saturn 7X57 (45 degree) and an Ackley 7X57 (40 degree) and a couple of 257 Roberts in the Ackley. These gained 100 to 200 fps and they seem more accurate. I took a nice pronghorn with the 7X57 Ackley this fall at 330 yards. I tried and made a neck shot, so as to keep from ruining any prescious meat. I average getting a NV "goat" tag about every 12-14 years. At 57, I don't have many chances, and I'm not guiding "goat" hunts anymore.

I tried out improving a 30-06, but got no great improvement. My buddy years ago had a 270 Ackley. It gained about 100 fps.

It seems to boil down to a lot of trouble and expense for little return, except for the two small case 257 and 7mm.

--------------------
Hunt with Class and Classics

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475Guy
.400 member


Reged: 22/08/03
Posts: 1088
Loc: Kali, US
Re: .375 H & H or .375 Improved [Re: mikeh416Rigby]
      #28161 - 22/03/05 11:45 PM

Well, I guess I've got a somewhat improved 375. I had a hair up my patoot and got an extra RSM in 375 and had a dude run a 375 Ultra reamer through it and converted it. The rest of the conversion will be done during the year as to opening the rails and getting proper pregnant floorplate so's I can get an extra round or two. Recoil on mine is very close to a 416 Rigby, but it sure is something to shoot. It seems to be almost as accurate as the parent H&H as long as I can flinch correctly.





--------------------
Lo do they call to me,
They bid me take my place among
them in the Halls of Valhalla,
Where the brave may live forever.

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SafariHunt
.333 member


Reged: 02/01/03
Posts: 468
Loc: Pretoria RSA
Re: .375 H & H or .375 Improved [Re: mikeh416Rigby]
      #28433 - 28/03/05 06:45 AM

Personally I don't see the use of pushing a 300 gr bullet faster than 2500 fps in the 375. And if I wnat to go fast and flat with the 375 I go for impala bullets 200 gr @ 2900fps - 3000fps or barnes 210 gr @ 2800 fps. Fast enough to shoot any big critter at 300 meters comfortably.

This is just my feeling about it anymore speed and you get more recoil and more flinching anyway.

--------------------
"Sleeping under the African sky I can see nothing wrong with this world!"

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shakari
.400 member


Reged: 09/02/03
Posts: 1107
Loc: South Africa
Re: .375 H & H or .375 Improved [Re: SafariHunt]
      #28434 - 28/03/05 06:54 AM

From my personal experience the .375 H&H seems to perform a lot better if you shave some speed off rather than stoke it up.

I'm a fan of the slower heavier bullets for African calibres anyway and dependant on calibre, bullet and sometimes even rifle I reckon somewhere between 1800- 2400 is about right.

That said part of the fun is playing around with various loads so why should we ever stop doing it!

--------------------
Steve "Shakari" Robinson
Kuduland Safaris (Africa) Ltd
info@kuduland.com
www.kuduland.com



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mikeh416Rigby
.450 member


Reged: 24/02/03
Posts: 6051
Loc: The beautiful Oley Valley, PA....
Re: .375 H & H or .375 Improved [Re: SafariHunt]
      #28440 - 28/03/05 09:42 AM

I don't do my own reloading, but the friend who does it for me is, as we speak, looking to load the 270 grain Barnse XLC coated bullet for my Ackley Improved. He's looking to get @ 2800 - 2900 fps out of it. This way I'll have a load that (in theory anyway) can be used on Steenbuck and Duiker up close in the brush, Kudu and Eland at any reasonable range, and Gemsbok and Springbok out there in the Kalahari to 300 yards if needed.

Ah yes, the search for the perfect match goes on and on and on and on.

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ALAN_MCKENZIE
.400 member


Reged: 24/03/04
Posts: 1214
Loc: Western Australia
Re: .375 H & H or .375 Improved [Re: shakari]
      #28455 - 28/03/05 10:50 PM

Shakari ,I totally agree with your comments..
300grain Woodleighs are designed to shoot at around 2200fps.
I've never seen a buffalo walk away from one.
I believe it is an American obsession that speed is better.

--------------------
"Dogs always bark at their master"
Sir Seretse Khama.25th June 1949

Edited by ALAN_MCKENZIE (28/03/05 10:51 PM)

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475Guy
.400 member


Reged: 22/08/03
Posts: 1088
Loc: Kali, US
Re: .375 H & H or .375 Improved [Re: ALAN_MCKENZIE]
      #28459 - 28/03/05 11:09 PM

I believe the 375 Ultra would shine in a 350 gr or 380 gr bullet. You don't have to always go full tilt to get the best performance. Since Jon Sundra first wildcatted the 300 Ultra to the 375 Ultra, I've always wanted to have one. He decided back then that going full tilt wasn't going to make it any better; he backed it off by a 100 or 150 f/s or so.



--------------------
Lo do they call to me,
They bid me take my place among
them in the Halls of Valhalla,
Where the brave may live forever.

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Metswedi
.300 member


Reged: 20/01/05
Posts: 156
Loc: Yorks. England
Re: .375 H & H or .375 Improved [Re: mikeh416Rigby]
      #28466 - 29/03/05 01:34 AM

Mike,

I tend to go along with Safarihunt. I shot a lot of my afican game with my .375 using a speer 235grn, not a premium bullet by any stretch, at 2900fps. At approx 180 yds it penetrated my wildebeeste from a quartering shot between neck and shoulder right through to the paunch.

My Kudu was taken at 300 yds plus across a valley and the speer penetrated the flank through the lungs and bulged the skin at the far side. It ran no more than 20 yds.

I'm a great fan of the lung shot, it anchors most beasts extremely quickly in my experience. I believe shot placement is the key. I've used many high velocity rounds and now my armoury is almost exclusively moderate velocity calibres ( .303, 7 x 57mm. .375 ). I tend to prefer good, relatively heavy round nose bullets and often take the lung shot. Even in my .243 I use the 100grn round nose at a moderate 2750fps and I'm proud to say no deer that I've used it on has required a second shot. (or fox for that matter).

My colleague however who until recently looked for the last possible foot of velocity has had many failures, bullets often zipping right through or blowing up( he liked Ballistic Tips ). He lost quite a few. He now uses heavier bullets and moderate velocity and does quite a bit better.

I'm not saying this is scientific proof, just based on my own experiences, limited as they are. I'm not sure boosting velocities is the right way to go, there is nearly always a trade off. The standard .375 H & H has been doing an amazing job since 1912. Why mess with it?
Choose the right bullet, choose the right shot and leave the rest to Nimrod!!!

my six penn'orth for what it's worth!

--------------------
Perfer et obdura!

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