thorshammer
.300 member
Reged: 27/12/08
Posts: 150
Loc: USA
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For me its 375 all the way 350's and 380 grainers from woodleigh and rhino will get the job done day in and day out have used mine for 90% of all my african hunting
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rscott
.333 member
Reged: 21/03/08
Posts: 328
Loc: wyo., USA
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Quote:
hey all to be honest i think there is no better caliber than the 375 holland and holland mag for cape buffalo and hippo it has great stopping power and is easy to handel and is very accurate and the best all around rifle any thoughts
i can think of quite a few that are better for the use you have stated, at least in my experience.
shot buffalo and elephant with both 375 and 416, there's a glaring difference in the immediate results, disregarding brain shots on elephant.
i think you're classifying the cartridge as something it's not.
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grandveneur
.400 member
Reged: 21/09/08
Posts: 1356
Loc: France / Germany
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The 375H&H is a good cartridge for hunting plain game in Africa and a allround cartridge for heavy game at medium range. For big game hunting you need a 416, and for stopping power better a 458 or a 500 !
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thorshammer
.300 member
Reged: 27/12/08
Posts: 150
Loc: USA
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Thats an opinion you dont need a 416 or better Like ive stated ive used it for elephants buffalo hippo and have never felt undergunned
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RigbyUser
.275 member
Reged: 23/11/08
Posts: 65
Loc: Victoria, Australia
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Great all rounder and as I've said previously to my mind it's a better large game (deer / antelope) round than DGR.
My guide used a 375H&H as a stopper on Buffalo, whilst I used a 500 Jeffrey. Seriously, I've shot scrub bulls with the 375H&H and saw my guide hit 2 x buffalo. Whilst the 375H&H looked good on scrubbers, the buffalo bulls to my mind outclassed it.
No contest against the big Jeffrey
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Handloader52
.224 member
Reged: 13/12/09
Posts: 40
Loc: Maryland, USA
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Great discussion, but one thing I have not heard discussed in your comparo between 375 and 416 is trajectory and how the need for more/less hold over impacts the discussion. It's important to me because I'm trying to decide whether to use my 416 Taylor loaded with 400grain TSX bullets on plains game or whether I should go to a 375 H&H. The 416 TSX is a spitzer design and SHOULD carry out very well, but have any of you seen/heard of this type of comparison being done? I don't mind taking a third gun with me but if the two guns have close to matching trajectories, do I really need to?
Keith
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DarylS
.700 member
Reged: 10/08/05
Posts: 27793
Loc: Beautiful British Columbia, Ca...
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Keith - compared to other spitzer bullet designs, the TSX usually has the lowest ballistic coefficient - this is due to the air flow eddy producing bands. Any banded bullet has reduced BC, ie: increased drag over a similar shape that is smooth.
We just got used to nice high BC's with the smooth "X" bullets, then have these nice numbers reduced to 5/8's value was a shock.
Since the 300gr. Sierra BT has been toughened up in the jacket, it is probably the best for longer range Savana shooting than a much slower moving .416 bullet. Just a guess.
You can find the respective BC's by going to Barnes site.
Over 300 yards, there is probably nothing much to choose between them. Are you thinking about longer shooting?
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Daryl
"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V
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Ben
.400 member
Reged: 22/08/08
Posts: 1917
Loc: Northern Territory, Australia
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For most of us it boils down to whatever our pride and joy happens to be is our favourite: We back our own. I swear by .416 Rigby; my mate Tony swears by .375 H&H Magnum. We both use our rifles fairly well. But most of us agree that when push comes to shove (in an awkward situation), a bigger calibre makes one feel more peaceful.
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Classic416
.300 member
Reged: 08/09/06
Posts: 109
Loc: Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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It celebrates it's 100th next year; hopefully there will be many fine rifles produced for it's birthday....I've put about 400 rounds through mine; about a third was Federal Factory rounds (superb ammo)...never shot a charging lion, which is what it's meant for in my imagination; but it's fun to shoot.
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bonanza
.400 member
Reged: 17/05/04
Posts: 2335
Loc: South Carolina
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"500 is a nice round number, either followed by "Nitro Express" or by "cubic inch displacement"."
Only thing better is 550 cid. 
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"Speak Precisely" G. Gordon Liddy.
"Life is absurd, chaotic and we must define its purpose with our actions" Abert Camus
"I''m the dude playing a dude disguised as another dude."
"Yo! Mr. White"
Edited by CptCurl (03/07/11 10:31 PM)
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BillA
.224 member
Reged: 18/04/11
Posts: 22
Loc: Victoria, Australia
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Owning a .375 H&H I am definitely a lover of the calibre, but let's be honest here & not over state it's effectiveness. Great it is but perfect it aint.
Yes, in the right hands, under the right circumstances it will take any game on earth, but it also has a damned sight less 'margin for error' if things do go pear shaped.
A slightly off centre shot on a bad tempered cape buff up close might well be disasterous with a .375 whereas a 470 NE might at least put him down long enough to pay a bit more of the insurance premium.
I have seen full grown feral pigs taken with .22lr cartridges but I certainly wouldn't be reaching for one if I were planning to go pig hunting.
Just as I wouldn't take a .375 if there was a bigger gun available that I could handle.
(note that last bit. a 470NE in the hands of someone whom can't handle it is as useless as the .22lr against a buff)
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Bill Allen 'Windkael' Epagneuls Bretons. Melbourne Australia.
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gordy
.224 member
Reged: 17/04/11
Posts: 31
Loc: Newfoundland Canada
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I have hunted moose and caribou for years and never needed more than a 30-06 or 303 British. I have been reading the posts on this site for years and enjoy it tremendously. It has got me interested in Africa and larger rifles. Here is my first medium bore, I love it. It is not as fine as some of the beautiful rifle that I frequently find on this site but I can't wait to use it this fall on moose and hopefully in 2012 or 2013 in Africa.
Model 70 Safari Express in 375 H&H
regards
Dan
Edited by CptCurl (03/07/11 10:30 PM)
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chuck375
.333 member
Reged: 13/10/07
Posts: 445
Loc: Colorado Springs CO
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That's a great looking rifle gordy!
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"There's a saying in prize fighting: Everyone's got a plan until they get hit"
Michael Douglas "The Ghost And The Darkness"
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HogPilot
.300 member
Reged: 26/05/09
Posts: 180
Loc: Texas
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Quote:
My position is this: If I were to take only one rifle to Africa, it would be a .375 H&H. Were I to take two, neither would be a .375. Were I to take three or more, one would be a .375.
A .375 is like a Swiss Army knife: It is good at some tasks and marginal at others. A Swiss Army knife is as good as any other folding pocket knife for cutting, but a screwdriver does a better job driving screws, and a can opener does a better job opening cans. It's only when you don't have access to a screwdriver or a can opener that the knife proves its value.
The main use of the .375 H&H should be for thin skinned dangerous game and the large end of the plains game spectrum (lion, leopard, eland, oryx, sable, roan, gemsbok). It is marginal for thick skinned dangerous game, unless in the hands of an exceptional shot (which I do not claim to be). The fact that in many jurisdictiions it is the minimum legal caliber for such game speaks volumes. It is unnecessarily powerful for impala, bushbuck, Grant's gazelle, gerenuk, let alone Thompson's gazelle, reedbuck, klipspringer and dik-dik, all of which succomb easilty to a .243 Winchester class rifle, or even a .222 Remington.
My two gun battery would consist of a rifle for plains game (in my case a .300 H&H) and a rifle for dangerous game (in my case a .505). A three gun battery would (and did) include the .375 H&H with the other two.
Xausa, Your post states my opinion 100% as well. Can't disagree with anything you say here except that my 2 gun battery now days is a 300 H&H and 500 NE.
Also, Ripp, I agree with you as well. I was thinking the same thing about the 375 premium bullets compared to the 416 with old technology bullets. It's a completely illogical argument. If premium bullets are available for one, they are available for both. And like you say, I've seen that decidedly more impressive impact on buffalo between the 416 and 375 as well.
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Indy
.224 member
Reged: 23/04/04
Posts: 22
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Due to a last minute .458 malfunction, I took my .375 H&H to Zimbabwe in May as my only rifle. I ended up shooting Cape Buffalo, Elephant, Hippo, and Lion with it as well as smaller game. In my opinion, if equally well hit, it kills as well as the .458 did. And it's a lot easier to shoot accurately.
It also seems to kick less than my .300 Weatherby with 180 grain bullets and, with 300 grain soft points, seems like it kills Impala and such a lot quicker. 3 shots on Impala and 3 DRTs.
I would not hesitate to take it as my only rifle on a DG hunt if I go in 2013, and probably will. I definitely don't think I'll be undergunned on elephant or buffalo.
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