375 H&H No. 1
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I am a big fan of the .375 H&H. At present I have a Ruger #1 and a left-hand Sako in that caliber.
I am also a fan of big-bore Ruger #1 rifles: my battery includes, in addition to the .375, a .458 Lott, .45-70, .416 Rigby, .405 Winchester, and a .35 Whelen. Compared to some of the others the .375 is pretty mild.
I am also a fan of big-bore Ruger #1 rifles: my battery includes, in addition to the .375, a .458 Lott, .45-70, .416 Rigby, .405 Winchester, and a .35 Whelen. Compared to some of the others the .375 is pretty mild.
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Yes I've got more than one as well. A great round in the No 1 and RSM.
Paul B
Hunter
I never thought the Ruger #1 in .375 kicked all that much. At least mine doesn't. The .404 Jeffery and .416 Rigby though are ones that will get your attention very quickly. That thin little piece of red rubber on the but may look good but does absolutely nothing to mitigate recoil.
Paul B.
Paul B.
I have a few, one in 450/400 3" NE. Even with the heavy contour barrel you know when you touch one off. I usually load it down with just a 300 gr. bullet pushing 2450 FPS. I'm getting too old for these heavy hitters.
I had a Remington 700 so chambered. I loved it for our elk. From my experience, about the same trajectory as the .30-06 180 grain factory load but hits harder.
In a Ruger Number 1 I can imagine how superb it must be.
In a Ruger Number 1 I can imagine how superb it must be.
Paul B
Hunter
I can imagine. My three big boomer #1s, the .375, .404 Jeffery and .416 Rigby are pretty much now considered safe queens. Currently I'm now 86 years old and I've begun to worry about retinal damage from the harder kicking rifles. Can't shoot a light kicking rifle if I'm blind. Probably the big reason I've been experimenting with the 7x57 as much as I have. Loaded to SAAMI levels it's mild on the shoulder and loaded to its full potential it's no worse than a 7-08. That should take care of what limited hunting I do for as long as I may last.
Paul B.
The only experience I have with .375 H&H is my Dad's custom rifle on an Arisaka action. It is a great gun and has been used to take a lot of elk. It has also been pretty much retired from his rotation because of how hard it kicks. Eventually, the gun will come to me, and eventually, go to my son. No clue if I will ever do much more than target shoot with it. My 30-06 does the job for everything I hunt.
That being said, I might get a No. 1 in .375 just for fun.
That being said, I might get a No. 1 in .375 just for fun.
jkingrph
Bearcat
I have two of the #1 tropical rifles. One in .375 H&H the other .458 Win Mag. The .375 to me seems to kick harder and faster. I also have a big CZ 550 Safari American in .375H&H and it's a pussycat to shoot. It simply fits me better, heavier and the buttplate/pad is much wider.
Last night I dreamed I took a polar bear with a Ruger No. 1 chambered in .375 H&H. While taking aim at the charging bear I wondered if I should have brought one in .416 Rigby?
If I were a Bajoran, I should think The Prophets were directing me to acquire one!
This was my first gun dream. Do you guys ever have them?
If I were a Bajoran, I should think The Prophets were directing me to acquire one!
This was my first gun dream. Do you guys ever have them?
Paul B
Hunter
John I'll put it this way. Recovering from recoil to reload should you need to fire a second shot will come easier and faster from the .375 H&H than the .416 Rigby in the Ruger #1. Just ask me how I know as I have both.
Paul B.
I found a used Mauser 3000LH that was made in late 1970s-early 80s in .375 H&H mag. 3 years ago. Like most big bores it showed very little use. I gave up waiting for the limited WIn 70 made LH in 375 to show up at a fair price.
It came with a 1/2 inch recoil pad and Mag-N-Ported barrel. I fired factory 300 gr ammo and it was a lot of felt recoil. My handloads with 235 or 250 gr bullets are like firing a different rifle. Not bad at all. I also now have the correct pad that's 1.25 inch thick, made for heavy kicking rifles. It's even better to fire, but there still not a rifle you want to shoot a lot at 1 range session. limit shooting to 3 to 5 rounds per range day to avoid starting a trigger jerk.
at one range day, I decided to fire at a football size rock from 100 yds. .223 chipped it, .308 chipped it bigger, the .375 broke it. One piece about fist size flew 15 ft or so away.
It came with a 1/2 inch recoil pad and Mag-N-Ported barrel. I fired factory 300 gr ammo and it was a lot of felt recoil. My handloads with 235 or 250 gr bullets are like firing a different rifle. Not bad at all. I also now have the correct pad that's 1.25 inch thick, made for heavy kicking rifles. It's even better to fire, but there still not a rifle you want to shoot a lot at 1 range session. limit shooting to 3 to 5 rounds per range day to avoid starting a trigger jerk.
at one range day, I decided to fire at a football size rock from 100 yds. .223 chipped it, .308 chipped it bigger, the .375 broke it. One piece about fist size flew 15 ft or so away.
I had a .375 H&H in a Remington 700. Recoil was not a problem. Never fired the .416.
My first Ruger 1H was chambered in .375 H&H. I fell in love with the rifle and the cartridge.
I am left handed and a fellow left-hand shooter wanted the Ruger. He knew of someone who had a left-hand Savage 110 chambered in .22-250. We made a trade. I still have the Savage and it is a shooter.
My next .375 was a Sako left-hand Hunter. I still have that rifle too. I have since acquired another .375 H&H Ruger #1H.
Now is the story of my next Ruger #1H. I was at a gunshow and there was this fellow walking aroud with a Ruger #1H, and it had a rod in the muzzle with a sign printed with "416 Rigby." I was very interested. I wanted to pay less than he wanted. My argument was that I was the only person at the gunshow silly enough to want to shoot a .416 Rigby, so we made a deal.
All these years later, I still have the rifle. It has been fun to load for. My favorite plinking load is a 385 gr. cast-gas-check bullet loaded to 1800 fps. My stand up and take notice load is a Barnes 400 gr. X-bullet at 2600 fps. The latter had my friend Mike (a big fellow, well used to hard kicking big-bore guns) saying "s**t f**k that hurt" when he touched one off. Myself, I describe the feeling as similar to being hit in the face with a hard-thrown basketball. I backed the load off somewhat, not because it was too much for the rifle - it was just too much for me.
Now I have six big-bore #1H rifles, including a .458 Lott. One knows when the .375 goes off, but in the grander scheme, it is not earthshaking.
I am left handed and a fellow left-hand shooter wanted the Ruger. He knew of someone who had a left-hand Savage 110 chambered in .22-250. We made a trade. I still have the Savage and it is a shooter.
My next .375 was a Sako left-hand Hunter. I still have that rifle too. I have since acquired another .375 H&H Ruger #1H.
Now is the story of my next Ruger #1H. I was at a gunshow and there was this fellow walking aroud with a Ruger #1H, and it had a rod in the muzzle with a sign printed with "416 Rigby." I was very interested. I wanted to pay less than he wanted. My argument was that I was the only person at the gunshow silly enough to want to shoot a .416 Rigby, so we made a deal.
All these years later, I still have the rifle. It has been fun to load for. My favorite plinking load is a 385 gr. cast-gas-check bullet loaded to 1800 fps. My stand up and take notice load is a Barnes 400 gr. X-bullet at 2600 fps. The latter had my friend Mike (a big fellow, well used to hard kicking big-bore guns) saying "s**t f**k that hurt" when he touched one off. Myself, I describe the feeling as similar to being hit in the face with a hard-thrown basketball. I backed the load off somewhat, not because it was too much for the rifle - it was just too much for me.
Now I have six big-bore #1H rifles, including a .458 Lott. One knows when the .375 goes off, but in the grander scheme, it is not earthshaking.
Paul B
Hunter
Flyer. WhenI got my #1H in .416 Rigby I was at the range with my wife. This guy was a couple of benched down shooting a #1 so I went over and asked what cartridge? He said .416 Rigby. I asked about the kick and he said it was a bit more than he could take so was planning to sell the rifle. I assked f I could shoot it and took a shot offhand that a rock about the size of my head maybe 50 yards out. Well, the world didn't end, my should felt K and my arm didn't drop off. I bought it. When I went to shoot it, my wife looked at the cartridge and said, "You really gonna shoot that thing." I said yes and took the shot. The rock was now gravel. After much dickering I got the rifle, dies to reload more ammo bullet and 12 boxes of Federal premium factory ammo for $2,000. Ammo was 6 boxes of softs and 6 boxes of solids.
Paul B.
Paul B.
jkingrph
Bearcat
I have a #1 .375H&H and it seems to recoil fast and vicious. I ended putting a scout type scope one it as I was dodging the scope bell every time I shot it. I also have a #1 in .458 win mag and it is not as bad. I did put one of the leather slip on recoil pads on both with an extra 3/8 " cardboard space inside and that helps. I also have a CZ 550 Safari American in .375H&H. It's a big gun fits me extremely well in factory configuration, LOP is plenty for my long arms and the recoil pad is wide and thick to spread the impulse over a much larger area than the #1. With the size and weight it is much more pleasant to shoot than a Win 70 featherweight 30-06 I have.
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