375H&H MAGNUM Recoil?

[Dalgo]

Sounds great! Keep in mind that you're dealing w/a little longer action here. As for extraction, I've not heard anyone complaining of the Remington enclosed head. Either one is good. Sako's is a little heavier. HSP stocks have an excellent reputation. Pilar-bedded long action, and with a quality barrel... Seems like a great build to me, but mind your weight. Needs to have sufficient weight (around 8 - 8 1/2 lbs w/o scope). Makings of a super gun. Go for it, and please share the results.

___________________
Pierre

 

[wbygunner]

I love the 375 H&H! As most have stated, the kick will depend on the load, rifle weight, stock design, etc., but it's really not a bad round to shoot at all IMO.

I have a .375 with an Ed Brown controlled feed magnum action, McMillan Monte Carlo stock, 24" Lilja barrel, New England Custom sights, Ti K-Kote finish and custom painted stock by Bansners, holds 4 + 1, topped with a Schmidt and Bender 1.5 x 6 scope and Talley QD mounts. It shoots 1/2" groups at 100 yards with 300 grain North Fork soft points at 2600 fps. Also loves the 270 grain TSX at 2680 fps. The .375 H&H is the best all around caliber IMO to hunt the world over. Many have said if they could pick just one caliber to hunt anything, anywhere in the world, it would be the .375 H&H Magnum. That says a lot!

 

[AZShooter]

Plenty of information so far. I'll add a few thoughts. I would try to shoot someone's 375 if possible. Do you know your recoil tolerance? What other larger caliber rifles have you fired? If you have some details of past rifles you have fired you can put some data into a recoil calculator to get an idea of what you might need in the way of weight for the rifle and if the 375 is a good idea for you.

Calculator: Recoil Calculator

I have a 8 lb 375 Taylor which is a 338 win mag necked up to 375. It is capable of getting a 260 accubond up to 2775 fps. That will wake you up from the bench. I chose to load the same bullet at 2650 fps with much more tolerable (for me) recoil.

If you are going to build from scratch you might want to consider making a 375 Ruger. The shorter case will fit a Rem 700 magazine better. Another reason is this shorter case will lend itself to reducing the load better than the longer 375 case.

I don't think a muzzle brake is a good idea for the 375 H and H. It won't work as well due to the expansion ratio with such a large bore size, but it WILL add more noise. You should be able to find a load that appeals to you without using a brake anyway. You can work up the loads to hotter/faster performace over time.

While I can understand the appeal of the classic 375 H and H, I cannot see building one when there are some great options now available. We all have our opinions. Your choice.

 

[kc]

I agree ten fold..if it has the recoile of this Browning I will have many options
this rifle has many storys and even tho it needs to be re-blued its not rusty,, as for the stock"
every scratch,dent,ding and gouge has a season and memory of lands many years ago.
Dr Taft sr shot cape bufflow, Lions,wilda beast and just about every dangerous game out there.
even in Northern Yukon.
I would not change a thing we still need to do some more talking.

He told me about once being in Africa and the people around the area needed some meat
and they were in a drought that lasted so long the only place to find water was in a Game Preserve and all the animals went onto the preserve so the Rangers asked him and some other hunters to shoot some Cape Bufflow, they are MEAN AND DANGEROUS. he was making head shots at 70 yards with the wind in his face, he shot about 10 and the people came in with a big stakerack truck and knives..they pulled out the Bufflow and loaded the Meat..it was the best season he ever had.

 

[streetglideok]

I bought myself a 375H&H a while back, and its a pleasure to shoot standing up. I can run thru 20 rounds and barely feel soreness. Now from a bench, it is a bit nastier. It ranks up there with my 300RUM imo. It has a 26" barrel, a tad long if you ask me for the gun, and laminated stock. It has a nice heft to it, probably pushing 9lbs? I would say that is about the ideal weight for the gun, making it easy enough to handle, but heavy enough to not mule kick you. For most hunting situations its within the tolerable limits. At the shooting range is where it gets a little green and nasty.

 

[Crane]

I think I've built the only 375 H & H youth rifle in existence. My eleven year old daughter took over the 7-08 I put together for my son a few years ago and he needed a replacement. Since I already had a frame I got an Encore barrel cut to 20 inches, added a JP brake and a M4 adjustable stock(AR15 style) so I can shoot it also. It's fitted with a grind to fit limbsaver pad. He's 13, 100 lbs. and shoots moderately loaded 235 grain loads all day without complaint. Granted we haven't tried any 300 grainers out of it. The 235's will handle any Whitetail or hog he's likely to encounter and shoots as flat as a 30-06.

 

[SAPPER26]

As most have stated earlier, depends on many thing. If you want a moderate recoil, the CZ 550 will push you nicely. Very tolerable. I have a Sako 75 that shoots like a dream and has one of the most comfortable, best fitting stocks I have ever held. However, it smacks the daylights out of you. On the bench or standing, it has the sharpest bite I've experienced and I've shot many different magnums, even ones with steel butt plates. After shot number two, you have to really dig deep to avoid flinching(helps to wipe the tears from your eyes). With that said, I'd never get rid of it, shoots great, feels great, and it's a hoot to let friends borrow it. Just depends on how easily you can go to your happy place before you pull the trigger.

SAPPER26

 

[7mm mag sendero]

Well not sure your build but im 6'2 and 185lbs and shooting my winchester mod70 375H&H MAG is the same as shooting my 12g 3 1/2 mag loads.in fact i went to the range 2 days ago and shot about 15 rounds out of the 375 and was fine and today went back and shot the 12g about 10 with fed 3 1/2 mag load and now i hurt lol it depends on what you can take meaning recoil.the 375 is the gun that can do it all.Hell i hunt whitetail in the swamp and can tell you that not to many deer go more then 10 yards with not a lot of meat lost.Just my 2 cents

 

[kenai_king19]

Like emphasized before, weight, load, and so on. However, the one I shot was made I think,very uncertain here, in the 70's with roughly a 300 grain bullet used, it recoiled really good. 5 shots and my shoulder was black and blue for about a week. It didn't kick back it more of pushed you back but still left your shoulder black and blue. Back then there wasn't any softer recoil pads only the hard ones. Otherwise now they make them probably way better with less recoil.

 

[Dskiper]

hello again,I got my stuff together now!Rem.700stainless .375HH,Shilen#5-24"barrel,HSP stock with mercury recoil reducer,pic-rail,Burris 1.5x6x42 Euro-Bl.Diamond scope,skim bedded stock,trued action&bolt. hope to be done by Dec.1 +/-. cant wait! want to use 260gr.nosler partitions for moose,elk,&bear.

 

[CUTTER1]

Plenty of information so far. I'll add a few thoughts. I would try to shoot someone's 375 if possible. Do you know your recoil tolerance? What other larger caliber rifles have you fired? If you have some details of past rifles you have fired you can put some data into a recoil calculator to get an idea of what you might need in the way of weight for the rifle and if the 375 is a good idea for you.

Calculator: Recoil Calculator

I have a 8 lb 375 Taylor which is a 338 win mag necked up to 375. It is capable of getting a 260 accubond up to 2775 fps. That will wake you up from the bench. I chose to load the same bullet at 2650 fps with much more tolerable (for me) recoil.

If you are going to build from scratch you might want to consider making a 375 Ruger. The shorter case will fit a Rem 700 magazine better. Another reason is this shorter case will lend itself to reducing the load better than the longer 375 case.

I don't think a muzzle brake is a good idea for the 375 H and H. It won't work as well due to the expansion ratio with such a large bore size, but it WILL add more noise. You should be able to find a load that appeals to you without using a brake anyway. You can work up the loads to hotter/faster performace over time.

While I can understand the appeal of the classic 375 H and H, I cannot see building one when there are some great options now available. We all have our opinions. Your choice.

As far as your comment on the break not being a good idea, I disagree strongly! A properly constructed break can be a big help. I built a 375 Ack Imp that weighs 7#2oz with scope,nylon sling, and 3 rounds in the gun! I've taken several elk, 2 Brown Bears, 3 Caribou, and 2 Stag. Using 300gr at 2760 it is brutal without a break, with a custom Answer System break from years ago it is very noise but tolerable! A 50 BMG without a break in a 17# rifle will break bones but with a 2.5# break it's fun too shoot! Noise yes Sometimes deafening! Proper break on a 375 make them a pleasure to shoot. Why is my international travel rifle a 375 that can shoot 375H&H.......Ive had the opportunity to see what ammo is available many places I've traveled there has only been one place that 375 wasn't available! There are some great rounds I own and shoot but you don't ever see 28 Nosler, 300 RUM, 375 Ruger, 6.5PRC or even 300 Weatherby, but you can almost always find 30-06, 308, 223, 6.5x55 Swedish, 8x57, 7.62x39, 375H&H, and occasionally 7Rem Mag!
And as you said "Your Choice" my choice after having ammo lost or not show up on 3 hunts is to use a rifle I can likely get ammo for!

Stay safe, hunker down, and be healthy in scary times.

Doc

 

[fiftybmg]

Recoil depends on rifle weight.

The stock must also be considered. There needs to be as little drop in comb as possible, a straight comb is best for heavy recoil.

Shooting stance is important for big bores. The traditional sideways stance with raised elbow and relaxed shoulder is all wrong.

Everybody will tell you what their preferred weight is, what one person can shoot comfortably another can't, so work on getting the weight right for you.

The way I get to my ideal rifle weight for manageable recoil is with lead shot in small jiffy bags. I put about 1 pound of lead shot per bag, wrap each bag in duct tape, and tape it to the rifle. Alternately shoot the rifle and add a bag till you can handle the recoil. Then you remove all the bags, take them to your stock maker, and show how much heavier the stock must be. A good stockmaker can add four pounds of lead into a wooden stock. A synthetic stock is easier, it's usually hollow, so you can put the bags straight inside.