Big 375 chamberings

[Coercionist]

I was looking, in the future, to hunt world wide and would need a rifle for long range dangerous game. Whether it be kodiak bear or a Cape buffalo. I want a rifle of .375 caliber and was looking at a few different chamberings namely: 375 mercenary, 375 snipetac, 375 cheytac, and lastly the 375 mjolnir. I am not an expert on these cartridges so if you won't mind, pass on some wisdom if you have any experience with these. From my limited knowledge the 375 cheytac is the parent of the snipetac and is just an improved version of it; The 375 mercenary and mjolnir are both wildcats from swamplord. It seems the Mercenary caters more to ultra long range shooting, it fits in a cheytac action and has a cheytac boltface I believe, the mjolnir on the other hand seems to be ment to be used in a lapua action but still has an impressive case capacity. If any of y'all have any knowledge of the differences between the velocities if these four cartridges Id love if you'd share your knowledge. Feel free to correct me on anything or offer any input.

-Coercionist

 

[Aoudad shooter1975]

If you are going to hunt "world-wide" I would not choose any of those....you most likely hunt your cape buffalo or Kodiak bear at less than 75 yards. I took every cape buffalo (3) I ever hunted at less than 50 yards. I did shoot one bull that we were following up wounded at 125 yards just to get him down--but the guy that wounded him shot him at 30 yards....If you want a worldwide gun--get a 375 HH...want something different get a 375 Weatherby--and you can shoot both 375 Weatherby and HH...I use a 375 RUM...love it--but not great on finding ammo worldwide....

 

[Coercionist]

Ive thought about a classic elephant rifle before and was left thinking between 378 and 416 weatherby

 

[Stk]

I was looking, in the future, to hunt world wide and would need a rifle for long range dangerous game. Whether it be kodiak bear or a Cape buffalo. I want a rifle of .375 caliber and was looking at a few different chamberings namely: 375 mercenary, 375 snipetac, 375 cheytac, and lastly the 375 mjolnir. I am not an expert on these cartridges so if you won't mind, pass on some wisdom if you have any experience with these. From my limited knowledge the 375 cheytac is the parent of the snipetac and is just an improved version of it; The 375 mercenary and mjolnir are both wildcats from swamplord. It seems the Mercenary caters more to ultra long range shooting, it fits in a cheytac action and has a cheytac boltface I believe, the mjolnir on the other hand seems to be ment to be used in a lapua action but still has an impressive case capacity. If any of y'all have any knowledge of the differences between the velocities if these four cartridges Id love if you'd share your knowledge. Feel free to correct me on anything or offer any input.

-Coercionist

"Long range" and "dangerous game" don't really go together. Most dangerous game isn't conducive to long range shots and most guides probably wouldn't let you take them even if it was. The potential for a wounded animal is too great and nobody wants a tracking job that can be avoided. What kind of rifle are you thinking about getting? Have you hunted in Alaska or Africa before? I've never hunted Africa and can't speak to it, but I've been to Alaska. It wasn't Kodiak but the idea of carrying the kind of rifle you'd normally find in those calibers through the alders and devil's club I was in there sounds like a special kind of hell.

 

[Coercionist]

"Long range" and "dangerous game" don't really go together. Most dangerous game isn't conducive to long range shots and most guides probably wouldn't let you take them even if it was. The potential for a wounded animal is too great and nobody wants a tracking job that can be avoided. What kind of rifle are you thinking about getting? Have you hunted in Alaska or Africa before? I've never hunted Africa and can't speak to it, but I've been to Alaska. It wasn't Kodiak but the idea of carrying the kind of rifle you'd normally find in those calibers through the alders and devil's club I was in there sounds like a special kind of hell.

I definitely see your point and for the dangerous game hunts that would need a rifle a could handle quickly im looking at a 378 weatherby in a short light weightish rifle with a muzzle break

 

[Stk]

Ive thought about a classic elephant rifle before and was left thinking between 378 and 416 weatherby

I'm just curious, and in no way do I mean this to be an insult, but what is your hunting experience? You say you're looking to do these hunts in the future or in a few years. Are you actively hunting now? What's the longest you've taken a big game animal and what's the biggest animal you've taken? How old are you and how big are you? A rifle that might work well for a 30 year old who is 6'5" and 250 lbs might not be the best choice for someone who's 16 or 60. I'm 5'8" and weigh about 160 lbs. I like heavy recoiling rifles (but NOT heavy recoiling pistols). Have you shot any medium bores before? I've had lightweight .300 Wbys, a .338 RUM and I shoot my .375 H&H and .375 Ruger without much problem. I want nothing to do with a .416 Weatherby or a lightweightish 378 Weatherby!

 

[Coercionist]

Im definitely a younger guy (18) but im 6"3. I live down south and big game hunting is something that ive always wanted to do. Im looking to travel with the military when I enlist. Im not a very sensitive person so with some practice i be able to control just about anything. I also dont like big revolvers lol but rifles are my thing.

 

[snox801]

Check out Kirby allen's site. He has the .375 allen express that is probably what you would want. The bigger ones to have massive blast as stated.

 

[Stk]

Im definitely a younger guy (18) but im 6"3. I live down south and big game hunting is something that ive always wanted to do. Im looking to travel with the military when I enlist. Im not a very sensitive person so with some practice i be able to control just about anything. I also dont like big revolvers lol but rifles are my thing.

Well as a military man myself (and currently overseas) I can tell you that traveling is certainly a possibility but it might take a few years before you'll be hunting Kodiak bears or cape buffalo! Luckily a lot of bases stateside allow you to hunt on base/post. My recommendation would be to get a good deer rifle and get after it! No need to wait until you're in the military, either. There's probably public land and hunting opportunities close to where you live now. After you've gone out and done it a few times you'll have a much better idea of what you like and what you ultimately want to do. After spending a few days stomping through the woods or up and down mountains you may realize that the 15 lb .375 cheytac or whatever is the last thing in the world you want. It's certainly fun to dream, and I don't want to dissuade you from pursuing long range shooting as a hobby, but always better to start with what's available now. The farthest I've ever shot a game animal is 500 yards and it was an antelope with a 6.5 Creedmoor. It'll take a lot of trigger time and a lot of hunting before you'll be comfortable shooting large (expensive!) game animals at extended distances. Spend your money and time getting that experience now instead of saving it for the perfect hunt later!

 

[Stk]

I will add that if you like the idea of big rifles then Mossberg, Savage and Ruger all chamber affordable rifles in .375 Ruger that will both knock your fillings out and kill anything up to and including a cape buffalo as dead as you want them. A box of ammo will cost you about 2 days of E-3 pay and you might leave a day at the range with a headache, but there you are.

 

[Coercionist]

Well as a military man myself (and currently overseas) I can tell you that traveling is certainly a possibility but it might take a few years before you'll be hunting Kodiak bears or cape buffalo! Luckily a lot of bases stateside allow you to hunt on base/post. My recommendation would be to get a good deer rifle and get after it! No need to wait until you're in the military, either. There's probably public land and hunting opportunities close to where you live now. After you've gone out and done it a few times you'll have a much better idea of what you like and what you ultimately want to do. After spending a few days stomping through the woods or up and down mountains you may realize that the 15 lb .375 cheytac or whatever is the last thing in the world you want. It's certainly fun to dream, and I don't want to dissuade you from pursuing long range shooting as a hobby, but always better to start with what's available now. The farthest I've ever shot a game animal is 500 yards and it was an antelope with a 6.5 Creedmoor. It'll take a lot of trigger time and a lot of hunting before you'll be comfortable shooting large (expensive!) game animals at extended distances. Spend your money and time getting that experience now instead of saving it for the perfect hunt later!

That is definitely true and I am looking to get more experience soon. Im looking now to go down in texas and bag me a few hogs

 

[MagnumManiac]

I have hunted several continents now.
Have a 375 Weatherby, 416 Rigby, 458 Lott, 404 Jeffrey, 500 Nitro & 505 Gibbs.
The 375 Bee and 416 Rigby are the rifles I take for DG OS, have only used the 458 Lott & 505 Gibbs out of country, the others get used annually in Australia on water buff.
The fast 375's are a game changer. Have the punch of a 416 and the trajectory of a 30-06 with 180's. Hits on game is noticeably heavier, buff will nose down at the impact and often struggle to regain their feet. For pure hitting power, this starts at the 416's and goes up, but I will say that the 416 Rigby is more emphatic than the 458 Lott on impact.
My other big bores are just emphatic killers and the 505 Gibbs is just awesome….at both ends. A 600g bullet travelling at 2350fps hits with such power that most animals are rocked and don't recover quickly.

Cheers.

 

[Coercionist]

I have hunted several continents now.
Have a 375 Weatherby, 416 Rigby, 458 Lott, 404 Jeffrey, 500 Nitro & 505 Gibbs.
The 375 Bee and 416 Rigby are the rifles I take for DG OS, have only used the 458 Lott & 505 Gibbs out of country, the others get used annually in Australia on water buff.
The fast 375's are a game changer. Have the punch of a 416 and the trajectory of a 30-06 with 180's. Hits on game is noticeably heavier, buff will nose down at the impact and often struggle to regain their feet. For pure hitting power, this starts at the 416's and goes up, but I will say that the 416 Rigby is more emphatic than the 458 Lott on impact.
My other big bores are just emphatic killers and the 505 Gibbs is just awesome….at both ends. A 600g bullet travelling at 2350fps hits with such power that most animals are rocked and don't recover quickly.

Cheers.

How does the game react to a 505 gibbs vs fast a 375 like the 378 weatherby?

 

[MagnumManiac]

The fast 375's absolutely rock buffalo quite considerably more than the H&H.
The comparison to a 500 Nitro (570g pill) or 505 Gibbs (600g pill) in comparison to a fast 375 is apples to grapefruit. The 500's just hit with far more punch. It is noticeable, but funny thing is the animals react differently with 50's and bigger. Have had them fall over sideways, nose down and plough with their face for 10-20yrds and then fall over. Have had them jump off the ground and spin around then fall over or try to run but get nowhere.
Personally, I have shot far more big animals with the 375 Weatherby than all my other rifles combined, it is more of a hunting rifle set-up than a DG rifle set up, I actually use it for deer hunting too. A 260g Accubond @ 3000fps is awesome on deer and shoots FLAT!

Cheers.