Thank you for quoting me, HardBall! *blush*!
In 3 weeks I am going to Montana on a dream hunt for Elk, Bison and other game (with other really being just that vague).
Looking at my gun-closet long and hard, I tried to pick the best of the lot.
I was a little anxious, as this hunt is really important to me, and , to some extent, even to my professional reputation. I would have to shoot unknown game at unknown distance on unknown terrain in unknown country. And I would have to do so confidently and effectively.
After considering this, my eyes fell, almost automatically, on my tried and true Ruger M77MkII Magnum, .375 H&H. The anxiety dissipated immediately, as I picked up the familiar piece, shouldered it and looked through the Leupold 4x fixed.
And my anxiety diminished even more when I picked up the old, reliable, well-designed, beautiful shell - a home-grown .375 H&H, 300-gr hollowpoint spitzer (Winchester-Nosler) that I push at a conservative and traditional 2,500 f/s.
Believe me. I passed up other awesome rifles in wonderful cartridges (300s, 338s, 30-06s, 7mms, 6.5s and many more). There isn't another cartridge that, in my mind, can take care of the unforseen better than the old .375. It kills big and small game just as reliably, with plenty stopping power, little meat damage and tolerable recoil. It reaches far enough (I am not a confident enough hunter to hazard shots at over 250-300 yards anyway) but can, in a pinch, turn into an excellent dense brush rifle.
And I am putting a lot at stake in this hunt. The .375 is my choice and I am very, very confident in it. Just like it wold be anywhere else in the world.
In 3 weeks I am going to Montana on a dream hunt for Elk, Bison and other game (with other really being just that vague).
Looking at my gun-closet long and hard, I tried to pick the best of the lot.
I was a little anxious, as this hunt is really important to me, and , to some extent, even to my professional reputation. I would have to shoot unknown game at unknown distance on unknown terrain in unknown country. And I would have to do so confidently and effectively.
After considering this, my eyes fell, almost automatically, on my tried and true Ruger M77MkII Magnum, .375 H&H. The anxiety dissipated immediately, as I picked up the familiar piece, shouldered it and looked through the Leupold 4x fixed.
And my anxiety diminished even more when I picked up the old, reliable, well-designed, beautiful shell - a home-grown .375 H&H, 300-gr hollowpoint spitzer (Winchester-Nosler) that I push at a conservative and traditional 2,500 f/s.
Believe me. I passed up other awesome rifles in wonderful cartridges (300s, 338s, 30-06s, 7mms, 6.5s and many more). There isn't another cartridge that, in my mind, can take care of the unforseen better than the old .375. It kills big and small game just as reliably, with plenty stopping power, little meat damage and tolerable recoil. It reaches far enough (I am not a confident enough hunter to hazard shots at over 250-300 yards anyway) but can, in a pinch, turn into an excellent dense brush rifle.
And I am putting a lot at stake in this hunt. The .375 is my choice and I am very, very confident in it. Just like it wold be anywhere else in the world.