An Allround Rifle? A South African View.

H

Hard Ball

New member
Recently I was traveling in Kenya going to the game preserves to see the animals in the wild. At the Masai Mara lodge i got to drinking Tusker beer with four South African proffesional hunters who were busy discussing rifles. As soon as I said something that indicaated I shoot rifles they were happy to add me to the discussion.
What was really interesting to me was when the discussion got around to allround rifles. All four of them said they used a .375 H&H Magnumm either a Ruger or a Winchester with a foir power scope. When I said I have a 375 U&U Magnumm with a four power scope they were overjoyed to find an American with common sense. They made an interesting argument for their choice, particularly if you go after dangerous game.
 
My African "knowledge" comes only from reading.

The .375 H&H has been written of as a "medium rifle". 40 or 50 years ago, it was referred to as "flat shooting".

Just some perspective,

Art
 
In Africa, the .375 H&H in a Ruger or Winchester seems a sensible choice.

The Local Situation always applies.

When in North America and dealing with four-legged game, a 30.06 would make sense.

When in the urban density of the postmodern world, a self-loading sporter in .223 with extra magazines makes the grade, especially with those two-legged varmits about.

When things go door-to-door, the pistol caliber carbine still has its uses.

Keep your powder dry and your aim true.
 
Hardball did you by chance discuss or notice what they had/used for ammo in their 375's?

What is your 375 U&U? A wildcat?

How hard is it to get ammo in Africa? Is 375 easier to get than 416 or 458? What about 470 NE?

I just wish I could afford to go do the field research myself :D
 
Glamdring, no knowledge of Kenya, but in South Africa and Botswana the .375 is much more available thn anything else. I've used some PMP ammo and it's pretty good. Not sure how their doing at producing .416/.458.

As a one rifle on Safari or an all round rifle, the .375 is it. As a DG cartridge, IMHO, it's OK for lion, anything else I want a 4 as the first number.

Giz
 
I've repeatedly read that if your off to Africa (or live there) you should have:

1. .30-06
2. .375 H&H
3. Something "big," pick your favorite, for the really dangerous game.

But just #1 and #2, or #1 and #3 will do. You have to like a continent where one rifle conversations lead to a .375 and often two rifles are desired. :)
 
Nice thing about the 375 H&H is that it is so versatile in Africa. You can load it with some medium weight SP for lion and the such. But you can also load 300 solids and go after anything. Shot placement is more critical with the 375, but IMO anyone goin gafter dangerous game had better be a good shot enough anyway. The 375 H&H is lto Africa what the 30'06 is to North America. Both are capable of doing anything in their realm.


Hueco
 
The point that your PH should have a heavy for your back up is valid. I can tell you from personal experiance that the .375 needs premium bullets to work well on heavy stuff. I've done it and I will not take a .375 for DG again.

Giz
 
funny after looking at teh FAL page i'd have thought that it would be a "popular" choice for 'alll around" work in SA.. with troubleon two borders and crime rates skyrocketing you'd think more than dangerous game bolt rifles would be in a game park's battery.

Ive heard time and time again that .375 is the way to go.. but its a little light for buffalo. the thing is you can shoot dukier to dangerous game with it at relatively low pressure compared to a modern "heavy"

solid bullets and shot placement go a long way.

PS my next rifle will likely be a CZ 550 in .375

Dr.Rob
 
Hello. Here in the US, my belief is that the .30-06 (or .308) would be fine for all but the largest bears. If I could only have two rifles, one would be a .30-06 and the other a .375 H&H. Were I strictly hunting large, dangerous game like cape buffalo, I'd go with a .416 Remington. The .375 H&H, while no powder puff, does not have stomping recoil from my BRNO and it's an accurate round, one that's easy to get to shoot. I really am a fan. Dr. Robb, I hope you like your CZ in .375 H&H. I have the older BRNO version and truly love it. 1-moa is not uncommon and it's utterly reliable. Best.
 
I just wonder about the 375 being "light" for buffalo. My personal suspicion is that the quality of the bullet and the placement of the bullet are the most important factor.

I mean Bell with the 7x57, various people with 44 and 45 revolvers, etc. Then some people seem to think the 577 or 600 are not to much? I haven't noticed any guides suggesting their client bring anything bigger than a 375/416/458 though perhaps some guides do.

Oh well, I don't plan to hunt buffalo. though I would probably prefer the 416 Rem or 470 Nitro if I did go after buff. But I wouldn't be worried if I had a 375 or even a 338 as long as I had high quality solids (Woodleigh, Trophy bonded, or Speer) in the mag.

I would much rather hunt Lions, & Tigers, & Bears! :D :D :D
 
My grandfather did an awful lot of DG hunting in Africa in the 40's and 50's, and never had anything bad to say about the .375 HH. Truth be known, he did think it was a little light and wasn't partial to bolt guns. He DID serve for a time in an artillery crew in WW1, so just about everything handheld was "a little light". He named his pet .600 Nitro the "peashooter". He never brought just one gun to Africa; his battery usually ran the gamut from .222 on up to .600. When I went to Kruger National Park in '94 the guides felt well protected with .375's, nicely mounted horizontally on top of the dashboards of their Land Rovers. I'd like to try that with my Plymouth Horizon...


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semper ubi sub ubi
 
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