Is my Man Card in Jeopardy? .375 H&H Mag is too much for me

[Seedy Character]

A friend had .375 H&H to hunt Africa. His first trip, they get to camp and PH has him shoot to check sights from the trip.

He shoots, all is good. Notices the PH has .460 Wthby in the rack. He asked if he could take a shot?

PH says, "Nope"

He is a bit put off, "I paid a lot of money to come here and you won't let me try out your rifle?"

PH laughs, "yes, sir. The rounds are $8 a piece and it is 80 miles to town. You shoot the mule kicking thing and you will never touch it again, plus have a flinch for life. When in the bush, a rhino charges, you will grab it and shoot like it is a .22LR."

 

[Varminterror]

ManCard = Believing/Acting as you would do
...across the board...

Stealing this.

I tend to avoid the chauvinism of talking about “man cards,” but I raise and coach my son and athletes with this expectation of commitment to authenticity.

I’ve never enjoyed the 375 H&H, but only because I’m a biased 416 and 458 fan which looks down my nose at the Queen of the Mid-bores. But being fair to the round, I honestly have never enjoyed any 375 H&H “bear rifle” I have fired. American concoctions of “light carrying but heavy hitting” rifles under 8lbs and stoked with full house 375 H&H are idiocy-on-a-stick. These effectively are the typical deer rifle, just up-chambered to 375H&H. Masochism in its purest form.

Alternatively, proper African rifles for 375 H&H will be weighted up around 9.5-10lbs, or heavier, with a good recoil pad, and will be relatively sublime to experience.

I know some of the Sako’s are quite light, so I’m assuming that’s the case for the rifle in question here.

What has been said about firing from standing vs. hunched at the bench is obviously all quite pertinent as well.

 

[wombat13]

But the absolute worst recoil I've ever experienced was from a 3 1/2" turkey load out of a 7 1/2 lb Remington 870 Super mag. From a shotgun that light recoil exceeded 458 WM. I don't want a turkey bad enough to put up with that much recoil.

Preach! My 3.5” 870 is by far the worst recoil I’ve experienced. It will occasionally knock my hat off and my shooting glasses are askew as I and my head recoil so quickly. It knocked me flat on my back when I took a kneeling shot inside my pop-up blind (got the bird)!

If the OP has the cash, try a different stock. I didn’t find .375H&H to be significantly worse than .338 or .300 win mag.

 

[marksman13]

About 25 years ago I had a Ruger number 1 in 375 and shot it a lot with no problem. At the time I was 5'11 1/2 and weighed 158. Now my recoil limit is 30-06 and shoot a boat load of it at the range. I have shrunk to 5'11 and gained 7 pounds over the years (now 69) and still feel I have my man card.

A No. 1 in 375 H&H is on my want list. I’m envious.

 

[Ignition Override]

OP : Is the felt recoil nearly half as much as a .458 Win. Mag ?

If so, then it Is too much for my bony clavicle and shoulders. Here is why : a Norwegian girl shoots a .458 Win Mag. But she doesn't even complain about the recoil which knocks her back about 8" !
"Katherina Vikor" has a number of gun videos from Norway.

Her voice against the river noise is hard to understand, but naturally is fluent in English.
Turn Up the Volume whenever she speaks.

At 2:32 Katherine barely mentions the recoil.
At 2:37 she suggests that she stopped shooting after a few rounds due to .458 ammo prices. "We can't afford it", at 2:41.

 

[LoonWulf]

Dels daughter is shooting the .458WM ruger American input together, hes shooting my .375.
The .458s loaded with 405gr Remington bullets over 75gr of Varget for about 2450fps.

 

[hq]

As a sidenote, shooters of slim/slender build often handle hard recoiling guns better than heavy/stocky ones. There's less body mass to resist the recoil hence the impact may just be distributed to a longer timeframe.

It sounds strange but I've witnessed this happen so many times that there just can't be a high statistical recoil indifference among people of pencil neck stature.

 

[Ignition Override]

Loon Wulf: Nice video. I really like her spirit and personality. Congrats on motivating her to do some shooting with serious rifles.

hq: I'm rather skinny and that is a clever conclusion you drew about thin people.

With my MN 44 (Mosin carbine) and Enfield #5 "Jungle" Carbines, sometimes raising an arm in a Partial "chickenwing" certainly reduces felt recoil, but it wasn't needed.

If a person --avoids-- leaning forward, and they stand or sit upright, they can tolerate more felt recoil, possibly ?
Lots of people claim that semi-auto in an HK or PTR-91 (7.62 NATO/.308) is strong. I don't get it.

This Lithuanian girl (in Green camo) doesn't look muscular, and at least qualified with a G3 (7.62 NATO) rifle, as did so many women and smaller men in Many countries' military branches.


mujergriegabj9.jpg (640×853) (bp.blogspot.com)

 

[Robert]

.375 H&H is a recoil crazy, 100 yo cartridge to kill elephant.

None of that is accurate. 375 is considered at the very low end for elephants and the recoil is less sharp and severe than many of the more modern 300 and 338 mags.

As far as only being a 100y gun, that is laughable. 375 with a 270gr bullet has the same poi as a 180gr 30-06 bullet at 300y. Adjust your zero accordingly and 375H&H is more than capable of killing shots at 500y on elk sized game. The round is capable, I am not. I'd not take that shot at my current level of skill. But I have made hits on target at 600y with my 375. Not great ones, but hits none the less.

 

[Robert]

I will say this, I've shot rifles up to 470NE. My favorite was 404 Jeffrey. My least favorite was a lightweight 30-06 in a synthetic stock. That thing hurt. I'm not a fan of 458 win mag or Lott either. But the 06 was downright terrible.

 

[Mark_Mark]

A No. 1 in 375 H&H is on my want list. I’m envious.

they were selling for $1100 new a few years ago in a #1… now, they have one for sale, used for $1500 at my LGS. I think the big bore #1 are getting more expensive.

 

[marksman13]

they were selling for $1100 new a few years ago in a #1… now, they have one for sale, used for $1500 at my LGS. I think the big bore #1 are getting more expensive.

ALL No. 1s are getting expensive. Ruger hasn’t built one since 2019.

 

[Mark_Mark]

ALL No. 1s are getting expensive. Ruger hasn’t built one since 2019.

Well there goes my dreams of more big bore #1’s

 

[GooseGestapo]

I rather fond of my Ruger M77MkII African .375Ruger.
Recoil is definitely there, bu5 no worse than a Remington 870 12ga with 1-1/4” Duck loads.
Certainly not as bad as 1-5/8oz 3”magnum.
Stock fit and weight play a large roll.

 

[Walkalong]

Growing up my recoil comfort zone stopped after .308, it was fun, .30-06 was not. I don't like "sharp" recoil, so I don't like 7 Mag etc.

I don't mind my Ruger African Mk III .458, never shot a .375 H&H. So take my man card if you want, but give me a .308 and keep your .06.

 

[Walkalong]

a lightweight 30-06 in a synthetic stock

Ouch.

 

[marksman13]

Well there goes my dreams of more big bore #1’s

Mine too…

 

[ms6852]

I lost my man card a long time ago when I owned a .450 marlin guide gun that weighed close to 6 pounds. The .450 is just a tad hotter than a 45/70. I shot 3 times and my brother shot it one time and the other two were smarter than we were and declined to shoot it. A few years later I sold it to a sheriff that is a friend of my brothers because he wanted one. I gave him the remaining 16 rounds of the box I had purchased. He and his 3 deputies went to the range to try it out and long story short there are still 8 rounds left to shoot from that box.

I'm sure you are in good company when it comes to losing your man card, for me the only thing embarrassing is still having to seat at the kiddie table at a wedding reception.

 

[silicosys4]

You don't have it set up right. The .375H&H is famous for being the "Big" bore that ISN'T too much for your average person. I have a Ruger No.1 in .375 that is a pussycat, near max 300gr loads feel like somewhere between a 30-06 and a 7mm magnum, and MUCH less than my .300 winmag. I can fire boxes through it if I can stand the hit to my wallet, even reloads.
I think the biggest factor on mine is the limbsaver recoil pad. I'd try a slip on pad and see if that does anything for you.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I lost my man card a long time ago when I owned a .450 marlin guide gun that weighed close to 6 pounds. The .450 is just a tad hotter than a 45/70. I shot 3 times and my brother shot it one time and the other two were smarter than we were and declined to shoot it. A few years later I sold it to a sheriff that is a friend of my brothers because he wanted one. I gave him the remaining 16 rounds of the box I had purchased. He and his 3 deputies went to the range to try it out and long story short there are still 8 rounds left to shoot from that box.

I'm sure you are in good company when it comes to losing your man card, for me the only thing embarrassing is still having to seat at the kiddie table at a wedding reception.

not going to lie, after 10 rounds of very hott 45/70 from my #1, I cant shoot anymore. I tried elbows up, elbow down, nothing works… just hurts

 

[Walkalong]

Tweaking the zero on the .458 off the bench was interesting.......got it very close offhand, but finalized it off the bench.

 

[Offfhand]

In post #27 of this thread (which began as a discussion of .375 Mags) I happened to mention that my wife and I are a three .375 H&H family, with a couple pics of same. Now that the topic has morphed into discussions of other heavy calibers and recoil thereof, it's fair to add that we are also a three .458 Win. Mag. family, including the trio shown in attached pics. At top is an almost vintage Ruger M-77, at center is rifle built on Pre-64 M-70 action customized by Pete Grisel with drop box bottom metal and octangular barrel with quarter rib. At bottom is my much used favorite: a converted surplus Mauser action with Douglas barrel and Pachmayer stock. I've taken heavey game, including cape buffalo with the the Ruger and Mauser shown in other pics. Yes, the .458 is a hard kicker, but you'll never notice when shooting at dangerous game, I promise you..

 

[Dr T]

I understand that the recoil of a 375 H&H or 458 WM is a lot more pleasant than the hooves of a Cape Buffalo.

 

[H&Hhunter]

The .375 H&H makes for a very good medium bore DG rifle for women and others who are recoil shy. It’s also an effective long range killer of game. I find the recoil of the .375 H&H to be completely manageable with a bit of practice and with the drama llama switch turned off.

A lot of shooters WANT the recoil to be horrible so as to have a story. The .375 H&H is simply not the African big bore power house that so many newbies want it to be. It’s an effective and versatile medium bore rifle.

If you want to shoot something that has some real world recoil I’d recommend a ,500 Jeffery or .450 Dakota/Rigby in an underweight bolt gun.

 

[redneck2]

I have had my fill of 12/g slug guns and I don't even own one.

I was helping a co-worker years ago get an 870 rigged for a hunt. He was invited to Ohio by some friends and was told he had to hunt with a slug gun.

He bought some sort of "saddle" scope mount. I put it on and mounted the scope for him.
We went and tried to dial it in. After a few rounds, the mount broke. That thing kicked something horrible!!!

For years I hunted with an 870 with 3” magnum Remington Copper Solids. I’d think 485 grains @ about 1,900 FPS puts you in DG territory. Not particularly fun. But it would shoot tennis ball sized groups at 125 yards. Killed a lot of deer

Worst kicking slug gun was an Ithaca Featherweight with regular 2 3/4” Foster slugs.

As previous noted many times the overall weight, stock design, and particularly type of recoil pad can make massive differences