How Bad is the Recoil?

[dross]

How bad is the recoil on some of the dangerous game and African rifles?

For instance, the 375 H&H. I've read the tables and their recoil energy comparisons, but the biggest recoiling weapon I've used is a 12 guage shotgun.

I'm thinking of going minimalist on my rifles, instead of having many, going with very high quality in just a few. At the top end, the 375 H&H seems perfect, but in my scheme it would also be my rifle on elk-only hunts, for which it is overkill to be sure. Yet it would also serve as the back up gun for a planned hunt in Alaska for a friend who plans to take a brown bear with a bow.

Anyway, I'd be interested in the feedback from someone who has fired these big rifles.

 

[sloughfoot]

I have fired the 375 H&H. In the heavy, long action rifles built around this cartridge, recoil was about the same as a 12 gauge slug out of a 870. It was a very pretty, custom built rifle too....

As you indicated, it wouldn't be ideal as a Elk gun. I wouldn't want to lug a heavy rifle like that around looking for Elk. But that heavy thumpin cartridge would put one down. But better than a 30.06 or 7mm mag? I don't think so.

Also, IMO, the 12 gauge slug shotgun is ideal as a backup gun on Alaskan bear. I know the guides use this on hunts in Alaska. I have been there, twice.

The 375 is a great old cartridge, but I think there are better short action choices available today.

 

[Yeah]

Growing up the only hunting rifle my family had was a 375 H&H, and we killed almost everything in Africa with it. Recoil really isn't bad at all as long as the rifle fits you well. I have an Encore 12 gauge and a 3" Lightfield slug out of it hurts me more.

Of what I have now, for Going Back to Africa purposes, 416 Rigby is a retina detacher, 416 Weatherby Mag even more so. Had a 460 Weatherby Mag for a bit and it was worse than all the above and maybe the worst I've ever fired. These are all rifles I'd sandbag to the bench for sighting in.

Have fired a few of the Nitro rounds and while they are loud and belch fireballs, I can't say the recoil feels worse than the above 416s. It does help that most of the big African rifles are fairly heavy.

With the way bullet construction has improved in the last few years almost everyone would be better served by a lighter recoiling chambering. I've have and would again kill most anything in North America with a 7WSM apart from big costal bears, and I use a 338 RUM for those. That will probably be what I take on the next Africa trip as well.

 

[451_Detonics]

I have owned several rifles in 375 H&H and consider it to be the minimum for dangerous game including browns or grizzly. I used to shoot the 375 in competition and did very well with it several years in a row at the Hemingway.

The 375 H&H is a very well designed cartridge with felt recoil less than a 300 Winchester Magnum in my opinion. Case design has a lot to do with this. The 375 has a very long tapered shoulder versus the sharp short shoulder of the 300. This results in the 375 having more of a long push than a sharp kick.

As far as overkill on elk, I have yet to see one over dead. Most guides would prefer you use more gun rather than less. The 375 will allow you to take that long quartering shot and reach the vital with enough energy to do the job...something smaller cartridges won't do.

When it comes to weight, I don't think the slightly over 1 pound penalty of the 375 over a 300 is that big a deal. Better to carry that extra 1 pound a few miles to make your shot than shooting an elk with too small a caliber and having to trail it for ten miles.

I still have a rifle in .375 today but it is a wildcat chambered in a Browning BAR, the 375/338 which duplicates the H&H ballistics nicely. For bear I would use my 450 Alaskan however.

 

[Disposable Heart]

I have my grandfather's .460 Weatherby and I have fired the .375 H&H. They aren't as violent as folks think. There really isn't much of a boom and TONS of recoil with .460 Weatherby, as Yeah stated, its more of a retina detacher. VERY sharp, ear splitting bang (even with hearing protection) that rattles the teeth and a very directed flash forward rather than a huge fireball. The recoil is pretty stout, but it's not going to knock someone over (as I have hunted wild boar with it before, it won't knock you back into the tree you are using for support).

.375 would probably be easier to handload (shoulder). That Weatherby venturi shoulder is a pain to form...

 

[Yeah]

When it comes to weight, I don't think the slightly over 1 pound penalty of the 375 over a 300 is that big a deal. Better to carry that extra 1 pound a few miles to make your shot than shooting an elk with too small a caliber and having to trail it for ten miles.

If you don't think more than a pound is a big deal you must not hike far, especially considering the absence of an upside. For this years Blacktail hunt we walked in (and up) from the beach for 2 days to get to the spot. By the end I wanted to take my bootlaces out.

Elk are surprisingly easy to kill. They have big vitals that aren't hard to get at. The hunters corollary to "You can't miss fast enough to win" is "You can't carry enough rifle to miss" and what most hunters need is more practice, not more rifle.

Somewhere in the AK reg book I have in a pack is a picture of a 10 year old boy with a fine moose he whacked with a 7-08 and I like his style.

 

[rimfire_crazed]

My shooting buddy has a Savage 116SE in .375 in wood furniture with a muzzle brake. With the brake open it's like shooting a stout .30-06. With the brake closed it is quite the push. It's one of my favorite rifles to shoot. My firearms purchases this year are going to be focused around the encore system and I will be buying a .375 H&H barrel. It should be a lot of fun in a 7.5 lb rifle.

.375 H&H is the largest rifle I would shoot with optics. Everything else is in express iron sights territory for me.

I'm a huge fan of the cartridge's versatility. You can load for whitetail and plinking with the 200-225 soft points, all the way up to elephant with 300gr solids.

With proper quick release optics and a few selected loads, the .375 H&H is quite possibly one of the most versatile rifles on the planet. It also does well with a wide variety of powders.

Someplace I have a cellphone quality video of shooting the .375. It's the one rifle that consistently makes me smile and giggle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjQ2OzxPnTo

 

[yotewacker]

My father always said. If you use a gun big enough to go through an elephant. Then when you shoot, the one who stands back up first(you or the elephant) wins!

 

[Yeah]

Don't know about an elephant but a guy would have a hard time keeping an 85TSX inside an elk, for sure.

 

[OneBadV8]

I would think a nice muzzle brake would fix the recoil problem. I've fired 50's and with the muzzle brake, they don't kick like you'd think. Makes it feel more like a 308.

 

[dbd870]

I suppose it depends on how much experience one has with the heavier rounds but I find the 375H&H not bad at all to shoot. It would come down to that one or my 35Whelen were I to make an elk hunting trip. I've read enough posts by elk hunters that I think I want something that is going to give me a short trailing job; the less packing out the better. The heaviest I own is a 416 Rigby. It has considerably more push than the 375 but it is not sharp. I've fired 12 -14 round from the bench and not thought it terrible. It wears a 2.5X Ultralight Leupold; that is about as much scope as I'd care to put on one. It has about 5" of eye relief which is something to consider when putting glass on a rifle like that as well.

 

[Yeah]

I want something that is going to give me a short trailing job

Shooting a lot does exactly that.

 

[sloughfoot]

Lots of good advice here about the 375 and other magnums. I don't doubt any of you.

I still believe that for a backup gun for a bowhunter on a bear hunt in Alaska, the 12 gauge with slugs is the ticket for that close in bear. Nice to have in camp too....

As for Elk, the 308 will drop them in their tracks. It is all about shot placement...I truly do know this. I like light rifles too, especially when there are no ammo bearers about.