Converting a .375 H&H ... but to what?

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If the barrel is in good shape have a chamber reamer run in for .375 Weatherby. I have two of those and an original .375 H&H pre 64 Model 70 Super grade. The .375 Weatherby takes factory .375 H&H very well. The Weatherby can take 260 Accubonds to 3000 fps ! If you want to replace the barrel , then a 1-9" twist big .30 magnum makes a lot of sense. Think 240 grain VLD bullets at over 3000 fps.
 
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792mauser said:
My first thought after reading the first post.
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Riomouse911 said:
Same here. Nothing Sounds cooler than a pair of Safari rifles in those classic calibers.
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While the idea of a pair of Talkeetnas in .375 H&H and .300 H&H has a lot of appeal, I have a Kimber 8400 Montana in .300 Win Mag which is ballistically similar to the .300 H&H Mag, and probably superior. At this stage I'm leaning heavily towards .458 Lott.

The Kimber 8400 Caprivis were offered in .375 H&H, .416 Rem Mag and .458 Lott.
 
Seeing as how the 375 H&H is more than enough for the biggest animals in NA, and suitable for most in Africa, anything more is likely “because I can”. Which is a perfectly good reason. So I’d go as big as I could. I’d never thought of a 458 Lott as a “brush gun” until you said it.
 
I strongly recommend that you shoot any monster caliber you consider, before re-barreling. Recoil can be significant to say the least. I mean if you're going to really use the rifle. I had a .458 WM that gave me whiplash when used with some not-too-wimpy reloads. Fired it 100 times over a year and could not overcome the recoil. Moved to a .375 H&H without further issue.

Good Luck

Jerry
 
If I had two nice .375 H&H rifles and was thinking of possibly changing one to a new barrel and chambering, it would only be .300 H&H.
 
Jerry M said:
I strongly recommend that you shoot any monster caliber you consider, before re-barreling. Recoil can be significant to say the least. I mean if you're going to really use the rifle. I had a .458 WM that gave me whiplash when used with some not-too-wimpy reloads. Fired it 100 times over a year and could not overcome the recoil. Moved to a .375 H&H without further issue.
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I've shot a .450 Dakota and a 6lb ULA chambered in .33 G&A which was extremely unpleasant. I'm not a recoil junkie but I do like the challenge of shooting the big stuff well. I'm not afraid of the .458 Lott, but I do wonder if the synthetic stock could handle the recoil. I've gone back and forth today on what to do. I put 28 rounds through my Talkeetna over the past two days, 15 rounds today and 13 yesterday, and the more I think about it, the more I want a .458 Lott and .300 H&H.

At this point I'm still waiting for confirmation on the Talkeetna. If it's available I'm definitely going to buy it and then will start talking with barrel manufacturers ... and then start looking for another.
 
I’ve done two .458 Lott conversions off of stainless .375H&H’s in M-70’s. I highly recommend going with a 22” barrel. I topped both with AO now XS Ghost ring and white line square post front sights. The one pictured below was stocked in a Houge simply because the Brown Precision I had it in blew apart several weeks before the hunt. The final product was stocked in a Mc Millian. 8.5 to 9 lbs finished weight was the right mix of carrying/ manageable recoil. Robert here at THR has shot this very rifle and I think will agree that the recoil was stout but not unreasonable with full house 500 Gr loads.

One thing to consider with a Lott is that you can load 350 or 400 Gr bullets in it and make it a reasonably flat shooting rifle for elk and moose or big bears. With that in mind you might want to do a low power QD scope set up to increase the versatility of your rifle.

FCEBA6ED-74CB-4FB8-8FD4-736B220945CB.jpeg
 
LoonWulf said:
If I could get the lot into my switch barrel American without going to AI mags, I'd probably do that over the .458 win.....but I cant so, that's where I'm going with that one lol.
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The 458 Lott is one big huge hog of a cartridge! It would inspire confidence though, no matter what you were facing. I really want one myself, but my new 45-70 handi rifle will be plenty enough recoil for my foreseeable future.

MCMXI, I wish you luck on your quest for the perfect brace of H&H hunting rifles!
 
H&Hhunter said:
I’ve done two .458 Lott conversions off of stainless .375H&H’s in M-70’s. I highly recommend going with a 22” barrel.
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It was your excellent advice that made me lop off 2" from the end of my Talkeetna barrel a few years back. 22" is the perfect length and I would do the same for .300 H&H or .458 Lott. I'm kind of set now on getting this second Talkeetna and then a third so that I can have the trifecta. Speaking of the Talkeetna, I put together five rounds this morning of the 270gr LRX load using 73.0gr of VV N540 and Remington brass that I annealed using the new AMP annealer. I've never seen such a low ES numbers for five rounds with only 2fps separating all five shots ... 2,715 fps to 2,717 fps. I'd forgotten how hard it is to shoot a .375 H&H well. There's so much more technique involved compared to just about anything else I shoot.

adcoch1 said:
MCMXI, I wish you luck on your quest for the perfect brace of H&H hunting rifles!
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Thanks ... I'll update when I have confirmation of availability of the second Talkeetna.
 
MCMXI said:
It was your excellent advice that made me lop off 2" from the end of my Talkeetna barrel a few years back. 22" is the perfect length and I would do the same for .300 H&H or .458 Lott. I'm kind of set now on getting this second Talkeetna and then a third so that I can have the trifecta. Speaking of the Talkeetna, I put together five rounds this morning of the 270gr LRX load using 73.0gr of VV N540 and Remington brass that I annealed using the new AMP annealer. I've never seen such a low ES numbers for five rounds with only 2fps separating all five shots ... 2,715 fps to 2,717 fps. I'd forgotten how hard it is to shoot a .375 H&H well. There's so much more technique involved compared to just about anything else I shoot.



Thanks ... I'll update when I have confirmation of availability of the second Talkeetna.
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I’d love to have an original pre 64 .300 H&H. I think that old gentlemen deserves a 26” tube to make it enough more than a .30-06 to be worth the trouble.

To me the .300 Super is such a marginal increase in performance over a .30-06 that the only reason to have one is to have it in a righteous, classic rifle. If you cut the tube on a .300 H&H you’ve got a long action and loud .30-06.

22” works on .30-06, .375, .458 Lott/Win, 416 Rem. But it really hamstrings a .300 H&H.
 
300 H&H or 458 Lott- it seems a cruel choice to me until conceding that both is an option! Well done.

My brother hunted elk with his CZ 550 in 458 Lott for a few years and took the best bull of his life with a 350 grain Barnes. When you walk up on 1000 lbs of Roosevelt elk, it takes a lot of convincing that there’s such a thing as too much gun. It’s a bunch of fun to shoot although it pays to take your time when developing loads.

While I’m not a huge fan of 30 cal, the 300 H&H is the coolest in my mind. I once found an old Sako L61R Finnbear in a gun shop with the barrel stamp “300 MAG” from a time when that meant only one thing. I walked out of the store with it still on the shelf and I’ve regretted it ever since.

I guess I’m trying to say with a touch of nostalgia is I heartily agree that either is good and both is better, the same as you’ve concluded. Enjoy.
 
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