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

[Jackiesman]

I sold my 500 smith & wesson.
My 44 mags are enough as well.
I'll shoot my 329 with laminate checkered wood grips if I want some punishment.
It's a fun gun with a 240 grain bullet at 900 fps
I got rid of a 460 Weatherby as well.
Replaced it with a 458 win mag.
Shooting 500 grain cast bullets makes this one fun to.

That 458 win mag is a magnificent gun. Killed my 1st cape with one.

 

[Picher]

When I was sighting-in other peoples' rifles as part of my part-time business, I often used a softly-filled sandbag between my shoulder and the rifle butt. It helped tremendously.

 

[TheHermit]

Do we lose our Man Card or just get hit with a few Demerits?

Your card is in some jeopardy

I have two Sako .375 H&H rifles, a L691 Hunter with a 24" barrel and a M995 carbine with a 19.5" barrel, and I have to say that the stock geometry makes a big difference in felt recoil. The M995 is more pleasant to shoot despite being quite a bit lighter.

For practice loads I'd recommend starting with minimum (or slightly reduced) H4895 loads combined with 235 gr or 250 gr bullets and working up from there if needed.

For range practice I'd recommend getting a PAST recoil shield - I always use one when shooting off the bench.



Which Sako model do you have?

 

[TheHermit]

225 gr .375” 38-55 projectiles, with 30 gr of SR4759 and at least you can keep you little boy’s card.

I thought SR4759 was discontinued some years ago.

 

[dredd]

Your card is in some jeopardy

I have two Sako .375 H&H rifles, a L691 Hunter with a 24" barrel and a M995 carbine with a 19.5" barrel, and I have to say that the stock geometry makes a big difference in felt recoil. The M995 is more pleasant to shoot despite being quite a bit lighter.

For practice loads I'd recommend starting with minimum (or slightly reduced) H4895 loads combined with 235 gr or 250 gr bullets and working up from there if needed.

For range practice I'd recommend getting a PAST recoil shield - I always use one when shooting off the bench.

View attachment 1130153

Which Sako model do you have?

I have the Kodiak.

I appreciate the suggestions.

 

[Bwana John]

I thought SR4759 was discontinued some years ago.

But not before I bought “enough” to keep my little boy card…

There is still A5744, Trail Boss, and 60% H4895 for acting the Great White Hunter at the local garbage pit range with your dangerous game rifle as you stalk into the tall grass for the dreaded wounded V-8 engine block.

 

[Aletheia]

When I think back about decisions I made about my own guns and cartridges, and about decisions I saw being made by my friends and acquaintances, it becomes pretty obvious that any thinking about how much, or how little, the choice reflected on my "manliness" was completely useless and often led to bad choices.

 

[Riomouse911]

The first belted magnum I ever shot was a Whitworth Mark X .375 H&H that another shooter let me fire when I was 16. It rocked me pretty good (I probably weighed 130 then), but it wasn’t an awful kick. What I really recall is the checkering on the fore end working with my grip to hold the skin of my fingers enough to actually make a couple fingers bleed under the nails on my left hand. I remember I ended up hitting high, as he had an old 2 1/2 gallon metal gas can set out at the 200 yard berm and dust kicked up about 8” above the can. (Having only fired rimfires and center fire .30-30’s prior, I knew zero about flatter magnum rifle trajectory then.)

I still have that same cartridge case in my case collection.



As for recoil, I also am not a fan. I’ve shot easily a full flat or two each of 12 ga slugs and full power 00 buckshot qualifying at minimum 3-4 times a year for over 30 years, with 9.5 of those years having monthly quals and training when I was on SRT. Because I had to I could put the slugs/shot where it counted to stay on the team, but I didn’t relish doing it. (Annual prone quals with an 870 firing slugs at 50 yds were downright miserable.)

Don’t sweat it. You can load that big caliber up or down to find the recoil level you are comfortable with, or if that isn’t in the cards sell it for a .30-06 or even a .280 AI. Those two are much softer recoiling calibers that will do just about anything you’ll want a rifle to do in North America.

Stay safe.

 

[TheHermit]

I appreciate the suggestions.

You've got it!

I have the Kodiak.

That's a nice rifle Doesn't look like stock the stock has a lot of drop, so should be pretty good for managing recoil.