where to search for older, used .375 H&H ?

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sonick808

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Greetings,

I'm in the process of attempting to add a .375H&H chambering to my collection, but the cz550 i would like is just more money than i want to spend right now.

I know this cartridge has been around for quite awhile, so there should be quite a few used old hunting rifles out there in good enough shape to shoot fairly accurately, safely.

Wondering if anyone knows where to search for these good deals on older used rifles ? gunbroker is too pricey. pawn shops are great , but the chambering is not found frequently. I KNOW they're out there, just wondering where you deal-finders would look ?

Thanks :)
 
The Whitworth, imported by Interarms and perhaps others were very nice 375's built on commercial CZ Mauser 98 actions. I like the stocks very much, they handle well, feeling light and sleek, with nice checkering, ebony fore end tip and a shadowline cheekpiece. I shot several and wanted one, and eventually got one. I don't shoot it much, but really like it.
 
I have a .458 Whitworth Express Rifle (was the raffle gun at Safari Club International one year in the early '90s.) I bought it from a taxidermist who won it and shot it twice and found it too painful. When it arrived he had thrown in a box of 18 cartridges and 2 empty pieces of brass. Pretty mild soft-point loads at that :D

I hardly shoot it but love it. I have a 2-7 first Generation Burris Fullfield on it that has a couple inches of eye relief so you can't get scoped on QD Warne mounts (the old narrow ones but that is just fine).

If you can find a .375 one I would recommend it.

Mike
 
Mine was butchered up when I got it. It was rechambered for 375 Weatherby, which I had no use or desire for, and was in a hideous thumbhole stock. But,...the price was right. A local gunsmith had a factory stock he sold me for $25, I had a new Shilen barrel installed and chambered for the H&H round, the action and barrel cryo'ed, and the stock bedded with a decelerator pad installed. Add a Lyman No 57 and a Redfield Sourdough front blade, barrel band sling mount, and its done.

IMG_2139.gif
 
You might look for a Savage Safari Express.

Ammo is running $2 a round for the cheapest factory loads. Make sure it's something you really want.
 
I think my next project will be to build a rolling block in .375 H&H. I have a nice block of 4340 sitting around doing nothing. I have already built a 45-70 and a 30-06 rolling block so a .375 will be a logical evolution. If I remember correctly the .375 operates at 30-06 pressures so strength isn't a problem, my 06 roller passed proof at 80,000 PSI. Should take me about a year to machine it....
 
Malamute: you have done that rifle a great service! What a stunner! and to reflect all of your hard work, that really makes it special.

Dr. Rob: hahhah oh touche. Yes, BIG time expensive cartridges, and must be considered. I actually plan to play around with hand loads for it, so once i get some brass, I'll roll my own to take to the range. Still not cheap, but not nearly as bad as buying hornady factory cartridges from a retail brick and mortar.
I don't intend to shoot it much, and i don't hunt much, so it'll be a handloading / occasional fun rifle. I am just really into the caliber itself, I don't know why. History probably. I'm also looking to find an old rifle chambered in .35 WHelen after my .375 H&H. I read the cartridges of the world book and some of them just call to me after reading their history, etc.

THank you for taking your time to reply.. you guys rock. I will consider all input.

Jayson
 
Malamute said:
Mine was butchered up when I got it. It was rechambered for 375 Weatherby, which I had no use or desire for, and was in a hideous thumbhole stock. But,...the price was right. A local gunsmith had a factory stock he sold me for $25, I had a new Shilen barrel installed and chambered for the H&H round, the action and barrel cryo'ed, and the stock bedded with a decelerator pad installed. Add a Lyman No 57 and a Redfield Sourdough front blade, barrel band sling mount, and its done.

IMG_2139.gif
Click to expand...
Mine was Turkish walnut, hand checkered, has 100/200/300 yd flip up sights, flame blued trigger and stock hardware and an orange gum rubber recoil pad. Front swivel on stock, stock thicker up front.. Otherwise looks like yours.

I thought mine was the "Whitworth" version.

Mike
 
I have an '06 that has different wood, maybe English walnut, and slightly different checkering pattern. I don't think it was marked Whitworth, but looks basically identical. They made them as Whitworths, and apparently some that werent. The front sling mount is in the wood on the '06 also.

I thought all the 375's had the front sling mount on the barrel. I like the express sights, but the ones I shot were scoped. I was going to scope mine, but couldn't find bases that lined up correctly, so stayed with the Lyman. Mine didn't have the express sight when I got it.


Ammo is running $2 a round for the cheapest factory loads. Make sure it's something you really want.
Click to expand...

I foud a guy with 4 boxes of factory ammo, he had sold his gun. I paid $20/box for them, but mostly load my own. Want to try a round ball load for small game and grouse, and maybe some deer loads with 38-55 bullets.

I missed this post earlier.

I'm also looking to find an old rifle chambered in .35 WHelen after my .375 H&H. I read the cartridges of the world book and some of them just call to me after reading their history, etc.
Click to expand...

I like the Whelen. I have a Ruger 77 tang safety in 35, I like it quite a lot. It has a skinnier stock than most, and feels very good in the hands. I'd like to have an ebony fore end tip put on it, reshape it a little around the receiver, and add a Lyman receiver sight for backup. Its the main reason I don't use the 375 much, it covers the same basic ground for me, but is a bit nicer to shoot and holds more rounds. They are all fun and interesting rifles though. If money weren't an issue, I think I'd have the Ruger restocked in the same shape/pattern as the Whitworth in a nice grade of wood.
 
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if you have a Cabelas near you, have the guy check (or you can) their gun
library; if there's one you want to buy they can ship it in from another store.

just checked,,there's 2 for $999.99- A ruger M77 in 375 Ruger (PA) & a Whitworth
express in SD.
 
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Also, keep an eye on GUNSAMERICA every once in a while.

www.gunsamerica.com

Just use the search term ".375" and see what turns up.

The listings rotate a lot, and new ads keep being listed.

I have bought several guns from Gunsamerica advertisers with complete satisfaction.

It is NOT an auction site; the prices listed are what the advertisers expect to get for their wares.

The reason that not many .375s are advertised is simply that relatively-few .375s are built. Out of every hundred new rifles produced, I'd be very surprised if as many as 5% were in the .375 H&H chambering.

Sako at one time listed a 20-inch .375 in a Mannlicher stock. What a wonderful moose rifle THAT would have made! The large-bore calibers are largely unaffected by shorter barrels, which makes them rather practical in shorter configurations.
 
Doesn't sound like a lot of difference given the ~22 years difference. It would not surprise me if the stock for-ends are slimmer for the .375.

Nice guns on a solid action.

Mike
 
If it's not time sensitive, just keep watching Armslist. That's a real unusual caliber in many parts of the country and might be available at a great price if you are able to jump on it quick with cash in hand.

Last summer a guy at my gun club got a 375H&H Sako that way for $500. Not much call for those in Wisconsin so it was a great deal.
 
Sorry, this does not add to your quest for a used rifle but I just hade to chime in because I love mine so much.

Re: not shooting it much

Ha! That will be as hard to do and the best way I found was to shoot reduced load hard cast, I use a commercially cast 250gn with 20gn of Trailboss and found I can hit clay pigeon sized targets at 100m pretty consistently with the irons in the kneeling position.
These work out even at rip-off Aussie prices of about A$.38 a shot

I am fortunate to have a home range and everyone that comes over for a shoot absolutely loves it. Even with the reduced loads it's no pussycat but it's much kinder to the shoulder and cheek, so it's a great way to get used to it before you move up in load strength.

My .2c : Buy Norma brass, yes it's expensive but it will last you forever, so in the long run it's more economical. Work up and find a good load (my experience with Trailboss is that more accuracy comes with the lighter loads, compared to full loads that usually do better when hotter)
Use Lee Collet dies to just neck size, but you will have to FLS every third time, or at least that's been my experience.
When I was working up loads I scoped it (argh, the horror) and put her on a bipod to reduce user error, groups were satisfactory but not stellar. I read up a bit and bought a Lee Factory Crimp die, holy moley, did that tighten the groups or what!

Trivia: An earlier comment spoke that he thought all BGR's had barrel bands. My understanding is that it is to stop the sling studs smashing into your hand when the rifle is fired, which it may well do if they are positioned on the stock.

Anyway, thanks for reading and standby for a wholeot of cheap fun.
 
I checked the Gunsamerica site, and they have four pages of .375s for sale.... maybe fifty or sixty rifles?

The least-expensive I saw was about $600, and the MOST expensive... are you ready?..... was over $31,000!

One of the rifles on the first page was actually that Sako 20" Mannlicher-stocked model I praised up above. It still looks like a superb moose rifle, but I'm past my moose-hunting days now. Otherwise, at $1250 I'd be tempted.

Comments about the forward sling swivel and barrel bands are correct. The recoil can be very painful with a stock-mounted swivel, as I found out when I bought a .404 with that type of swivel mounting. It quickly acquired a barrel band!

Also, a barrel band allows the rifle to hang lower off the shoulder, reducing entanglements with heavy brush, etc.
 
i have to wait until 8/1 to have enough play money to follow through with an auction , so i will just watch those auctions and gunsamerica listings and plot a course of action! So much good input. thanks!

I do have enough to pick up some norma brass, that is a good idea
 
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