another 375 H&H slow load question

[Wahoo]

@rookhawk may be able to offer suggestions as I believe his son was shooting a .375 HH with lighter recoil loads. I’ll be working on this same topic shortly - happy to share anything I learn

 

[pilar]

This is just to get her warmed up to the idea of shooting a 375 H&H. We will graduate to more recoil over time.

5744 powder
Reduced load to get warmed up to hunting load

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Try to load a 235 or 250 at 2500 FPS. That will be good to start with.
My experience with No. 1s is that recoil is worse than other rifles in the same caliber.

 

[sgt_zim]

Zim, Sounds like you have created a monster, lol. Good for you that she likes to hunt. I cannot even get my wife to go with me on the trips. She has been to the range a few times but simply does not like hunting at all but tolerates my hunting. Very supportive in fact. I get what you want to do. I have some factory 250g TBBC ammo that is milder than the heavier stuff I hunt with. Another option would be to have Hendershots load you some custom light loads for her to practice with if you are not already set up to load 375HH. The idea to break her in with 12ga shotgun is a great one. The recoil of my 12ga double is about the same as a full power 375 hunting load but my shotgun is very light in the 6-7lb range. Keep her off the bench. You should do all the sighting and dial in on the bench and let her practice off sticks only. Also, use a 22lr rimfire at a shorter range to practice mounting and shooting from sticks for several weeks prior to your hunts. That served me well.

22lr is where we are starting off sticks She shot my 6.5x55 loaded with Weldcore 160 grain like it was nothing, which it is.

 

[sgt_zim]

Zim, Sounds like you have created a monster, lol. Good for you that she likes to hunt. I cannot even get my wife to go with me on the trips. She has been to the range a few times but simply does not like hunting at all but tolerates my hunting. Very supportive in fact. I get what you want to do. I have some factory 250g TBBC ammo that is milder than the heavier stuff I hunt with. Another option would be to have Hendershots load you some custom light loads for her to practice with if you are not already set up to load 375HH. The idea to break her in with 12ga shotgun is a great one. The recoil of my 12ga double is about the same as a full power 375 hunting load but my shotgun is very light in the 6-7lb range. Keep her off the bench. You should do all the sighting and dial in on the bench and let her practice off sticks only. Also, use a 22lr rimfire at a shorter range to practice mounting and shooting from sticks for several weeks prior to your hunts. That served me well.

I already have powder and magnum primers, just need bullets, brass, and dies to go a long with all the other cartridges I reload for from 223 rem up to 404J

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

https://chuckhawks.com/reduced_big_bore_loads.htm

None of these are really reduced loads, but might give you an idea for a starting point with the lighter bullets.

375 H&H – Real Guns

realguns.com

375 Ruger info for comparison

375 Ruger Light Loads Handload Data – Real Guns

realguns.com

The 375 Ruger Meets the Hornady’s GMX – Real Guns

realguns.com

 

[A382DWDZQ]

Hodgdon has load data showing standard load of both IMR4895 and H4895 for a 200gr. What I have read is that you can take the max load time 0.6 and that is the lowest charge to start with. Check my math, but that looks like about 45-46gr, which should be pretty light. Another one I’ve used is the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook which has these two. You could probably find someone selling or willing to make a batch of those exact bullets.

 

[A382DWDZQ]

Also an article in i think ~2009 Hodgdon Manual, “MELs, Moderate Effective Loads”, that has H4198 under this Barnes 235 TSX in a 375 Ruger, not quite the same, but something to consider, and more data on 4895 powders in this published data.

 

[cajunchefray]

Looking for anyone with experience downloading 375 to 9.3x62 territory.

Since my wife has never shot anything with thump, I want to work up a load with a 250 gr (Barnes, Hornady, Sierra, etc), or possibly Hammer's 220 or 256 gr, that will come in at under 30 ft lbs of recoil in my new Ruger #1 tropical.

I'll likely be using Varget over the other medium rate spherical I have since they seem to perform more consistently with powder charges above 95% fill.

At the upper 20s, that's roughly the same as a lightweight 30-06 pushing 200 gr or heavier bullets, so shouldn't be a bad intro to medium bore.

A great project to introduce your wife to shooting a proper rifle.
Many others here have suggested various options, but within your parameters stated:
- Ruger #1 .375 H&H (a superb rifle)
- 250 grain bullet
- Varget
-less than 30-foot pounds recoil

The Lee reloading manual (Modern Reloading Richard Lee 2nd edition) lists:
64.0 grains Varget for 2471 fps as a starting load

Recoil calculator (JBM Ballistics) shows 29.1-foot pounds recoil, 14.4 fps recoil velocity, in a 9# rifle.

In my experience, the lightest powder charge, and the lowest recoil velocity is more comfortable for "felt" recoil.
This is in 30-06, 200 grain territory more or less. I have not fired this particular load, but it can work. I would let my wife shoot it without fear of a flinch.

A LimbSaver recoil shield, worn on the shoulder, is MUCH more comfortable than a PAST or Caldwell. I've used the PAST for a decade, then a buddy bought a LimbSaver for me, and I never went back.
I think it will fit a woman much better. It conforms better to the shoulder, and the rifle mount is much less awkward.
Only slight increase in LOP, it stays put, and does take out the sting of recoil effectively.

My personal preferences:

Start her shooting with the Ruger #1, always the same "manual of arms" and muscle memory is obtained. We, as experienced shooters think about a ladder approach to calibers, and maybe not so much familiarity in handling the SAME weapon. I learned this with my wife, going from a K-frame S&W, .38, then a Browning High Power, then back to the .38 revolver.​

I would NOT have her shoot a 12-gauge single shot (bad experience as a teenager for my wife).​

​

* Light loads, consider Accurate 5744:​

* 255 grain lead bullets:​

-34 grains, 1771 fps,​

-47 grains, 2310 fps, max pressure 41500 psi, less muzzle blast​

(Lee Loading Manual)​

​

Then move up to the 250 jacketed bullets and Varget.​

Sight in the rifle for her off the bench, she fine tunes sighting in off a standing rest, then she practices off sticks or a standing rest.​

​

Let us know how this works out for her.​

You are blessed that your wife wants to hunt Africa with you!​

 

[shootist~]

Thats what I just said above, I must of worded it badly ?

No doubt I'm guilty of not reading every post from top to bottom.

 

[sgt_zim]

Not sure what rifle you have in 9.3x62 but I think that caliber loaded a bit lighter to start would be ideal ?

I would think just find another stock to swap over when she shoots the rifle ?

I had a hunter with a Blaser - R8/93 it was a kit set sort of thing & he was swapping scopes from day to thermal & stocks to much shorter for his small son to shoot.

Oh & number one way to reduce recoil & shock to a new or old shooter is to fit a Suppressor, does wonders !

It's the only LH OEM CRF 9.3x62 I know of - a Zastava. I talked to the guy who sold me mine, and he can't get them anymore. The OEM Turkish walnut stock cracked after a couple hundred rounds, so I replaced it with a Boyd's with proper LOP and a Monte Carlo. I could have taken the route of buying another Boyd's that would fit her, but given the cost of the stock and having Gordy & Son's do all the finishing work on it, the 375 H&H ended up only being a little more expensive. And besides (assuming she ultimately goes there), remembering the image of my wife with a Ruger #1 conquering Mbogo..captured for all time in a picture, well, there's nothing I can think of more romantic, nothing that would bring me more pride, than that. That picture would be THE centerpiece of all the pictures I'll ever have hanging in my house. I would brag endlessly on her.

I'd be completely comfortable using my 9.3x62, with the right ammo, to hunt anything. I'm that confident in my ability to put a bullet where it needs to go. If the missus ultimately decides she wants a buff, I want to give her a bit more wiggle room. I had given a brief thought to just letting her work through the 9.3 and up to my 404J since we're both lefties, but I suspect I just wouldn't be able to get her to shoot it more than once - a 400 gr bullet even at only 1950 fps is still going to be about 45 ft lbs of free recoil in my rifle. So 375 H&H was my only real answer. I thought long and hard about a Ruger African in 375 Ruger, but the lack of availability of brass ultimately turned me off of that thought.

 

[sgt_zim]

A great project to introduce your wife to shooting a proper rifle.
Many others here have suggested various options, but within your parameters stated:
- Ruger #1 .375 H&H (a superb rifle)
- 250 grain bullet
- Varget
-less than 30-foot pounds recoil

The Lee reloading manual (Modern Reloading Richard Lee 2nd edition) lists:
64.0 grains Varget for 2471 fps as a starting load

Recoil calculator (JBM Ballistics) shows 29.1-foot pounds recoil, 14.4 fps recoil velocity, in a 9# rifle.

In my experience, the lightest powder charge, and the lowest recoil velocity is more comfortable for "felt" recoil.
This is in 30-06, 200 grain territory more or less. I have not fired this particular load, but it can work. I would let my wife shoot it without fear of a flinch.

A LimbSaver recoil shield, worn on the shoulder, is MUCH more comfortable than a PAST or Caldwell. I've used the PAST for a decade, then a buddy bought a LimbSaver for me, and I never went back.
I think it will fit a woman much better. It conforms better to the shoulder, and the rifle mount is much less awkward.
Only slight increase in LOP, it stays put, and does take out the sting of recoil effectively.

My personal preferences:

Start her shooting with the Ruger #1, always the same "manual of arms" and muscle memory is obtained. We, as experienced shooters think about a ladder approach to calibers, and maybe not so much familiarity in handling the SAME weapon. I learned this with my wife, going from a K-frame S&W, .38, then a Browning High Power, then back to the .38 revolver.​

I would NOT have her shoot a 12-gauge single shot (bad experience as a teenager for my wife).​

​

* Light loads, consider Accurate 5744:​

* 255 grain lead bullets:​

-34 grains, 1771 fps,​

-47 grains, 2310 fps, max pressure 41500 psi, less muzzle blast​

(Lee Loading Manual)​

​

Then move up to the 250 jacketed bullets and Varget.​

Sight in the rifle for her off the bench, she fine tunes sighting in off a standing rest, then she practices off sticks or a standing rest.​

​

Let us know how this works out for her.​

You are blessed that your wife wants to hunt Africa with you!​

Link to the recoil shield, please? My google fu is good, but I can't find what you're talking about.

 

[Sarg]

It's the only LH OEM CRF 9.3x62 I know of - a Zastava. I talked to the guy who sold me mine, and he can't get them anymore. The OEM Turkish walnut stock cracked after a couple hundred rounds, so I replaced it with a Boyd's with proper LOP and a Monte Carlo. I could have taken the route of buying another Boyd's that would fit her, but given the cost of the stock and having Gordy & Son's do all the finishing work on it, the 375 H&H ended up only being a little more expensive. And besides (assuming she ultimately goes there), remembering the image of my wife with a Ruger #1 conquering Mbogo..captured for all time in a picture, well, there's nothing I can think of more romantic, nothing that would bring me more pride, than that. That picture would be THE centerpiece of all the pictures I'll ever have hanging in my house. I would brag endlessly on her.

I'd be completely comfortable using my 9.3x62, with the right ammo, to hunt anything. I'm that confident in my ability to put a bullet where it needs to go. If the missus ultimately decides she wants a buff, I want to give her a bit more wiggle room. I had given a brief thought to just letting her work through the 9.3 and up to my 404J since we're both lefties, but I suspect I just wouldn't be able to get her to shoot it more than once - a 400 gr bullet even at only 1950 fps is still going to be about 45 ft lbs of free recoil in my rifle. So 375 H&H was my only real answer. I thought long and hard about a Ruger African in 375 Ruger, but the lack of availability of brass ultimately turned me off of that thought.

Yes one of my 9.3x62 is a Zastava, M70 if I remember correctly & I think one of the few Mauser actions to be made in left hand, mines right & I just missed a Stainless Steel one a little while back, be great all Weather hunt everything rifle then, I have taken a bit of game with it including Leopard DRT to.

Does yours have a super light weight barrel, looks like a .410 it’s so thin at the muzzle ?

Light weight but strangely has less felt recoil than my Tikka in 9.3 & it is heavier with the Laminated stick .

 

[sgt_zim]

Yes, very thin barrel profile on mine. The new Boyd's plus the steel bedding done by Gordy & Sons tamed the recoil quite a bit.

I have a Meopta 2-10x42 on it, but I'm thinking about putting a VX3 1.5-5x20 and putting the Meopta on my son's Sauer 9.3. I need to get busy with LD on that one.

 

[DrBob]

A reduced loading can be made with H4895. Find the maximum load for the bullet you want to use in the Hodgdon data and 60% of that is the reduced load. ONLY use H4895.

 

[Edster]

Link to the recoil shield, please? My google fu is good, but I can't find what you're talking about.

I think this may be it

Limbsaver Recoil Pad Shield Ambidextrous Black

Made with NAVCOM recoil-reducing material. This shooting pad is adjustable and ambidextrous.FeaturesUtilizes proprietary NAVCOM recoil-reducing...

ads.midwayusa.com

 

[JG26Irish_2]

Yes, very thin barrel profile on mine. The new Boyd's plus the steel bedding done by Gordy & Sons tamed the recoil quite a bit.

I have a Meopta 2-10x42 on it, but I'm thinking about putting a VX3 1.5-5x20 and putting the Meopta on my son's Sauer 9.3. I need to get busy with LD on that one.

For what it is worth... I had a VX 1.5-4x on my 375HH FN Browning last year. It was the lowest end of the Leupold line. This is a 1" diam optic that I chose simply because I wanted a 1" which would fit my original mount. Turned out that it did not fit at all, so I fitted a two piece Leupold mount with 1" rings. The fit was good, the scope was clear, etc, etc. Worked great at the range.

Well, I took that rig on a fall deer hunt as a field shakedown and learned that the little scope did not gather much light in the early morning time only 15min after legal shooting time. This made the reticle harder to see and it was so bad that I initially mistook a 8pt buck for a doe at 1.5x. The low power of only 4x was barely enough to id the buck. Lack of illuminated reticle in the gloomy opening day conditions almost cost me that deer. I made the shot, but came away looking for a bit more scope. And one with an illuminated reticle. Leupold also makes some much better scopes.

Fast forward. After testing a few I finally bit the bullet and got a Swarovski 30mm X6i in 1-6x. The improvement was dramatic. I am not saying that you should go spend $2k+ on a Swaro, but you might find a better option. At least make sure it has an illuminated reticle. Why? You rarely get to choose what time of day your prey will give you a chance at the trophy of a lifetime. That first shot is the most important. On day 2 of my safari this year in Limpopo, just about dusk we spied a huge alpha herd bull Blue Wildebeest. My PH knew it was a larger than average bull and we made a stalk. It was nearly dark as we approached the bull. Using the Swaro with the red dot turned on, I was easily and confidently able to aim and fire at 160y a frontal shot that took it down. It later turned out to preliminarily measure what should be an SCI gold world record bull. It was 1/8" from also making the Rowland Ward record book. Could I have hit it with the other scope? Probably, but I was super pleased with the one I ended up with. My advice for a LPVO, go with a 30mm or larger tube, with illuminated reticle and a power range of 1x on the lower end so you can shoot it like a red dot with both eyes open and a max power of at least 6x with 8x being even better. Brand is not as important. Several options out there.

I had never been around or even held a Swarovski optic prior to this one. It has a number of really well thought out features that I like. Clearly, made by people who hunt. The illuminated red dot has both a daytime/bright setting and a dusk/lo-light setting and each is adjustable for illumination levels independent of the other. When the red dot is turned on, and you sling the rifle muzzle up or down, the red dot automatically turns off to preserve the battery. When you bring the rifle to the shoulder to shoot, the red dot automatically turns back on. That set of features is about as well done as any I have ever seen. This scope is so clear that for the full range of power setting and for looking at targets at any range from 20y to 400y to infinity the image in the scope is crystal clear without the need for any kind of parallax or focus adjustment. Just dial the ocular bell at the rear end of the scope and never mess with it in the field again. Fast, clear, hassle free operation in any conditions.

For hunting, where long stalks can occur and conditions can change unexpectedly, that gives the hunter a small but important advantage. Critical seconds spent dialing in focus or turning on the red dot are saved and that can be the difference in making a quick, accurate first shot or watching the beast gallop away after it has caught a whiff of your aura. It is not perfect but it is a good choice.

 

[shootist~]

Take a look at the Trijicon 1-6 also. Was perfect on my 9.3x62 in Limpoppo last year.

 

[sgt_zim]

For what it is worth... I had a VX 1.5-4x on my 375HH FN Browning last year. It was the lowest end of the Leupold line. This is a 1" diam optic that I chose simply because I wanted a 1" which would fit my original mount. Turned out that it did not fit at all, so I fitted a two piece Leupold mount with 1" rings. The fit was good, the scope was clear, etc, etc. Worked great at the range.

Well, I took that rig on a fall deer hunt as a field shakedown and learned that the little scope did not gather much light in the early morning time only 15min after legal shooting time. This made the reticle harder to see and it was so bad that I initially mistook a 8pt buck for a doe at 1.5x. The low power of only 4x was barely enough to id the buck. Lack of illuminated reticle in the gloomy opening day conditions almost cost me that deer. I made the shot, but came away looking for a bit more scope. And one with an illuminated reticle. Leupold also makes some much better scopes.

Fast forward. After testing a few I finally bit the bullet and got a Swarovski 30mm X6i in 1-6x. The improvement was dramatic. I am not saying that you should go spend $2k+ on a Swaro, but you might find a better option. At least make sure it has an illuminated reticle. Why? You rarely get to choose what time of day your prey will give you a chance at the trophy of a lifetime. That first shot is the most important. On day 2 of my safari this year in Limpopo, just about dusk we spied a huge alpha herd bull Blue Wildebeest. My PH knew it was a larger than average bull and we made a stalk. It was nearly dark as we approached the bull. Using the Swaro with the red dot turned on, I was easily and confidently able to aim and fire at 160y a frontal shot that took it down. It later turned out to preliminarily measure what should be an SCI gold world record bull. It was 1/8" from also making the Rowland Ward record book. Could I have hit it with the other scope? Probably, but I was super pleased with the one I ended up with. My advice for a LPVO, go with a 30mm or larger tube, with illuminated reticle and a power range of 1x on the lower end so you can shoot it like a red dot with both eyes open and a max power of at least 6x with 8x being even better. Brand is not as important. Several options out there.

I had never been around or even held a Swarovski optic prior to this one. It has a number of really well thought out features that I like. Clearly, made by people who hunt. The illuminated red dot has both a daytime/bright setting and a dusk/lo-light setting and each is adjustable for illumination levels independent of the other. When the red dot is turned on, and you sling the rifle muzzle up or down, the red dot automatically turns off to preserve the battery. When you bring the rifle to the shoulder to shoot, the red dot automatically turns back on. That set of features is about as well done as any I have ever seen. This scope is so clear that for the full range of power setting and for looking at targets at any range from 20y to 400y to infinity the image in the scope is crystal clear without the need for any kind of parallax or focus adjustment. Just dial the ocular bell at the rear end of the scope and never mess with it in the field again. Fast, clear, hassle free operation in any conditions.

For hunting, where long stalks can occur and conditions can change unexpectedly, that gives the hunter a small but important advantage. Critical seconds spent dialing in focus or turning on the red dot are saved and that can be the difference in making a quick, accurate first shot or watching the beast gallop away after it has caught a whiff of your aura. It is not perfect but it is a good choice.

I originally had a VX5 1-5x24 on my 9.3. Still not a Swaro, but I found it quite good in low light. I moved it to the 404J.

 

[Hyde Hunter]

with her size and weight she should be able to just roll with the recoil and handle it nicely