.375H&H for bears/moose...

[Wahnie]

I haven't gotten the chance to hunt much here in Alaska since I moved here in 2003, but I'm starting to get back into it.

Right now my main rifle is a model 70 7mmSTW, but everyone I've talked to is telling me to get something at least .375H&H or bigger for hunting bear and moose.

Personally I don't feel undergunned. I really don't think there is anything in North America that can't be killed with a 160gr bullet going 3,200 fps. My dad even downed a grizzly with his .454 Casull at about 30 yards broadside. Bullet went clean through him.

Anyways, I've got my eye on a CZ 550 Safari in .375 H&H for $789. Seems well built and it has a great trigger.

I need yall to try to persuade me either way.

[L. Cooper]

While no one would argue that the .375 H&H is not absolutely capable of killing any bear or moose, there are more manageable rounds that will do the job humanely and reliably.

On the other hand 7mm bullets are not my ideal for that size of game either. The 7mm STW will certainly do it if it is fed the heaviest (175 grain) most stoutly consructed bullets you can find. Moose and big bears cannot be overwhelmed with light bullets at high velocity like smaller game can be. You need dependable bone breaking penetration.

You can use what you have if you use it intelligently.

[Skyline]

Yes I would agree with you on that Cooper.........the 7mm STW with the right bullets (heavy for caliber) will do the job quite nicely when used appropriately.

Still I would rather have my .375.

[Dom]

But Wahnie, what better excuse do you need to get a new rifle, and in .375? I think you'd fall in love with it, and it's manageable for most hunters, throwing those 300 grain pills at basically the same trajectory as the venerable '06. Plus, there may come the day when you need the whoomp, and now. Another plus, you'll be much more comfortable taking those marginal shots that you'd think twice about with a 7mm. Oh, and one more, I was pleasantly surprised when I'm getting 5 shots under 1" moa, now that's shooting like my Hornet!! Waidmannsheil, Dom.

And remember, one planet, one caliber, .375 H&H Magnum.

[L. Cooper]

Dom, that is a good rifle, and it was certainly good shooting.

I have shot a friend's .375 only a few times, and it was nothing at all like shooting a Hornet!

[Skyline]

I am just now experimenting with the 260 Accubond........thinking it will give me the excuse to use my .375 more for local hunting. Should make a good load for elk and moose, etc. I have had a .375 for several decades now and I would not think of being without it.

[fabsroman]

If I were hunting something that could eat me, I think I would be using a .375 at the very minimum. Last I checked, Grizzly can be pretty mean and pretty tough to kill. Last thing I would want to do is merely piss one off my shooting him with too small a gun.

[Wahnie]

Alrighty. I guess I better start saving up for that CZ then. How bad is this thing going to beat me? I've heard they are like a like hard push, versus a quick snap of smaller, faster calibers.

Cooper, I only use Barnes X bullets, so I am not worried about bullet construction or penetration, even in my 7mm. I've never seen an X bullet fail, even shooting 1/2" steel plates at the range. They just mushroom out like they're supposed to and weld themselves to the plate.

[fabsroman]

Yep, I use the Barnes X bullets too out of my .300 Win Mag. Killed two decent whitetail bucks with them, one that dropped in its tracks because I broke its front shoulder and another that ran 50 yards with one in the boiler room. The bullet has worked great on does too.

However, a grizzly is an entirely different animal. I wouldn't want to wound one and then have to chase it into the bush. Heck, I wouldn't want to wound one and have it chase me into the bush.

As far as the recoil of the .375 is concerned, I bet it hits a lot softer than a grizzly mauling you.

[M.T. Pockets]

That 7 STW is one heckuva long range rifle. It would be hard to beat for caribou, sheep, goats and I'd gladly hunt moose or elk with it. I know many guides in Wyoming that say it's the best long range deer rifle there is.

However, if I were a young man in Alaska like you are, I'd have myself a .375. Heck, I'm a middle aged man in Minnesota and I want a .375. For the bears alone, I think that big 300 grain bullet at a slower speed is going to be more effective in quickly killing a big old boar, or worse yet, a charging sow if you get between her cubs.

The long range advantage of the STW could be useful with moose, but it is really mute with the bears, the .375 can reach out as far as anyone should be shooting at them.

Besides being a very practical choice, a .375 has class.

Keep your STW though.

Good luck Wahnie.

[Dom]

Wahnie, if you have a decent weight rifle and shoot it regularly it won't beat you too bad, and never in hunting situations. You'll feel it most from the bench, but you only need to do that for load testing, accuracy, etc. From normal shooting positions, standing supported or freehand, kneeling, etc, it's not bad at all. I've got a Steyr Mannlicher Safari, set trigger, rotary mag, topped with a Dr Optik 1.5-6x42, and it really surprised me with it's accuracy.

But, remember to keep a little clearance between your eyeball and the end of that scope -- I've felt it and come close, but no blood yet!!

LCooper, I meant for the accuracy -- I can't crowd the scope like the hornet that's for darn sure!

[buckhunter]

If your worried and I would be about the backlash of a 375 try shoot one before you purchase it. I bet someone at a local range would offer it you.

Me, well I'm a recoil wimp. I would go with a good 338 Win Mag. Pretty much duplicate balistics as a 375 with a little less recoil. I bet there is nothing in Alaska that would walk away from a good 250 gr bullet from a 338. My 2 cents.

[Kusko]

Wahnie,
I shoot a .375 in a Remington 700 Stain/Syn and I love it. It is more of a push than a snap. It might take a little bit to get used to it, but will be well worth it. I have shot everything from whitetail to muskox with mine and it puts them down right now.

[royinidaho]

I have a 357 in a Ruger #1 and it is a pure joy to shoot. Shooting off the bench is not a problem even with that thin recoil pad if you can call it that.

It hangs right around an inch @100 & 2" @200 with what ever I feed it.

I like the 300 gr Hornady SPBT but If I were going after something that could come back after me I'd use nothing but Winchester 300gr silver tips. That is one awesome bullet. In my expansion tests it has outperformed every thing else by one or two mles.

[MacD37]

Wahnie I hunt everything in Alaska with a 375 H&H with 300 gr Nosler Partitions, or swift A-frames. My rifle is a Whitworth African express, in a synthetic stock, it is mounted with a 3-9x40mm scope with duplex reticle, and in Warne Quick Detachable rings & bases, and express iron sights. The rifle is a CRF action, and shoots like a target rifle. If you shoot the 7mm STW with heavy bullets, you will have no trouble with a 375 H&H rifle. Also, if you get a chance to hunt Africa, the 375 H&H is legal for dangerous game, and the 7mm STW isn't, but it is a fine doll sheep cratridge!

What we are talking about when we say Grizzly in Alaska, we are talking about two different bears. The inland grizzly is similar to the grizzlies in the lower 48, and canada, with the average boar running in the 400 lb range, with large one going as high a 800 lbs. The costal Grizz, so-called (KODIAK BEAR) is a costal brown bear, and he is a whole different pile of meat, and claw. These bear will often run in the 9', to 10' foot squared, and between 800, and up to 1800 lbs on rare ones. in the coastal Islands in Southeast Alaska, the black bear are often larger than lower 48 grizzlies, and about the size of many inland Alaska grizzlies. The bear up there get big because of the very high protene they get in the salmon runs, and the longer feeding time before den up. Winter comes in with a vengance in the interior, where the inland grizz lives, so he dens up earlier than on the coast, so doesn't get as large. The costal bear, certainly calls for the 375H&H, and the CRF action is called for because of the tight alders you might have to go into to sort him out, if the first shot doesn't do the trick. Besides you'll love that CZ 550, in 375 H&H.

......................Good luck, and shoot straight!