More like a half-day, but . . .
It was a very positive experience.
I took my two big guns, and shot them back to back, back to back. That gave a somewhat new perception, but the right one.
How do we measure such experiences? Perhaps most often its an evaluation of a particular handload in a particular rifle. Or trying a number of handloads for the same rifle. We then make judgments based on what? Sometimes it’s numbers or feelings, what we like or how we “feel” about results – their accuracy, MVs, recoil, consistency – often a blend of physics and feelings. Then, there’s the rifle itself – how much do we like it – our previous range experiences AND field work with it? Expectations? Does it meet those, exceed them or fall short? All of this and more add to or detract from our mental “score” for the rifle – whether expressed or tucked away in memory. Hoping for better things, or just the “feeling” that this rifle doesn’t fit as a companion in my hunting and shooting adventures.
“A DAY at The RANGE”, it “was a very positive experience” expresses my sentiment without much afterthought. The day was Friday, May 3rd, 2024. I don’t normally go to the range on Fridays because it’s the first day of the weekend for many members, and that means it will be busier than early in the week when I usually go. So why did I choose Friday? Because my son, Phil, planned to be there and invited me to join him. . . how could I refuse? And I did need to go at least one more time to check the sight-ins of my planned-for bear-hunt rifles, that had already commenced two days earlier! On Wednesday of that week (May 1st) I’d put in bait and toted last year’s rifle, the single-shot .35 Whelen. But my plan for this year’s spring bear hunt was the Ruger No.1H in .458 Win Mag, and the back-up will be the Zastava M70 in .375 H&H. So those two went to the range for The Day at The Range!
What’s it like to shoot back to back and then back to back, a .375 H&H and a .458 Winchester Magnum? Starting with the .375, then the .458, then the .375 again, and finishing with the .458.
Very pleasant, actually! It’s the best way to check them out in the real world.
< We don’t wait for a scene like this to find out if our rifle and ammo are working as hoped for. That was the renowned African PH, the late Dr. Don Heath facing down a charging bull elephant. Yes, he did shoot it and the rifle and ammo worked as he expected – a 9.3 x 62. I don’t recall the bullet but surely it was a solid of at least 285 grs.
On Internet forums, subjective opinions too often become dominant. Well, how do those two “African” rifles compare in felt recoil, handling and effect? That question, as stated, becomes an open field for opinions and speculation because the expected answers might be based on conjecture provided by what and whom? A majority opinion could be based on hearsay or limited experience because relatively few own and regularly shoot even a .375 H&H, and much less a .375 WBY or .375 Ruger! And from that grouping, a small percentile owns a .458 Winchester Magnum, and even if they do it get’s shot very little with serious Africa-intended loads. There are warm to hot debates on Internet forums as to whether a .416-caliber cartridge is really that much better than a .375 magnum. Few mention the .458 Win Mag in any such contest as it’s already a given that when aptly loaded there’s little to compare with it unless it’s bigger, louder and nastier.
So, back to back, and again back to back shooting of serious African dangerous game loads is a very rare test of not only the participant’s endurance and ability, but also of firsthand reporting of valid impressions and physical results. Since I intend to have both rifles with me, I now have a realistic expectation of results from the standpoint of handling and shooting those chosen loads in those two rifles.
So what are their similarities and distinctiions?
What was SIMILAR?: Their weight and their recoil. Not identical, but similar. As stated in a previous recent blog, the Zastava M70 in .375 H&H weighs 9.75 lbs with a 3-9 x 40mm Burris Fulfield II scope mounted, but empty of ammo. With three cartridges loaded with the 250gr TTSX in the magazine it is an exact 10 lbs. That is a max load from that bullet in my rifle with its 22″ barrel.
The 400gr TBBC Federal factory load at 2282 fps is no slouch in my .458, but far from a max handload that can drive a 400gr at more than 2500 fps from a 24″ barrel. In fact, from a handload, I’ve reached 2590 fps/5957 ft-lbs from a Barnes 400gr X-Bullet in my Ruger No.1H at about 50% more recoil than the Federal factory 400 TBBC. There’s much to like about a milder load when “full power” isn’t called for. It’s easy to do that with handloads in a .458 Win.
< The Zastava M70 in .375 H&H at last year’s bear hunt in September, loaded with the same 250 TTSX.
The Ruger No.1H in .458 Winchester Magnum is 10.25 lbs empty with the 2 – 7 x 32 Nikon scope mounted. Depending on how many .458 loaded cartridges in the stock cartridge holder, the weight varies between 10.5 and 11 lbs.
Both empty with their scopes, the .458 is 1/2 lb heavier. So that’s the way I shoot them at the range. I load a single cartridge in either before squeezing the trigger.< The Ruger No.1H in .458 Winchester Magnum in the late fall of 2022. It was loaded with the 250gr Hornady MonoFlex (not the 325gr FTX with a lead core made for bambi at not more than 2300 fps). It was made for the .45-70 and .450 Marlin in Marlin’s 1895, for large-tough and dangerous game. It was shooting into sub-moa at 100 yds from the Ruger No.1H at ~2700 fps. That is a very tough bullet made of solid copper and withstood a severe test in media retaining 94% of unfired weight. I came near to choosing the same load for this year’s hunt (2024) but decided to give the Federal 400gr TBBC Premium load a try. The above scene is not more than 100 yds from my current bear-bait site.
RECOIL: As previously written, numbers suggest physical recoil should be near identical when 15% reduction is attributed to the Mag-Na-Porting on the Ruger No.1H. But I question that number. In felt recoil the .458 seems more to me. The porting and heavy 24″ barrel keeps the barrel from jumping and the rifle comes more straight back on my shoulder, though I have a good grip on the forend.
The .375 H&H, on the other hand, jumps much more on the front end. Though I have a good grip on its forearm as well, it comes off the front rest completely but punches my shoulder with less force than the .458.
But in a comparison, as they were both shot from the bench, neither causes fear or trauma. I can handle either as “normal” for what they are. In going from one to the other no major adjustments needed in managing their recoil.
Though, if I were seriously arthritic in my left shoulder (I shoot from my left side), I’d drop down to a .300 Win Mag or my .35 Whelen for larger and potentially dangerous bears.
DIFFERENCES in the two rifles at The RANGE:
- The .375 is not as handy as the .458 in those configurations. It’s longer despite its shorter barrel. It also has a longer reach from butt to trigger. In addition, with my smallish hands, in holding the pistol grip tightly, I’ve trouble reaching the trigger with my trigger finger. All that is a matter of the wood stock being proportioned for a large man. And the wood stock is much heavier than it needs to be. Though it comes to my shoulder perfectly, and aligns itself quickly and naturally to the scope eyepiece, it needs work on the stock to fit comfortably, or a replacement. And I’m not inclined to either of those solutions as long as I have the rifle. I’ll live with it and make those adjustments until I pass it on. Having said all that, the fit and finish of wood and metal are beautifully done! It’s also very accurate with particular loads.
- The Ruger No.1H in .458 Win is a classic in its own right. It’s beautifull in my view and perfection in balance and handling. Finding acceptable to great accuracy is not a concern. With its 10+lb weight, it’s simply a matter of adjusting any expectations of swift movements. When done with practice and adequate experience, it comes to my shoulder smoothly and naturally, and aligns the scope without any stress or extra head movement. I’ve had none better in that regard. And it’s compact at ~40″ OL. It doesn’t need a 6 – 24 x 50mm scope, nor should such a monstrosity be mounted on any .458. The 2 – 7 x 32mm is a perfect fit and quintessential for any jobs assigned to it. If I ever have to replace it, a 2 – 7 x 33 Leupold would likely get the assignment. I don’t want a 20mm objective lens on any scope for bear hunting, nor a 30mm tube.
- Triggers: Both are light. The .375’s is a bit too. I adjusted the creep out of it so that the safety would still work, but it’s almost like a bench trigger for target shooting. If it weren’t for the hassle of dismantling it again, working with itsy-bitsy tools, nuts and screws, I’d like to set it at about 3 & 1/2 lbs. Right now it’s about 2 lbs. The No.1H Ruger is 3 lbs. The Ruger never goes off before I want, but on a few occasions, the .375 has!
- Single-Shot vs magazine rifle: or the Ruger No.1H .458 Win Mag vs the Zastava M70 bolt-action repeater in .375 H&H. I’ve written a lot on this theme in past blogs, so without repeating it all again, this will be a “single-shot” attempt at rehearsal: 1) Either is a repeater depending on how it’s defined. 2) They each have advantages and disadvantages. Whichever is chosen for a particular hunt, we need to know them thoroughly and what to expect from them.
I’m very familiar with single-shot rifles, lever-actions, semis, and both left-hand and right-hand bolt actions. So I adjust my thinking to what I’m using. It’s perhaps interesting to note that in many decades of hunting both small and big game, two quick shots have never been needed to saved the day for me. But if I were to choose any particular rifle action, from preference and experience, that might be faster for a second or third shot it would be a lever-action (they’re ambidextrous), since I shoot from my left side as a right-handed person. The main disadvantage of lever-actions is their limitations of suitable all-purpose cartridges that I prefer. The fastest rifle for multiple shots on big game that I’ve ever owned was a Ruger 96/44 in .44 Rem Mag. But, of course, it was limited in effective range, and accuracy was so-so, not great. I used it for a decade for scouting bear and bringing in bear-bait to sites. For those chores it couldn’t be beat! It had a low-power Bushnell scope.
- Ballistics: As revealed in several previous blogs, my load this year for bears in my .458 WIN is Federal’s Premium Safari 400gr TBBC. So far, of 20 in a single plastic container, I’ve fired 12 for data, sighting-in at 50 yds and practice. That’s $10 Cdn per shot! The last 3 (after adjustments) went into dead-center at 50 yds (my bear-bait site is 40 – 45 yds from my ground blind). Center to center extreme spread was 0.86″. It was a very windy day, but I’m more than satisfied. Chronographed in March, five averaged 2282 fps corrected to MV. Recoil is ~43 ft-lbs. Impact velocity at 43 yds should be ~2184 fps/4238 ft-lbs.
<The final three from the .458 Win at 50 yds.
- The .375 H&H is shooting the 250 TTSX at ~2850 fps. Since it’s for back-up, at 43 yds itshould be doing ~2758 fps/4220 ft-lbs. But of course, the 400gr/.458 has a lot more momentum, a larger cross-sectional area by 50%, and a higher SD of .272 vs .254 which all have meaning. Depending on how the bullets respond to flesh and bone, I’d give any advantage to the .458, 400gr. – “all else equal” – I had to say that, though they never are “all else equal”.
- After some adjustment, the last three fired from the .375 H&H were dead on at 50 yds and 100. At 50 they went into 0.50″ and at 100 into a perfect triangle of 1″ per side. Can’t beat that for consistent on a v. windy day!
Previous to this work on May 3rd, I was at the range a month earlier on a cold and windy day. I made quick work of the sightings of these two rifles that was good enough, but not as good as liked. So the first shot from each rifle on May 3rd is indicated by the “before”. The three following the preliminary shots for each are indicated by “after”. And that’s where they’ll be hitting on any bear at 40 – 50 yards – within an inch of where the rifle is pointing when the trigger breaks. I’ve adjusted the reticle to intersect where the final 3 shots are on the target for the .375 H&H. The Nikon scope on the .458 is set perfectly for 50 yds. In case a longer shot it needed, their current settings will do the job out to 100 yds or more without holdover.
< The final 3 shots within the circle from the .375 H&H.
At my age, I don’t have any long-term plans for anything! Any long-term will surely put me in heaven, which is a far better place – even than a “Good day at The Range”! And that’s the only Good News! In the near future, nothing good is heading our way down here. . . EXCEPT I walk, work and shoot in the light of God’s presence as my best FRIEND! Yep, including at the range!
Till then. . . whenever “then” happens!
Shalom
BOB MITCHELL (a friend of ISRAEL)