The .375 H&H Magnum Rifle Cartridge: Versatility Champ

If the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum has a problem, it’s that few American rifle shooters need one. Above .30 caliber, rifle and cartridge sales drop fast because few of us hunt extra-large game. For its power level, the .375 H&H is wonderfully shootable, more of a hard push than a swift kick. Still, it thumps on both ends; it takes a different mindset to shoot one just for fun.

Maybe I had a skewed mindset when I was young, because I had a .375 long before I needed one. As a teenager, I was besotted with dreams of Africa. Had to have a .375. Because I had it, I first used it for mule deer and pronghorns. It worked, although I won’t argue for its ideal suitability. I used it for my first elk when I was 20; worked just fine. That .375 had accounted for other firsts: first caribou, first grizzly, first moose, and first wild sheep. Eventually it got to Africa.

48 years later, typically a .375 usually joins me in Africa. Despite limited utility in North America, over there it’s the versatility king, adequate for the largest game, street-legal in all jurisdictions, and flat-shooting enough for most African situations. It still stands as one of the few sensible choices for a one-rifle safari and is probably the single most available rifle cartridge on the African continent.

It's not perfectly clear what Messrs. Holland & Holland had in mind when they introduced it in 1912. The British Empire was at its height, with vast colonies in Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Smokeless powder velocities and deep-penetrating jacketed bullets were new. In those days, hunters often wrote about their exploits. WDM Bell, Dennis Lyell, and CH Stigand were outspoken in their praise of light, fast smallbores with non-expanding solids, touting the early 6.5 mms and the 7x57 for the largest game, even elephants. Others took a more conventional tack, preferring the large-caliber Nitro Express cartridges from .450 to .500.

Creation Inspiration

There wasn’t much in between. It’s often said the .375 was created to compete against less expensive medium-bores from Mannlicher and Mauser. Germany’s Otto Beck developed the 9.3x62 (.366) Mauser in 1905. Also in 1905, H&H introduced the .400/.375 Belted Nitro Express, the first cartridge to wear a belt as a headspacing index. Short in case and anemic in power, it flubbed. Rigby’s larger-cased and faster .350 Rigby Rimless Magnum (1908) was more successful. The 9.5 (.375) Mannlicher was also introduced in 1908, and the 9.3x62 had gotten popular, especially in Germany’s African colonies.

It seems unusual for staid Holland & Holland to eat crow so quickly, but in 1912 they tried again with a new .375 cartridge, now able to compete directly against the .350 Rigby, 9.3x62 Mauser, and 9.5mm Mannlicher. Holland’s engineers kept the belt, lengthened the case, increased velocity, and struck paydirt with the .375 H&H Magnum. Initial loads featured a light-for-caliber 235-grain bullet at 2800 fps, 270-grain bullet at 2650, and a 300-grain bullet at 2500. In 1912, these were impressive velocities. There was also a flanged (rimmed) version for better extraction in single-shots and double rifles, loaded to slightly less pressure and lower velocity.

Under the British proprietary system, gunmakers often remained the sole source of ammo for their self-named cartridges. After WWI, the .375 H&H was released to the gun trade. Various British firms chambered it, and it crossed the pond. Western offered the first American factory load, and it was an initial chambering for Winchester’s Model 70, introduced in 1936. With a 2.85-inch case, it needs a full-length action. To this day, not all manufacturers make actions long enough. Those who do, the world over, usually chamber to .375 H&H. Worldwide, it is the most popular over-.30 cartridge.

The 235-grain load was probably too fast for 1912 bullet technology. It dropped by the wayside, while 270 and 300-grain loads remain the most common. Today’s 270-grain loads are usually rated at 2690 fps; 2530 fps for 300-grain bullets. Both loads produce over 4000 foot-pounds (ft-lbs) of energy. The 270-grain load has a trajectory similar to the .30-06 with a 180-grain bullet.

Packing a Wallop

With 300-grain “solids,” the .375 H&H was soon proven adequate for the largest thick-skinned game (rhino, hippo, and elephant). With today’s awesome expanding bullets, there isn’t much (short of pachyderms) you can’t do with it. It’s adequate for Cape buffalo and other large bovines, and dramatically effective for anything of lesser size. However, I consider it marginal for elephants (the correct side of the margin).

It is needlessly powerful for most of the world’s game. Although I’ve made it work, it doesn’t shoot as flat as one might prefer in mountains and plains. To me, the .375 H&H a classic jack-of-all-trades…but master of few. Worldwide, there are few game animals it’s ideal for. In Africa, it’s perfect for eland, the largest antelope, up to a ton. In India, it was a standard choice for tiger. In Africa, it’s still the odds-on preference for lion. Not because a .375 is essential for a 400-pound animal, but because it is often the legal minimum. Also, one should not hunt lions without enough imagination to visualize what might happen if something goes wrong. Best carry enough gun to clean up the mess.

In North America, a .375 is the standard choice for the biggest bruins, coastal brown and polar bears. Possibly 1500 pounds, similar in weight to Cape buffaloes. Last year, I took likely my last big bear, an Alaskan brownie. Up there, I’m always thinking about a longer shot on a wolf, so I chose a .338. Flatter shooting, a bigger scope, and that .338 drives tacks. I drew a tough shot on a big bear at 235 yards. Got the job done, but a .375 is a better choice for the biggest bears. I agree with the many Alaskan bear guides who recommend a .375.

Besides the common 270 and 300-grain loads, there are other choices. Hornady loads a 250-grain CX, Nosler a 265-grain Partition, and Norma offers 350-grain loads, both expanding and solid. Component bullets for handloaders are wider yet, from 200 to 380 grains. The lightest bullets can be pushed above 2900 fps, with noticeably less recoil. When I was a .375-crazed kid, I used to load up 235-grain Speers for jackrabbits and prairie dogs. Ballistic Coefficients (BC) are poor with light-for-caliber bullets, but they shoot flat over normal hunting ranges. I’ve used them to good effect for elk as well as African plains game.

Impressive Impressions

The extra-heavy .375 bullets impress me less. They have greater Sectional Density (SD), thus penetrate even better. However, the .375 H&H’s most common 1:12 rifling twist may not stabilize them. Of necessity, they are much slower, yielding dramatically different points of impact. If one were serious about hunting elephants (and not much else) with a .375, maybe. For most purposes, including buffalo, I think they rob the .375 H&H of its great versatility.

Naturally, rifles vary, but I’ve found the .375 H&H to be consistently—often amazingly—accurate and usually non-finicky and easy to load for. With large bore diameter and gentle shoulder, many medium-slow powders work well. I’ve usually used H414, IMR4064, and both Hodgdon and IMR 4350.  Although more ideal for larger game, the .375 is an awesome thumper on black bears…especially if you run into the extra-large bear we all dream of. On smaller (deer-sized) game, let your friends laugh at you. You can usually eat right up to the bullet hole with little meat damage…and you won’t do much tracking.

There are a variety of 9.3mm (.366) and .375 cartridges at various velocity levels. Excepting the old .38-55 and mild .375 Winchester, all at least buffalo-capable. The 9.3x62, 9.3x74R, and .376 Steyr are less powerful; the .370 Sako Magnum and 9.3x64 Brenneke are ballistic twins to the H&H. The faster .375—including .375 and .378 Weatherby Magnums and .375 RUM—are faster and more powerful. It seems to me these fast .375s hit about like .416s, but with fast and hard recoil. I have used them, love the effect, but decided they’re more fun than I need.

In my opinion, the .375 H&H’s only real competition is 2007’s .375 Ruger. The upstart Ruger is slightly faster, fits a standard action, and is more efficient in shorter barrels. These are solid attributes; although fearing being struck by lightning, I’d even say the .375 Ruger is a better cartridge. Since it’s faster, it kicks a bit more. Not enough to make a big difference. Except: .375 Rugers are often built lighter, so recoil can be stout. Available in compact, less expensive platforms, the .375 Ruger has caught on well, but I doubt it will ever rival the .375 H&H’s popularity. The .375 H&H is the most popular and widespread choice in its class, available anywhere in the world large game is hunted. And effective.

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