AHC#2 Classic .375 H&H | african-hunter

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The Classic .375 H&H

By Ganyana

Introduced in 1912 by Messrs Holland & Holland of London, the .375 magnum has become the standard general purpose African cartridge. Adopted by the American gun trade in 1925, and the European manufacturers after the Second World War, the .375 is easily the most commonly available big bore cartridge anywhere in the world. Rifles chambered for it are also offered by more manufacturers than any other big bore cartridge.

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The .375 H&H is an out-growth of the intense rivalry between European and British gun makers to develop new standard cartridges in the early 1900s. The military cartridges had been standardised around the world by 1893 (except in the USA) but in the sporting field there was considerable jockeying for position. The 9.5mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer, started the race for a large medium bore, suitable for general African and Asian hunting. The Mannlicher rifles are delightful little carbines and the calibre quickly took off. The British gun trade adopted the 9.5 M-S as the .375 Rimless NE (2 ¼), but Messrs Holland & Holland introduced their own round, the .400/375 Belted NE to compete. This cartridge was unique in that it was the first to use a belt for head-spacing rather than a rim or the shoulder. Ballistics for the .400/375 were identical to the 9.5. viz a 270 grain bullet at 2150fps. The belted design certainly eased manufacturing procedure since it was nearly as easy to produce the correct headspace with a belt as with a rim, and yet didn’t give the feeding trouble or require the complicated magazine design of a rimmed case. Ease of head-spacing is overlooked today, but in the early 1900s precision machining had to be done by hand, and chamber reamers were soft and wore out quickly. Rimmed or belted cases were much simpler. In addition the chamber of a rimmed or belted case could be made oversize, which was a considerable aid to extraction from a hot or dirty rifle. Reloading was not in vogue in the British world and reliability of function was the key, even above accuracy.

At the same time as Holland & Holland were introducing their .400/375 (1905), Mr Bock of Berlin was introducing his incomparable 9.3. Adopted by Mauser in the same year, it soon eclipsed the 9.5 and became Africa’s standard large medium bore. The .400/375 almost died at birth. It offered nothing over the 9.5, except that the rifles were considerably more reliable (the early Mannlichers were quite temperamental), but cost several times as much. The 9.3 clearly outclassed both. It launched a bullet of better sectional density (.305 vs .274), some one hundred feet per second faster (in pre-1918 loadings, after which the ballistics of the 9.3 were further upgraded in European loadings). These minor improvements in sectional density and velocity made all the difference. Neither the 9.5 M-S nor the .400/375 had sufficient penetration for frontal brain shots on elephant, and were decidedly marginal on shoulder shots on rhino or buffalo. The 9.3 possessed more than adequate penetration on all three species, and was the first cartridge that could be considered an all-rounder.

In 1906 though, the first cartridge of the new ‘high velocity’ craze hit the market. The .280 Ross was adopted by the Canadian Army, and even with the limited powders then available, launched a 140 grain bullet at 2900+fps. This represented the sort of quantum leap in velocity that the early smokeless loads had over black powder. High velocity ‘magnum’ cartridges and loadings became the rage, with non-magnum cartridges being rather passé. A cartridge had to deliver over 2500fps to be classified as a ‘magnum’ (although manufacturers were rather loose with the term), and all the major English gun makers brought out at least one ‘magnum’ cartridge. Even the British Army adopted one of the new 7mm Magnum cartridges for its new P13 service rifle, the 276 Enfield, but the First World War put paid to that.

Meanwhile, the design team at Holland & Holland were listening and learning. A velocity of at least 2150fps and a sectional density of at least .300 was required for satisfactory penetration on large game. High velocity was a distinct bonus in ensuring hits at unknown range, and that impact velocities of over 2250fps produced explosive wounds, and often lightning quick kills. Reducing bullet weight, and therefore sectional density, to allow an increase in velocity did not, however, produce the desired effect. Sectional density had to be maintained above .300 in order to achieve acceptable performance on big game, irrespective of velocity. The replacement for the .400/375 had to be a true magnum - delivering all available bullet weights at over 2500fps - for marketing purposes. It had to be safe against the largest game, and yet also usable for long range shooting on medium sized game in the mountains of India and Nepal. As the rifle was intended to be suitable for dangerous game, reliability of feed and extraction was of paramount importance, and this dictated a very tapered case with a shallow neck angle. The only way to easily achieve accurate head-spacing with such a cartridge was to retain the .400/375’s belt - the one feature of that already-obsolete cartridge that worked! Finally, it had to be able to work through a standard length Mauser action, since Rigby held the monopoly on magnum Mauser actions.

And so, out of these requirements came the greatest medium bore to date. Sticking to the .375 bore size, H&H increased the bullet weight to 300 grains to bring the sectional density to .305, and stretched the case to the maximum that could possibly be accommodated in the Mauser action (a special extra long magazine box had to be used). Velocity was a genuine 2500fps, and was achieved at a pressure of only 47,000 PSI, an important consideration for a cartridge designed for tropical use. In order to fulfil the requirement for an antelope rifle for use on the open plains of East Africa, a 270 grain Spitzer soft point bullet at 2650fps was introduced, whilst for long range shooting in the Himalayas and such places, there was a 235 grain Spitzer bullet at 2800fps. To cater for the hunter who preferred doubles, a flanged version with the same three loadings was made.

The .375 H&H Magnum was an instant success. It was suitable, in reasonably open country, for all African and Asian game. The 270 grain, or 300 grain soft-nosed loads sorted out large soft skinned game like lion, tiger and eland with panache, whilst the 300 grain solids proved perfectly adequate for elephant, buffalo or rhino under all except the most adverse conditions. Only as a long range rifle with the 235 grain load did the .375 H&H show any shortcomings - recoil was simply too stiff for use in a light mountain rifle. Nevertheless, for the one-rifle man, the .375 could certainly do it all from impala to elephant.

In a time of constant change and slow, dangerous travel, no man could afford to be without a rifle suitable for dangerous game. Yet the primary quarry would be something for the pot. Few men could carry, let alone afford, a battery of rifles, so the all-round rifle was a very much more eagerly pursued goal than it is today.

Initially the .375 H&H lagged behind its German rival. The 9.3 was available in the superbly built, yet budget priced Mausers, used a cartridge that fitted the standard length magazine box, and utilised a simple and cheap-to-produce cartridge design that kept the cost of ammo down. Holland’s .375 was a proprietary cartridge, with best quality and consequently expensive rifles available only from Messrs Holland & Holland. The belted case design added considerably to the cost of the ammunition. For the discerning sportsman though, or the slightly better off farmer or pioneer, the .375 had a distinct ballistic superiority over its rival, particularly in Kynoch loadings.

The growth of recreational and sport hunting in America though, brought the .375 into the limelight. Men wanted a cartridge that was safe for use on the largest bears, and rich Americans were beginning to follow Teddy Roosevelt on safari to Africa. A suitable dangerous game cartridge was needed. Following the First World War, Holland & Holland had released their .375 to the trade, and several manufacturers were now producing rifles in that calibre. As it was the best of the large medium bores and more than adequate for even the largest bear, it was naturally the one chosen by the American gun trade, and the .375’s ascendancy was assured.

Left – Right: .375 H&H Magnum, .458 Winchester Magnum and .416 Remington Magnum

World War II put paid to the budget priced yet high quality rifles from Mauser, FN, Brno, Schultz & Larsen, etc. Reasonable quality working rifles now emanated from Winchester and Remington in the USA. The 9.3 began to fade, and the .375 H&H took off in leaps and bounds. Soon American sportsmen made up the majority of hunters coming to Africa, and the .375 was the most common rifle of choice.

By the early 1950s the British authorities were fed up with sending home the remains of men who had tried to hunt large dangerous game with inadequate rifles. In quick succession all the colonies passed legislation making either the 9.3x62 or the .375 H&H the legal minimum calibre that could be used on thick skinned game. The small bore fans were forced to buy something bigger, and the logical choice was the .375. By the late 1950s, the .375 enjoyed all the advantages of the 9.3 prior to the war. Ammunition was available everywhere, in the most remote trading stations from French Equatorial to Portuguese East Africa. It was the one calibre that a hunter could be reasonably sure of finding a re-supply for, wherever he was.

For the ‘one rifle’ hunter the .375 still makes an awful lot of sense. With a sensible (low powered, long eye relief) scope a .375 rifle is an excellent choice for all the larger plains game, particularly tough animals like giraffe, sable, wildebeest, and eland. It is also a very practical choice for lion and leopard, although for a follow-up, the scope would have to come off. For elephant, buffalo and hippo it’s a great choice (with or without the scope), in reasonably open country. In jesse or other thick bush the .375 is definitely on the light side. In the hands of an expert marksman it’s adequate, and indeed, several famous professional hunters have used the .375 exclusively for their entire hunting careers. For a beginner or an amateur, something heavier is indicated for use in the jesse. Of course, for a visiting sportsman, who is being professionally guided, this doesn’t matter. Accurate, first shot placement with an adequate bullet is what matters. Dealing with malevolent beasties at close quarters is the pro’s job.

The modern trend towards premium bullets had further enhanced the .375’s performance. Some of the old batches of Kynoch ammo were notorious for their thin jackets and fishtailing badly on elephant (although they always seemed to get the job done). The only solids that were certifiably useless were a batch of unusual flat nosed Winchester ammo that arrived in the late ‘70s. The jacket was guaranteed to split open on impact and they mushroomed like a premium soft point: great for buffalo, but a definite no-no on elephant. The current crop of Speer African Grand Slam tungsten cored solids, Woodleigh Solids and the various better monolithics, make the .375 better than it has ever been for elephant, whilst the incredible range of soft points available truly make the .375 suitable for everything from dik-dik to hippo. With modern powders and stronger rifle actions (which allow pressures up to 55,000 PSI), the .375 H&H can be loaded to well above the original specifications if so desired, although what this achieves I’m not actually sure (apart from more recoil).

Holland’s .375’s versatility and its success on dangerous game makes it the first choice as THE ‘all-round cartridge’, and far and away the most popular choice with visiting sportsmen. ‘Pondoro’ Taylor, back in the 1930s and 40s gave the .375 H&H rave reviews in all his books, and time has served only to make the great ‘all rounder’ even better.

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