4 July 2024
The Perfect Medium
The .375 H&H Magnum, introduced by Holland & Holland in 1912, is a versatile and enduring cartridge renowned for its ability to handle a wide range of game, from small to dangerous, making it a staple for hunters worldwide.
Despite the rain a few days prior, the red African earth was bone dry. Every single step was thought out and calculated as we moved into position. The acacia thorns scraping the tops of my canvas gaiters were like unavoidable nails on slate. I had already made three failed stalks that afternoon and this was my last day of the hunt.
At this point, all of the species I had come to hunt had been successfully taken. We had one afternoon left and Andrew Pringle, the owner of Crusader Safaris, handed me his pre-war Holland & Holland bolt action rifle chambered in .375 H&H Magnum. Taking any chance possible to take game with a classic rifle I was more than happy to oblige, and it all culminated in that last stalk.
When we finally got into position, my PH Rad Robertson put the sticks down and I made sure the rifle was ready. The five minutes seemed like an eternity as I waited for the Warthog to step into an opening between two acacia bushes. Finally, it cleared the cover into the opening, I leveled the bead onto the front shoulder ad squeezed the trigger blade. As the shot rang out, the other pigs made their way over the next ridge in quick order.
The 300gr bonded bullet, at a distance of only 30 yards, had done very minimal meat damage. The bullet entered quartering on the front shoulder and exited in front of the offside hip. The Stalk had culminated successfully, and I had just taken my first animal with the wonderfully versatile .375 H&H Magnum.
At the end of the 19th century gun makers wanted to take advantage of two late century developments, smokeless powder and affordable yet strong bolt actions. Smokeless powder meant higher velocities and pressure while the bolt action systems developed in that previous decade meant an affordably strong vehicle for higher performing cartridges.
By 1912 many successful medium bore cartridges had already been introduced, creating a challenging and competitive market sector. All of these cartridges were seeing extreme popularity, especially in the colonies. Double rifles were far too expensive for the colonial farmer and buying one bolt action rifle that could adequately handle a small dik-dik with minimal meat damage as well as take buffalo with ease had serious appeal.
Introduced by Holland & Holland in 1912 the .375 H&H Belted Rimless Magnum has truly endured as the accepted “do it all” cartridge for the world, especially in areas with dangerous game. At the same time Holland & Holland also introduced the .375 H&H Flanged Magnum for their double rifles, however it was the cost effectiveness of the Bolt Action Rifle that drove the Belted Rimless variant to higher fame.
Holland & Holland decided that their medium bore cartridge would be designed to fit into the Magnum Mauser 98, and what followed took the world by storm. The original loadings were advertised as a 235gr bullet at 2800 fps, a 270gr bullet at 2650 fps and finally a 300gr bullet at 2500fps. With modern powders these velocities can be taken higher, but for 1912 this was outstanding.
Fast forward to the post WW2 period when African safaris were becoming more and more affordable. The .375 H&H Magnum was at that point being produced by many non-English gunmakers such as Winchester, Remington and FN. This only aided its popularity. Additionally, in this period certain African countries instituted minimums for dangerous game. Most of these countries decided to draw the line at .375 H&H Magnum. These laws solidified it in popularity over other medium bore cartridges especially in the .35 and some 9.3(.366) variants.
I feel many shooters forget how versatile this cartridge really is, especially in North America. One of my hunting mentors was an elk guide in Arizona for part of the year and a bear/moose guide in Alaska when he wasn’t chasing elk. A well-worn Winchester model 70 in .375 H&H Magnum was the only rifle he brought with him on these trips. He once told me that if a client made a bad shot on an animal, he had to be able to drop it on the spot, especially where distance may be a concern. The .375 H&H Magnum excels over bigger bore cartridges in regard to flat trajectory. When building a collection of rifles he told me “a man’s collection starts with a properly built .375 H&H Magnum and you can add from there.”
The gun writer Finn Aagaard wrote that when the minimum for big game was drawn at .375 H&H Magnum in Kenya he bought a model 70 Winchester both as his light rifle and a rifle clients could shoot accurately at dangerous game. He still backed his clients up with a much larger big bore, but the .375 H&H Magnum was the true workhorse and he later wrote that if all other rifles had to leave, the .375 H&H Magnum would be the last.
As I write this my own .375 H&H Magnum is on the table next to me. There is a serious level of comfort knowing I have a Holland & Holland rifle chambered in the cartridge that bears its name. If I had to go down to one rifle to hunt the world, the choice is that easy.
Bradley Johnson
