I'm house bound now because of the horrible weather, thus "thinking" of things occupies my time.

In the gun safe sits a Weatherby DGR ( Dangerous Game Rifle) chambered in 375 Weatherby magnum. It will also shoot .375 H&H magnum cartridges.
I took it to the range once and found the 375 H&H shot reasonably well ( comfort wise) but the 375 Weatherby rounds kicked my ass, and drew blood on my shooting partner.
I had a break installed but have not shot it since.
The rifle has a heavy contoured barrel that's 26", and a synthetic stock.
At 70 I don't think I will be Grizzly hunting so I look for a purpose to enjoy this rifle.
My thought was for very long range shooter over 1000yrds.
The rifle now has a 1-6 optic, that could easily be swapped with something more appropriate.

Is the 375 cal. good for long range target use?
Would a new 375cal.chambering be better?

Look into the .375 CheyTac. At 500 yards, the H&H drops 50+ inches. Our long range guys may chime in with better experience and advice, but I think the H&H is a 300 yard gun.

No.

.375 bullets have poor BC. If shooting at ranges that rifle was intended to shoot, that low BC doesn't matter. Put that rifle in an experience 1000yd shooters hands and compare it to a 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 Creedmoor will easily win. Also as you know the .375 is going to whack you hard, after a few rounds that'll probably take a toll on your fundamentals.

IMO it’s wrong tool for the job I think and I’m not talking about the caliber or the rifles accuracy.

Unless you put a real compensator on it and add some weight to it somehow, I think you’re still going to find it pretty objectionable pretty quickly. Otherwise it’s a 9lb sporting rifle (sans scope). The brake you added might make it okay for occasional shooting or hunting, but I don’t think I’d want to sit/lay behind it for very many rounds.

That is a poor tool for long range precision.

And prohibitive from a standpoint of recoil, ammunition cost, and form of the rifle.

If you want to shoot long range, you should consider one of the chassis style guns like the Ruger Precision or one of the many more expensive custom guns chambered in 6mm or 6.5mm Creedmoor.



A further note, people often express a desire to shoot 1000 yards because it is a very nice round number. Many of them have never bothered to shoot 300, 500, 700, etc yards.

You need to walk before you can run. Most people who have never shot beyond 200 yards, if they attempt to leap straight to 1000 yards, won't even hit their target unless it is absurdly large.


I would encourage you to check out the precision rifle blog to see what kind of equipment guys are using to routinely shoot precisely out to 1400 yards.

I'm already covered with 6.5cm and 308 target rifles, just looking for a possible project using something that I already have.

I’ve long thought about getting a 375 H&H, no real reason, just because. Even if I go black bear hunting or elk, I’m easily covered. I’m not likely to ever want to spend the coin for a grizz hunt.

Being an avid reloader about the 1st thing I would do is tame the round some. If you reload, that’s an option for casual shooting. It does seem a bit much for target shooting, with full power loads.

If not really planning to use it ever, maybe some thought into getting full value with a sale? That’s assuming there isn’t someone in line for it to be gifted to.

No doubt the 375 Weatherby is a beast compared to the 375 HH. The best case for you may be to rebarrel to another cartridge based on the 375 HH. For distance, that would be 300 Win Mag. But its a big family of cartridges

The Weatherby DGR really isn't a good target rifle. If it weren't a magnum chambering, then converting the rifle to a hunter's-precision-type in a 6mm or 6.5mm bore could be an option. I don't see any reasonable target options for a 375 caliber conversion. IMO the best option is to sell the rifle and re-invest the money. Training & ammo should be at the top of the list, another rifle near the bottom.

Much can be learned from longer distance work with your 308. Your 6.5CM is even more capable than the 308, and at any distance you're willing to shoot the 308. I've hit targets out to 1800 yards with my 6.5. Now the odds of impacts aren't great at such distances, especially in windy conditions. But good 6.5 bullets fly that far. Realistically, 6.5CM's practical accuracy begins to fall off noticeably around 1300 to 1400 yards. By that distance the 6.5's ELR shortcomings really show -- long time of flight, moderate muzzle velocity, nothing special bullet BC, light bullets get tossed by the wind, light bullets provide limited splash on impact.

Precision shooting past 1000-ish yards is a different game than the more traditional & closer distances. Magnum calibers become necessary IMO. 7mm is the first step, maybe 7 SAUM. If someone made great factory ammo at a reasonable price, I'd probably already have a 7 SAUM. Next step up in capabilities is a 30 caliber magnum. There are a few great options here, but 300WM isn't one of them. For factory ammo, 300PRC is a good option. After that, then 338 and 375 bores -- beyond what I am willing to do.

I recommend more time with your existing 308 and 6.5.

Sierra makes a 350 gr .375" with starting BC of .805 which ought to do well at full charge.

quote:

the 375 Weatherby rounds kicked my ass, and drew blood on my shooting partner.

If you can't stand full power loads, it is not at all suitable.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This was before I had a brake installed, I have not shot it since to see how effective the brake is. The H&H 375 loads were tolerable without the brake.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Watson:
Sierra makes a 350 gr .375" with starting BC of .805 which ought to do well at full charge.

Ya and Berger makes 407 grain .375 with a BC of 1.022

Neither bullet would be a good choice. There's a balance between bullet weight, bullet OAL, max loaded OAL, case capaity, velocity.... With the OAL of the Sierra would be stuffing a lot of that bullet in the case. Taking away needed powder capacity to take advantage of a that bullet. I shot a 7SAUM/Berger 180 Hybrid off and on for the last several years competively, high percentage of shots at and beyond a 1000yds. I could have loaded a Berger 195 with its higher BC, but that would be a backwards step in perfomance I felt shooting it in a short action.

OP, your 6.5CM is more then enough to get you to 1000yds.

I’m not the long range expert that some here are, but there’s more to suitability of a cartridge for the purpose than the availability of bullets of the right caliber and ballistic coefficient.

For example, the 375 CheyTac cartridge is considered to be a round that’s extremely well suited to long range shooting. As its name indicates, it uses a 0.375 caliber bullet, and according to the CheyTac site, the company plans to offer its factory loading with a high BC 350 grain bullet driven at nearly 3000 feet per second. That’s far faster than the highest velocities I have found for the 375 Weatherby Magnum using 300 grain bullets. The difference is of course the fact that the CheyTac round uses a larger case with greater powder capacity.

This is a case of it's not that the engine's not big enough, it's that it's in the wrong car.