375 Holland & Holland Magnum

When Holland & Holland designed this cartridge, in 1912, 0.375-inch bullet diameter represented a light-medium bore. However, with relatively light recoil and modern bullet design, this chambering soon became the most popular choice for all-around African hunting. Owing to the narrow case shoulder, designers added a belt for headspacing. Unlike conventional rimmed cases, this design works reasonably well in conventional box magazine guns. The belt did one thing that turned out to be of far more significance than the inventors could ever have imagined – it allowed them to apply the impressive, almost sexy, moniker: "Holland & Holland's 375 Belted Rimless Magnum Express." The 375 required a magnum-length action. Those were originally scarce and expensive. In order to chamber this round in affordable standard-length Mauser actions, English gunmakers removed steel from the front of the receiver, behind the lower locking lug recess. This required considerable, expensive handwork. Hence, wildcatters began shortening the case so the resulting cartridge would fit a standard-length action. These designs heralded the modern "short magnums." US shooters have long noted a striking similarity between 375 H&H and 30-06 ballistics. While the larger bullets are 50% heavier, BC and muzzle velocity are similar and, therefore, so is trajectory. For example, compare the standard 270- grain, 375 load and the 180-grain, '06 load – both bullets launch at about 2700-fps. Properly zeroed and using pointed, medium-weight bullets, the 375 delivers a sufficiently flat trajectory for use against most species, using a "dead-on" hold, to about 300 yards, which is about the limit for most shooters, under field conditions. This chambering is unnecessarily powerful for anything but moose and largest bear in North America. It is popular for Scandinavian moose hunting. But Africa is where the 375 shines, where it is ideal for hunting most species.