Larry Weishuhn
“If you had to choose one rifle, one caliber to hunt the world, what would it be?” questioned a voice from the back of the gathered crowd.
“Ruger Model 77 Guide Rifle chambered in.375 Ruger shooting Hornady’s 250 grain GMX or300 grain DGX or DGS ammo depending upon the game pursued topped with a Trijicon 3-12X AccuPoint.” I responded without hesitation, “Extremely accurate, hard hitting, reasonable range capabilities, manageable recoil, fun to shoot, and with it’s down range energy takes animals down quickly and humanely!”
“I’ve used that combination throughout much of the world, although on occasion I shot a Ruger M77 African chambered for it.” I continued, “In Africa with my .375 Ruger I’ve taken elephant, hippo, buffalo, lion, eland, kudu, gemsbok, vaal rehbok and klipspringers in the mountains on down to blue duikers. In Europe I’ve used it on alpine ibex, mouflon, reindeer, red stag, fallow deer and roe deer. In Australia I’ve used it on Asian buffalo. Here in North America I’ve taken a wide variety of game from monstrous Alaskan brown bear down to whitetail deer!” To me the .375 Ruger and Ruger’s Model 77 Guide Gun is the perfect “one rifle to hunt the world”!
I awaited an argument from the crowd, but none came.
The .375 Ruger was developed jointly by Hornady and Ruger as a medium length cartridge, about the same length as the .30-06, so it does not require a magnum action. It exceeds the ballistics of the older .375 Holland & Holland Magnum, which certainly should be in the running for the one rifle-one, one-world choice. Ruger introduced the round in their Model 77 African during 2007.
Admittedly, I dearly love the .375 H&H Magnum. Frankly, I was initially a bit reluctant to jump on the .375 Ruger bandwagon. When the .375 Ruger was first released traveling through various African countries I asked gun shops about the availability of .375 Ruger ammo. Sometimes I got a blank stare. Other times I was handed a box of .375 Holland & Holland Magnum. .375 H&H Mag ammo could readily be found throughout the world, but back then, not .375 Ruger. Then things started changing. Writers began touting the benefits of the new round. Hunters started taking their .375 Rugers to Africa and used them on elephants, buffalos, other big and dangerous game with excellent results. Here in North America several of us started using the new Ruger magnum on big bears, elk, and moose. Those who hunted with the round swore by it! While the .375 Ruger was not replacing the older .375 H&H Mag it was certainly taking its place alongside the older magnum! The popularity continued to increase. Today, almost anywhere .375 H&H Mag ammo is available, so is .375 Ruger.
The first animal I shot with my .375 Ruger was a nearly 11-feet squared, Boone & Crockett Alaska brown bear using Hornady’s 300 grain DGX (Dangerous Game Expandable). A month later I used that same combination to take an African lion. I have since used the round in Africa on elephant, hippo (using Hornady 300 grain DGS – Dangerous Game Solid), as well as buffalo in Namibia, Uganda, Benin and Burkina Faso, and as mentioned on a great variety of plains game.
In Australia I used a .375 Ruger/Hornady/Ruger Guide Rifle on three monstrous bodied Asian buffalo. Hunting in Austria I used my .375 Ruger stoked with Hornady ammo and topped with a Trijicon scope to take alpine ibex and mouflon sheep. A year later I used the combination to hunt and take roe deer and red stag in Sweden, fallow deer in Denmark and reindeer in Norway.
Back home in North America the .375 Ruger has helped me account for as previously mentioned a monstrous brown bear, black bear, elk and a lot of whitetail deer as well as exotics such as Transcaspian urial sheep and nilgai antelope.
I am NOT a proponent of long range hunting. However, I do love shooting steel targets at great distances, just not animals. To me, hunting means getting as close as one possibly can before pulling the trigger. With today’s rifles, ammo, optics, range finders, ballistic charts there, to me, is no challenge in shooting at game at long range, it’s simply shooting. There are no hunting skills involved in doing so. I shoot long range at targets so I know when I get to within less than 300 yards and considerably less, I can precisely place the bullet within the vitals of animals and take them down as quickly and humanely as possible with my first shot.
All that said, I have shot my .375 Ruger rifles using Hornady’s 250-grain GMX,out to 750 yards and found them to be extremely accurate at that distance, four-inch groups. At 500 yards, sighted-in dead on at 75 and again at 200 yards, the load drops about 54-inches, but is still producing as much energy as what the .308 Win produces at the muzzle.
The .375 Ruger is capable of quickly bringing down the world’s largest big and dangerous game but also sufficiently accurate to take down the smallest “big” game. My Ruger Model 77 Guide Rifle is compact and fast-handling thanks to its 20-inch barrel.
From my experience the .375 Ruger in a Ruger M77 Guide Rifle, topped with a Trijicon variable scope and shooting Hornady ammo is without a doubt my “perfect one gun to hunt the world”!
To see what outfitters I personally hunt with go to www.trailingthehunters.com. There you can also learn where to find our “DSC’s Trailing The Hunter’s Moon television” show so you can see the Ruger/Hornady/Trijicon “combination of confidence” in use!
You can also follow more of Larry's Exploits at www.traillingthehuntersmoon.com
Untamed Heritage Podcast https://untamedheritage.blubrry.net/
Photos courtesy of Larry Weishuhn Outdoors