she looks like a beauty, 260. and don't worry, there are some aussies on here who can talk both "mm" and inch. if she shoots 20mm ( 3/4 inch for our american friends) you should be rapt. don't forget, too, that recoil is a cumulative affect, so the groups might have opened up due to shooter fatigue, rather than just heating the barrel. i find that even a lightweight .270w shoots better groups early in the day. sitting behind a 375 on the bags for 60-odd shots would take it's toll.oh, and if you are heating the barrel that much, then don't! you'll burn it out before you run it in

as for the recoil, i too would have thought it would kick a lot more than the 7mm mag. a lot of "felt" recoil comes down to stock design, of course. and the 375 H&H has been the popular professional choice in africa for decades - largely due to it's "relative" shootability.

good luck with the beasty. let us know how it goes with handloads