.375 bullet weight

[njc110381]

Hi all,

I've just bought myself a Sako 75 in .375H&H. Barrel twist is 1-12. I'm just wondering what bullet weights you've all experienced in the cartridge and how you got on with them? I'm looking to do a light reduced load for deer, maybe using 200gr bullets intended for .375 Winchester, and also a heavyweight to get the recoil up as much as I can (easier and cheaper than putting lots of rounds down my .416 Rigby). I'm not sure what I can get away with at the high end? I've seen 350's in a hunting configuration - do they work out of most standard factory barrels?

I had a .375H&H years ago but didn't do anything with bullets outside of the 270-300gr range, so your thoughts would be much appreciated please.

 

[Luvthunt]

Used Speer hot core in the 235 gr for deer but my pet load is the 260 gr Nosler Partition with Re 15.
Would use that for animals up to elk weight. When in big bear country usually load 300 gr A frames and use these also for DG. Backed up with solids if appropriate.

 

[BeeMaa]

I know Rhino makes 380 grain .375 caliber bullets. Not sure if they are available in the US. 350 grain bullets are more common and would be fine for your 1-12 barrel out to 100 yards with load development.

On the low end I know lots of folks use the 230 and 250 grain bullets to get more range out of their 375H&H. In general, the 375H&H is soft shooting enough that reduced power loads aren’t necessary…but everyone has their preferences.

I much prefer sticking with the 300 grain bullet (Barnes TSX) that’s accurate in my 1-12 barrel and develop a range card for reasonable hunting distances. Keeps it simple for me.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

300Gr for everything. I always prefer to zero in the rifle for it’s maximum point blank range.

Currently available preferences of mine are:
1) Cutting Edge Bullets Safari Solids- For elephant and hippopotamus on land
2) Barnes TSX- For hard framed plains game, Cape buffalo & hippopotamus in water
3) Federal Power Shok- For lion & leopard

I might be tempted to replace #2 & #3 with Swift A Frames (in which case, I’ll be using only one type of expanding bullet for any game which doesn’t require solids). But my experience with Swift A Frames is still far too limited to provide an accurate assessment of them (because I have only begun to use them extensively since 2021). In the past when 300Gr Federal Trophy Bonded Bear Claws were available, they were exclusively my expanding bullets of choice.

 

[Firebird]

You might be limited by what you can actually find available. I used the 235 gr Barnes tsx for eland and everything smaller with no problems. Will use 300 gr a frame for Buffalo on my next trip

 

[pilar]

Hello I load my 375 with 235 hotcore’s @ 2700fps and shot two buck deer with them
even with reduced loading I personally found them doing major damage on deer , but kind on the shoulder @ 30lbs recoil
I am returning to 250gr CX as a main load
the federal 270 power shok is a great cartridge for everything up to dangerous stuff imo
I hope you can find a happy medium for small to medium sized game

 

[Puddle]

So, you have a standard twist .375 H&H which means you can handload any and all bullet weights offered.

I do 5-mile daily strolls in the local hills and when packing along the H&H I load the magazine with my 200 grain Sierra JFN handloads. Makes for a handy off-hand practice round and for the occasional coyote I catch in the sheep fields below.

The H&H is an incredibly versatile cartridge and I find that all the bullet weights loaded to their classic MV's will produce more than acceptable accuracy, whether intended for practice or for hunting.

 

[fourfive8]

I’m with @Hunter-Habib on this. The 375, 300 gr bullet @ 2500 fps. I would stick with 300s. PRVI makes a good inexpensive soft point. Unfortunately Graf is out right now. If you want… the better approach would be to load that PRVI or similar 300 gr bullet to the Hodgdon 65% H4895 reduced level for deer. Then a premium 300 gr bullet to 2450-2500 fps… AFrame or TSX for larger game like eland and up.

 

[Jim Golden]

I agree with Habib and 458. I only shoot 300gr out of my .375 Weatherby. I load them to 2885 ft/s, which gives me more energy than a .458 Win Mag. It groups nicely too. Now, I just need to actually take it to Africa... the dagga boys are mocking me

 

[318AE]

I’ll be the third to pile on. I use 300 for everything - from Thompson’s gazelle to buffalo. There is something to be said for consistency and simplicity. There is an old adage that goes something like “beware the one rifle rifleman”. I don’t have the discipline to stick to only one gun, but I do limit the loads per rifle. Some of what you pick up in velocity with lighter loads you lose in BC, and certainly in SD.

 

[jlb1036]

STICK WITH THE 300GRS EXCELLENT SD FOR PENETRATION AND MILD RECOIL THUS ITS ALL ABOUT SHOT PLACEMENT

 

[UpNorthMI]

I’ve shot Sierra 200 gn for deer, Speer 235gn, 250gn, 270gn and lots of 300gn. They have all shot well in my .375 H@H rifles, it really is very versatile. Have never loaded past 300gn.

 

[jlb1036]

My favorite load for my 375 bolt action/300grs is been IMR4350 80.0grs drive the bullet at honest 2630 fps out of 24-26 ''bbl for my double cahpuis IMR3450 76.0 grs 2510 fps 25''bbl

 

[WAB]

I used 270 gr A-Frames for bear when I lived in Alaska. I load 300 gr A-Frames for Africa. The one exception was a trip to Botswana where I used 350 gr Woodleigh softs and solids at 2,300 fps. That 350 Woodleigh solid out penetrates any other load/caliber I have seen.

 

[njc110381]

I know Rhino makes 380 grain .375 caliber bullets. Not sure if they are available in the US. 350 grain bullets are more common and would be fine for your 1-12 barrel out to 100 yards with load development.

On the low end I know lots of folks use the 230 and 250 grain bullets to get more range out of their 375H&H. In general, the 375H&H is soft shooting enough that reduced power loads aren’t necessary…but everyone has their preferences.

I much prefer sticking with the 300 grain bullet (Barnes TSX) that’s accurate in my 1-12 barrel and develop a range card for reasonable hunting distances. Keeps it simple for me.

It's not the recoil I was worried about, it was the deer! But then a heavy slow bullet will probably be fine. If I was to go light I'd slow that down too - a 200gr bullet at about 2200fps would be similar to a .375 Winchester, and only putting out a couple of thousand foot pounds.

 

[IvW]

1 in 12 is standard. The ultimate weight is 340gr.
But for your lower weight deer loads I guess anything will work as it will stabilise from 210 to 380 gr

 

[BeeMaa]

It's not the recoil I was worried about, it was the deer! But then a heavy slow bullet will probably be fine. If I was to go light I'd slow that down too - a 200gr bullet at about 2200fps would be similar to a .375 Winchester, and only putting out a couple of thousand foot pounds.

If you are worried about meat damage you could always use a solid from CEB and punch two .375" holes...one on each side. Of course shot placement will become much more of an issue using solids, so take aim carefully of you will be tracking a whitetail for quite a while.

I know there was an Australian member who was using .30 caliber Woodleigh Hydros on water buffalo with great success. But then again, water buffalo are not whitetail and you aren't in Australia.

 

[njc110381]

If you are worried about meat damage you could always use a solid from CEB and punch two .375" holes...one on each side. Of course shot placement will become much more of an issue using solids, so take aim carefully of you will be tracking a whitetail for quite a while.

I know there was an Australian member who was using .30 caliber Woodleigh Hydros on water buffalo with great success. But then again, water buffalo are not whitetail and you aren't in Australia.

We're not allowed to use solids for deer here. The bullets have to be expanding. With the larger calibres that generally means downloading to minimise damage, or in some cases I've gone for a really robust bullet designed for thick skinned game. They're expanding bullets, but on such a small animal they barely do!

The deer we have range from 20lb to 500lb. Most in my area are the lower end of the scale, up to around 180lb.

 

[Rule 303]

For pigs I use 200 to 235 grain bullets. I am lucky in that the have the same POI as the 300 and 350 do at 100mts. When I run out of them, I will just use the 300's as I have a stack of the 300's. If I am going after Buff or bigger I will have 350 (as I read these lift the 375 up another level) and the 300grain Hydros. These also hit the same POI as the others.

For deer I would stick with the lighter bullets as the heavier may be too hard and just pencil through.
PS Both the CZ550and my Rem700 in 375H&H all shot diff bullet weights and makes (Not Barnes) to the same point of impact.

 

[bashaw]

Hello I load my 375 with 235 hotcore’s @ 2700fps and shot two buck deer with them
even with reduced loading I personally found them doing major damage on deer , but kind on the shoulder @ 30lbs recoil
I am returning to 250gr CX as a main load
the federal 270 power shok is a great cartridge for everything up to dangerous stuff imo
I hope you can find a happy medium for small to medium sized game

Which powder and how many gr are you using for the 250gr CX? I'm thinking 79-82gr of H4350