375 for plains game

[steve71]

I want to take a 375 for buffalo and shoot 300gr TSX. would they work on plains game too. trying to keep my packing down

 

[UpNorthMI]

I just got back a few weeks ago from South Africa and Barnes 300gn TSX was my choice of ammo in .375 H&H. They will work just fine on your buffalo and plains game. I would recommend that you get some real practice shooting out to at least 250 yards and understand the bullet drop from your rifle and scope set up. I shot one buffalo at over 200 yards, I was glad that I knew the real bullet drop that was going to happen on that shot or I would not have taken the shot.

My son and I both packed Blaser R8's in .375 with spare .300 WM barrels, we never shot the .300 WM and only shot the .375 with the Barnes 300gn TSX.

We also packed far too much clothing, the lady in camp turned laundry around in about 6 hours during the day, we could have taken half of what we packed, it's good to live and learn. The only problem next year could be the big double rifle that I see in my future. We were on a buffalo cow cull hunt, the .375 H&H did very well with one shot kills but some of the bull buffalo I saw were much bigger!!

Good luck on your hunt.

 

[Green Chile]

Perfect one bullet/one gun safari choice. I've done the same and will do so again. Last year I took big buff and croc, big sable and even a honey badger with the .375 300 TSX. Perfect results. I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[Velo Dog]

I want to take a 375 for buffalo and shoot 300gr TSX. would they work on plains game too. trying to keep my packing down

Hi steve71,

My favorite hunting cartridge of all time is the .375 H&H, including for Africa’s “plains game”.
It is easier on capes and skins when shooting small critters like jackal, steinbok, etc., than faster cartridges are (the various .300 magnums come to mind).
And, the .375 H&H is none too much for larger thicker boned ones like eland, waterbuck, zebra and such.
Plus by reputation, with today’s extra tough bullets, it is adequate for African buffalo.

The Barnes monolithic expanding bullets, (after several improvements over the years), have at last apparently earned a good reputation.
It is very likely that they will serve you well for a mixed bag hunt.
Just beware that they are so darn good that sometimes they will exit even a large buffalo and possibly then wound or kill some other animal, concealed in the background foliage.

Also, myself having seen first hand, erratic performance from hollow pointed bullets, rifle and handgun alike, I distrust them.
Therefore, I always recommend blunt shaped, heavy for caliber, old fashioned jacketed lead core soft nose bullets for hunting most hoofed animals.
For hunting African buffalo with your .375, you can’t go wrong with the 300 grain Swift A-Frame.
In .37 caliber it is not a blunt shape but it is an excellent, super tough, bonded core bullet nonetheless.

This blunt shape bullet thing of course applies unless one is hunting wide open geography with sparse foliage, where shots beyond about 300 long paces are likely.
Typical springbok hunting on flat grass land is one such possible scenario.
Then, lighter weight, spitzer shaped bullets are preferable.

I’ve rambled on too long already so, I will stop here.

Best Regards,
Velo Dog.

 

[neckdeep]

Just beware that they are so darn good that sometimes they will exit even a large buffalo and possibly then wound or kill some other animal, concealed in the background foliage.

They will work but this

 

[Safari Dave]

It will work, but, IME, the TSX will shoot completely through almost anything,



Just make sure there is not another animal behind the animal you are shooting at.


I wouldn't want to have to pay for 2 or 3 more than the one I actually intended to take.

 

[Sturgeondrjb]

I used my Zastava 375 with 300 TSX as my backup rifle last year on my buffalo/plains game hunt. Shot my kudu and blesbok with it. Both were DRT, could not have been more pleased with the performance of both. Put the bullet where it's supposed to go,shake hands and take your photos...

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

Perfect 1 gun Safari Battery. I used a .375 H&H on one of my hunts taking a buffalo and 14 different plains game animals from Steenbok on up. My bullet choice was different but the TSX will get it done on everything.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Hands down.

 

[Philip Glass]

I want to take a 375 for buffalo and shoot 300gr TSX. would they work on plains game too. trying to keep my packing down

Once you get used to the .375 and Hunt with it a bit you will realize, as I have, that is is a fantastic PG rifle. The caveat for me would be the distance of the shots. My .375 would be an ideal rifle for much of what Is hunt in say Zimbabwe while it would not be ideal in my hunts to the EC with the longer shots often required.
Glad you are coming around to our (many of us) way of thinking!

 

[trperk1]

I used my .375 with Barnes TTSX for Buff, Sable and Kudu in 2023. Worked like a charm. Did a plains game hunt this year but with my 30/06, still with TTSX. Found the bullets worked well on bigger game; Waterbuck, Gemsbok and Wildebeest. Like others mentioned, blew right through smaller animals. I didn’t get hardly any expansion and blood on the smaller game too.

With all that said, I’d use Swift A Frame or TBBC if you can find them. I couldn’t and switched to Barnes. And if faced with the same dilemma again, I’d run Barnes. Just make sure you’re running them through the shoulders.

 

[One Day...]

There is a 100% reliable solution...

Once you get used to the .375 and Hunt with it a bit you will realize, as I have, that is is a fantastic PG rifle. The caveat for me would be the distance of the shots. My .375 would be an ideal rifle for much of what Is hunt in say Zimbabwe while it would not be ideal in my hunts to the EC with the longer shots often required.
Glad you are coming around to our (many of us) way of thinking!

I agree with Philip.

My solution has been to use a scope that does not look like a space telescope - out of place on a classic .375 H&H, and dangerous on DG - but still features a discreet bullet drop compensator. In my case, it is a Leica ER i BDC 2,5-10x42. It is a good glass (Leica !), and the small BDC ring integrated in the top turret is classy and unobstructive (see pic below).

I zeroed it for 100 yard, and carry it with the BDC ring set at 100 yard when on DG during one-rifle-safaris, and generally set the BDC ring at 200 when after PG and leave it there, but knowing that if needed I can compensate for further distances.

I clocked the ammo (in my case Barnes factory ammo 300 gr TSX) and had Kenton Industries cut a custom BDC ring, with 25 yards increments, and can now, if I wanted, use the .375 on PG to about any sane distance. The 6" steel plate rings reliably at 100, 200, 300 yards on the first shot from the sticks, and I could click up to 600 yards if I cared to try, which I have no interest in.

This really turns the .375 H&H in a universal caliber, overcoming its century old limitation on PG, while taking the 'guestimation' (and inevitable errors and wounding shots) out of the equation.

Sadly this scope has been discontinued, with a few showing up occasionally on the used market, but the concept applies to other scopes, and Kenton Industries makes at very reasonable price ($125 in this case) custom rings for a wide range of brands and models.

 

[Wildwillalaska]

Sounds like a splendid plan. Clearly be careful of what lurks behind, which you should obviously do anytime you are shooting any cartridge at anything as far as I am concerned, not an issue just for deep driving big bores. My Africa specific experience is very shallow, just one trip. That said, I did the one rifle route and with a 416 Rigby. Not surprisingly, it dispatched my impala just fine, and worked equally well on my Buff, Sable, Roan, Kudu and Eland. I joked that if we had a couple more days, I would want to try the 4.One.6 on some of the tiny ten. (not seriously, but was funny since a friend was targeting a couple of those species.

For longer ranges, your 300gr out of the 375 will be better on drop as well. If super worried about it and reload, you can always roll up some 250 or 270 gr loads for plains game as well. Another AH member I was talking with who also brought just his 416 did that same thing. Had the traditional 400gr loads at 2400fps for his buff and then a load with 350gr that were traveling a bit faster and flatter but patterned the same at 100yrds and under as his 400gr.

 

[Ryan]

Short answer, which other's already gave. Yes, for most of the shot distance I have shot at in Africa.

When my 30-06 shot poorly checking it on my last hunt I just picked up my 375 Ruger with 300s I brought for buffalo and carried on. I dropped a blesbok, steenbok, black wildebeest and impala without any more damage than the 30-06. Know you're drop past zero and limits.

Good luck and good shooting