.375 group

[maxtheflyinghorse]

What will be the acceptable grouping for .375 H&H magnum at 100 yards ? Will you be happy with 2” shooting off a bench ??

 

[freefall]

Oh, thank heaven! I thought you were going to hug or support or something!

 

[Hunter4752001]

I would expect 1.25 or much better. However somewhat irrelevant. Hunting is NOT benchrest. What counts is what you can do standing, both unsupported and off sticks.

 

[Tra3]

I’m curious to see the responses on this. The scope magnification should be taken into account too. With a 1.25-4x I’m at about a 2” group.

 

[Woodcarver]

What will be the acceptable grouping for .375 H&H magnum at 100 yards ? Will you be happy with 2” shooting off a bench ??

Not sure yet. Hopefully be able to tell you in a few weeks.

But I don't tend to be happy with 2" off the bench from a bolt gun. Been able to keep 1" rifles under 2" off the sticks, so hopefully the CZ headed this way will follow suit.

 

[1dirthawker]

i suspect that with hand loads you could do better than 2" pretty easily. truth is, if i get 1.5" groups at a 100 yards with my 375, I'm a happy guy. under field conditions, i can't shoot better than that anyway.

 

[375Fox]

It’s not so much what is acceptable for a 375, it’s what’s acceptable to you? A 375 is capable of the same accuracy as your other rifles at 100 yards. I can shoot 0.5-0.75” groups with 250 gr TTSX or 2” groups with 300 gr Swift A Frames.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

I would be satisfied but not happy. I can’t shoot better than 2” from field positions, so I would judge your groups from your field shooting positions.

 

[375Fox]

I’m curious to see the responses on this. The scope magnification should be taken into account too. With a 1.25-4x I’m at about a 2” group.

How many different loads have you tried? It seems odd to me but I can shoot as well with my 5x scope as I can with 9x or 10x. 250 gr TTSX give me 0.5-0.75” groups at 100 yards and 3” groups at 300. I think your eye knows where it wants to go so the groups come out same even with less magnification.

 

[Jaegger]

It’s not so much what is acceptable for a 375, it’s what’s acceptable to you? A 375 is capable of the same accuracy as your other rifles at 100 yards.

I feel - 375Fox position is spot-on “… .375 is capable of the same accuracy as other rifles @ 100-yards.”

Research & Range Time. The Fun or for some The Frustration - finding the right over-the-counter Ammo brand/grain or hand-load combo that brings out the best accuracy your individual rifle can produce.

My thought - don’t start w/ a blank sheet but post your rifles make/model & action … let AH family past their experiences to help you dial-in a sweet combo!

Ex: I don’t hand-load, I have two (2) .300 WM in bolt & single, I only purchase premium brands, & the rifles do not like the same brand or grain. Both rifles shot <= 1-inch w/ their preferred brand/grain.

 

[ldmay375]

What will be the acceptable grouping for .375 H&H magnum at 100 yards ? Will you be happy with 2” shooting off a bench ??

If iron sights, I would be happy.

If scope, I would not be happy, particularly if it was 3 shot groups. I would think factory loads should get you 1.5” or less, 3 shot groups.
Consistent 2” groups would work, depending on your target size and distances.

If factory loads, or hand-loads I would be trying something else. Also checking for a mechanical issue, and my personal shooting set up and form.
I shoot low powered scopes with substantially heavy reticles. I finally figured out match the target to the scope. Being able able to see enough target to consistently center the reticle certainly makes a big difference for me.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Iron sights 100mm, scope 50mm.

 

[Deleted member 74279]

Let's be honest guys... what won't you kill with a .375 with a 2" grouping??

 

[BeeMaa]

2" off the bench is not acceptable to me, mostly because I know that the rifle is much more capable of better accuracy...and so am I.

My expectations for myself and rifle are not yours. Skill levels of the individual and the quality of the equipment being used play a big factor in expectations. I would expect 1" groups or less with magnification of 4x or higher and premium ammo from a sled. The better you are able to achieve on the bench will raise your expectations in field positions.

When moving to field positions (mostly sticks) it has a lot to do with practice, but I expect 2" - 3 round groups from both myself and my wife.

If you are having trouble finding a load that works with your rifle, I suggest a ladder be done with a few different bullet types. 3 kinds of bullets like 300 grain SAF, Norma Oryx and TSX each having 5 different loads of powder. What you end up with is for each bullet, there are 5 rounds of 5 different powder charges...so a total of 25 rounds for each type of bullet to make the ladder. There are a few companies that do this. John at https://www.safariarms.com/ does a great job and has several quality bullets to choose from.

Aim small...miss small.

 

[Bonk]

I have a simple calculation I use for hunting. Whatever size group I shoot from the bench I assume it will at least double in size when shooting from a steady field position. That means with an MOA rifle I should be able to hit a 2" target at 100 yards if I do my part. It will at least triple when shooting from some sort of supported but not absolutely stable field position (i.e, kneeling or off the sticks). Finally, it will at least quadruple shooting offhand. So, depending on the game and the distances I intend to shoot what's perfectly acceptable for one rifle may be totally inadequate for another.

For example, a 375H&H shooting 2" groups off the bench at 100 yards would be completely acceptable as a DG rifle because using my calculation I expect to be able to hit an 8" target offhand at 100 yards. At 50 yards a 4" target and at 25 yards a 2" target. I've never hunted buffalo but this seems to me to be accurate enough assuming all shots are within 100 yards. Keep in mind that's offhand. Any sort of rest will decrease those group sizes.

On the other hand, using the same rifle and attempting a 250 yard shot at a zebra from a steady field position I should only expect to be able to hit a 10" target. Barely adequate IMO. I probably need to get closer. Decreasing the bench rest group size by even a 1/2" means I can expect to hit a 7.5" target at 250 yards from a steady field position. Acceptable. Bring the bench groups down to MOA and now I can reasonably expect to hit a 5" target at 250 yards. Much better. Again, keep in mind that in this example I'm shooting from a steady field position.

I don't need a MOA DG rifle but if I'm going to use that same rifle for PG I need it to shoot a little bit better than 2 MOA.

 

[Opposite Pole]

From a bench I would aim for minute of angle max - 375H&H is not an inaccurate round. Sure, at normal hunting distances 0.5” or even 1” this or that way doesn’t make much difference but remember shooting errors are magnified by rifle/ammo inaccuracy. Also, knowing one’s rifle/ammo is accurate increases confidence.

 

[Philip Glass]

I wouldn’t worry too much about it. ”Is it consistent” is the question I would ask. Just make sure you can also shoot very consistently off sticks as well.
keep planning for your next great adventure! I know I am.
Philip

 

[ChrisG]

The bigger the bore gets, the less .0001" of fouling matters and affects accuracy. I would say all other things being equal (bullet and barrel quality, load prep etc.), a .375 should as good or better than most smaller bores. That said, can you put the bullet into the kill zone of the required animal inside 300 yards? If so, then any more fiddling with groupings is minutiae. I dont get any particular joy in firing 2 boxes of .375 off the bench to see if a specific load tightens my group by 1/2". So once it groups inside 8" at 300 yards, I call it good. Almost all modern barrels and bullets are capable of doing better than that with most standard loads. Depending on what you enjoy, you may press for more. I usually don't bother.

 

[Flipper Dude]

You guys shoot a lot more than I do. My North American hunting is pretty limited to my Matthews. I do use my rifles in Africa. To be honest, it’s a lot harder to get tight groups out of my 468 Lott, 404 J and 375 H&H than it is with my ‘06. Not that I’m scared of them off the bench, but I do know what’s coming. I sure my squeeze isn’t quite as fine. I’ve never used a sled, so can’t speak to that.

 

[TOBY458]

Hi....my name is Toby458. I too have a 375 problem. I feel a talk group would be just the thing to help like minded, or mindless, people get over this affliction, and move on to bigger and better things.

Oh.... crap.....you meant actual group size of your 375....MY BAD!

In that case.... your 375 should shoot as well as your deer rifle. No need to accept any less accuracy from it, than you would from a smaller caliber rifle. Both of my 375s as well as my other larger caliber bolt action rifles will all shoot MOA with ease.