.375 H&H Bullet Selection Question

[Justin D.]

Question Ladies and Gents,

I'm trying to find a round combo that my Winchester 70, .375 H&H likes. I've already attempted to pattern the 300 gr. Swift A-frames and 300 gr. Barnes TSXs (all from 100 yards) from the lead sled. The best I can get with a 5 shot group from the A-frames is 1.76" and the Barnes TSX aren't much better at 1.65". These are both factory ammo from Federal and Barnes VOR-TX, respectively. I've already got some other bullets that I'm getting loaded up from Hendershots (250 gr. TTSX, 270 gr. LRX, 299 gr. Stone Hammer, and 276 gr. Hammer HHT) but I wanted input from folks about the 300 gr. Nosler Accubonds. Keep in mind, this round will only be used for larger plains game, mainly the Eland.

My .300 WM is shooting a .59" group with 180 gr. Barnes TTSXs and my wife's 30-06 is throwing a .83" group with Federal 180 gr. TSXs. So I know it's not the monkey behind the trigger that's the issue. My PH is telling me those .375 groupings are ok groups but I'm coming from a 20 year military career where your groupings need to be touching at 100 yards, so a 1.5+ MOA does not make me comfortable/confident in shooting a gun at an animal like that.

Is the Accubond a good bullet for the larger plains game? I'm hoping, fingers crossed, that the Stone Hammer will produce a good grouping or one of the other bullets I'm having made up. If not, I want another option to look at, ergo the Nosler ABs. I don't have a reloader nor anyone that's near me to reload other than Hendershots which is over a 2.5 hour drive. So I basically am stuck at the mercy of factory loads. Thanks for any and all input.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

You don’t want to hear it but what are you worried about? A 4.5” group at 300 yards should kill anything that a 375 will be used on. I would rather have the 100% reliable performance of the A frame than a lesser bullet for a marginal upgrade in accuracy.

 

[SRvet]

Has your rifle been bedded? It may not just be the ammo? Also are you confident that the scope and mounts are 100%?

 

[ve7poi]

Quit using lead sled and try without.
Try using shooting sticks

 

[Doug3006]

Buy a case of either factory load and go hunting….for the rest of your career! 3 shot 100 yd groups of 1.6” or 1.7” are perfectly acceptable for any plains game in Africa. The 300 gr bullets were my pick for Eland. Worked great on the 2 I have taken.

 

[sgt_zim]

You don’t want to hear it but what are you worried about? A 4.5” group at 300 yards should kill anything that a 375 will be used on. I would rather have the 100% reliable performance of the A frame than a lesser bullet for a marginal upgrade in accuracy.

Exactly this.

You could probably get better groups with Hammers, and a few dudes over at their bbs are reporting excellent results with 270 gr Stone Hammer on buff. Seems an awful lot to ask of a bullet that's going to shed ~50 gr shortly after penetration, though.

I'm seriously considering using their 332 gr or even the 351 gr Stone Hammer in my new-to-me 375 H&H,.

But right now, everybody seems to be practically giving away 300 gr TSX.

But in all honesty, 1.5 MOA is plenty good with TSX and A Frame. For buff, your target is about the size of an NFL football, a little larger, I think. If you're hunting the bushveld or similar, the only way you're likely to get a shot past 150 yards is if you're shooting down a road. If you need to reach out to 300 or farther, your 300 WM is better suited for that kind of work anyway.

 

[Justin D.]

Quit using lead sled and try without.
Try using shooting sticks

Without the lead sled, the A Frame opened up to 2.85" and the TSX went to 1.87".

 

[Justin D.]

Has your rifle been bedded? It may not just be the ammo? Also are you confident that the scope and mounts are 100%?

The rifle is new to me, not new though. Unsure if it was bedded. The scope (Riton) and mounts (Leupold) are all brand new and I did all the install with proper torque on all bolts. I've rechecked all torque and nothing was loose. I grouped the first time without a sled and the second time with a sled. Both times, all respective groups were hitting at the same spot.

 

[sgt_zim]

Without the lead sled, the A Frame opened up to 2.85" and the TSX went to 1.87".

Sounds like you need to practice more, then. No shame in that.

 

[Puddle]

Both the Federal and Barnes factory fodder is routinely good stuff. The NAB bullet is fine, but not the Nosler factory ammo - don't trust the MV printed on the box. It's routinely at least 100 fps under what is specified.

If the lead sled is delivering the groups you've mentioned, then it's time to leave the bench behind and start paying your dues from the sticks.

 

[shootist~]

with a 5 shot

How do the first 3 look *from a Cold / Dirty barrel*? The first one - along with mean radius from POI is what matters to me.

 

[375Fox]

Swift A Frames are about performance on DG not accuracy. With 250 gr Barnes TTSX I can shoot 0.75” groups, but with 300 gr A Frames only 1.5-2” groups. If I go buffalo hunting though I want the A Frames. For PG I’d be happy with nearly any bonded bullet. I’d gladly use the Accubond for any PG. It did very well for me on PG in 300 win mag on zebra, kudu, and giraffe. For Barnes bullets or any monolithic bullet I think you’d be better stepping down to 250 or 270 gr if looking for accuracy. They are much longer than lead core bullets so lighter and faster shoot more accurately for me, but if it was buffalo I’d pick 300 gr again.

 

[AimSmall]

The Accubond will work fine on Eland.

Most plains game are shot under 200 yds, the heart/lungs are the the target - choose accordingly.

 

[375Fox]

Any reason you don’t want to use your 300 win? 180 gr TTSX will be fine on an eland, especially if you are more confident in rifle. 375 H&H is a great all around gun, but so is the 300 win if you’re only hunting PG. I’ve taken 8 eland with 308, 300 win, 375 H&H. I’d prefer the 375 but if I’m only hunting PG and only taking 1 rifle it would be my 300 not the 375.

 

[Edge]

Another option, try another scope and make sure the bases / rings are properly torqued.

 

[Justin D.]

Another option, try another scope and make sure the bases / rings are properly torqued.

Both the scope and rings are brand new and were mounted by myself and torqued to factory specs. I've double checked for looseness and nothing.

 

[baxterb]

Might be off here, but I take it the 375 is the largest rifle you've owned? To be honest it sounds like you are recoil shy. Nothing will help that but time and practice. Take off the scope and have some fun slinging rounds until you realize the recoil won't kill you, then put it back on and never use the lead sled.

 

[Justin D.]

Might be off here, but I take it the 375 is the largest rifle you've owned? To be honest it sounds like you are recoil shy. Nothing will help that but time and practice. Take off the scope and have some fun slinging rounds until you realize the recoil won't kill you, then put it back on and never use the lead sled.

Owned, yes. Shot, no. Shot M107, .50 BMG overseas with no issues.

Also grew up shooting 12 ga., 1 oz. slugs (437 gr.) for deer hunting with no recoil issues.

 

[USMA84DAB]

I would get a buddy that has QuickLoad or Gordon's (or both) and seek out a harmonic node. Then send THAT load to Hendershot's to load up for you.

You have adequate groups off the bench. Now that you tried getting on the sticks, now you are learning to be a real rifleman! It takes practice and hard work to learn to steady down the oscillation and break the trigger at the right time.

Now you will get into the issue of how many times per session before your shoulder is tired of being punched. Wear a "sissy" pad on your shoulder - lots cheaper than curing a flinch you build for yourself!!!!!!!!! When I trained for my enormous experience base of ONE safari, I shot 50 rounds a session with my .375 Ruger Alaskan off sticks, seated kneeling, and standing. You bet your ass I wore my sissy pad for those sessions! I have fired a few high-power rifle matches in my younger days as well, so have practiced what I am preaching to you.

This is why the Army always trashes its marksmanship training in peacetime. They even shut down their sniping programs!!!! They don't want to spend the money and time on training to kill vs. being confused about what a man/woman is. (And the generals HATE any unit that is elite/different - they want all the drones to be the same model) Then, when flag draped coffins start flooding back to the US, they get serious about killing enemy Soldiers again, and the units LIVE at the rifle range and the sniper programs are re-invented all over again. The beancounter pogues (generals) never learn.

If you want to build a .375 H&H sniper rifle, it's still a relatively free nation, so if you have the $, go for it! What you have now should be adequate out to 300 yards - and your PH is not likely to let you shoot that far anyway! They want all the shots at 50-100 yard range. I guess some savannah shots could stretch. However, IMHO, now we are back to the ethics debate of hunting vs. sniping, so YMMV. Hope some of this helped a bit for your situation.

 

[USMA84DAB]

Did you use blue loc-tote on all your screws? If not, they are coming back out.