375 H&H in North America

[BRICKBURN]

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btw BRICKBURN, I was reading your post again and I got to wonder....exactly how big is your freezer? Or, did you make room by giving the grouse to a relative to freeze?

I am fairly generous with the neighbours and friends.
I have a lot of room in that big freezer and eat a lot of venison in a year.

Still three more deer and two Elk to cram in there somehow by the end of January.

 

[benchracer]

This caliber is really creeping into my head. Its original loading included a 235 grain bullet - similar velocity and sectional density to the '06 150 grain (great for deer). The 270 grain is also similar in velocity and SD to the '06 180 grain (great for moose). With the increased frontal diameter it must do a great job, so why not here? I think I am supported in this view considering that a lot of the PG in Africa is 500lbs and under and the 375 is considered great. This caliber should not be considered an Africa only caliber or one that is too much for the game here.

The problem is I do not think there is a factory 235 grain option, so is 270 or 300 grain better for the smaller game? Is it the 270 grain as it would allow for a longer shot? On the other hand, I understand it is the 300 grain that is prefered on the smaller game as it does not create a large exit wound. I would appreciate your thoughts as I suspect my new found love will force my 06 into long term storage!

As has been mentioned, the .375 H&H needs to be handloaded to get the most out of it in terms of performance and versatility. The Lyman manual has some excellent lead bullet loads for the H&H that approximate the performance of the old .38-55 cartridge. They are mild, hit hard, do not damage meat (even at close range), and are very accurate. I used a 250 grain gas-checked lead bullet and H4198 load @ 1900ish from the Lyman manual to good effect on whitetail deer in the Kentucky woods several years ago. A similar load can be assembled using Trail Boss, as well.

The 250 grain TTSX can be loaded to about 2850 or so with good accuracy. It could be worth considering.

IMO, the best all around bullet for use in NA in the H&H is the Sierra 300 grain Gameking. It is generally easy to get this bullet to shoot well. Loaded to 2600 or so with RL-17, it will have a very similar trajectory to a 175 grain Matchking fired from a .308, but packs a LOT more punch. That one load will do just about anything you would want done in NA.

 

[Pheroze]

Santa is bringing this good boy a reloading kit!

 

[Pheroze]

Oh how I hate trying to sneak in a post at work....santa will be bringing not brining. Not sure what brining could be lol. Life was mundane before we got the opportunity to show off our typos

 

[Ardent]

I've been fortunate to use the .375 H&H on much of what Northern Canada has to offer, topping out at our continents biggest species, Wood Bison, and second biggest predator, Grizzly Bear. It has proved ideal for me, and is as much at home here as in Africa. It and the 7x57 are the only two chamberings I really use, and the .375 gets used many times more than the 7x57. The 9.3x62 is very popular up here as well, as a side note.

I use the 300gr TSX usually, and find meat damage no worse than a .270, good hunting to you.