Hunting with dangerous game cartridges outside of Africa?

[Rem280]

375 H&H worked darn fine on wild hogs in Florida and a Brown Bear in Alaska!

 

[Mark R]

We are fortunate here in Oz to have Asiatic buffalo and banteng. I use my 416RM, 375H&H and my VC 450NE on these with Woodleigh bullets.

 

[glblanchard]

I used my Ruger No1 450/400 NE with 370gr CEB for American Bison and my Ruger No1 375 H&H with 230gr CEB for cow elk.

 

[ftrovato]

What was the result on deer with the Ribgy, any meat damage? complete pass through? How far did it go?

The Result: They were all dead! Minimal meat damage....

 

[grand veneur]

The damage to the meat is often less than that when you use smaller caliber bullets that expand a lot. Any hunter who has also killed smaller game species in Africa with her big game rifle can confirm this.

I have shot in Africa smaller game species with the cartridge 500 Schüler and in some cases the game escape a certain distance before they died and that with a load that leave an elephant in place the day before. The reason is known to every experienced big game hunter who is familiar with big bore cartridges.

 

[DNGOCK]

I’ve shot a lot of buffalo/banteng with my 404/500Jeffery and 416/375 rigbys but have recently shot red stags and fallow bucks with our 350/400 and 303 rigby.

 

[Northern Shooter]

Considering taking a 416 out for elk/moose this fall. Has anyone ever reached out on big game using a 416?

Would 300m be doable?

 

[grand veneur]

I shot a few Moose with the cartridge 9,3x64 Brenneke, but although the Moose is a big game, it go down easily with the cartridge 30-06 Springfield for example. The choice of the cartridge for this game is just a question of the distance at which you want to shoot it eventually. For this reason I would rather choose a cartridge 300 Magnum for Moose hunting.

 

[RLL]

Considering taking a 416 out for elk/moose this fall. Has anyone ever reached out on big game using a 416?

Would 300m be doable?

Yes, it’s doable with the right bullet/load combo. I’ve got one set up that’s zero at 200 and - 7in at 300yards

 

[Michael70]

We are fortunate here in Oz to have Asiatic buffalo and banteng. I use my 416RM, 375H&H and my VC 450NE on these with Woodleigh bullets.

Hi Mark,

Have you used the Woodleigh 350 grain HD bullet on buffalo?

Have shot my last three with these bullets and can say I am emphatically underwhelmed by their performance. I have the balance of the pack loaded and will try them again soon but will probably switch to the 350 grain Barnes TSX for future loads.

This will need another visit to the range to dial in the new load, which is what I have been trying to avoid.

Thanks for your feedback.


Michael.

 

[Longwalker]

Local game I've taken with my dangerous game rifles include moose and elk with .450-400 3" Nitro Express, And also moose, elk, black bear and whitetail deer with .375 H&H. I was fortunate to get an elk and a bear within minutes of each other last September, using the .375. I have become quite fond of the caliber. A couple years ago I shot a few dozen ground squirrels while practising for an upcoming Zimbabwe buffalo hunt. I think one of those little varmints was charging me, but the 300 gr. cup and core bullet seemed to be quite effective on them. If found that shooting a ground squirrel in the head that is just peeking out of its burrow at 100 M or so, using shooting sticks for a rest, seems to make shooting a much bigger animal in the proper spot feel quite routine. Better than shooting paper targets anyway.

 

[Mark R]

Hi Mark,

Have you used the Woodleigh 350 grain HD bullet on buffalo?

Have shot my last three with these bullets and can say I am emphatically underwhelmed by their performance. I have the balance of the pack loaded and will try them again soon but will probably switch to the 350 grain Barnes TSX for future loads.

This will need another visit to the range to dial in the new load, which is what I have been trying to avoid.

Thanks for your feedback.


Michael.

If you mean in .375, no. I load the 300gr Hydro or 270gr soft. If I need more knockdown I just up it to 416 or 450

 

[Michael70]

If you mean in .375, no. I load the 300gr Hydro or 270gr soft. If I need more knockdown I just up it to 416 or 450

Apologies I should have defined myself better, yes, I was talking about the 375H&H.

My experiences with the 350gr HD Woodleigh have me looking for a bigger stick.

I will try the 350gr TSX Barnes before I give up completely as I love my Model 70 and all its bumps and scratches.

Will report my experiences with subsequent hunts, if any are interested.

 

[Tra3]

I carried a 9.3x62 this fall for deer hunting in MN. My experience in Africa with that caliber has led me to believe it ideal for reduced meat damage in deer sized game at close range. My preferred caliber for western USA is a 7 mm rem mag. A 30-50 yard shot with the 7mm is too destructive. A heavy for caliber 6.5 is better for close range, and I think a 9.3 or a .375 ideal for common tree stand hunting were shots might only be 20 yards.

The dik-dik I shot from 10 yards with a .375 solid had a perfect hole in it, like a paper punch had been used. A .270 win would have turned it inside out!

 

[V.Veritas]

Apologies I should have defined myself better, yes, I was talking about the 375H&H.

My experiences with the 350gr HD Woodleigh have me looking for a bigger stick.

I will try the 350gr TSX Barnes before I give up completely as I love my Model 70 and all its bumps and scratches.

Will report my experiences with subsequent hunts, if any are interested.

Be careful if you are using 350gr TSX in 375H&H.
I would love to hear your report on them though.

I believe I’ve listened to a podcast with Dr. Robertson - who is a supporter of heavy for caliber bullets - cautioning especially about this specific Barnes combination.

From all the bullets manufacturers of 350gr 375H&H, Barnes is the one that got it spectacularly wrong. They simply elongated the bullets to gain the desired weight, but did not changed the basic design of the bullet.

Everybody else (Woodleigh as an example since you have experience with them) have changed the design to account for the different terminal ballistic of the heavier bullet launched at a lower velocity. Barnes did not. You might be surprised to find out that the 300gr are actually a better performer that 350gr.

Should be fantastic if you could compare them side by side and share with us the result.

 

[matt85]

I use a 300gr Barnes TSX for my 416 Rem and it has done wonders on every medium to large game I've shot.

 

[ldmay375]

Considering taking a 416 out for elk/moose this fall. Has anyone ever reached out on big game using a 416?

Would 300m be doable?

I would think 300 meters would be doable, with the right bullet at the right velocity.

I have for several years, regularly used the 20" barrel 375 & 416 Rugers for moose. My shot visibility is normally restricted to about 230 yards. For my bullet, considering bc, design & construction, and impact velocity; I consider my 416 a 250 yard rifle.

Approximately 80 yards is the farthest distance that I have shot a moose with a 416.
~180 yards is the longest for the 375. The closest for both, 25 yards or less.

I also consider my 458 Lott an easy 250 yard moose-rifle. My thanks for that load goes to @michael458.

 

[Tgood1]

I've used my .375 h and h for groundhog, coyote, crow on up to bear here in wv. Hogs in Florida and Louisiana. Very accurate and it just works.

 

[uplander01]

Dead is dead, I like using bigger than normal bore rifles on everything. Used to shoot up black bears with 375 & 416’s all the time. Whitetail hunt with 375, heck ya. Africa type rifles are just cool to use, carry, and look at.

 

[Luvthunt]

Used a 375 on two elk , took it to Kodiak Island on 2 of 3 DIU fishing rafting trips and my 458 Lott on the 3rd. Shot a couple of blacktail for subsistence with ea rifle.
All shot high lung and DRT. Used Swift A frames and didn’t think there was excessive meat damage.
Actually the rifles were for brown bear protection during the three week long trips.