The legend lives on, but best appreciated with iron sights, at relatively close range...
This was probably true that .375 H&H bullets of various weights "grouped" together to approximately the same point of impact, shooting with iron sights. This was probably truer in some barrels. And this was probably truest with bullets of different weights but identical construction (bearing surfaces and jacket metal), in cartridges loaded with the same propellant (pressure curve), by the same company (brass and primer).
And it is true today too
mark-hunter, but it all depends on how you define "not shifting point of impact." Are we looking at 1 MOA (1" @ 100 yards)? 2 MOA (2" @ 100 yards)? 3 MOA (3" @ 100 yards)? etc.
For example, in my Blaser R8 semi-weight .375 barrel, when using different bullet types and different loads from different manufacturers, and
when shooting with a scope, i.e. shooting so much more precisely than a typical rear V and front post iron sights allow, I get the following results:
1) Sighted at 100 yards dead center with a Leica Magnus i 1-6x24 for the Norma PH factory load 350 gr Woodleigh FMJ:
--- the Norma PH 350 gr Woodleigh Weldcore RNSN (round nose soft nose) land 1/4" high and 3/4" left, which is "imperfect" for the supposedly-matched pair, but still "minute-of-whatever-you-would-shoot-with-a-350gr-.375-slug" for body shots;
--- the Federal Premium 300 gr Nosler Partition land 1 1/2" low and 3/4" left;
--- the PPU 300 gr soft land 2 1/2" low and 3/4" left.
2) Sighted at 100 yards dead center with a Leica ER i 2.5-10x42 with BDC turret custom graduated to the Barnes factory load 300 gr TSX in this barrel:
--- the Federal Premium 300 gr Nosler Partition land 2 1/2" high;
--- the PPU 300 gr soft land 1 1/2" high and a bit left (not worth clicking for practice).
Admittedly, all of this is within "minute of Buffalo" (at least on shoulder/lung/heart shots) and admittedly too, all of this is within loose "minute or iron sights" so the legend lives on, but observe that with the precision of a scope at 100 yards there is a significant difference (4") between these loads, although at 50 yards this difference would be reduced to 2" making either the Norma PH 350 gr Woodleigh FMJ (top) or the Barnes 300 gr TSX (bottom) a kill shot on an Elephant side brain shot, or a Croc brain shot, or a Hippo brain shot...
Note: I am not advocating the TSX for an elephant side brain shot, although I suspect it would probably work - while it would certainly fail for a frontal brain shot (not enough penetration) - I am just illustrating that at close range virtually all slugs group close enough to put whatever in the salt...
I expect that about any factory 270 gr, 260 gr, 250 gr load would land somewhere between the Norma RNSN and PPU. Old Winchester 270 gr Power Point did...
Coincidentally, I made the following illustration for myself a few weeks ago, because I wanted to be able to use easily the cheap PPU ammo for practice, without having to constantly re-sight the two scopes I use on my .375 H&H.
Interestingly, there is a 4" vertical dispersion only because the Barnes factory load 300 gr TSX disappointingly clocks in my barrel on average only 2490 fps (with some shots as slow as 2450 fps for an extreme spread of 91 fps), instead of the 2540 fps spec, while the Federal factory load 300 gr Partition clocks a full 2540 fps, and the PPU clocks around 2520. I would have loved the TSX and Partition to group together, as the TSX is about perfect as an all-around bullet, but the Partition is much more desirable for cats...
Incidentally, this group verifies the concept of "barrel timing". Observe that the 350 gr load shoots significantly higher than all the 300 gr loads despite being the slowest (2300 fps). This is because, being slower, it leaves the barrel later, when the muzzle is higher under recoil, than when firing faster (and lower recoil) 300 gr slugs...
