Question on bullets for 375 Ruger

I've been working up loads for my Ruger Hawkeye African 375 Ruger. So far, the most accurate loads have come with Barnes TSX bullets, both 270 gr. and 300 gr.

My question is this- is it feasible to take just one load with the 270 gr. TSX, for buffalo and leopard? I can't think that 30 gr. of bullet weight is going to make a huge difference, especially since the 270 gr. is travelling faster.

My plans are to hunt the leopard in northern SA, Limpopo province. I see conflicting info on minimum caliber for leopard. If lesser calibers are acceptable, I will take along my .300 Wby. If not, are there better bullets for leopard in the 375?

My previous trips to Africa have been 'one weapon' events, and I kinda like the simplicity of one weapon, one load.

I am sure any of the 2 Barnes TSX bullets will do a good job on both Leopard and Buffalo.
I have a 375 Ruger in a Ruger Hawkeye Alaskan myself and I plan to use 250 gr Barnes TTSX bullets in mine.
But my focus is for non-DG animals.
I don't have any plans for a Buffalo hunt, but I think even that bullet will do the job on a buffalo if I do mine.

But if I was going on a DG hunt, I guess I would load up my 375 Ruger with 300 gr DGBR L01 BBW#13 and 275 GR. DGBR-HP L03 BBW#13, both from CEB

Killed my first Buff with Barnes 270 grain TSX Ultra Velocity from Safari Arms Limited, went maybe 40 yards and went down. Finished with a Barnes Banded Solid but really wasn't necessary. More than adequate.

When my brother and I hunted Limpopo last year, I carrierd my 3006 with handloaded 180 Partitions, and he carried his .375 Ruger with 260 Accubonds. Though we hunted just plains game, the 260 Accubonds worked perfectly on very large kudu and zebra.....full penetration and excellent mushroom. I would guess that retained weight was 90% or so, velocity was 2700 f/s.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Norwegianwoods

I am sure any of the 2 Barnes TSX bullets will do a good job on both Leopard and Buffalo.
I have a 375 Ruger in a Ruger Hawkeye Alaskan myself and I plan to use 250 gr Barnes TTSX bullets in mine.
But my focus is for non-DG animals.
I don't have any plans for a Buffalo hunt, but I think even that bullet will do the job on a buffalo if I do mine.

But if I was going on a DG hunt, I guess I would load up my 375 Ruger with 300 gr DGBR L01 BBW#13 and 275 GR. DGBR-HP L03 BBW#13, both from CEB

---

I found them 250gr. Barnes TTSX bullets on sale at Midway. Now I am back to thinking I want to get rid of my old tang safety ruger 338 win mag. I toke it to Namibia as a backup to my 300 Ruger Compact Mag. but never used it. The 375 Ruger would make a nice companion to the 300 and you would be legal for anything. Now do I want the Alaskan version or the African.

I have the Alaskan in 375 ruger. I shoot less than 1MOA with my handloads. If you want to talk about the rifle and loads i would be willing to do this via voice.

I respect your plan to use one load: if you bring two, somehow you will end up with the wrong one at the worst possible time.

Why the 270 rather than the 300? The heavier one is likely the better choice for buffalo. The lighter one may have a flatter trajectory, but if you are shooting at even half the distance where the bullet drop matters, then it isn't a dangerous game hunt anymore.

You leopard is almost assuredly going to be taken from a blind where you know to the yard what the range is. You will zero your rifle at exactly that range. So the trajectory is going to be taken care of in the zeroing process for your leopard, and he isn't going to be taken at long range in any event. Again, the flatter trajectory will not matter.

If you have a physical limitation that requires you to use the lighter bullet, then don't worry about it and shoot it well. The traditional 300g bullets worked well despite the fact that they often turned into a 270g (or lighter) bullet breaking up on the way to the vitals. That Barnes is going to be 270g before and after impact. But if you can shoot the 300g bullet, you may as well: high velocity and flat trajectory don't mean a lot at the ranges you will (or at least should) be shooting these animals.