Recommended Ammo for .375 H&H?

My No. 1 choice would be 300Gr Swift A Frames. But those are currently unavailable.

Based on the factory loaded offerings which are currently available on the market... my recommendation would be for the 300Gr Barnes TSX.


Highly well suited for everything which Africa might throw at you (barring elephant, lion & leopard).

mark-hunter said:

Did anybody use RWS 375 H&H ammunition? Especially European colleagues?
Is it worth taking to Africa? (plains game, buffalo?)

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When I first began hunting in Africa during the 1970s, my preferred ammunition for the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum was:

RWS 300Gr Kegelspitze soft points- For all plains game, leopard, lion & the first shot on a Cape buffalo.

RWS 300Gr round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solids- For hippopotamus, follow up shots on Cape buffalo & elephant.

They performed really well. RWS first began to offer ammunition for the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum in 1973.

I bought some RWS kegelspitz 300 grainers around 1990...worst overloaded cartridges...the bolt on my ZKK 602 had to be forced up..did not dare to use them..

Since we are at it.. the current .500 Jeffery ammo from Kynoch is as bad in my rifle..useless..Norma is good..

375 H&H Magnum
.285 gr. Speer Grand Slams with H 414 is my favorite for plains game.

I have used plain Jane Federal 270gr soft points in my 375 on a couple of trips after plains game, mainly oryx but also blue wildebeest, Red Hartebeest, warthog. There were no complaints from the recipients of being under gunned.

My favorite do all load for my 375 H&H is a 300 grain Swift A-Frame at 2500 fps. This is great out to 200 yards or so. Which is perfect for bushveld conditions. If you want a little more velocity then go with a 250 grain at about 2800. This load can be good out to 300 yards or so. Also if you are using mono metal bullets then a little more velocity is good. Are you a reloader? If so, 250 Swift A-Frames are available at MidwayUSA right now.

Back to the OP´s question....advice on .375H&H ammunition for PG..

There are a lot of premium bullets for this round...but what do you really need..? I think it is far too much emphasis on bullets for PG...I have shot lots of PG with .375H&H, most with conventional bullets like Remington 270 grain core-locked.. I found them nicely expanded under the skin on the far side of the animals...kudus, wildebeests, oryxs..zebras.. If we talk premium bullets I will recommend 260 grain Nosler Accubond.. There is no need for 300 grainers for PG..eland included..
235 grain TSX are also excellent...I used them in Namibia for 200 - 300m shots..

I have shot zebra with .308Win. with 150 grain PMP ammunition...hardly premium bullets and guess what...the zebra died..

Pondoro said:

Back to the OP´s question....advice on .375H&H ammunition for PG..

There are a lot of premium bullets for this round...but what do you really need..? I think it is far too much emphasis on bullets for PG...I have shot lots of PG with .375H&H, most with conventional bullets like Remington 270 grain core-locked.. I found them nicely expanded under the skin on the far side of the animals...kudus, wildebeests, oryxs..zebras.. If we talk premium bullets I will recommend 260 grain Nosler Accubond.. There is no need for 300 grainers for PG..eland included..
235 grain TSX are also excellent...I used them in Namibia for 200 - 300m shots..

I have shot zebra with .308Win. with 150 grain PMP ammunition...hardly premium bullets and guess what...the zebra died..

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I agree with you on the over enthusis on using premium bullets for PG. However, hunters do need to use good quality bullets that retain most of their initial weight, produce a good "mushroom", and can penetrate through the thicker hide and heavier bone PG like eland, gemsbok, sable, etc. out to 200 - 300 yards.

I won't speak for others on the forum but the reason I suggest using 300grain bullets is simplicity and economics of reloading, and shooting.

Using only one bullet weight, 300gr, I can set my scope for 1 bullet weight, my solids and soft are set for same POI, and the rifle is setup for both PG and DG. I only need to but 1 bullet weight rather than 2 or 3 bullet weights, use 1 powder instead of having to buy and stock 2 or 3 powders and not having to adjust my scope when I change bullet weights. Of course I could simply adjust my powder weights to get the same POI for the lighter bullets, and use 1 powder that may not give me the optimum performance for the lighter bullets, but why?, when I can just use a 300gr bullet and save money by buying a good supply of 300gr bullets and 1 powder that I can use to shoot anything.

But then again I shoot 20 to 40 rounds of 375H&H (and 458WM) per range session several times a year. When preparing for an African hunt I'll increase my range time and the number of rounds fired from 20 - 40 to 60 - 80 rounds (combined) per range session shooting both solids and softs. Running 15 to 20 rounds of each through the chronograph per session to get better velocity average and ballistic performance data.

For the person doesn't reload and only takes their designated African rifle to the range once or twice a year, maybe. Then yeah, buying 2 or 3 boxes of factory ammo a year would be cheaper for them. Or if the person is preparing for a hunt and considers 120 rounds (6 boxes) of factory ammo is sufficient for range practice and to hunt with; I guess it makes some sort of economical sense to use a variety of bullet weights in both soft and solid bullets.

I use a 300g TSX on everything but honestly any remotely sensible 375 bullet is going to work on plains game. We all enjoy these discussions but it is a 375HH. May as well discuss which Diesel 1 ton truck is best for picking up groceries.

I use nothing but 300 grain swift A-frames out of a 370 on everything and consider Barnes but as a very last resort for several reasons, including inconsistent, accuracy, expansion, penetration, and the horrendous copper fowling. If you’re reloader and can get Norfork, I think they work very well. I would stay away from Nosler partitions except on your lighter Plains game but real honestly in 375. All you need is 300 gr A-frames. You can usually find factory loads if you look hard enough with a frames, and several of the custom loaders will be happy to assemble loads. That usually are very consistent.

I use:
300gr Barnes TSX, 300gr Hornady DGX (eland, gemsbok, leechwe, warthog) and DGS (For buff, hippo, baboon, mongoose).

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For baboons, orangoutangs, and general “monkey bumping” using jack-lights on the tree branches after dark, I prefer my handloaded 235grn JSPs over Varget. Blows them right off branches 30’-40’ feet up and you try to count how many branches they hit (“bump”) on the way down. A very under appreciated sport.

235grn bullets were always the .375’s *classic* light load for smaller African game. Works great on hogs and hyenas too.

Save the 300grn heavies for, …. well, the heavy-weight stuff.

.300 grain Barnes TSX is my choice for nearly everything in Africa. Solids for elephants, but these for everything else. Seven buffalo have been taken as well as a plethora of other games.

Sierra #3000 300 grain, designed for higher H&H velocities, is perfect for large thin skinned game. Pretty much anything in NA, and all PG.

I’ve had great success with Federal TBBC, Federal loaded Woodleigh Hydro Solids, and Federal loaded A-Frames on Buffalo. My rifle also shoots the Remington 270gr Core-Lokts well so my plan was to use that on a leopard.

Has any one had any joy with the Hornady DGX?

Any disparaging comments about the Hornady DGX are outdated. The more recent DGX Bonded is a good bullet.

Tried a recent manufacture box of Hornady 300 gr DGX on the 100 yard range for a comparison against factory Barnes 300 grain TSX, the Barnes TSX was more accurate in my rifle. So I proceeded with Barnes for a nilgai hunt and was successful with a 250 yard shot. I'd like to sort this out as I have the reloading components from Hornady for future hunting opportunities.

Hunter-Habib said:

My No. 1 choice would be 300Gr Swift A Frames. But those are currently unavailable.

Based on the factory loaded offerings which are currently available on the market... my recommendation would be for the 300Gr Barnes TSX.
View attachment 597457

Highly well suited for everything which Africa might throw at you (barring elephant, lion & leopard).

Click to expand...

Thank you, great trophy!!

Shooter375 said:

My favorite do all load for my 375 H&H is a 300 grain Swift A-Frame at 2500 fps. This is great out to 200 yards or so. Which is perfect for bushveld conditions. If you want a little more velocity then go with a 250 grain at about 2800. This load can be good out to 300 yards or so. Also if you are using mono metal bullets then a little more velocity is good. Are you a reloader? If so, 250 Swift A-Frames are available at MidwayUSA right now.

Swift A-Frame Bullets 375 Cal (375 Diameter) 250 Grain Bonded

With its unique cross-member copper jacket design and a bonded front core, the A-Frame has become famous for its ability to combine 3 performance...

www.midwayusa.com

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Not a reloader at this time

Hunter-Habib said:

When I first began hunting in Africa during the 1970s, my preferred ammunition for the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum was:

RWS 300Gr Kegelspitze soft points- For all plains game, leopard, lion & the first shot on a Cape buffalo.

RWS 300Gr round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solids- For hippopotamus, follow up shots on Cape buffalo & elephant.

They performed really well. RWS first began to offer ammunition for the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum in 1973.
View attachment 597460
View attachment 597459

Click to expand...

Great trophies!!