.375 H&H for Lower 48 Game

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Coues106

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I was looking at finally taking the plunge on a larger bore safari rifle in .375 H&H and am considering one of the Interarms/Zastava Mark X offerings. That said, I am primarily an American meat hunter. I would love to be able to have it do double duty for whitetail does for the freezer just the same as Moose and Elk. Is there any way I can load this round to keep meat loss down closer to 6.5mm cartridge meat damage levels? I’d prefer bullet selection to do this over downloading, but happy to take either route. Thanks!
 
I will be taking my .375 on an Aoudad hunt. If you drop down to 250 grains, it becomes a much flatter. and pretty versatile rifle. I will be taking the new Montana Rifle Company Tsavo and using 250 Gr TTSX hand loaded by Choice Ammo.
 
Coues106 said:
Is there any way I can load this round to keep meat loss down closer to 6.5mm cartridge meat damage levels?
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Yes, of course. It can be easily down loaded and there are 250gr and less bullets on the market. You can load it with 200 grain bullets at really low velocities if you want.

That said, using full power stuff will be just fine. You'll have less meat damage from a bonded 270gr bullet at full tilt H&H speeds than you'll see from say a .270 winchester and 130gr cup and core bullets. Deer dont offer much resistance and fhe bullets are just going to plow on through. Ive killed a pile of deer with a .338 win mag and full juice 250gr loads and meat loss was negligible. Far less than I usually get from any of my other centerfire rifle calibers.
 
Thanks for the advice! Sounds very good. I figured that there was a good chance meat loss would be minimized so I appreciate the confirmation. What twist rate .375’s usually? I know with .30-06 while you can load from ~110-220 gr, the 1/10 typical twist shines at 150-180. Is this the same with a .375? I know 270 is pretty middle of the pack for the .375’s weight range.
 
1:16 I think.

I never found stability issues with mine with any load. Even 200gr bullets at 900 fps seemed ok out to 80 yards or so.

270gr at 2700 fps is pretty standard. The old ouch and ouch is insanely versatile. A basic 270gr soft point load is great for anything from pronghorn to whitetails to elk to griz to Buffalo to africa out to at least 400 yards. Just roll up a load that shoots well, stock up on it, and kill everything with it. You wont have to ever worry about changing zero, you'll get very familiar with the trajectory and recoil, and you can be a 1 gun 1 bullet man the rest of your days no matter where and what you hunt.

Dont worry about the meat loss. Unless you start scooting 200gr bullets at 3000+ fps, its going to be at the worst as bad as it is with any normal deer caliber. Most of the time itll be better.
 
Choupique said:
1:16 I think.

I never found stability issues with mine with any load. Even 200gr bullets at 900 fps seemed ok out to 80 yards or so.

270gr at 2700 fps is pretty standard. The old ouch and ouch is insanely versatile. A basic 270gr soft point load is great for anything from pronghorn to whitetails to elk to griz to Buffalo to africa out to at least 400 yards. Just roll up a load that shoots well, stock up on it, and kill everything with it. You wont have to ever worry about changing zero, you'll get very familiar with the trajectory and recoil, and you can be a 1 gun 1 bullet man the rest of your days no matter where and what you hunt.

Dont worry about the meat loss. Unless you start scooting 200gr bullets at 3000+ fps, it’s going to be at the worst as bad as it is with any normal deer caliber. Most of the time itll be better.
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Splendid. It would be good to be a 1 gun 1 bullet kinda man, but then where else would I waste all my time . Do you have any bonded .375 that you’d recommend then? I was looking at Hornady interlock but that’s not quite bonded. Not looking for anything to stop buff charges, just economical and able to drop a cow elk where she stands with as little damage as possible. Thanks again for your help.
 
The Barnes TTSX in 250 and 270 grain will sort you out for nearly anything in NA. Elk, moose, bison, cougar, wolf, Coues/whitetail/Mule/blacktail deer and black bear.

For coastal brown bear, I'd want a 300 grain pill, but I know a guide that specifically uses 270 grain TTSX for this and is very successful. This guide also uses the 375H&H as a minimum for hunting coastal browns with him and keeps one in camp for those that show up with a 270WIN expecting to use it. :ROFLMAO:

Everyone should have a .375 caliber (H&H, RUGER, WBY, etc...your choice) rifle in their battery. The versatility of the cartridges around the world has made it one of the most popular choices for hunting.

FYI - Most 375's have a twist rate of 1:12.
 
Use the interlock, that'll work. Part of the beauty of this approach is that basically anything is going to work well. It isnt fast enough to violently fail any bullet except maybe a big bull elk at really close range.
 
I shot a Sitka Blacktail with .375 using a 260 nosler partition at 50 is yards a few years ago, nothing to crazy it just goes through whatever you point it at. Also shot eland to impala with the same load no issues. Went to a 300 gr north fork for my moose and that performed great as well. I think the speed and weight just hold those bullets together. Think I was around 2650 with the partitions and
 
Lnease81 said:
I shot a Sitka Blacktail with .375 using a 260 nosler partition at 50 is yards a few years ago, nothing to crazy it just goes through whatever you point it at. Also shot eland to impala with the same load no issues. Went to a 300 gr north fork for my moose and that performed great as well. I think the speed and weight just hold those bullets together. Think I was around 2650 with the partitions and 2550 with NF. NF below
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I’ve only used on ground hogs as practice. They generally run away a few yards from a center mass shot. They drop on spot from that same shot in other rifles. The 300 gr bullets designed for dangerous game don’t open up rapidly. I think you’ll be surprised at how little meat loss there is. I used 300 gr swift A frames and trophy bonded bear claws. 270 and 300 gr Barnes would be a very good more economical option. I’ve had some very good performance from 250 gr Barnes TTSX and some irregular performance I can’t quite explain. I wouldn’t use 250 gr Barnes.
 
Choupique said:
1:16 I think.

I never found stability issues with mine with any load. Even 200gr bullets at 900 fps seemed ok out to 80 yards or so.

270gr at 2700 fps is pretty standard. The old ouch and ouch is insanely versatile. A basic 270gr soft point load is great for anything from pronghorn to whitetails to elk to griz to Buffalo to africa out to at least 400 yards. Just roll up a load that shoots well, stock up on it, and kill everything with it. You wont have to ever worry about changing zero, you'll get very familiar with the trajectory and recoil, and you can be a 1 gun 1 bullet man the rest of your days no matter where and what you hunt.

Dont worry about the meat loss. Unless you start scooting 200gr bullets at 3000+ fps, its going to be at the worst as bad as it is with any normal deer caliber. Most of the time itll be better.
Click to expand...
Nearly all 375 H&H are 1:12. I’d be surprised if 1:16.
 
If you're handloading, adjust your powder charges to lower levels and select an appropriate bullet using re-loading data for your bullets. Since you want maximum meat, lead bullets should be your first consideration.
 
Subsonic. Meat damage is similar to broadheads. I haven't tried it with a 375, but it works great with a 308.

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I don't think there is a better choice for toiling around the tundra with grizzlies about... great moose medicine and works on 'bou, too!
 
I use 260 grain partitions amd Accubonds all the time out of my 375H&H on whitetail deer without any excessive meat damage. Just stay off the shoulder and you’ll get all four quarters, back straps, inner loins, neck roast and shanks. Might loose some rib meat but on my South Georgia deer, I don’t typically get much rib meat anyway. My lighter, faster calibers do more meat damage than the 375
 
I don't think you'll have as much meat loss with the .375 as you would with a higher velocity ctg. The worst damage I've seen to a deers shoulder was with a .300 Weatherby. It almost blew off the whole off shoulder. The .375 just punches a nice hole all the way through a deer from any angle. I've had it do the same on an elk also. I've taken several deer with the .375, angles don't matter!
Don't fret it works just fine.
 
I’ve hunted with the .375 for deer for a number of seasons. Just about any .375 “H&H” bullet or factory ammo will work just fine with a minimal amount of meat damage. One word of caution, if you use bullets intended for .375 Win or .38-55, don’t drive them higher than the velocities they are intended. It’s nice to get a .375 out and have it see the sunrise and a sunset. May become your new favorite deer rifle. Enjoy!
 
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