375 H&H and black bear?

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CP392

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I have recently booked a black bear hunt in Northern Ontario for May/June of next year. For sentimental reasons I would like to use my 375 H&H. I understand it's overkill but you can't make things too dead, right?

Obviously I want a quick, clean and ethical kill first and foremost. A very close second is to preserve the bear hide as much as possible in hopes of getting a nice rug made. I'm not set up for reloading, so which commercially avaliable bullet/load would you recommend to give good energy transfer without being too explosive?

My initial thoughts would be a 270 gr TSX or maybe a 300 gr A-Frame. Something heavy duty that will hopefully leave a smaller exit. Any input, guidance or experience is greatly appreciated!
 
There’s nothing wrong with your plan! The 375 is definitely not needed, but as you say, you can’t kill them too dead. I think you should definitely select a softer bullet. The TSX out of a 375 will probably not expand in a light animal like a bear. 270 grains is fine. Consider a Nosler Partition or a Swift Scirocco.
 
If you have sentimental reasons to use the 375, then take it. But, you definitely don't need a 375 either. I would go with an A Frame over a TSX.
 
The 235 and 275 gr Raptor bullets from CEB would work great if you handload. Noslers are great too
 
I think you’ll be fine with any 270 or 300 gr factory ammo. It’s not over kill. It’s moving at a pretty moderate velocity and shouldn’t do too much damage to hide. TSX will be fine. It will expand, but I think a softer lead core bullet would be better. Black bear are easy to kill. Don’t overthink it.
 
If you like the rifle and shoot it well, by all means take it. I carried a 375 Ruger for many years up here in Northwest Montana just because it would efficiently take anything that lives around here and I really liked the rifle. Multiple deer, a black bear, cow elk and a wolf. I was just shooting factory Hornady 270 grain soft points. Zero issues.

Good luck on your trip!
 
If you like your .375 as I like mine, you should use it. You might find that there are some sales on factory ammo in 235 grain, 250 or 270 grain. The lighter bullets are a good choice for black bear. My choice would be Swift A-Frame or Barnes TSX. Try some and determine which cartridges are most accurate. Good luck on your hunt.
 
Several years ago I shot a 290lb sow bear here in Maryland with my .375H&H using 300 grain Barnes TSX. She went about 30 yards and piled up.
 
For a 375, you don't need a lot of speed at the muzzle. You'll be taking a 50 - 100 yard shot. A standard 300 gr even at 2350 will still be above 2200 at impact at that distance.

A mild load of Varget under a 270 gr Interlock at 2300 fps would be the bees knees. So would anything else at that speed and distance.
 
Any factory-type cup and lead core bullet will work like magic.
The bears can be fairly large in Northern Ontario, but not like the monsters from Pennsylvania or the Queen Charlotte Islands, now called Haida Gwaii. Those can run well over 800 pounds.
Ant factory or handload will work. The Barnes mono's might leave smaller exit wounds, or not, depending on the size you shoot. Bears in general have small bones compared to the ungulates.
 
Nothing wrong with using a big gun for bear or anything else you want. I used a .416 on bear this year. Is it needed, no. Does it save you on tracking, yes. Will you enjoy it- most likely, so go for it!
FYI, I’ve seen a huge increase this year on people needing dogs to find bear- clearly this is due to poor shot placement, but this is happening on claimed good hits as well, with lighter calibers that should do the job. Using a .375 or larger increases the chance that even a marginal hit will result in a relatively quick death and not require a dog to find it or possibly even lose the bear altogether. I like to make things as quick as possible for the animal, even if it means ruining a bit of meat.
 
Doug3006 said:
There’s nothing wrong with your plan! The 375 is definitely not needed, but as you say, you can’t kill them too dead. I think you should definitely select a softer bullet. The TSX out of a 375 will probably not expand in a light animal like a bear. 270 grains is fine. Consider a Nosler Partition or a Swift Scirocco.
Click to expand...
A 270 TSX will absolutely expand fully on a black bear, the 300 gr TSX does so on coyotes
 
Nothing wrong with your idea. The main plus to it is being assured of an exit no matter the angle. That can be very helpful on bears that are notorious for not bleeding much. The fat, skin, hair all soaks it up and very little hits the ground compared to other animals. 270 or 300 TSX works great.
 
Thank you all for the fantastic feedback. It seems the majority are recommending a standard cup and core bullet with the TSX a close second place choice. I have plenty of both on hand in various weights.
I feel much more confident in taking the 270 grain Federal Power Shok blue box as was my original plan. I tend to over analyze things and this debate is no different.
 
CP392 said:
I have recently booked a black bear hunt in Northern Ontario for May/June of next year. For sentimental reasons I would like to use my 375 H&H. I understand it's overkill but you can't make things too dead, right?

Obviously I want a quick, clean and ethical kill first and foremost. A very close second is to preserve the bear hide as much as possible in hopes of getting a nice rug made. I'm not set up for reloading, so which commercially avaliable bullet/load would you recommend to give good energy transfer without being too explosive?

My initial thoughts would be a 270 gr TSX or maybe a 300 gr A-Frame. Something heavy duty that will hopefully leave a smaller exit. Any input, guidance or experience is greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
I shot my first, and only, black bear in Veneta, OR in 1992---using my newly acquired Win M70 .375 H&H magnum. One shot and she was down. No running away. It's a very humane cartridge that surprisingly does little meat damage given its size/power. A .270 grain soft point (or even less if you can find it) will do perfectly. Good luck and post photos!
 
Daryl S said:
Any factory-type cup and lead core bullet will work like magic.
The bears can be fairly large in Northern Ontario, but not like the monsters from Pennsylvania or the Queen Charlotte Islands, now called Haida Gwaii. Those can run well over 800 pounds.
Ant factory or handload will work. The Barnes mono's might leave smaller exit wounds, or not, depending on the size you shoot. Bears in general have small bones compared to the ungulates.
Click to expand...
Louisiana re-opened its black bear season a couple years ago, after about a 60 year hiatus, 6 tags by lottery.

The bear taken in the parish cattycorners to mine weighed 700 lbs. I've got game cam shots of a couple adolescent bears on my place in the last 4 or 5 years, maybe 125 or 150 lbs. Never expected a 700 lb beast anywhere in LA.
 
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