.375 plains game bullet weight?

Seen folks doing some amazing stuff with 250grn Barnes TSX's from their 375's but I stick to 300Grn (TSX as well) - have a Leupold FX3 6x42 LR on it and I know my drop up to 300 yards and my load aligns to the "dots" provided in the LR reticle for 200 & 300 yards respectively. Guess this is a case of what works for you, I have had my 375 H&H for years and know it better than any other rifle in the safe to the extent that it is an extension of my arm. Irrespective it is a great PG calibre

JacquesVR said:

Seen folks doing some amazing stuff with 250grn Barnes TSX's from their 375's but I stick to 300Grn (TSX as well) - have a Leupold FX3 6x42 LR on it and I know my drop up to 300 yards and my load aligns to the "dots" provided in the LR reticle for 200 & 300 yards respectively. Guess this is a case of what works for you, I have had my 375 H&H for years and know it better than any other rifle in the safe to the extent that it is an extension of my arm. Irrespective it is a great PG calibre

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I am going to try 270's. The ballistics have the Woodleigh 300 RN under the recommended 1900 fps by 225 yards. Have you found any issues with the 300 TSX expanding after that range?

tarbe said:

Personally, I don't think a discussion about bullet weight alone makes a lot of sense, without also including the factors of construction/brand/type/impact velocity in the same discussion.

Example: Sierra and Barnes both make 250 grain bullets for the .375...but the construction is different enough that there is a large difference in terminal performance and therefore suitable applications.

I could see using the 250gr Barnes TTSX on Eland, but not the 250gr Sierra (especially at close range/high impact velocity).

Just my $0.02, and no offense intended in any way.


Tim

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In the Sierra loading manual they show a 1000 pound grizzly bear killed with the 250 grain Sierra, not enough bullet weight for me.

Pheroze said:

I am going to try 270's. The ballistics have the Woodleigh 300 RN under the recommended 1900 fps by 225 yards. Have you found any issues with the 300 TSX expanding after that range?

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Difficult to answer to be honest as I have had shots out to 220 yards with only partial expansion and others with full and in some instances I had pass thru's without bullet recovery (At the risk of sounding too biased the pass thru's happen more often than not with Barnes but the really long shots not that often as I try and get as close as I can) but it all would depend on how fast you push them , being semi-mono obviously the faster the better but as per Barnes their min speed is 1900 ft/sec. I load my 375 to 2500 Ft/sec.

Hope that helps.

Stick with your 300gr... especially if buff are involved. I only use 300gr bullets for ALL my hunting with 375... DG and PG.

Has anyone had any experience with Barnes bullets shearing off petals, particularly at higher velocities?

Used 270gr Woodleigh PP in mine, worked very well.

ScottB said:

Has anyone had any experience with Barnes bullets shearing off petals, particularly at higher velocities?

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I use 525 grain TSX's in my 505 Gibbs at 2300fps, so not super fast, but no slouch. Shot a giraffe, high heart/lung/shoulder shot... The bullet expanded perfectly and was against the skin on the opposite side, probably a 50 to 60 yard shot, so the bullet was moving yet.

The petals looked like they had been attacked by a disk grinder after passing through that big critter, but they were all in tact. Also had one traverse most of a buffalo last April, perfect performance.

ActionBob said:

I use 525 grain TSX's in my 505 Gibbs at 2300fps, so not super fast, but no slouch. Shot a giraffe, high heart/lung/shoulder shot... The bullet expanded perfectly and was against the skin on the opposite side, probably a 50 to 60 yard shot, so the bullet was moving yet.

The petals looked like they had been attacked by a disk grinder after passing through that big critter, but they were all in tact. Also had one traverse most of a buffalo last April, perfect performance.

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Thanks, that's the kind of info. I'm looking for.

There are a lot of pix on the web of X and TSX bullets where all four petals sheared off. However, I think they are mostly at higher velocities (>2,700fps). I'm trying to decide on a PG bullet for my 7mm magnum, and my gun likes the Barnes bullets. I'm going to try some Swift Scirocco's and A-Frames to see how the gun likes them.

I have had good results on our local Canadian game with the 260 grain Nosler partition at 2700 fps. Elk & Bear.

Viti said:

Used 270gr Woodleigh PP in mine, worked very well.

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These are great bullets. I just tested them today and the best load at 100 yards at 2650 fps came in just under an inch. This is out of a 22" barrel.

Interesting question, I have the similar question. Should I use, Norma Oryx 300 grain or Norma w/ Woodleigh 350 grain bullet for plain game? Not planning of shooting any of the big 5, unless one coming at me.

300gr is perfect for PG.

I used 250 gr TTSX for plains game and was happy with them.

SHOEDOG said:

I used 250 gr TTSX for plains game and was happy with them.

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Agreed... but, as in this case and there is a chance of buffalo hunting, the 250 gr is inadequate. Then, 300gr is the one and you sight in the scope for 300gr, whether shooting at buff or PG , same POA.
If ONLY PG, then the lighter grains will work fantastically.

Sorry, missed the Buffalo part I think a neat mixed bag load would be the Woodleigh 300 PP followed by the 300 Hydro. If you could get them to the same point at 100 yards then I think the PP would still give more range but they would both be good for PG.

For the record, I do not have first-hand experience with a 375. I do, however, have first hand experience with making mistakes so I believe I am qualified to comment.

Use on plains game whatever bullet you are planning to use on buffalo and only bring one kind of ammo. You will otherwise find yourself with the wrong ammo in the gun with a buffalo 17 inches from sticking a horn in your groin. The best way to avoid making a mistake of that sort is to avoid the possibility of making a mistake of that sort.

The type of ammo you choose to use on plains game is not nearly as important as the type you choose to use on buffalo. I've satisfactorily killed plains game up to and including eland with a 168g TSX from a 30-06: anything sensible from a 375 will do the job.

Regarding the TSX, I admit to being a huge fan. I am sure there are petals that occasionally break off although I've never had it happen to me as far as I know because usually they pass through. On the ones that do end up still in the animal, all have been 4 petals retained. To the extent that bullets are recovered with petals shorn, my view is that 1) they are recovered from dead animals, so I don't see the problem and 2) weight retention even if all 4 petals were shorn would be high enough that people with most other bullets would be delighted. The Barnes bullets just plain work. Use a 300g bullet in your 375 and you won't have to think about bullet choice again.

How about pictures of a 300 grn .375 tsx? Just the ones that didn't pass through. One traveled the length of an oryx taking out bones, etc.

K-man, what is that last one? If the first two are 375's that is a monster!

Bert the Turtle said:

K-man, what is that last one? If the first two are 375's that is a monster!

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They are all .375. The right one crunched a lot of bone and expanded a lot, but as you can see it kept its petals. I guess you can say the jacket had some separation but stayed together.