270 grain Barnes LRX (375 H&H) for Buffalo??

[cavtrooper94]

- i would avoid the TTSX/LRX for buffalo. in my experience these bullets have thinner pedals then the standard TSX and tend to lose them easier when you hit bone.

- i would actually recommend the 235gr TSX for the 375. this bullet will be tougher then the 270gr LRX and the higher velocity will give you greater damage while the pedals will still allow plenty of penetration. plenty of buffalo have been killed with the 200gr GS custom from a 375 H&H so i cant see the Barnes TSX performing poorly. i use a 300gr TSX in my 416 RM and love it!

-matt

This is good feedback and led me to find other discussion on this topic. I had the 270 gr in my head, but I’ve found a few discussions on here of using 200 grain all copper bullets on buffalo with good success. My assumption is that the 235 would work as well. And obviously hammer PG. Thanks

 

[Red Leg]

- if your shooting buffalo over 100 yards your already doing it wrong.

- charges arent very common but do happen. however bullet weight will have nothing to do with your ability to stop them.

- i would avoid the TTSX/LRX for buffalo. in my experience these bullets have thinner pedals then the standard TSX and tend to lose them easier when you hit bone.

- i would actually recommend the 235gr TSX for the 375. this bullet will be tougher then the 270gr LRX and the higher velocity will give you greater damage while the pedals will still allow plenty of penetration. plenty of buffalo have been killed with the 200gr GS custom from a 375 H&H so i cant see the Barnes TSX performing poorly. i use a 300gr TSX in my 416 RM and love it!

-matt

I shoot a .375 a lot and we’re it legal, I would rather use a 250 gr .338 on a buffalo than a 235 gr .375. Such a light bullet defeats the purpose of such a splendid all around caliber. I frankly feel the same way about a 270 gr bullet. The caliber is one of those rare wonderful things that doesn’t require over thinking. Load it with a quality 300 gr SP and go hunting. All my buffalo have been killed with either the 300 gr TSX or Swift A-Frame. None went farther than twenty yards after being hit. They worked equally well on every PG animal I took on the same hunts except for a few of the tiny fellows shot with 300 gr solids. And the trajectory is perfectly adequate for any shot any competent PH is going to allow his client to take.

As you note, charges are extremely rare, but if I have to potentially penetrate an inbound boss, I would much rather attempt it with a 300 gr. Bullet of any construction.

 

[Red Leg]

This is good feedback and led me to find other discussion on this topic. I had the 270 gr in my head, but I’ve found a few discussions on here of using 200 grain all copper bullets on buffalo with good success. My assumption is that the 235 would work as well. And obviously hammer PG. Thanks

I don’t care if a 200 gr bullet was hand crafted by Zeus himself using Star Wars technology, I wouldn’t use such a light .375 load for a hartebeest, much less a Cape buffalo. The the BC of a 200 gr bullet in .300 caliber makes it a pretty good choice for PG. From a .375 it is rather like shooting an ashtray.

And you will find lots of discussion here by folks with lots of experience shooting buffalo and other game with a .375 validating the wisdom of 300 gr and heavier bullets for buffalo.

 

[ChrisG]

Looks to be about 8” drop at 300 yards. The BC is impressive. Leaving the barrel at roughly 2800 FPS, it maintains supersonic speed out past 1k....

So on the off chance that your flight lands at a 1k yard shooting range instead of Africa you could use it to to hit gongs without the bullets tumbling!... I'm sorry, I know I should be impressed by a bullets long range capabilities... but I just don't find performance stats of any hunting bullets beyond 500 yards practical in any real world scenario aside from picking ISIS psychos off from mountain top to mountain top. Not a dig on you... mostly on today's "everyone likes to play make-believe sniper while shooting at, and maiming, real, living animals" culture. This is only further marketed by so many "tactical operator supply" companies looking for their piece of the pie. Sorry for the tangent...

 

[BeeMaa]

I shoot a .375 a lot and we’re it legal, I would rather use a 250 gr .338 on a buffalo than a 235 gr .375. Such a light bullet defeats the purpose of such a splendid all around caliber. I frankly feel the same way about a 270 gr bullet. The caliber is one of those rare wonderful things that doesn’t require over thinking. Load it with a quality 300 gr SP and go hunting. All my buffalo have been killed with either the 300 gr TSX or Swift A-Frame. None went farther than twenty yards after being hit. They worked equally well on every PG animal I took on the same hunts except for a few of the tiny fellows shot with 300 gr solids. And the trajectory is perfectly adequate for any shot any competent PH is going to allow his client to take.

As you note, charges are extremely rare, but if I have to potentially penetrate an inbound boss, I would much rather attempt it with a 300 gr. Bullet of any construction.

If you show up in Africa with 300 grain Swift A-Frames, your PH will be delighted.
Demonstrate to him that you are capable of shooting it out to 300 yards with accuracy and he will be elated.
I took everything from Blesbuck (200 yards) to Eland (100 yards) with the 300 gr SAF and nothing went very far.

After speaking with my PH, he said that the 375H&H 300 gr SAF's are good for Buffalo as long as you do your part.
I also asked him about taking solids for a follow up shot and he said it would be fine if I wanted to bring them, but it wasn't necessary.
To that end I'm working on solids that will shoot to the same point of impact as my SAF's.

Do your part and make that first shot on the Buff (or any animal for that matter) count to minimize the chances of a charge.
Dealing with a charge is a real thing and being prepared is important.
That being said, the job of a client and the job of a PH are very different.
Sorting out what to do in the event of a possible charge would fall into the hands of the PH, so just do as he asks you to.

 

[IvW]

If you show up in Africa with 300 grain Swift A-Frames, your PH will be delighted.
Demonstrate to him that you are capable of shooting it out to 300 yards with accuracy and he will be elated.
I took everything from Blesbuck (200 yards) to Eland (100 yards) with the 300 gr SAF and nothing went very far.

After speaking with my PH, he said that the 375H&H 300 gr SAF's are good for Buffalo as long as you do your part.
I also asked him about taking solids for a follow up shot and he said it would be fine if I wanted to bring them, but it wasn't necessary.
To that end I'm working on solids that will shoot to the same point of impact as my SAF's.

Do your part and make that first shot on the Buff (or any animal for that matter) count to minimize the chances of a charge.
Dealing with a charge is a real thing and being prepared is important.
That being said, the job of a client and the job of a PH are very different.
Sorting out what to do in the event of a possible charge would fall into the hands of the PH, so just do as he asks you to.

You only need the 300 gr SAF bullets forget about the solids....unless you plan on shooting a duiker or a stein buck on the same hunt.

 

[Ridgewalker]

As narrow bodied as a duiker or steenbuck are, will the Aframe even open enough at the closer ranges you usually shoot them to do much damage?

 

[Rick Cox]

Yeah I'm with @Milehighshooter . 300 gr definitely work and have for years but the new core bonded and monolithic projectiles don't loose as much or any mass and don't need the weight. I bet they would work fine. Most likely my choice next time. But I think I'd stick with TSX.

 

[BeeMaa]

You only need the 300 gr SAF bullets forget about the solids....unless you plan on shooting a duiker or a stein buck on the same hunt.

Almost exactly what my PH said, and there is a possibility of tiny ten being on the menu.
Figured it would be better to have them and not need them, than need them and not have them.

I normally carry 10 rounds of ammo on my person...5 in the magazine (chamber unloaded) and 5 in a leather belt pouch.
Having 2 or 3 in the belt pouch be solids would give me options.

 

[Bruce]

I only use 300 gr in my 375's...have buff and many other trophies taken with them.
For buff I only use A Frame for the first shot.

 

[bruce moulds]

when you think about it, swift aframe might have an ideal hunting bullet design.
the semi spitzer.
it slows down less than a roundnose, but still has the flat nose that approaches a round profile.
that is talking about flight.
of course when they hit things become different.
the barnesx still confuses me as to how fast they open up.
I have used them extensively in the 7mmstw trying to make it a bigger gun, which it does, but have never recovered any.
this is because I have only shot camels with them, and have been too far from anywhere and too tired at the time to cut them up.
cutting up big animals that you can't roll over is a massive undertaking.
bruce.

 

[Shootist43]

Both history and experience favor a 300 Gr bullet for the 375 H&H. I load Swift A Frames for hunting. For practice and paper punching I found some Hornady DGX real cheap and use them to keep costs down. If bigger animals are on the menu 300 Gr. bullets need to be in the gun. I have a suspicion that for every animal taken with less than a 300 Gr. bullet hundreds have been taken with it.

 

[IvW]

Strange how much thought is placed on flatter trajectory and higher velocity rather than terminal performance and end results. You want to shoot DG with a 375 H&H and PG use a 300gr premium as a minimum weight, you want to shoot PG with lighter bullets use a .338 or .300.

You want to shoot DG only a 400 is better.

Been like that for more than a century...

 

[Ryan]

Except you're comparing apples to oranges.
The Barnes bullets have better terminal performance at higher velocity and it is actually suggested to decrease weight by one step in weight for the caliber. So the 270 grain should work as well as a 300 grain copper/lead bullet. I talked with a PH last year who really liked how the Barnes 250 or 235 grain in 375 H&H performed on buff. He did prefer traditional bullets more for buffalo. His concern about Barnes was not about it's performance on the target animal but that they tended to pass through and could possibly hit another animal in a herd situation.

 

[Dr Ray]

Strange how much thought is placed on flatter trajectory and higher velocity rather than terminal performance and end results. You want to shoot DG with a 375 H&H and PG use a 300gr premium as a minimum weight, you want to shoot PG with lighter bullets use a .338 or .300.

You want to shoot DG only a 400 is better.

Been like that for more than a century...

I agree but many years ago I was the same. I was loading everything to the max!
Like driving I guess. As you get older you see things differently.

 

[IvW]

Except you're comparing apples to oranges.
The Barnes bullets have better terminal performance at higher velocity and it is actually suggested to decrease weight by one step in weight for the caliber. So the 270 grain should work as well as a 300 grain copper/lead bullet. I talked with a PH last year who really liked how the Barnes 250 or 235 grain in 375 H&H performed on buff. He did prefer traditional bullets more for buffalo. His concern about Barnes was not about it's performance on the target animal but that they tended to pass through and could possibly hit another animal in a herd situation.

The point exactly.

If apples kill buffalo without excess velocity and over penetration(premium soft point ammo) thus not having the hunter or PH worry about wounding another, why would we then want to use high velocity light weight oranges that have the ability to over penetrate and have the ability to wound another, sometimes not open as they should, sometimes veer off course and not penetrate in a straight line? Especially when hunting DG such as Cape Buffalo?

He did prefer traditional bullets more for buffalo.

Wise PH, so should more people who hunt them..

 

[Luvthunt]

Yes, Swift AFrames [300-400-500] what ever they DO the job.

 

[Ryan]

No issues with veering, or not opening, just pass through. Since buff can be in a herd you have to be pickier with the shot. Actually I first went to Barnes after reading data from another forum including 270 grain Barnes used on buffalo and giraffe. They worked great.

 

[IvW]

No issues with veering, or not opening, just pass through.

Really?

Since buff can be in a herd you have to be pickier with the shot.

And stand a chance of loosing that once in a lifetime Cape Buffalo bull you been dreaming about for so many years?

You could have made that shot without any issues if you where using a premium grade soft but, no some hunters still choose to go with the high risk bullet, makes no sense.

When the shot is there, I would prefer to take and not worry about over penetration.

Actually I first went to Barnes after reading data from another forum including 270 grain Barnes used on buffalo and giraffe. They worked great.

How many Cape Buffalo have you hunted with a 270 gr Barnes bullet?

 

[Ryan]

None. But the PH I spoke to directly and another gent in another forum had both spoke well of it's performance on it's initial target. Actually the gent said the 270 Barnes appeared to have caused more trauma than 300 grain Barnes, opening more violently with the increased speed. But again, the Barnes bullet drawback is they will probably pass through after causing that trauma.

I am not actually disagreeing with you, a good modern 300 grain soft point is probably the best all around bullet for a buffalo should you consider shooting at one in a herd situation an option, which you do.

One of the general rules of hunting is knowing what's beyond the target animal and not shooting if there is another animal in case of a pass through, buffalo is apparently different. We've all had to be patient and wait for target animals to be open.

So if the OP is after an all around bullet for his 375 this bullet may be his best choice. The down side is he must be willing to be selective with his shot, possibly waiting for his bull to move away from the herd.

Good luck, good hunting.