375 H&H Question

[Scott CWO]

It

Are you sure about the velocity difference? Either way, I have both and I love my .338WM. My question to you and others here is, if legal, would you hunt a Cape Buffalo with a premium bullet (say 250gr.) in a .338WM? Thread drift, but that's what we do here. LOL

It’s usually a 200-300 fps difference. I’m not sure what difference that makes at 40 yards on a tiny Suni.

 

[rookhawk]

It

It’s usually a 200-300 fps difference. I’m not sure what difference that makes at 40 yards on a tiny Suni.

@Scott CWO What I think you’re inferring is that the bullet didn’t make the horrible mess, a gigantic hydrostatic gas bubble blew the small animal apart? E.g. would have been the same story if you sent a 100gr bullet at 4000fps?

Just want To understand the theory you believe was at work to create the situation?

 

[CoElkHunter]

Thread-drift right back at you @CoElkHunter . My 11 year old son loves his 375HH and its plenty accurate. He wanted to know why Americans don’t use 235gr copper bullets with good volume/BCs in .375HHs for elk hunting? Wouldn’t It be just as flat shooting as a classic elk rifle?

Suffice to say, I couldn’t give him a good answer as to why the .375HH is sort of shunned as a lower-48 states rifle using lighter bullets.

Yes, I think the .375 H &H is a perfect elk cartridge with even 270gr. bullets? Of course, the lighter bullets will reduce felt recoil even more. My .338 has actually a "sharper" recoil than my .375. I think the reason the .375 H &H never caught on in North America for big game is because it requires a magnum action versus a long action, which most NA rifles are manufactured for?

 

[rookhawk]

Yes, I think the .375 H &H is a perfect elk cartridge with even 270gr. bullets? Of course, the lighter bullets will reduce felt recoil even more. My .338 has actually a "sharper" recoil than my .375. I think the reason the .375 H &H never caught on in North America for big game is because it requires a magnum action versus a long action, which most NA rifles are manufactured for?

Good enough explanation. I was thinking that the BCs of the 225-235-250gr bullets were very poor in the era of dense, lead core bullets. But with 20% lighter by volume copper bullets? Seems like they shoot pretty flat and with a respectable BC for reasonable elk hunting inside of say 400 yards?

 

[Vintageguy]

Are you sure about the velocity difference? Either way, I have both and I love my .338WM. My question to you and others here is, if legal, would you hunt a Cape Buffalo with a premium bullet (say 250gr.) in a .338WM? Thread drift, but that's what we do here. LOL

Yes, most 375 loads with 300 grains in my manuals are between 2400 to 2500 depending on what you’re loading. Commercial Capeshocks, last box I saw, were just under 2500. I easily found loads for 338 that hit 2900 plus with 225’s. I wouldn’t feel under gunned with a 338 for certain. I do think that the a-frame construction is a perfect match for the 375 and it’s velocity band. But when I load it in my 300 its velocity cause it to behave differently, not bad just different, it becomes more violent at closer range than I find the 375 to be with the same bullet.

 

[Scott CWO]

@Scott CWO What I think you’re inferring is that the bullet didn’t make the horrible mess, a gigantic hydrostatic gas bubble blew the small animal apart? E.g. would have been the same story if you sent a 100gr bullet at 4000fps?

Just want To understand the theory you believe was at work to create the situation?

We didn’t recover the bullet so I can only guess that the beginning of the bullet expansion and hydrostatic shock gas bubble did blow the suni apart while a solid would just zip through? I don’t think the difference in caliber between a .338 and a .375 or 200-300 fps difference in velocity would make as big a difference as bullet construction.

 

[PARA45]

Thank you all for your valuable inputs. This post has been entertaining and informative, considering some of you gents vast knowledge and experience. Keep them coming.