375 Ruger ammo for Lion and Buffalo

[ActionBob]

Looking for advice from all you guys with experience and/or expertise on ammo for the 375 Ruger I just ordered for my wife to take Lion hunting..... I have not found an abundance of ammo out there in 375 Ruger and I do not reload, so I assume we will be mostly looking at Hornady. What I know I can buy off the shelf right now is 250 grain GMX Superformance, which I suspect would be great all around PG ammo with a very flat trajectory, but will they expand enough for Lion?
Right beside that on the shelf was 300 grain Hornady DGX... Which I think is about the most ripped soft point I've seen discussed on this board. A month or so ago, I think I saw some 270 grain SP RP in Ruger as well in another store and there is a good chance that is still there.... I used that in my 375 H & H with great results on PG and they seemed to expand well on the bigger animals. But if those are the 3 choices, which should we choose for Lion?

Should we consider the lighter bullets for less recoil and/or faster speed/shock value? Or go with the biggest chunk of soft lead?

And what about Buff, just in case she decides to shoot one of those as well?

Bob

 

[enysse]

My two cents is everyone of the choices would be fine for the lion. The Cape buffalo is a little different. The DGX should work, but there are better choices if you handload.

 

[ActionBob]

I don't hand load so stuck with whatever we can buy.

 

[CAustin]

Hornady DGX did the heavy work for me! No issues at all.

 

[enysse]

I think the DGX will work fine for broadside shots and going away. I would not try to shoot through the shoulder bone with them.

 

[CAustin]

Also had DGS for backup second and third rounds for the Cape buffalo .

 

[ActionBob]

Yea I would like to take a Buffalo myself on this trip and I will probably go for the lioness if we get a deal on a combo. But with the H & H I can get most any bullet I want. I have a box of DGS, a box of Remington A Frames and a couple boxes of Federal Premium Trophy Bonded Bear Claws in the plastic case..... Yesterday I ran into a supply of 375 H & H Federal Premium sledgehammers in the cardboard boxes... They look fine, just been sitting around a few years. They had dusted them off and repriced them to todays level but the guy at the shop suggested if I want them I could make an offer... He mentioned I'm the only guy he has met with a use for them. He also had several others, didn't make note of what.

I believe there was also some 416 Rem Mag there, if anyone is interested.

Does anyone know if those older Federal Premium Sledgehammers are likely to shoot close to the same point as my Trophy Bonded Bear Claws? I think the Hornady solids are good, but I think they are loaded to a different speed and likely will not shoot to the same POA. I'll go try a couple when I get a chance.

 

[enysse]

The sledgehammers are a premium bullet. I'm guessing but I think they will be close.

 

[matt85]

the DGX should work fine for lion, the ripping you've heard about the bullet has been for using it on buffalo.

now I haven't hunted lion personally but from what ive read faster is better for big cats. so for the 375 H&H or 375 Ruger I think id use a 250gr or 270gr bullet.

-matt

 

[ldmay375]

DoubleTap Ammunition, has loads for the 375 Ruger in Barnes TSX in 235gr & 270gr; as well as 250 TTSX and 260gr Nosler Accubond loads. You can order directly from the web site. The 270gr I have used for moose and have no complaints.

 

[Velo Dog]

I would consult the PH for sure on something like bullets for Lion, partly because they are expensive animals to hunt but very much because they can be so dangerous.
Personally I should not vote on a lion bullet since I have never shot a lion and have only seen a couple in my life that were wild and living free.

 

[nchungryhunter]

Was looking for information on the .375 Ruger and buffalo. Anyone have any more experiences to share with that? I do hand load so I would like to here your results if you got them. Trying to decide if I am ok with what I got or I should start looking at a bigger cal.

 

[ActionBob]

I forgot about this thread so I suppose I should report back. My wife was going to use the 375 Ruger and was going to hunt a lion but then I screwed up... Had her shooting it with the brake on and she developed a nasty flinch... Then lost confidence in her shooing and so would not shoot anything on the trip we did in April 15.

I took my PH's advice after offering many options of factory loads for the lion I hunted. He wanted to me to bring 300 grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claws for everything. I did take a buffalo and used the 505 with a TSX.

Our 375 Ruger has not been used to shoot anything other than paper so far However in 2014 I used 270 grain interbonds in Hornady's Superformance loads in my 375 H&H when I hunted nothing but PG... That bullet performed very well and shoots pretty fast and flat... I would think it would be fine for lion as it expands pretty good.

For buff in a handload in the 375 Ruger... Use whatever you would use in 375 H&H. The only difference in performance is a little more speed on the Ruger out of the same barrel and about the same speed if the Ruger is in a 20" barrel compared to the H&H in a 24". I do think TSX's would be a top choice followed by A-Frames, Trophy bonded bear claws and the other top quality bonded or copper alloy type bullets.

The middle pic is a 300 grain trophy bonded bear claw out of the rear of the belly on my lion after entering between the neck and point of the shoulder in a quartering to shot. The right one is a 525 grain TSX from the 505 pulled out of this years buffalo. On the left is a Hornady interbond 129 grain 6.5 Creedmoor.

 

[CAustin]

Hornady DGX recovered from my sons Giraffe. It's a little bigger bullet at 400 grains but the 375 Ruger should be fine with good shot placement!

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

I have a 375 Ruger with a 23 inch barrel. For ammo choices, it is usually Hornady, Hornady and Hornady. According to Nosler's website, supposedly they are producing ammo for the 375 Ruger now, but I haven't seen it at any of my normal sources. I did buy about 60 rounds of custom stuff from Hendershots (https://hendershots.net/custom-ammo/ ) with 300 grain Swift A-Frame. It ran about $100/box compared to about $60 for Hornady. The Hendershot stuff is listed at 2500 fps and groups very well in my rifle (~1 inch). I bought the gun for Alaskan brown bear and Cape Buffalo and feel comfortable it will work on either of these. I don't want to shoot anything bigger, animal wise or gun wise.

 

[LivingTheDream]

There is a few custom ammo makers out there that aren't priced too crazy. I wouldn't have a problem going with DGX for the lion and DGS for the buffalo.

 

[ActionBob]

There is a few custom ammo makers out there that aren't priced too crazy. I wouldn't have a problem going with DGX for the lion and DGS for the buffalo.

I would for sure start with a premium soft or expanding bullet on a buffalo. Use the DGS as backup if you really want but my first chouce for @375 Ruger Fan on Buffalo would be those 300 grain A-Frames. From my experience hunting buffalo with my 416 Rem Mag, I would either load all A Frames or maybe a solid in the bottom of the box... for sure the first two I would use the A Frames... They will penetrate well and odds are will be a good choice for the first and second shot... Only thing better in my mind would be to get some TSX's loaded... But you have the A Frames and they are very good.

 

[nchungryhunter]

Thanks for the input guys. I have some 300 grain partitions sitting around that I've been meaning to try out just haven't gotten around to it. Wold probably go for 2 of those followed by a solid from what you all are telling me. I'm a couple of years away still of being able to finance a buffalo hunt just want to make sure when the time comes I am ready!

 

[poprivit]

May 2015 I hunted a lion and harman's zebra with my Ruger #1 in 375 Ruger. I used Hornady 270-gr. DGX. The zebra was a neck shot pass-through; bullet not recovered. DRT. Lion was a very close neck shot. The bullet expanded nicely and the lion expired nicely. It went exactly nowhere. Bullet recovered.

I've used Hornady on most everything including Cape buffalo (458 Lott), and plains game. Worked as advertised.

 

[enysse]

I did buy about 60 rounds of custom stuff from Hendershots (https://hendershots.net/custom-ammo/ ) with 300 grain Swift A-Frame. It ran about $100/box compared to about $60 for Hornady. The Hendershot stuff is listed at 2500 fps and groups very well in my rifle (~1 inch). I bought the gun for Alaskan brown bear and Cape Buffalo and feel comfortable it will work on either of these. I don't want to shoot anything bigger, animal wise or gun wise.

You buy accuracy and performance, I very much doubt you will regret that purchase.