400 grain.375 Ruger ammo

[Creatineboy]

Okay so I found some 375 Ruger ammo that was loaded up with 400 grain full metal jackets and 400 grain soft points. Muzzle velocity out of a 24" barrel is over 2150fps, SD is .406 and energy is 4104 ft lbs. The SD of a 500 grain .458 bullet is .340, but of course the energy is 1000ft lbs higher than the 400 grain bullet.
I found this 400 grain loaded ammo at Reed's Ammunition where they actually make it for the .375 Ruger. I couldn't find just a 400 grain bullet to load up anywhere online,the heaviest available for the .375 being 350 grainers like North Fork solids.
What would you African hunters think of this 400 grain bullet for the.375 Ruger? Having a higher SD than a 500 grain Win Mag bullet, would it therefore penetrate deeper, all things being equal? Is there any animal you would NOT use such a loading on?

Just curious, thank you for any input

 

[USMA84DAB]

If you are going buff hunting (which means you will probably be shooting under 150 yards), then I would see these as a good option - however - you are throwing away one of the best features of the .375 Ruger - the .30-06 trajectory/flexibility.

I am not familiar with Reed's Ammo - the promos toughness is a primary requirement to satisfy!

 

[375Fox]

What more information can you provide on their 400 gr bullet? Northfork are a bonded bullet with a thicker jacket around the lead and a solid copper shank. It has design features to hold up on DG and retain mass. I don’t know anything about the bullet too are suggesting, but I’d suspect a very thin jacket and a lot of lead to make 400 gr. Look into the bulllet design more.

 

[375Fox]

Looking at their website, they offer the 400 gr soft point and 370 gr hollow point that is just missing some lead from front. That would lead me to believe it’s just a standard cup and core and not a bonded bullet. I would not use a non-bonded bullet for DG hunting.

 

[Creatineboy]

What more information can you provide on their 400 gr bullet? Northfork are a bonded bullet with a thicker jacket around the lead and a solid copper shank. It has design features to hold up on DG and retain mass. I don’t know anything about the bullet too are suggesting, but I’d suspect a very thin jacket and a lot of lead to make 400 gr. Look into the bulllet design more.

Yes sir I think that sound advice. I was wondering how they made them and if they were bonded and what process they use to make the jackets for the bullets and bond them to the lead and all that. I was even wondering if it was hardcastle they had that they bonded the jackets to. I would think hard cash LED with a securely bonded jacket would be okay. However I am in question as to whether the jackets are securely bonded being they are made in house. Reevdds has a good reputation for making bullets, and the 400 grain soft point one would trust, but for straight line penetration and you know what's going to hold up I would think the proven 350 grain barns banded solid or North Fork solid would maybe be a good choice until more field reports are made about theReeds 400 grain bullet.
When I get my 400 Grand full metal jackets from them I will do penetration testing on things that could resemble flash and also hard things like steel engine blocks and wood. And maybe ballistic gelatin.

 

[Creatineboy]

Looking at their website, they offer the 400 gr soft point and 370 gr hollow point that is just missing some lead from front. That would lead me to believe it’s just a standard cup and core and not a bonded bullet. I would not use a non-bonded bullet for DG hunting.

I agree sir. I've never been to Africa but I have fun at the North American continent. I would use a soft point on the biggest of brown bear a they have no need of a solid non expanding projectile.
I guess the 350 grain of Barnes and North forks hit the spot for a solid bullet but I was wondering why nobody had offered a 400 grain bullet at 2150 feet per second for the 375 calibers...

 

[Creatineboy]

If you are going buff hunting (which means you will probably be shooting under 150 yards), then I would see these as a good option - however - you are throwing away one of the best features of the .375 Ruger - the .30-06 trajectory/flexibility.

I am not familiar with Reed's Ammo - the promos toughness is a primary requirement to satisfy!

I would be buff hubting,that is what my Safari revolves around,1 bull and 6 plains game species. That's my goal. I'll have a .338 win mag or 7 mm mag for them though. My choices for buff are .375 Ruger,9.3x62mm Mauser, .460 weatherby mag, and a .458 Lott/Win mag. Thing is I may be selling my Lott and getting a CZ550 safari in .458 win mag,and should I have that rifle before the hunt,I'll I use it on the buff for sure. But if I don't,I'm thinking either a 300 TSX bullet or the 400 grain Reeds softpoints,unless I find it too soft in trials,then I'll stick to the TSX bullets.

Thank you for your input sir

 

[Creatineboy]

Looking at their website, they offer the 400 gr soft point and 370 gr hollow point that is just missing some lead from front. That would lead me to believe it’s just a standard cup and core and not a bonded bullet. I would not use a non-bonded bullet for DG hunting.

Thank you

 

[375Fox]

I agree sir. I've never been to Africa but I have fun at the North American continent. I would use a soft point on the biggest of brown bear a they have no need of a solid non expanding projectile.
I guess the 350 grain of Barnes and North forks hit the spot for a solid bullet but I was wondering why nobody had offered a 400 grain bullet at 2150 feet per second for the 375 calibers...

Can most rifles twist rate stabilize a 400 gr bullet? I just see no need. A 300 gr swift A frame is perfect for power and trajectory. I’d have no problem using a north fork or trophy bonded bear claw either. I can take a buffalo at 5 yards or an eland at 300 yards and have been in both situations.

 

[mgstucson]

Dr. Kevin Roberston from Africa (Veternarian, PH for 30 years, and PH Instructor) has hunted everything but really loved and focused on buffalo hunting. He is very keen on 350 gr 375 bullets for buffalo over 300gr offerings. Although he reported 300gr being good, with good bullets and shot placement, he seems to report the heavier bullet is better due to greater visible shock effect with heavier bullet. His specification is high SD (.300 min), velocity in the 2150-2250 range, and 4000fpe minimum. The 400gr rounds mentioned by OP seems to check all the boxes. Robertson is NOT a great fan of higher velocity heavy bullet loads, but seems to like the highest SD and bullet weight for caliber in the 2150-2250 fps velocity range matched with a properly constructed bullet to promote proper level of penetration. At least that is what I got form listening to his podcasts on Youtube. He does NOT seem to be a fan of high velocity, heavy for caliber bullets due to heavy recoil causing poor shooting, cartridge bullet setback causing possible reliability issues, and overpenetration causing increased risk of wounding multiple animals with one shot. He is not a big fan of early 375 Ruger rifles because velocity was too high for bullet weight, and rifles were too light for recoil management. He carried a 505 Gibbs as his PH stopping rifle, and he said a factory, 7lb, 375 Ruger was maybe the most unpleasant shooting experience he ever had - EVER. Ruger sent him an early rifle and Hornady sent a box of factory ammo for testing on the PH shooting course. He reported the recoil being so severe with factory rifle and factory ammo that they had 4 stoppages out of 20 cartridges using standard PH procedures on shooting course, due to bulged case necks on rounds subjected to just 4 rounds of recoil while riding in the rifle mag during real life PH shooting procedures replicated on PH training and shooting course. He reported his concerns to both Ruger and Hornady. This was caused from bullet setback caused by heavy recoil from too much velocity from too light of a rifle. That may be why Ruger abandoned the very light Hogue stocks in favor of the heavier laminated stocks. Terminal ballistics isn't the only consideration for dangerous game ammo/rifle combinations. He reports 10-12 pounds seems to be optimal weight for a practical hunting rifle for recoil management.

I sure would be interested to hear of actually hunting reports from those 400gr 375 bullets.

 

[Nkawu]

Something similar was thought of in South Africa with the result being the development of the 380 grain Rhino Solid Shank (soft nose). Reports suggest stellar performance on Buffalo. My only concern with the 375 Ruger would be magazine length with these long bullets.

 

[BlueFlyer]

Well I will not be buying their 9.3X64Brenneke ammo! Why would they load it 100fps less then their 9.3X62????

 

[clockwork_7mm_gator]

Did you end up ordering from Reed's? A couple years ago I bought from them and had to request a refund. The rounds arrived with bullets seated at all different lengths (noticeable to the naked eye) and several were quite crooked.