Hornady 375cal. 390gr A-Tip Match bullets in 375 H&H - have you ever seen this bullet used?

[cash_tx]

Yesterday I saw some Hornady .375 caliber 390 grain A-Tip Match bullets advertised for sale, so I thought about maybe buying them to try in my Whitworth Express 375 H&H just for some longer range paper punching (not necessarily for hunting). However, I can't find any indication online that anyone uses this bullet in 375 H&H rifles; it seems more like its designed for long-range precision shooting with calibers like 375 Cheytac. I can't find any load data for this bullet in 375 H&H either. Has anyone ever heard of this heavy of a bullet being used in 375 H&H? I've seen mention of 350 grain Woodleighs being used in 375 H&H, but not quite anything 390 grain.

 

[DieJager]

Rhino bullets makes a 380 grain for the 375 h&h. No info on the 390

 

[cash_tx]

So, I sent an inquiry to Hornady this morning asking if one of their engineers could advise on a potential range of powder charges using this bullet and IMR 4350 in my 375 H&H Mag. Based upon the Hogdon Reloading reference page for IMR 4350 (https://hodgdonreloading.com/imr/imr-4350), the largest bullet they list is a 300 grain soft point; and the range is from a Starting Load of 67.5 grains, up to a Maximum Load of 75.0 grains (compressed). Based upon that, I'm thinking that maybe 64.0 to 65.0 grains would be a good starting point for IMR 4350 with this 390 grain bullet; and then work my way up from there in 0.5 grain increments (monitoring velocities with a chrono, and watching for signs of pressure along the way). What are your thoughts, folks?

 

[kdenn]

not a ballistics expert but the twist rate is often limiting factor on using heavy bullets. need to spin them fast enough to fly straight.

 

[cash_tx]

not a ballistics expert but the twist rate is often limiting factor on using heavy bullets. need to spin them fast enough to fly straight.

That's a very good point, and I had forgotten about that fact momentarily. I will double-check, but if memory serves, I think this Whitworth Express rifle has a 1:12" twist.

 

[Tom Leoni]

Technically, it's bullet length, not weight (often but not always correlated) that impacts stabilization within any given twist rate.

Longer bullets like this are optimized for long-range target shooting. Therein--and pretty much therein only--lies the value of high ballistic coefficient for these bullets. As far as hunting within, well, hunting ranges, though, .300 grain .375 bullets have been working perfectly since 1912 on any game on Earth, and I don't see much need for anything heavier. If you want to shoot 390gr bullets in your .375, though, that's in itself a perfectly valid reason.

So this bullet may need a faster twist rate than 1:12" to stabilize, but my modest expertise doesn't stretch to being able to tell with certainty. Good luck with it and have fun.

 

[cash_tx]

Technically, it's bullet length, not weight (often but not always correlated) that impacts stabilization within any given twist rate.

Longer bullets like this are optimized for long-range target shooting. Therein--and pretty much therein only--lies the value of high ballistic coefficient for these bullets. As far as hunting within, well, hunting ranges, though, .300 grain .375 bullets have been working perfectly since 1912 on any game on Earth, and I don't see much need for anything heavier. If you want to shoot 390gr bullets in your .375, though, that's in itself a perfectly valid reason.

So this bullet may need a faster twist rate than 1:12" to stabilize, but my modest expertise doesn't stretch to being able to tell with certainty. Good luck with it and have fun.

Yeah, it's really just a science experiment at this point because I got a good deal on the bullets; and now I want to see if I can figure out a good load work-up for my rifle and turn out some good groups on paper. I don't really plan on hunting with them.

 

[kdenn]

Berger bullets has a twist rate stability calculator that might help.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Quickload has the the 390s in their database. Could give you a rough estimate of load characteristics.

 

[benchracer]

Hornady recommends a 1:11 twist rate for the 390 A-Tips here: https://www.hornady.com/bullets/rifle/375-cal-.375-390-gr-a-tip-match#!/

Depending upon altitude and conditions, you might be able to get away with a 12 twist.

Twist rate aside, chamber throat length may limit what you can do with the 390's. I have experimented with the Sierra 350 MatchKing in my CZ 550. Seated to a .010" jam, COAL was 4.040". Loaded this way, RL-22 and IMR 7828 SSC worked well.

Controllability of the rifle was an issue for precision shooting with the 350 grain bullets. Anyway, the 390 A-Tips could be a fun experiment. Good luck!

 

[Inline6]

You are free to spend your money how you see fit. Better options IMHO especially for the money the Atip cost.

 

[SRvet]

Reports of how the A-tip behave on game are not encouraging!!

 

[akrifleman]

Even a 1:11 is not going to stabilize them at the low velocities of the H&H. I use a 1:8 in my 37XC to spin those. Even most high BC 350gr are not advertised for the H&H.

 

[cash_tx]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback; and after reading the input and thinking it over, I'll probably just resell these bullets to someone who could better use them (like a 375 CheyTac owner or something).

 

[IvW]

I use 340gr, 350gr and 380gr Rhino bullets and the perform just fine out of my 375 H&H rifles

 

[IvW]

These are short range hard hitting bullets for Africa's toughest animals....not longrange target types....

 

[SRvet]

I use 340gr, 350gr and 380gr Rhino bullets and the perform just fine out of my 375 H&H rifles

But I bet they are stubby ( and therefore short) little things that stabilise more easily.

 

[IvW]

But I bet they are stubby ( and therefore short) little things that stabilise more easily.

340gr 375 brass bullet stubby??

The expanders are rear half monometal and only bonded lead in the front so they are definately not stubby and they have excellent SD..

 

[IvW]

SD's of .345, .356 and .386 respectively

 

[akrifleman]

I use 340gr, 350gr and 380gr Rhino bullets and the perform just fine out of my 375 H&H rifles

They are flat base low BC bullets. Exactly the opposite of what type of bullet I was referring to (and the posters aforementioned A-Tips.) While I do understand (Rhino's) to be excellent bullets.