Matching Barnes 375 H & H 300 gn TSX Factory Ammunition

[UpNorthMI]

I’ve been loading Barnes .375 300gn TSX bullets in .375 H & H to try and develop a factory equivalent load for practice. My first loads back in December peaked used 74.0 grains of Ramshot Big Game powder and gave 2490 fps. The factory Banes ammo documents the speed as 2540 fps.

I increased my load to 75.0 gn of Ramshot Big Game powder and managed to buy some Barnes factory ammo.

It was a mild day today in Michigan, 51 F, I took my latest reloads and the factory ammo to my shooting range. I’m shooting a Blaser R8, guessing a 22” barrel.

The Barnes factory ammo averaged 2435 fps with a tight speed of 25fps between max and min, this was less than the quoted 2540 fps which was probably from a 24” test barrel, accuracy was very good, my latest reloads gave an average of 2560 fps with a spread of 24fps between max and min. I was more focused on the speed readings than trying for accuracy but my reloads achieved great grouping at 100 yards for shooting off sticks.

It seemed that the extra 125 fps my reloads had resulted in no effect on the point of impact compared with the factory ammo.

I’m done with practice load development, time to load some practice rounds for my son and I to practice before our May buffalo culling trip. The only issue is the poor availability of Ramshot powder again!

 

[Forrest Halley]

I’ve been loading Barnes .375 300gn TSX bullets in .375 H & H to try and develop a factory equivalent load for practice. My first loads back in December peaked used 74.0 grains of Ramshot Big Game powder and gave 2490 fps. The factory Banes ammo documents the speed as 2540 fps.

I increased my load to 75.0 gn of Ramshot Big Game powder and managed to buy some Barnes factory ammo.

It was a mild day today in Michigan, 51 F, I took my latest reloads and the factory ammo to my shooting range. I’m shooting a Blaser R8, guessing a 22” barrel.

The Barnes factory ammo averaged 2435 fps with a tight speed of 25fps between max and min, this was less than the quoted 2540 fps which was probably from a 24” test barrel, accuracy was very good, my latest reloads gave an average of 2560 fps with a spread of 24fps between max and min. I was more focused on the speed readings than trying for accuracy but my reloads achieved great grouping at 100 yards for shooting off sticks.

It seemed that the extra 125 fps my reloads had resulted in no effect on the point of impact compared with the factory ammo.

I’m done with practice load development, time to load some practice rounds for my son and I to practice before our May buffalo culling trip. The only issue is the poor availability of Ramshot powder again!

So when I load practice loads for a gun...my aim, pardon the pun, is to load a cheaper bullet to the same point of impact as the factory ammunition.

It appears you have in fact duplicated the Barnes factory load fairly closely. Are you saving any money over the Barnes MSRP?

 

[UpNorthMI]

So when I load practice loads for a gun...my aim, pardon the pun, is to load a cheaper bullet to the same point of impact as the factory ammunition.

It appears you have in fact duplicated the Barnes factory load fairly closely. Are you saving any money over the Barnes MSRP?

I purchased the Barnes 300 gn TSX bullets on sale for under $50 for a box of 50 add the cost of powder and primer, I’m reloading for a total of $1.55 a round, excluding any cost for brass. I just purchased 100 rounds of Barnes factory ammunition it was $530, so $5.30 a round.

I can certainly load cheaper bullets like a Speer 235gn but they are still $35 for 50 bullets.

My practice goals are to see how it shoots in real life back to 300 yards with taking data each 50 yards. In addition a number of shooting positions. There are two of us practicing, I’m sure we will get through at least 200 rounds, my 21 year old son is new to the caliber and has little practical experience with his new Blaser R8 or shooting off sticks.

Comparing $310 of reloading cost to $1,060 cost of factory ammo, I think the $750 saving is worth the time and effort. I just purchased some additional brass, 200 rounds was about $260, even if I take this into consideration I’m still about $500 in savings.

The value of having your 21 year old at the reloading bench is a lifetime investment with a huge return in many ways not just financial! We shoot a lot of factory ammunition but reload at least 3 or 4 times the amount of factory ammo that we shoot.

 

[375er]

I’ve been loading Barnes .375 300gn TSX bullets in .375 H & H to try and develop a factory equivalent load for practice. My first loads back in December peaked used 74.0 grains of Ramshot Big Game powder and gave 2490 fps. The factory Banes ammo documents the speed as 2540 fps.

I increased my load to 75.0 gn of Ramshot Big Game powder and managed to buy some Barnes factory ammo.

It was a mild day today in Michigan, 51 F, I took my latest reloads and the factory ammo to my shooting range. I’m shooting a Blaser R8, guessing a 22” barrel.

The Barnes factory ammo averaged 2435 fps with a tight speed of 25fps between max and min, this was less than the quoted 2540 fps which was probably from a 24” test barrel, accuracy was very good, my latest reloads gave an average of 2560 fps with a spread of 24fps between max and min. I was more focused on the speed readings than trying for accuracy but my reloads achieved great grouping at 100 yards for shooting off sticks.

It seemed that the extra 125 fps my reloads had resulted in no effect on the point of impact compared with the factory ammo.

I’m done with practice load development, time to load some practice rounds for my son and I to practice before our May buffalo culling trip. The only issue is the poor availability of Ramshot powder again!

View attachment 586225

Have you tried IMR 4064? Having good success with it recently.

 

[poco]

Our practice load is Speer 270 on top of 80gr 4350 ( to keep it simple)
chad ( my buddy) runs 300 tsx @ 2600 for hunting
me 270gr tsx @ 2740 375Ruger, hunting
a man on this website also has worked out a spreadsheet for me on my ruger for practice purposes