Norma Oryx 300gr or Barnes 350

Backyardsniper

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Trying to get some 300 Swift's for my 375 but they seem to be non existent at the moment. How do the Norma Oryx hold up on buffalo? Anyone have any first hand experience with these. They are available and in stock at the moment. Also considering the Barnes 350 since they are also in stock but was curious about the oryx if anyone has used them.
 
Care to tell where the Oryx are in stock at?
 
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I was looking at loaded ammo.
 
Is the 300g Barnes not available? The 300g TSX works very well in a 375HH. Barnes have pretty close to 100% weight retention and therefore tend to do well at lighter weights than traditional bullets. The traditional weight in a Barnes is already plenty heavy. The 300g TSX is a really good bullet in a 375HH.

There is a heavy-for caliber fad going on right now. In some cases it makes some sense. A heavy bonded lead bullet that holds together might well expand more and give a better wound channel; It may penetrate deeper than a standard weight bullet. May work better. May. A TSX already has all the penetration one would want out of an expanding bullet- it you want or need more, it is time for a solid. Will it expand more than a regular-weight TSX? What benefit is it purported to have and is that benefit actually useful? It doesn't really matter if it penetrates better if the 300g already exits. And unlike on plains game, where you tend to shoot and let the bullet do its work, on buffalo, you tend to want to put in additional shots. If you are in a herd situation, an exiting bullet quickly becomes an exciting bullet.

Finally, TSX bullets generally like velocity. A TSX of any sort is a long bullet for weight. A 350g TSX will be really long for a 375 bullet. I haven't loaded them nor do I have any interest in loading them, but does a 375HH have sufficient case capacity to get good velocity with that bullet? What other than additional recoil is it bringing to the party? A 378 Weatherby could probably make great use of it, but I'm not sure what specialized use case would make that the best choice on buffalo.
 
I found some 300gr swift. These will be running back up for my 460 weatherby, which I already have some 500gr A frames for. Out of.curiosity what is your opinion on the 300gr tsx in 458 on buffalo? Since the barnes has such good weight retention. I have a 460 load that launches them at 3150fps. I don't actually plan on using those on buffalo but I can't see why they wouldn't work if the bullet will hold together.
 
Barnes has 300 and 350 grain TSX bullets in stock on their web site. Even some 270 grain ones.
 
Yeah the Barnes are available at natchez shooter supply too. They're a bit cheaper there
 
I bought 100 Norma Oryx bullets for my .375 H&H. NO USE YET, BUT THE BULLET HAS A GOOD REP.
 
barnes 300gr tsx, work very very well on buff
have used oryx once before, didnt get good penetration, but that was just once, barnes 300gr tsx, have used literally thousands of them and they work very very well
 
Norma Oryx I would not put at the same standard as Woodleigh and would be a bit hesitant on buffalo for them. On a perfect broadside shot trying to miss the heavy leg bone they will abosuluteky work but when it comes to shooting that buff at angles that's when my trust in the bullet would give me issues.

I have used 300gr Woodleigh HD bullets which is still the same bonding as the normal 300gr Woodleigh just a thicker jacket. So I even went one sptep further and used the HD (Hevay Duty) bullets from woodleigh and not the normal woodleigh bonded bullets.

The Oryx used for plainsgame would be a very good combo.
 
A very experienced African hunter friend of mine has told me that the 300gr Oryx is a bit soft for buffalo, great for PG. The 300gr TSX, however, is a proven winner on buffalo and PG. This last trip I wanted a heavier .375 bullet and used the 350 Woodleigh Weldcore HD with spectacular results on 2 buffalo and 5 PG. This was Kevin Robertson’s recommendation, and he had this to say about the 350 TSX:

Not really a fan of the 350 .375 TSX.

The idea behind heavy for caliber bullets is that they are supposed to expand to a larger final diameter than regular weight bullets which gives, by a factor of 3, bigger permanent wound channels.

When Barnes brought out the 350 .375 TSX they just made it longer - the X on an expanded 350 is the same size as the X on an expanded 300 - and with that extra weight (ie momentum - which usually compensates for the increased frontal surface area) 350 TSX’s will shoot right through a buffalo from side-on if pushed too fast - which you do not want to do.

I would not go over 2250 to 2300 fps if you choose that route.
 
Backyardsniper, thanks for the tip. I just picked up a couple of boxes.
 
No problem. I keep a pretty close eye on a lot of the vendors so I will try to post a thread and let you guys know when I something in stock that looks useful.
 
I had bad luck with the Oryx bullet on my Kyrgyzstan Ibex hunt. The first shot was through his huge neck and it did not expand. I saw him through the scope shaking his head a bit like a sheep choking on feed but he was not hurt from that good shot. The neck on those goats is massive and should have easily opened the bullet up. A miss then a good hit on the third shot put him down. I was shooting a .300 RUM at the time.
I am mostly using Barnes now.
 
Roger that. I got a batch of A frames now. My local GS got a shipment of powder in. If anybody is within driving distance of Paducah KY Shooter Supply has H5450, IMR4350, IMR4198, H1000 and H335 and a few other odds and ends.
 

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