Holly and I are leaving on March 27th for a 14 day Leopard and Plains game hunt in Namibia. I have three boxes (60 rounds) of this ammo on the shelf and was thinking about using it on the hunt.

Here are the exterior ballistic specs. for Hornady's Heavy Magnum .375 H&H factory ammo loaded with their 270 grain, spire-point, Interlock bullet.

.375 H&H, 270 gr. SP
Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
Muzzle 100 yd 200 yd 300 yd 400 yd 500 yd
2870/4937 2628/4141 2399/3450 2182/2853 1976/2339 1782/1903

Trajectory (inches)
Muzzle 100 yd 200 yd 300 yd 400 yd 500 yd
-1.50 1.80 0.00 -7.80 -23.00 -47.10

In previous tests, it has produced 3 shot, 100 yard groups of around 1" in my rifle, so I'm not worried about accuracy. My concern is with the dependability of the Interlock bullet on game.

The only Hornady Interlocks I have had any experience with were 154 grain, 7mm spire-points in my 7mm Weatherby at just under 3,000 fps. I killed deer, bear and elk with them; but, the few I recovered had turned inside out with the lead core and jacket going different directions. That was 20 years ago, has Hornady improved the Interlock design since then?

Holly and I will be hunting Leopard, Gemsbok, Mt. Zebra, Springbok, Hartebeest, Kudu and perhaps a Steenbok, Klipspringer and Dik-dik. For the small guys I have several boxes of Hornady Heavy Magnum 300 grain solids. Here is the ballistic data for that load:

.375 H&H, 300 gr. FMJ-RN
Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
Muzzle 100 yd 200 yd 300 yd 400 yd 500 yd
2705/4873 2386/3792 2089/2908 1817/2198 1568/1637 1354/1221

Trajectory (inches)
Muzzle 100 yd 200 yd 300 yd 400 yd 500 yd
-1.50 2.30 0.00 -10.10 -31.30 -66.50

Holly will be shooting my .300 Jarrett with the always reliable, 200 grain Nosler Partition load at 3050 fps. I plan to use the .375 for everything I shoot.

My question is this; will the 270 grain Interlock bullet stay together and penetrate reliably on tough game like the Mt. Zebra and the Gemsbok?

I would appreciate hearing about the experiences other Forum Members have had with this bullet and/or load on African big-game.

Mark,

I also have used the Hornady Heavy Mag's in my 375 as well as my dad. I would HIGHLY advise against this bullet for leopard, as it does not stay together well me to use it on, as for the plains game, and depending on their size this round could work very well. On really small animals it makes a large hole (on a diker or something equivilant it would be a very bad choice).

I have shot rock (wood) chucks with mine as well as coyotes and on the chucks they blow apart as shot with my 270 w/a ballistic tip; on the coyotes it rips them apart as well.

Go check out some Federals' loaded with trophy Bonded Bearclaws or something equivilent (most likely all will be 300 grain which is a better choice on DG anyway, granted you speed is going to be down but you will have a bullet you can count on NOT blowing up when it hits the shoulder blade(a bit or an overexageration but you get the point).

Hope your safari goes well,
Justin
-Anymore Q's, shot me a pm.

Mark,
For the game you will be hunting, the Hornady 270 grain Interlock bullets will do fine. It is a good idea to have a second rifle in tow though! The 300 Jarrett should be an excellent back-up and can easily tackle anything on your list. I had an interesting time lobbing 300 grain Swift A-Frames 300+ yards at springbok near the Namib Desert with my 375H&H. It worked. Eventually!

Mark,

I've seen that 270 Hornady come unglued on a caribou at standard H&H velocities. I believe at the increased velocity of the Hornady Heavy Magnum load a hit on bone and you may be in trouble. Buy the Remington Swift loading or Federal's TBBC and there will be no nagging doubt about the ammo being right for the job.

Regards,

Mark

I had two hunters use these bullets last year for all their plains game. Each shot about 10 animals from Steenbok to eland in size. Not a single animal was difficult to find or was there any that ran far at all. This Bullet will not stay together like a bonded core bullet but for the plains game shot this past season these two brothers had no complaints. A 30/06 will take all these speces just fine so a bullet 100 grains heavier at the same velocity is just that much better!

Leopards are small and a 270 grain bullet will not stay in one except at great distance going end to end ...MAYBE! Even though I have seen these 270 kill at least a dozen brownies while I was working in Alaska and all the plaines game over the years. When it comes to the bullets I use today I prefer the best I can get.

I just put too much time in planning, scouting, expense in travel, equipment, anticipation etc. etc. to put all my hopes of a successful hunt on a cheap bullet. Considering that the moment of truth when I finally have that one chance to anchor an animal, do I really want to launch a 35 cent bullet at 2800fps and depend upon that to bring my dream into reality? ..........Nope! I'll use bonded core bullets unless absolutely nothing else is available. The one dollar a shot for the bullet is the least expensive part of the hunt and the single thing that ties it together for me. Your mileage may vary.

Mark,

I used this bullet in Hornady .376 Steyr factory loads on a hunt in Zim in '01 where I took eland, wart hog and a flock of impala for leopard bait.

Here is a paragraph from the article I wrote about the hunt.

"The 270 gr Hornady Interlock bullets recovered from the eland were fired into the front shoulder and rear quarter. Both broke heavy bones; the recovered bullets weighed respectively 237.4 gr and 231.8 gr, or 87.9% and 85.9%. The skinners could not find the shot into the neck. All of the other bullets shot into smaller animals exited, showing evidence of expansion. I shot the warthog behind the shoulder, and the bullet took out the heart and lungs and continued on into the mopane scrub. I have to admit I would rather have shot the eland with a solid, at least for the first shot. Those animals are huge -- a couple of hundred pounds larger than the Cape buff."

I used them at about 2,450 fps MV from my 20" barrel, and I recommend you put them behind the shoulder on any large animal if you take them hunting.

jim dodd

/

Why anyone would not using Nosler Partitions for the stuff on your list is beyond my comprehension.

I have not shot any African game with the Hornady Interlok. I have shot elk with them, 375 Weatherby, 270 grain bullets. Elk won't show back up and claw you, but they are about as big as anything you've described. Bullets I recovered (3) retained about 85% as I recall, at ranges of 150 - 250 yards. Functioned just fine. Didn't hit any shoulder bones,though. Still, I wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

Don't know that you need the extra velocity, but I would think these bullets will do just fine. If I didn't have the Hornadys already on the shelf, I'd probably pick a Trophy Bearclaw or Swift A-Frame.

Just my opinion.

Alf, While I fully understand and agree with your thought's the issue is bigger then this for todays travelling sportsman. He will save and sacrifice a lot in his life to get to Africa for a hunt. He will spend a considerable amount on trophy fees and related expenses. The benifit of the bonded core bullets cannot be denyied and they are cheap insurance when the total hunt cost is considered. AS I said it's the only thing that ties you to the trophy when you squeeze the trigger........feel lucky?

It's a whole lot different then culling and not worrying about the loss of an expensive trophy or the gut wrenching nightmares and tossing and turning each night over the loss of an expensive animal that the Hyeans and jackals are enjoying at your expense.

After spending 6-10K or more on a trip whats the extra 50 bucks for a box of Aframes gonna hurt? Speaking for myself that's cheap insurance!

Just wondering, what's the secret behind these hornady magnum loads and the KE they produce?Special powders?

Karl.

/

Thanks for all your responses.

From the experiences of those that have used the 270 grain Interlock on big-game, it sounds like Hornady has not improved them since I had core/jacket separation problems with their 154 grain spire-point in my 7mm Weatherby. Pushed at +P velocities in the Heavy Magnum load, the Interlocks appear too likely to come apart, particularly if they hit heavy bone.

As suggested by the majority of responders, I will save the Hornady Heavy Magnum loads for future use on wild hogs, black bears or maybe some Texas exotics and use Federal Premium High Energy, 300 grain Trophy Bonded Bearclaw (TBBC) ammo in Namibia.

Several years ago I ordered a variety of .375 H&H factory ammo to see what my rifle liked best. I bought several boxes each of the Hornady Heavy Magnum 270 gr. Interlocks, Federal Premium High Energy 300 gr. TBBC, Winchester 300 gr. Fail Safes and the Remington Safari Grade with 300 gr. Swift A-frames.

On our South African hunt in 2001, I used Federal Premium High Energy .375 ammo with the 300 grain TBBC to take 2 Eland, Zebra, Gemsbok, Impala, Warthog, Blue Wildebeest and Black Wildebeest. They shot into an inch @ 100 yards in my rifle and, when recovered, were perfectly expanded mushrooms, retaining 90%+ of their original weight. I still have several boxes on the shelf and will order several more for practise sessions during the next 20 days prior to departure.

I was interested in the 270 grain Interlock loads partly because of the slightly flatter trajectory for the longer shots that Namibia may present, and partly because I thought a bullet "softer" than the Trophy Bonded Bearclaw might be a better choice for the Leopard. However, I'm sure that a 300 grain TBBC in the right place will get the job done.

The difference in trajectory between a 270 grain bullet @ 2870 fps and a 300 grain bullet @ 2600 (if you care to believe the factory ballistics data) at 300 yards is only +2 1/2", +7.5" at 400 yards and +16.4" at 500 yards.

Although significant, under field conditions, and at practical shooting ranges, this "advantage" is of relatively little consequence. Confidence in the structural integrity of the bullet is of far greater concern.

If given the opportunity, Holly will shoot her Leopard with my .300 Jarrett and 200 grain Nosler Partitions. She is familiar and comfortable with the Jarrett, but a bit intimidated by the .375.

As stated, I plan to shoot everything with the .375 H&H; but this will be my first Leopard hunt. What do you think? Should I also use the .300 Jarrett for the Leopard, or is the .375 a better choice? The 200 grain Nosler Partitions will probably expand quicker and put a bigger exit hole in the cat than the 300 grain TBBCs.

Mark,

I was intimidated by the blast of the Jarrett! And I was standing 12 feet away! I would think the .300's ability, with which I've seen you reaching out and touching some far off antelope, would hardly be required for leopard. I'd be leaning towards a nice "slow" .375 load...since it resembles my 9,3x62 so much. Get a decent but not too tough bullet...I suppose a standard soft point would do the job.

On the other hand, being comfortable shooting the rifle comes first.

Frans

I�ve used the Hornaday on elk and whitetail without any problems -the Speer 235 turned out to be a stinker though. Seems that I loaded the Speer to excess speed so it just goes to pieces.

Small pieces.

Not the Hornaday though.

Last year I used Norma Oryx ammo on plainsgame (A-frame bullet?) and they worked well. No bullets were recovered though and I feel that expansion was minimal. This year it�s Woodleighs.

Truthfully I think most bullets shoot well if loaded to it�s correct velocity. Using different bullets and loads isn�t necessary BUT it is fun!

The 270 gr. and 300 gr. Hornadys are too soft, but I doubt that there is such a thing as 270 or 300 grs of bullet "failure", from a killing standpoint on plainsgame...

I would be concerned it might be too destructive on a Leopard skin, and considering the enhanced velocity of the loading you mention it may well tear things up. I found them too soft for my liking on Kudu, Elk and Gemsbok with my handloads at 2500 FPS.. but a Leopard is a very light boned animal and perhaps it would be fine, not sure one way or the other, but its hardly worth the risk.....

Mark:

Please believe me when I say I'm not a 'troll". I made one trip to Africa and that was for buff only. Isn't a leopard an animal that weighs less than 200 pounds as a rule? I shot a black bear weighing nearly 350 lbs with a 7mm (7x57) using a 154 gr. Hornady bullet. I shot another black bear weighing nearly 315 lbs with the same rifle and load in another year. Quite frankly, I think I could have dropped any leopard that walked, using a 7x57 Mauser. (If he charges me I want a 12 gauge shotgun) Why am I reading about concerns about what bullet weight of a 375 H&H to use on such a relatively small animal,thin skinned and lacking in the sheer muscular and fat epidermis of a bear? (yes, I can understand what my PH told me and can even agree that African animals are just that much more vital and determined to live but really- My guide in Canada was horrified when I first showed up with the 7mm. The following year he was a convert. Is it possible that outfitters (and PHs) want the heaviest artillery used in order to make up for deficiencies in marksmanship? After all, in the end, it's where you hit 'em that counts! (I appreciate that a shot may be in bad light but if you put me where I can put a shot behind mbadr's left shoulder, won't he go down for good?

I know that the people who have "been there" may have different views and I most certainly am open to them. In fact, I am sure they have good arguments that probably would convince me. (I shot my buff with a 375 H&H.If I do it again I want a 50 cal.MG - and I ain't entirely kidding) (I spent a month in the bush and listened to one or more leopards coughing every night and knew from my PH to watch the overhanging limb of every acacia that I passed under because the leopard hunts man. I saw a leopard through binocs at about 200 yards distance as he sprawled on a limb during noon day heat. Something awoke him and he picked up and all of a sudden he looked right at me. He saw me. (The PH said he probably caught the glint of sun on my binocs) Next to seeing elephant close up and getting my buff, it was my most unforgettable moment in Africa. I really do appreciate that you want to stop and drop such an animal in his tracks. But a 375 H&H?

If that was the only bullet I had available, I'd take it in a heartbeat and never look back. Lots of folks here have had good luck with them. Hell, for leopard I WANT a bullet that expands. They are VERY thin skinned and succeptible to high impact velocities. Having said that, if you have the TBCC available or any other premium AND my rifle shot them weel, then the choice is clear, the premiums. Just an aside, My uncle shot his first leopard with a 270 and old-fashioned Winchester Silvertips! jorge

Jim, the scope on my .300 Jarrett is a Swarovski 3-12x50 PH with the illuminated Plex reticle. The .375 H&H scope is a Swarovski 1.5-6x42 with the new, illuminated, 4A-IK reticle.



I am a big fan of bright, high-quality scopes and illuminated reticles. I realize that many Forum Members prefer smaller objectives, lower magifications, and non-illuminated reticles. All I can say is that I have taken a number of my best trophies (during legal shooting hours) when it was so dark that sometimes I could not even see the animal with my naked eye, but could easily see and evaluate it with bright binoculars (Swarovski 8.5x42EL and 8x56SL), then cleanly (and confidently) kill it with a bright scope and an illuminated reticle.



gerald416, no worries about the "Troll" stuff. My question about the .375, 270 grain Interlock bullet was whether or not it would hold together and penetrate sufficiently on the larger plains game animals such as Gemsbok and Zebra. I don't want an enjoyable hunt and a great stalk to end with a miserable tracking job on a suffering, wounded animal. Thankfully, I have never had that experience and hope that I never will.



Whether to use a 270 grain or 300 grain .375 bullet on Leopard is a moot point, since I'm sure Leopards have been killed cleanly by everything from .223's to .470's and any "deer" caliber is probably more than adequate with proper shot placement. That said, I'm guessing that if something goes wrong and the PH winds up having to play "hide and seek" with a wounded Leopard in the tall grass after dark, he would probably prefer that it have as big a hole in it as possible!



In any case, since the airlines now limit us to two guns per case, and we don't want to drag two Tuff-paks half-way around the world, we decided to take our mutual favorite rifle, my .300 Jarrett and my .375 H&H. In place of the .375 H&H we could take a .30/06, a 7mm Weatherby, a .338 Win Mag or, GOD FORBID!!...a .45/70; but when you've got a classic rifle like the .375 H&H in the rack and you're headed for Africa, it just seems like the right thing to do to take it along!

Mark,

Used Hornady 300 gr boattail spitzer in RSA on plains game..
took Zebra thru shoulder and out thru ribs at 125 yds..Kudu hit him at 400 took out front leg and tracked down and finished him at 25yds...when he went after a tracker...Took out blue wildebeaste at 100yds and flattened him..
The 375 will bark and the rest is up to you...

Mike

Well, never having been there, I'm just going to relate a
story from someone that has.

He went to Africa with a 458 win mag, with soft points.
His PH said,
"Well, you have softpoints in the gun, we run accross a 120 pound, tusks, bull elephant, what are you going to do? No, we use solids, prepared for the worst, and most dangerous."

So, I have to bow to that hunter, and that Ph, and suggest that you should have solids, in your 375 H&H, period.

That said, I would pick the biggest metplat, at the highest velocity, with the hardest material.

300 grains, big metplat, tough, and able to go through anything.
Works for me, and with big bears, and cats. Or alternate the loads...

s

Socrates, I will take several boxes of 300 grain .375 solids, but contrary to your suggestion, they will be used for the "little guys" and not the big stuff.

I know that a solid through the heart or lungs will kill any animal that walks the earth, the only question is how long will it take and how far will the animal go before it dies. Premium, controlled-expansion, softpoints do more tissue damage and generally produce larger exit wounds facilitating tracking and recovery of the animal.

I'll use the solids to shoot critters such as Steenbok, Klipspringer, Dik-dik and Duiker. If you avoid hitting big bones, solids will punch a neat hole through the chest without blowing these smaller animals in half and ruining the cape as softpoints are likely to do.

If I decide to book an elephant hunt one day, rest assured, there will be nothing but solids in my cartridge belt!

I'm not sure where this theory of solids not blowing up critters came from but I have shot a whole lot of jackals with a 30/06 and a 375 using solids because of this theory and I cannot tell the difference between them and a soft point. Big holes with either are the rule! I rather doubt a soft point is going to expand to any degree on a jackal caracal steenbok or duiker.

Velocity is what explodes the little animals far more then any expansion will. Two things cannot occupy the same space at the same time. When that bullet enters the animal all that soft tissue is trying to get the heck out of the way of the bullet. The faster the bullet the faster the tissue moves. If the skin of the animal cannot contain the moving tissue a ruptured hide occurs. That theory is well proven with varmint rifles and solids. I have seen plenty of coyotes nearly cut in half with 220 swifts and solids.

If you're shooting hippo, elephant, rhino, then use solids, otherwise use premium softs and relax, the game will all go down with a well placed shot. Don't stress over this! Also it's OK to shoot far behind the shoulder on a Duiker or steenbok with a 375. You will not ruin the cape and placement is not very critical with that caliber on those small animals.

Well , let me throw in 2 cents worth and a dissenting , maybe troll like opinion . (grin)



Doesn't much of the hunting in Nambia occur in very open semi-desert country , where shots are apt to be on the long side ?



If such is the case , I personally would feel better with the Hornaday load than the slow expanding super premium 300 grainers . I doubt those standard velocity 300 gr loads will beat 2500 fps by much . You are going to see quite a bit difference more in trajectory at 300 yard or so ranges than that alluded to by several of the prior posters . And I think the Hornaday would hold up fine at longish ranges on stuff up to zebra size......



I also would think there is little question the Hornaday would snuff something the size of a leopard easily . It might sort of wreck the pelt though......

regards from Spain, Mark, and I wish Holly and you the best on your trip to Namibia.

I hope you share some pictures and adventures with the rest of us when you get back.

montero

Hello Montero! It's good to hear from you; thanks for the best wishes on our Namibia hunt. I assure you that we will come back with lots of photos to share and stories to tell!

If Diana, Goddess of the Hunt, smiles down upon us, maybe Holly and I will both get the chance to shoot a Leopard. Leopard is our primary trophy. We will also be looking for a couple good Kalahari Gemsbok bulls in the 40" range and several big Kalahari Springbok.

I've shot two Burchell Zebras and a Red Hartebeest in South Africa, so I'll give Holly the chance to shoot a Hartman's Mountain Zebra and a big Namibian Red Hartebeest. She says she will also be looking for a Kudu bull that will beat the 60 1/2" South African Kudu in my signature; I hope she finds one!

If we have time, I will look for monster (6" is huge) Steenbok and Klipspringer rams to improve on trophies I've already taken in South Africa. And, if the opportunity presents itself, I may consider shooting a Cheetah and leaving the hide in storage in Namibia, since there is talk that the USA import ban may be lifted in the future.

As much as the trophies we hope to take, we are looking forward to seeing and exploring a new country!

HunterJim, thanks, I also feel that we are well equipped as far as optics, armament and ammuntion go. Unfortunately, that means that we won't have any excuses left if we screw up, except Operator Error!

We exchanged some PMs a year or so ago about the Trijicon scopes. I still intend to order one and give it a try this fall on the South Carolina deer and hogs that wait until dark to come out of the briar patches. We can hunt from 1 hour before sunrise until 1 hour after sunset, and in the swamp under a closed canopy of hardwoods, particularly with a little overcast cloud cover, it's darker than the inside of a Holstein before the end of legal shooting hours.

JJHack, I appreciated your comments about hide damage with both softs and solids. Your observations that high velocity causes more hide damage than bullet type makes a lot of sense. Maybe our PH will have a smaller caliber, standard velocity rifle I can borrow to shoot the little guys with instead of the firebreathing .300 Jarrett or the +P .375 H&H factory loads.

Mark,

Have you shot that ammo in high temps? I do just wonder if there is a slightly increased risk of pressure problems with the heavy magnums in African heat....

Good luck in your hunt.

1894, no, I have not.

However, I shot the Federal Premium High Energy load with the 300 grain Trophy Bonded Bearclaw on our 2001 South Africa hunt in hot weather in the Northern Province in late September without any pressure problems.

I'm not expecting particularly hot temperatures in Namibia during our hunt in early April, so hopefully the High Energy load will not create any pressure problems.

Mark, I have been away from the forum for a while, so I'll offer my story a little late...

I used the Hornady Heavy Magnum 270gr. on my safari to Zim in 2002.

I won't say that the bullet itself is bad, but I can say that the bullet IN THAT LOAD has serious problems.

IMHO, the bullet can not handle the velocity of their Heavy Magnum load (2750fps).

We never found more than a piece of jacket and BB-size pieces of lead on any animal we took.

I didn't lose any game, but that bullet almost cost me a zebra, if it weren't for the trackers and 2 hours of tracking to put it down.

He was angling away, and I put the bullet about midway in the body, planning for it to follow forward into the lungs.

But with the "pot-bellied" figure of a zebra, the bullet went in, hit a rib and disintegrated, with part of the bullet coming right back out behind the front leg.

We never found the remaining parts of the bullet.

I now use 300gr Partitions.


Rick.

Rick, thanks for posting your unsatisfactory experiences with the Heavy Magnum load. Based on previous responses, I had already decided not to use them in Namibia. But your report of their poor performance under actual field conditions was the frosting on the cake!

It makes you wonder what ammunition and bullet manufacturers like Hornady are thinking when they load their own bullets to velocities where they blow up, shed cores, break up, over expand, etc.

When it all comes out in the wash, a Nosler is hard to beat and they expand quickly and they will make two holes in most of what you shoot...They come in factory boxes from Federal....Work great on anything in the .375 with the 260 gr., The 300 gr. is pretty tough and won't expand much on small stuff although I have shot a lot of small stuff with them, but they go a good ways sometimes and you need a fairly good tracker, never lost anything shot with a 300 but they arn't ideal for small Impala size critters...

Mark in SC

My experience with 270 grain Hornady SP Interlocks is that they work well as long as you don't push them past 2600 fps. I use the 270 grain SP on most of my hunts running at 2550 fps and they do the job just fine. So I wouldn't recomend using the ammo you have on your shelve.