Looking at one of 2 Nosler bullets for larger plains game (zebra, wildebeest, kudu, maybe eland). I'm thinking of using Federal Premium with either the 260gn Accubond, or 300gn Partition. Will be hunting in the Limpopo area of SA. I've also considered the Remington Safari Grade with 300gn Swift A-frame. I would like start buying ammo to start practicing for this summer. Thanks, Rich.

I've successfully hunted the Remington A Frame load on buffalo and plains game. Now that North Fork has gone under, I doubt if you can find a better bullet, and definitely no better bullet in a factory load. It's extremely accurate in my rifle, less than MOA. Before I started handloading for it, I was using the 270 grain Remington soft nose for practice. The zero is about the same at 100 yds on my rifle for both rounds. Can't beat the A Frame for effectiveness.

I have yet to discover a Federal load of any type bullet that will shoot accurately in my rifle.

I forgot to mention that I used the 160 gr. Remington A Frame load in a 7mm Rem mag on a plains game hunt, and they were extremely effective. One shot kills on big antelope, and all that. The PH had never seen a 7mm work that effectively. And no, I have no fiduciary interest in Remington or Swift. I just absolutely love that bullet.

You will, of course, rapidly discover that opinions vary.

I'm with JetDrvr.......
For factory ammo, I don't think you can go wrong with the Remington Safari Grade 300 grain Swift A Frame. I've taken buffalo and PG with it. It works!

Have never used any Nosler bullets in my 375 other than Partitions both 260 and 300 and really prefer the 260gr Partition for Plains game. Changed to 300Gr only because I was hunting Buffalo and really think the 260 would have been adequate. In over 55+ years of use I have NEVER had a Nosler Partition fail to perform as intended no matter what the game. They are uniformly accurate in what ever I use them in.

Go with the one that works in your rifle. The A-frame is one of the best bullets ever produced, I don't think anyone will argue that. The Federals seem to be good as well, but I'm not sure about the Accubond in .375. L. David Keith shoots them in his .280 and has had great success, I just don't know how tough they're gonna be on the big PG like eland, zebra and wildebeest. I think they load a TSX as well, which does a good job, or even the TBBC bullet. I assume you don't handload. If you did, you could save yourself a lot of money. I can load with premium bullets for less than $1.25 per round, excluding brass which is reasonable, as opposed to $3-$4 for factory ammo.

Also might consider the Hornady stuff. It's pretty accurate out of my M70 and a lot less expensive than the Rem. or Fed. stuff. I've bought a few boxes from the Sportsman's Guide for less than $40 per box for practice and then to use the brass.

David Walker

Rich I would practice with cheaper ammo and use the premium stuff to hunt with.... Unless ammo cost is not a problem and shoot whatever you like... I personally like throwing bigger bullets like the 300grers...The practice you do will only benefit your hunting shooting...

Good shooting,

Mike

I had very, very poor results with 338 accubonds. I've heard and read they do very well in the smaller calibers, but for over 30 caliber, I'll never use them on another animal.

On the other hand, I"ve had wonderful results with the Swift A-Frame (2 buffalo) in the 375, and the Barnes Triple Shock in the 338 (Lots of plains game).

My BRNO liked 300gr Nosler partitions and my Win M70 likes Bear Claws and Barnes TSX. As mentioned above, figure out which of the premium bullets your rifle likes the most and go with that one! I think the idea about picking the cheaper stuff to practice with is a really good idea...sont think the paper targets will be able to tell a difference!

The Remington's/Swift's or Norma/ Swift's for the 375, as after the PG hunt you will want to go back for Buffalo.

You got that right!!

Like everyone else's recommendation - shoot what your rifle likes best. Mine really liked 260 grain AccuBonds, followed by Fail-Safes, Speers, Hornady RN's, then TBBC's. Since I was going to Namibia, and the shots were going to be longer, that AB was what I used for everything from warthog up to eland. For PG, shooting 300 gr premium bullets is probably overkill, but who wants to pay for what they don't get? If you are combining it with DG, or thinking about that next, I would see if it liked any of those - especially the A-Frame.

In 30 days of hunting on two trips, I took 40+ animals myself and we let 3 others use my rifle for another half dozen or so. I recovered the following bullets, and all others were pass-thru's. Ranges from 60-360 yards; double caliber exits.

Please excuse my poor photo skills. The bullet weights are 160 to 198 grains. I think you can read the animals and distances.

quote:

Originally posted by TWL:
I'm with JetDrvr.......
For factory ammo, I don't think you can go wrong with the Remington Safari Grade 300 grain Swift A Frame. I've taken buffalo and PG with it. It works!

Ditto, great bullet.

I've had great success with the 300gr standard velocity Federal Trophy Bonded Bearclaws. Recoved bullets - three, one from a blue wildebeast, one from an eland, one form a waterbuck - looked like they belonged in magazine ads.

They performed perfectly in everything from imapal to eland, opening on the impala and not opening too much on the eland - just perfect.

JPK

I shot the 300gr standard velocity, exptremely accurate in my rifle.

Another for 300 TBBCs. This one ran into a buffalo head-on at about 50 yards and I watched the buff rotate clockwise and go feet-up while the scope was in recoil:

Retreever and Bwanahile gave good advice, get a few boxes of cheap ammo, and practice.
organise your safari ammo in the meantime, and just before you leave shoot a few off and make sure your rifle is sighted in for the hunting ammo.
I prefer the 300gr Barnes XXX in my pre'64, it shoots to moa, and shoots to the same POI as the crappy CS Gamerangers I use for practice.

I too, have had good success with the .300 gr. TBBC's in my .375, Model 70.

I really appreciate everyones input. I was planning on buying much cheaper ammo for practice. I'll probably buy a box of each of the mentioned bullets and give em a go at the range. With my shooting, I'm not sure the bullets will make a difference.

i've lost count of how much game i've shot with 300 gr partitions. they still are the standard that everything else is measured by. I've used 300 gr A frames, which i would prefer for buff, but on you list I really don't see the need of spending 3 times the money for them.

lrh270, my buffalo did the same thing as yours when shot with 375HH but my NORTH FORk weighed 287 when recovered from the back of his stomach

As some have said, you likely won't really need the 300 grain A Frame for plains game, although I had sterling results with it out to 300 yards.

As far as weight retention is concerned, the bullet recovered from the offside of my buff, after passing thorugh the right shoulder, rib cage, lung, heart, left lung and left ribcage, ending up just under the skin, weighed 292 grains and expanded to .71. That's superb performance by any standard. Range was around 100 yards.

Also, when you decide on a particular bullet for the hunt, order enoughat the same time so that you hopefully will get the same lot number for the batch. Zero will change slightly with different lot numbers, most likely.

Your rifle may not handle the A Frame well, but I'd be surprised if it doesn't. At $71.00/20 at Midway, it certainly isn't practice ammo. Whatever you choose to hunt with, shoot a box or two in practice. Ammo will be one of the cheapest parts of your hunt.

Too bad you don't reload. I use Hornady 300 gr. Interlocks and some Interbonds for practice. Sure does cut down on the cost of shooting.

Best advice I can give is shoot as much as you possibly can offhand and from sticks. Bench shooting doesn't really do you much good after zeroing. Try to duplicate field conditions as much as possible. Shoot prone, kneeling, sitting, and standing off sticks. I put 900 rounds through my rifle from various positions before my last hunt and it paid off in spades.

I had excellent results with the Remington ammo and Swift A-Frames. I recovered the bullets from an eland, kudu, and waterbuck. As would be expected, I had complete penetration on a warthog and impala. Shot through a zebra also.

I had great success with 375 accubonds 260 gr in Namibia a few years ago. Most shots were pass throughs. One I found had penetrated 4+ feet on a Texas heart shot on a gemsbok my son had wounded, retained about 70%. Another retained 55% after plowing though the shoulder bones of a mountain zebra at 50 feet. Everything stayed 'bonded' as designed. I'd have no problems taking any plains game again with them. Bob

Looks like I'm picking up a .416 Rigby, which now will be my primary for buff, so I'm gonna take my .375 H&H for backup/PG. That being the case, I'm gonna load up some 270gr. TSX/Banded Solids and/or Woodleigh PSP/Solids. That should cover all the bases and shoot flat as an '06 with 180gr. loads out to 300 yards. That's good enough. And I'll have solids for both for any of the little guys.

Any of the above mentioned bullets in this post I feel will be fine for PG. The only game that might be exceptionally tough would be eland, zebra, wildebeest and maybe waterbuck. Otherwise, your worst case would be kudu or basically elk.

Good luck and have fun getting ready, I damn sure am.

David Walker

My .375 likes the 300 grain Partitions. On plains game I got mostly pass throughs on side shots, one bullet ended up under the skin on the far side after penetrating both shoulders. Did a really good job on two facing shots. Eight animals, nine shots, didn't need the second shot on the Eland.

I've messed around with Hornady, Nosler, and Speers in my .375 Model 70, using all weights from 260 to 300. Accuracy was acceptable with all bullets, but after I tried the Swift A-Frames in 300 grains I've never looked back. It puts everthing down and right now.

For PG, it really doesnt matter what ammo you use, it will all work provide you do your part. My fave is 260 gr accubonds.