Making long range plans for DG hunt, probably buffalo & leopard. After much thought, I have decided to have a 375H&H built on a Mauser 98 action with a synthetic stock and 2x7 QD optics. I�ll probably go with a 21-22� stainless barrel with open sights.

Having said all that, I would like to pick the collective AR brain mass about bullet selection. I also plan to use this rifle for the usual filler PG like black wildebeest, zebra, impala, warthog, etc. But, during my previous two trips to Africa and the subsequent dinner/fireside chats with the complement of PH�s on the subject, the general consensus was that the 375H&H with solids has a tendency to over-penetrate and is not the ideal choice for shooting into a herd. 270 gr. SP�s were mentioned, but with everything I have read of late here, a good premium bullet, like a Barnes X, would be a better choice.

What say ye?

A couple of years ago, I took one rifle to Africa, that being a Custom CZ in .375 H&H. I used 270 grain Barnes X-bullets with Speer AGS solids (George Hoffman's stash that Mims sent me).



I took two buffalo (one with one shot, the other I shot 5 times, but he never traveled 40 yards), a zebra, a kongoni, impala and some others... darn I'm getting old.



I found that the 270's at 2700 to 2800 fps penetrated the buffalo just fine and with their relatively flat trajectory, were perfect for plains game. A .30/06 clone as to yardage estimation, etc.



This year, 1115 went with me to RSA and Zimbabwe. He only took one rifle, a .375 H&H, too. He earned the nickname Bwana "One-Shot". He used 270 grain Bear Claws for plains game and 300 grain Winchester Fail-Safes for buffalo. He was so satisfied that he will use the same combination in Tanzania next year.

R,

The barnes would work great..They have great cutting edges and just keep velocity at around 2400 to 2500 and it will be a crusher...

Mike

Everything here so far makes perfect sense, but my preference would be the 300 grn Woodleigh solids, and same weight Woodleigh Softs - I have used both myself several times on Buff & elephant and quite a few of the different plainsgame species and found the results to be more than satisfactory - when choosing which bullet to use I really dont think you should worry about overpenetration because of herd situations - your PH should be clever enough and have enough experience to judge which shots are possible and which are not! If you have to take a bit more time to get into the right position or wait for an animal to move - so be it. A nice heavy bullet of good construction, doing around 2400 fps will be more than enough to handle buff, the leopard & the plainsgame.

I have no experience of it myself, but I have read a few reports stating the Barnes X is too hard to use as an expanding bullet on soft-skinned species - I have not tried the Woodleigh softs on leopard myself either, but I would be surprised if they performed badly. And I reckon either or the two, Barnes or Woodleigh, will perform perfectly on Buff. I have used the Woodleigh softs myself and always had good results - unfortunately no pictures, but definitely no complaints!

I used 300gr. Partitions on one trip for a buffalo, warthog, blue wildebeest, impala, eland, and zebra. I also carried Hornady FMJ's (new style) in the magazine for follow up on the buffalo. The (boring old) Partition seemed like a good compromise bullet penetrating deep on buffalo but still expanding pretty well on plains game.

This year I took a different .375 with 300gr. Swift A-Frames. They seem a little tougher for better penetration on buffalo, but I took a bushbuck and waterbuck with them and they didn't seem to open up much at all (full penetration, bullets not recovered).

I'd like to try the Failsafe for buffalo but I bet it wouldn't open up very well on smaller plains animals.



The bottom line is that we have a ton of good bullets out there. Most would work okay. See what will shoot the best in your rifle and then make the decision.



Kyler

If you want to stick with one bullet, the 300 grain Swift A-Frame works fine (although the 300 grain North Fork also works great). Zero the 300 grain A-Frame at 100 yards, and 300 grain solids will be close enough for buff if you want to use them. I can personally attest to the effectiveness of the 300 grain A-Frame on both buff and leopard. The buff in my signature pic and an extremely nice leopard were both taken with the 300 grain A-Frame (although I do back up two softs with two solids for buff).

I also carry 270 or 250 A-Frames for plains game, and with my loads they hit about 1 1/2" to 2" higher at 100 yards than the 300 grainers. This is great, as it means a longer range zero with the lighter bullet "plains game loads", thus reducing holdover at longer range (while still permitting dead on hold with the "serious" 300 grain loads at shorter distance).

Some people may not agree with different bullet weights on the same hunt, but I often use only one rifle for everything, and this is almost as good as having both a DG and a plains game rifle without having to carry both. I would suggest taking a back up scope just in case anything happens to your main rifle.

Also if your rifle does not show up in Africa when you do, as happened to me on two occasions, you can usually borrow a 375 locally and use your own ammo (assuming your ammo shows up ). Never use partially full length sized or neck sized brass for hunting with a DG rifle (for numerous reasons), so ammo interchangeability with a borrowed rifle will not be a problem. In years past I used once fired brass for hunting trips, but now I stick to new brass for my primary rifle.

One tip is to load the different bullet weights in different brands of brass. This allows instant identification of which bullet is in any particular round, even if the bullet profile is similar. In my case I use Winchester brass for 300 grain bullets and Remington brass for 270 grain (you can also use nickel plated versus plain brass to distinguish different bullets).

Good luck,
Jim

If I was in your place, I will pick any of the premium 300 grain bullets - first choice would be the monometal types, like the Barnes X etc.

I have been using the 300 grain Barnes X in our own 375/404 for years, shooting everything with it.

In the past couple of years we have been using our own lathe turned bullets, which we have named the Walterhogs.

These are in 300 grain as well, and performed great on all animals, including buffalo.

My favorite for buff, leopard, and plains game has been the 300gr. Swift A-Frame.

They open up reliably, penetrate well, and are accurate in my rifles.

George

Any comments on Trophy Bonded Bearclaws for this application?

RHS,

I have used the 300 grain Nosler Partition and the 300 grain Swift A-Frame in two .375 H&H rifles with the 300 grain Trophy Bonded Sledgehammer for the solid.

Last time out I figured I would use the 300 grain FailSafe as a combined soft & solid, but it didn't shoot well in my rifle. Neither did the Trophy Bonded Bearclaw. The Swifts and Noslers shot very well, as did the Sledgehammer. In essence the rifle chose the ammunition. My next hunt will be with the North Fork bullets.

I would build the rifle, and then see what shoots. I would go with a 24" barrel on a .375 H&H by the way. My preference is blued chrome moly for AFrica rifles, or some coating that doesn't reflect light if you use SS.

jim dodd

Although I would never hunt buffalo without a few solids for those frontal and rear end shots,I would choose the new Northfork cup point for an all around bullet followed by the Northfork softs, Noslers, GS Customs and the new Barnes triple x bullets sure might be a good one...

Another good option is the Woodleigh 350 gr. RN soft point or PP, they work pretty darn good for herd hunting, particularly the RN...They really hammer a buffalo.

Particularly in the 375 and 9.3x62 I would want a solid for frontal shots as the softs from time to time skid off the chest and around the outside of the rib cage..I have read this in several books, and I have seen it happen on two ocassions and maybe a third time, but that one got away...

If you are hunting bachlor bulls, then a good solid is just fine and I have used them many times, but the new cup point is better and the monolithics seem to work very well on buffalo...

The 375 is an excellent DGR if used properly and that is when one uses the proper bullets for the job at hand and places his bullets with care, and I don't believe that one bullet for all is a particularly good idea..It may very well work 95% of the time, but sooner or later you may have second thoughts...

That said, my advise is a good 300 to 350 gr, soft and solid that shoot to the same POI....That has been the accepted recipe for the last 100 or so years and has proved successful.

You have a lot of options and most of them will serve you well in combo...

dogcat
I used federal trophy bonded bearclaws 300 gr. They worked very well on buffalo, kudu, tsessebe, hyena etc.
terryr

Judge, where the H*ll did you get those PJ's?