I will be hunting in the Kalahari in Nambia in July with my family. I would like to take my 375 H & H with me, but I don't like the trajectory of the 300 grain bullets past 200 yards.

I don't handload, so I am stuck with factory ammo. I have been using the Federal 300 grain X bullets and love them, but I don't think they are the best choice for plains game when typical ranges are 200 to 300 yards.

I have been comparing Federal ammo with a 260 grain Nosler Accubond to the Hornady Heavy Magnum 270 grain Spire point.

Any advice on which load is better or another factory load?

Thanks,

Shaun

I love the 270 grain Barnes X (Tripple Shock, TSX etc.) out of my 375. It is a reasonably flat shooting round which I have used at longer ranges to take a few of the larger species of plainsgame like Wildebeest and Waterbuck.

Does anyone commercially load this round?

Shaun, if you have no luck, you might give the guys at Superior Ammo a ring. They will load it for you.

Thanks Wendell. I haven't seen anyone that sells the 270 grain Barnes commercially.

Another reason to start handloading.

Where is Superior Ammo located?

They are in Sturgis. Just call them and they will load anything that you want.

Superior Ammo

Conely Precision Cartridge. Order off of web. Great ammo.

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:
They are in Sturgis. Just call them and they will load anything that you want.

Superior Ammo

Good folks.

Stay with the 300s you love. If they shoot, 300 yards is easy. Try it. The flattening of tragectory from going to 260s or 270s is nothing. You can't shoot off sticks well enough to make any damn difference at 300 yards. 30 or 40 grains is a 22lr bullet. That aint much.

If you love your 300 grain Xs stick to it. I have used 300s on at least 2 plains hunts. I never wished for flatter shooting bullets. And nobody shoots worse than me.



good luck

Check the Federal factory ballistics. They offer 3 bullet weights 250/260/300. When zeroed for 200 yards there really is NOT much difference. At 50 yards all 3 bullets are about 1" high, they are 2-2.5" high at 100 yards, dead on @ 200 yatrds and only 9-12" low at 300 yards. Stick with the 300's and get a good range finder.

SD, I shot my 375 at over 300yds with a 3000gr spire and now shoot the TSX higher velocity with a max load and it will do its job and no worry..
Take a range finder for long shots and any over 300+ you should be able to close the distance at least 50yds...

Make the shot,

Mike

Shaun:

I have used the Remington Swift A-frame factory loads in 375 H&H for a lot of African plains game. Everything has been a one-shot kill.

The .375 shoots a lot flatter than a lot of people think, and is quite effective out to some pretty impressive ranges.

If limited to just one gun for Africa, the .375 is definitely the choice.
Bwana91

I think Superior will also load Northfork bullets. I'm able to get 2900 fps. with their 250 gr. softpoint along with excellent accuracy. Or, you can invest in a reloading press, dies and scale...

I hunted Gemsbok, Steenbok and Springbok in the Kalahari this April with my Sako .375H&H. I took 12 animals at 70 yards to 420 yards. All one shot kills with the Nosler 260 AccuBond. Only one miss was at a Steenbok standing at abut 250 yards that I over estimated and didn't have time to laser range so just let it fly. Missed high, but it held the wind! I'll do a report on that forum when I finish writing it, and post a few pictures. But bottom line this was a dress rehearsal for a DG hunt in Zim this September (I know, but my fingers are crossed) and I gained a lot of confidence in the rifle/caliber though I'll be using different, heavier bullets at much shorter distances. FWIW: The AccuBond didn't exit any of the 4 Gemsbok but did all of the others. The Gemsbok either dropped or took only a few steps. Still, I'd like to see them use a slightly harder lead alloy.

quote:

Originally posted by talentrec:
I think Superior will also load Northfork bullets. I'm able to get 2900 fps. with their 250 gr. softpoint along with excellent accuracy. Or, you can invest in a reloading press, dies and scale...

If Superior will load North Forks, then contact them immediately

That's the bullet.

I started a similar discussion in the Big Bores forum. You may find it of interest.

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/4711043/m/410107466

I don't normally like light bullets in my 375, but for game up to and including elk two bullets come to mind, the 250 gr. Sierra and the 240 gr. Woodliegh, both are fine game bullets and I am not normally a Sierra fan for big game, but that particular bullet works like a charm.
A lot of Idaho .375 hunters swear by the Sierra in that weight and they always bring these perfect little bloodied up expanded bullets to me at the coffee shop and generally gross out the waitress.

As to the Woodleigh, what can one say that hasn't already been said, they are a great bullet.

I took a Win M70 in .375 in 02 and shot 9 animals from bushpig up to a 1,600 eland. I used facotry loaded Federal Trophy Bonded Bearclaw bullets in 250 grain. All were essentially one shot kills. But if I did it again Id opt for a 300 grain for the Eland or load up some 270grain X bullets.

Thanks for all of the advice. I hadn't planned on taking my 375 on this trip. My son, who is 14, is taking his 300 win mag, and I was going to have my daughter, 16, take her 7mm - 08, and would just use their rifles. She has decided that hunting is not her thing. She doesn't mind tagging along with me, and doesn't mind someone else shooting animals, she just doesn't want to shoot one herself.

I only want to take one guncase with two rifles on our trip, so now I am going to bring my 375 instead of her 7mm-08. I think that I will look at getting back into reloading now, but it won't be until after this trip. I have ordered a few different factory loads to try in my rifle and see if any of them will work for me.

Shaun, we all have our own experience and our own preferences but I bet we agree that a .375 for plains game on the Kalahari will be just fine with about any factory or custom bullet you latch on to. Test for accuracy, shoot at ranges within your level of confidence and let the Godess Diana take care of the rest. Good luck and focus on enjoying the experience. It passes by all too quickly.
Gary