Has anyone tried the new? 200gr Sierra in 375H&H? I just ordered 100. sounds like a smoking bullet at 3400 at muzzle. Anyone have any creative load ideas, I'm confined largely to South African powders. Also, if anyone has used this bullet does it hold together at those velocities?

I would think at the vel the thing is just going to come apart. Should make a highly explosive rd on small game. I would like to shoot some varmits with it.

The only 200 gr. 375 bullet that I know Sierra makes is designed for use in guns like the 375 Winchester. I do not believe that the bullets will hold up under the velocities created by the magnum cartridges. I suppose they would make a fair plinking round.

[ 06-17-2002, 16:29: Message edited by: Jon Sabo ]

Berger,

I don't think the sierras will withstand impact at that velocity. I have a load with 210 grain BarnesX for you. Norma brass cci 250 primers and 71 grain of S335. That gives me just over 3000 fps on warm days and around 2850 fps on colder days. Our South African powders are very sensitive to heat.

Safari-Hunt

www.Safari-Hunt.com

I have loaded a few of these to try on impala...This is not my normal bullet, but I thought it would be interesting to find out what will happen

urdu bob

I've used the 200gr Sierra bullet in my .375 H&H. Low recoil, but high muzzle blast if you load them up.

I use them for cheap practice loads, but do not shoot them at any game. My informal bullet recovery tests show that they should be considered varmint bullets when loaded at top velocities. At 100m, they disintegrated into a handful of shrapnel.

However, I wanted a cheap practice bullet for punching paper, and they do work well for that!

jpb

So all reports say that this bullet is not for hunting? I might try one on a blesbok just to see after shooting some wetpack trials. Anyone tried to slow them down to a lazy 3000fps or so?

This bullet was designed for the .375 Winchester and muzzle velocities of around 2000-2200 fps. Like .30-30 Winchester speeds but with a larger diameter bore / bullet. The .375 Winchester was/is essentially a modernized .38-55 Winchester (aka .38-55 Ballard). (Slight case dimension differences.) I would imagine that these bullets would be very "explosive" if pushed to much higher velocties.

Just my two cents worth...
-Bob F.





For more info on the .375 Winchester, see:
http://www.chuckhawks.com/375winchester.htm

The 200 grainer is a great bullet for small whitetail or impala sized game. That is, loaded down to the lower 2000 range. I have used the Hornaday 210 gr FN loaded up to 2600 and it kills well. It created a very large wound but I would not count on it for large animals that require much penetration. I would not load it any hotter unless for small varmints you just wanted to splatter.

I have loaded 200 grainers in 375HH for a friend who insisted to try them, he shot a roe deer with it and saw the shoulder blade fly upon impact. He kept on using the ammo and killed three small boars (around 50kg), all of them had so much damage that shoulders were lost.
But this load stops foxes like no other one...
olivier

I don't think you have anything to gain from this load. At these velocities short range meat damage will be horrific. Long range advantages is also doubtfull as heavier bullets (up to a point, and also depending on shape) retain velocity better.

If you want a plinking or short range load, go for a 250gr cast bullet at a reduced velocity of �2000f/sec.

I did a fair amount of research on this topic for a friend of mine who bought himself a 375H&H in December last year. He hunted a duiker, bushbuck and a reedbuck with this load during the past month and is as pleased as can be. Combined meat loss for all 3 animals amounted to less than 1kg. All were one shot kills.

This load is obviously not suitable for long range work or shooting dangerous stuff that can trample or bite. But for shooting impala, kudu etc at ranges of less than 150m you don't need more.

Johan