I noticed that there are a couple mentions of people using 270 grain bullets in a 375H&H or Ruger on buffalo.

Anyone here tried it?

For anything that scares me, 300 grains has been my standard answer to any 375 question, but still...

I would have no problem using a 270gr failsafe or Barnes-x on buffalo.

But, like you, I have never used anything but the 300gr on dangerous game.

After using 270gr bullets on plains game I will stick with 300gr for everything. I really don't see any advantage in using the 270gr bullets.

I always shoot 270 TSX in my 375. That is a perfectly acceptable DG bullet in a 375.

If you are going to shoot a Buffalo with a 375, the 270 TSX is just fine.

My gun shoots them incredibly tight (.45")

I have shot all my Buffalo with calibers that start with "4", but a client did use my 375 in 02 to put a 270 grain Barnes X into a Buffalo.

I would not hesitate.

I just had a client shoot two big buffalo plus zebra, wildebeest and all the rest in Masailand with a 375 H&H and handloaded 270 TSX's. He felt they were more than adequate.

Mark

270 vs 300 grain? Shot placement and bullet quality are everyting I doubt the 30 grain difference will be noticed by the animal. Dead is just that, dead. Good quality bullet+shot placement is what it is all about! Well done!

If the 30 grain difference isn't noticeable by the animal, is the reduction in recoil noticeable by the shooter? And if so is that the advantage of the .270 grainer?

I'm asking because my son wants to shoot my .375. He's only 12.

Mark,

IMO the only way to reduce recoil noticeably is to reduce velocity. Shoot for around 2200-2250 in the 375 and you have considerably less felt recoil. Some, like Kevin Robers, also say penetration is more reliable from reasonable angles.

Brett

I'v seen quite a few buff taken with the 270 grain, and have shot one myself . No problem so far. I personally do not feel any difference as far as recoil goes, but the .375 is not a big kicker to start with.

quote:

Originally posted by SableTrail:
If the 30 grain difference isn't noticeable by the animal, is the reduction in recoil noticeable by the shooter? And if so is that the advantage of the .270 grainer?

I'm asking because my son wants to shoot my .375. He's only 12.

Not really much difference.

9.25# Rifle

270 @ 2650 37 F#s @ 16 Fps
300 @ 2480 36 F#s @ 16 Fps

8.75#

270 @ 2650 39 F#s @ 17 Fps
300 @ 2480 39 F#s @ 16 Fps

I haven't shot a 270 grain bullet in a H&H in so long that I don't remember anything about the recoil. In a 375 Weatherby there seems to be a difference, but not enough to get giddy over.

Dave, were those TSXs or Hornadys or ???

I'm sure the 270 gr bullet will work on Buffalo, however I see no real advantage in useing more than one weight bullet in any chambering over .22, and IMO that should be the heavy bullet normally used in that chambering.

Just because 270 gr will work, how does that make it any better then a 300 gr bullet which works as well or better?

I find that more wounded animals comes from the joker who shows up in camp with ten different loads for his rifle, A special load for everything from Tit-mouse to Teranosaurus Rex. IMO he never learns how to shoot any of them well. So, I say if you choose the 270 gr bullet, then stick with the 270 gr bullet for eveything in that rifle, but I think the 300 shoots just as well, and if the bullet comes up against something (like a heavy bone or a very critical angle) that needs 30 grs more weight, it is there! The recoil difference is not noticable between the two weights, as Fulson says, and it is no more easy to place shots at long range with either.

I see absolutely no reason a quality.375, 270 gr bullet, shouldn't be used on bufflo if that is what you want to use. However, why use two different loads for the buffalo, and plians game With a 375 H&H rifle? You can hit any target with the 300 gr bullet you can with a 270 gr bullet, so which ever you choose stick with that bullet for everything you shoot with that rifle.

Mostly Hornadys.

In point of fact I have NEVER shot a 270gr bullet in a 375. I started many,many years ago with 260gr Nosler Partitions and never found them lacking on anything I shot. The ONLY other bullets i've used in a 375 have been Woodleigh 300gr softs and solids. Somehow I missed the 270gr completely. Maybe I could have killed them deader?

quote:

Originally posted by SableTrail:
If the 30 grain difference isn't noticeable by the animal, is the reduction in recoil noticeable by the shooter? And if so is that the advantage of the .270 grainer?

I'm asking because my son wants to shoot my .375. He's only 12.

Marc:

I was concerned about the same thing, only it was for my wife when she accompanied me on safari last September. We opted for some custom loads from Superior Ammunition in .375 with a 270-grain A-Frame loaded at around 2250. The reduced load coupled with the 270g bullet resulted in much more manageable recoil than the 300g factory loads.

No problems in performance, either: She took a great, old, scarred-up zebra stallion at 130-meters facing her dead-on with a single shot. It was her first time hunting - hell, it was the first and only rifle she has ever shot! Not bad in my book.

I'd definitely give it a try for your son. If the lower recoil helps him reduce the instinct to flinch and increases his accuracy, then that's more important than a few more fps or 30 grains, IMHO. Have a great trip, Moja! My boy is 7 and I can't wait for him to be old enough to accompany me on safari.

When I used to take those 300-400 yd shots, I liked the 300 gr load as it matched trajectory for my 30-06 180 gr load. I would think the 270 gr TSX would do a bang up job on buff.

John

quote:

Originally posted by MacD37:
Just because 270 gr will work, how does that make it any better then a 300 gr bullet which works as well or better?

Maybe it is not better, but it is close enough to the same. For me, there were 2 reasons to choose it.

1. A bit flatter trajectory.
2. It was the first Barnes that I tried and it worked and shot extremely well (Sub MOA). That was in 2001 with a Barnes X. Now I shoot the 270 gr. TSX and it shoots even better (.45" last week at the range).

I knew it was capable and it shot well and flat. I was sold and have not turned back.

That said, I have shot all my Buffalo with either a .416 Rem., 450 Dakota or the 470 NE.

I saw the Buffalo that my gun shot when I wasn't with it. It had one hole in it.

It worked.

Here is the reason I like it.

I was developing loads for it last month. Center target is the one load I decided on. But any of them would have been perfectly acceptable to me!

3 Shot group .45" is good enough for me. ( I just had to shoot that 4th shot and expand it to .92"!)

Bottom Left target, range master was breathing down my neck to finish, so I decided to rapid fire on a warm barrel all 4 shots of one particular load. I guess .9" on a hot barrel is acceptable.

270 gr tsx and xfb before that is all I shoot and it hammered some large stuff. had an observer drill a cow buff with one and rolled her up drt.

Thanks Kim...might go to Cabela's and see what's on the shelf for .375 H & H. Then if I can get some decent groupings, before departure tomorrow, I might throw a few of these 270-grainers in the duffle bag. (This kid of mind getting old enough to hunt is something else.) He wants to shoot an eland and a buffalo his first trip! What happened to the notion of working your way up from steenbok, duiker, warthog, impala, etc.?