Hi, Just got home from a dearhunt and managed to bag a doe. The shot was from about 12 meters and a bit low on the shoulder, bullet used 300gr Woodleigh Weldcore moving at approx. 2100f/s. This blew the opposite shoulder and leg to smithereens! I´ve had this happen on whitetail before using 235gr Speers and I thought that it was due to excess velocity.

What would be a good bullet for whitetail? This is an African post as I use my .375 for most of my hunting to stay in practise for the veldt...long shot.

Cewe,

For my money, I'd "dance with who brung ya"...in other words, use the bullet/load combination on whitetail that you'll use for Africa. In doing so you'll get used to one trajectory which will stand you in good stead for any longer shots you might be presented with.

I carried a .375 for a while again this past deer season (like you, keeping in practice) and took another buck with it. Instead of my standard 300 grain Partition load, I was playing with a 260 grain Partition backed down to .375 Whelen velocities.

I got the bullet into more bone than I wanted, and secondary projectiles (bone fragments) made a mess of things. First time I've had that happen with the .375, but I won't fault the load...it was pilot error/shot placement on my part that caused it. I realize that it's not fashionable to admit to a less-than-perfect shot, but this one's all mine!

Good luck and good hunting!

Mark

That kind of shot placement question is one of those debates that seems impossible to resolve. In Africa, the main target is the shoulder. That knocks down and kills very quickly but makes a mess of the meat around the impact area and, on a smaller critter, clear through. In the U.S. we aim for behind the shoulder into the heart/lung area. This makes for less meat damage but the kills, though quick, aren't knock-down and some tracking is frequently needed. The PH's respond that the camp staff isn't bothered by bloodshot meat so what is our problem, anyway? I don't think that there really is an answer.

Keeping the shot on the shoulder is the way I always shoot and sometimes I even manage to connect. Seeing that the shoulders aren´t that meaty maybe this is a marginal problem -makes a bloody mess though. Boha thought that maybe a Rhino or Barnes X would be do less damage and I have some on order. A couple of years ago I shot a few dear with 300gr Hornaday Sp´s and they did a little less damage.

Sounds like I have to do some boring work with load develpment !

for those "African" whitetails.....often referred to as Impala, springbok, etc.... Hornady's 220 grain flatpoint that is intended for Winchester's .375 big bor lever action.....you 45/70 guys back off now!!!!.....loaded with 42 grains of SR 4759 for 2,300'/sec is a fine load.
Their 225 grain spire point was originally intended for the .376 Steyr and is a heavier jacketed bullet and should be pushed by IMR 4064 (74.3 grains) at 2,800'/sec

Boy, is that a setup question, but I shall hold my tongue.

Just use 300 gr. Nosler Partitions like one would/should in Africa.

Well, that's what I shoot . . . on everything I shoot a .375 at.

I killed a couple of does with mine this year using
the 270 grain Hornady SP. Both were shot behind the shoulder and both ran. One went about 25 yards and one that I hit a little far back ran 50 yards. Wound damage was no worse than any other magnum rifle. I killed a couple of deer using a 284 Winchester with a 140 grain Hornady SP and they both dropped at the shot.

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Originally posted by cewe:
.....What would be a good bullet for whitetail? This is an African post as I use my .375 for most of my hunting to stay in practise for the veldt...long shot.

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I like using the .375 for all of my big game hunting here in the states. I took this guy with a 235 gr Barnes X loaded over a healthy dose of IMR 4350.It did not tear up as much meat as my .300 mag does. He is about the size of a whitetail.

I use the 225 grain Hornady Spire Point in the 375 H&H at 2850 fps for whitetail and black bear. Trajectory like a 150 grain 308 Win.

I've shot just about everything in North America with a 375 H&H. and I only use one soft point bullet for the 375 H&H, and I use full loads! That bullet is the 300 gr Nosler Partition. Shot behind the shoulder in the heart/lung area, there isn't as much meat damage as the same placement with a 100 gr .243 sN. In North America, the only shoulder shot I use, intentionally, is on bear, Bison or Moose!

The use of the bullet that you will use on African game, on everything gives the best practice one can buy, because it is hunting practice, under hunting conditions. PAPER TARGETS are only good for adjusting your scope! and placed properly, a 375 300 gr bullets will do no more damage than any fast bullet placed in the same place!

It seems to boil down to using a harder bullet. I used Woodleighs last year in my .416 and they worked well but felt a bit soft. I guess it´s Rhino time!

I use 260 gr nosler partition and reloder 15 chrono at 2760 fps. Less meat damage than my 300 or 7 mag.

Was the damage from the bullet or from bone fragments that the bullet threw off? I hit a little blacktail low in the shoulder with a 44 carbine a while ago, and bone fragments ruined a huge amount of meat. Something to think about.

Okie John

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Originally posted by okie john:
Was the damage from the bullet or from bone fragments that the bullet threw off? I hit a little blacktail low in the shoulder with a 44 carbine a while ago, and bone fragments ruined a huge amount of meat. Something to think about.

Okie John

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Here is a picture of the exit hole from the deer I shot and is posted above. Meat damage was less than what my .300 usually does.

I've been using the 235gr Speers for NA game the last couple of years w/o any problem. They are driven at 2750fps and pretty much duplicate my 150 gr 06 ballistics. So far 4 blacktails have been taken between 40 and 400yds. Anything shot at 12 meters is going to show some meet damage but- dare I say? Why didn't you shoot it in the neck? Unless you are seriously considering mounting the head (as in Africa), the neck offers a sure kill and no meat damage. If the deer was running, that's of course, a whole different deal and this assumes you are comfortable with the shot.
Just my opine,
Russ

If you want the 375 to shoot like a 270, use a 235 speer, 210 H, etc. If you want it to shoot like a 375, I would suggest a 300 gr Hornady soft point. They have a nice classic look, are inexpensive, are very accurate in the two 375's I have used them in, and are "soft" bullets that expand readily.
Paul

The only bullet I've used on deer out of the 375 is the 250gr Swift-A-Frame, loaded to around 2700fps, it worked well on the one Mule deer I've taken with it. I don't remember it doing any excessive meat damage.
JMeier