My hunt this year is going to be a one-gun affair, a Blaser R93 in .375.

This gun is shooting well with a 270gr load using the Barnes TSX. I have no experience with any other bullet weights in this caliber.

I'm hunting PG and also a buffalo. Should I just use the one load for the whole shebang, or is it a good idea to work up a 300gr load for the buff? Or for that matter, use a 300gr for everything? I like the simplicity of a single load for everything.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

John

I think you could use the 270 grain for everything, but I think I would develop and use a 300 grain load just for the extra Buffalo insurance

I like the one load idea, too. But I think I'd go with a 300 gr. bullet, preferably Barnes or equivalent. It can help on the buffalo and can't hurt on the plains game.

I would definitely stick with a single loading for everything. If buffalo is on your menu, I would find a good 300gr load and use it for everything.

I used a 375H&H on a plainsgame hunt in Namibia two years ago. I used a 300 gr bullet for everything, and I found that I did not kill anything too dead!

Another vote for a premium 300 grainer.

300,300,300,300,300,300 and 300

Whatever weight expanding bullet you choose, and either the 270's or the 300's will work, you will want a solid load for the second and subsequent shots on the buff. Pick the same weight and the load should be very close to make the solid shoot to the same poi.

Solids work very well for very small antelope as well, for example klipspringer and grysbok. They will kill well and won't blow up the tiny creatures.

Here is a (huge believe it or not) grysbok taken with a 300gr Woodleigh solid and a klipspringer taken with a .458" Woodleigh solid. You can see from their small size what trouble a soft might make.




BTW, don't overlook an opportunity for one of the small guys!

JPK

JPK

I would stick to a single 300 grain bullet.

That is what we have been doing with our 375/404 for so many years.

Collectively, we have shot several hundred game animals with the two rifles we have in this caliber, and either the Barnes X 300 grain bullet, or our own lathe turned Walterhog bullets, also in 300 grains.

Having one rifle and one load sure makes live easier.

jwm

I would want to have some Solids...

So, you have 3 choices depending on how your rifle shoots.

1. Use the 270 TSX and find a load with Barnes 270gr Solids that hit the same place.

2. Use the 270 TSX and fine a load with the 300gr Solids that hit the same place.

3. Develop a 300gr Soft and 300gr Solid that hit the same place.

I would sight in for the Softs, and be happy as long as the solids hit within 2 inches of the Softs.

The fact that you are using a Blaser R 93 should make things easier,as they seem to shoot most everything pretty good.

I do not own a 375, however, I do have the new Barnes reloading manual # 4. I was curious to see the ballistics and there was no data specific for the Blaser R93.

Here are the following data listed in Barnes # 4 manual.

1. 375 Scovill

2. 375 H&H

3. 375 Ruger

4. 375 Remington Ultra Mag


Which of the above do you think would be the best comparison to the Blaser R93.

According to the charts, the highest velocity produced was from the above is the Remington Ultra mag:

300-grain solid 2688-2951(fps)

300-grain TSX 2583-2840(fps)


270-grain solid 2802-3078(fps)

270-grain TSX 2700-3019(fps)

There is nothing wrong with a 270 grain TSX on Buffalo. I have loaded this round as my "do-all" round for the 375 since 2001 (Back then it was just Barnes X).

300 grain is good, but if your gun doesn't like 300's, go with the 270's and do not be concerned.

I would recommend taking only one load though. Don't confuse things as they are both perfectly capable of anything you are hunting.

The 300 Grain Swift Aframe has worked well for me and shoots the Hornady solid to the same POA.
I have recently started using the 270 TSX and have nade shots to 450 yards and is becoming an all around favorite. With this said I would still go the 300 grain route with buffalo on the mix and have a box of solids as well. The solids are as versatile as has been stated.

Go with the 300gr triple shock and forget the solids, cause the Barnes IS a solid...there's no lead core to come apart from the jacket.

The .375 caliber 270 grain TSX bullet is a fine bullet for buff and everything else you are after.

You can easily load it to 2,650-2,700 fps in your Blaser.

My R93 in .375 H&H Mag. loves 270 grain bullets. The TSX in that weight obviates the need for a solid.

Stick with one load.

DaleW

The Blaser R93 is the rifle, the 375 is the caliber. The reloading manual refers to the caliber, not the rifle that it will be used in. There should not be that much variation between rifles shooting the same round. I believe that the only 375 that the Blaser R93 is chambered for is the 375 H&H, so unless JWM has a custom barrel that is the caliber that he is referring to.

JWM
I would take 300 gr rounds.

TerryR

I've always had a habit of useing one bullet weight for everything I hunt with any particular chambered rifle. The load is the heaviest practical bullet weight for that chambering. The only difference is in bullet type. I shoot a lot of 375 H&H , and I use only one bullet weight, in both soft, and soild.

In my 375 H&H rifles my bullets are either a 300gr Nosler Partition, or Swift A-frame. The solid is either a North fork CPS or FPS 300 gr copper solid, or GS Custom. The only other combination is 300 gr Woodliegh soft & solids, both loaded to the same poi.

When hunting Buffalo, I load a swift, or Nosler on top of the magazine, followed by a magazine full of the solids. In the case of the NF CPS & FPS, and Gs customs they work well in double rifles as well.

By haveing only one bullet weight, the shooter knows where every shot is going to land, at any range, no matter soft or solid. If I need a lighter bullet, then I use a lighter chambering, but the heaviest weight that works in that chambering as well.

..........Has always worked well for me!

300gr TSX
like a solid,wont explode the little guys,and also works well on Buffalo

Interesting discussion. I've been loading and using the 270 Barnes in my .375 - both solids and softs. The solids are not exactly the same POI as the softs, but minute of critter for shots out to 100. I have primarily carried them for the small stuff. I intend the .375 to be a backup rifle to the .458 Lott for buffalo, so I've not shot buffalo with it. I was wondering recently if I shouldn't have loaded the 300's and gone "heavy for caliber," but I've got so much of the 270 stuff - including everything Sportsman's Warehouse had on closeout at their 2 failed Las Vegas stores, that I don't want to switch to the 300's now.

quote:

Originally posted by matt u:
300gr TSX
like a solid,wont explode the little guys,and also works well on Buffalo

Same recommendation given from my Zambia PH on Buffalo. No solids needed with the TSX being used. Certainly simplify's things only having one bullet type for all game sought.

300 grain Swift A-Frame or Trohpy Bonded Bear Claws. Your shot placement is the most important. However, I'm looking at my recovered Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, and a Swift A-Frames that took my 3 buff as I type this. One shot with Trophy Bonded on no. 1, two A-frame (a third one to put him out of his bellowing after he was down) on the second, and three A-Frames in the boiler on the third one. Shot placement.


Dutch

The majority here point to the 300gr weight, which is sort of where I was leaning myself. I've always used heavy-for-weight bullets in the lesser calibers we Canucks tend to favour. The looks you get when you pull out a .375 at moose camp have to be seen to be believed.

I tried out a couple of 300gr factory loads today, just assorted boxes picked up at a gun show, and it's becoming clear that finding a load for the Blaser is going to be tricky...they all shoot well! If I can locate some 300gr TSX's and they do as well, I think that will be my African load.

I have two return-to-zero scope mounts for my
Blaser, and had originally thought about zeroing one for 270's and one for 300's. I think instead that both will be zeroed with the 300 TSX's: one with a Leupold 3.5-10x at 200 yards, which should put me in good shape out to 300 yards, and the other with a Leupold 2-7x at 50 or 100 yards for the buffalo portion of the hunt. Switching the pre-zeroed scopes when I change hunting areas will be a snap.

Many thanks to all who answered my original question. I'm finding the help I get here invaluable. Lurking here before I committed to my hunt was fun...now that the information is more than just academic I realize how thankful I am for this resource.

I can't wait to post a hunt report!

John