I've got more Grand Slams on the shelf above my loading bench than you can shake a stick at.....Why?....I buy them to see how they shoot and I've yet to make them shoot in any caliber I've tried...so they sit there waiting for a friend to need some.....and I'll give them away free!!!!

I can't attest to their performance on game because I've never shot them at game.......and many others I've talked to say the same thing.

I suspect they will perform nicely, but they have to pass the minimum accuracy test first!!!!

For this reason, I've never tried the .375 285 grain GS loads and probably won't either......I do have some 260 particians, some Barnes X in 250 grain, about a ton of old Hornady 300 Grain solids with steel in them, 270 Grain Hornadys and some Sierra 250 boattails for smaller game hunting. All of these seem to deliver the accuracy I want (less than 1 1/2" at 100 yards)

You'll have to try the GS and see if they shoot for you.

The well loved 375 H&H can be finicky in the accuracy department and the above comments are really more about the round than the bullets under consideration.

One can generally make a 375 H&H shoot well, but this is likely to be with a narrow range of bullets and powders. I have no idea why this is true and there are always exceptions. At least the factory ammo is generally more than adequate for big game hunting.

If I had to guess, it is that the tapered case does not allow one to headspace on the shoulder and one is left using the belt. Worse, you can think you are headspacing on the shoulder when you are not...its too small and tapered.

These days one is really better off with a 375 RUM...all of the labs are moving to this round to test their 375 bullets, and it shoots reduced loads remarkably well. Handloading down to the H&H velocities is a snap, and the brass will last forever. It has the same expansion ratio as the 270 Win and duplicates the 270's velocities with bullets of double the weight. It uses the same powders to slightly higher efficiency levels than the 270. Come to think of it, if one had a 270 Win and a 375 RUM, you would be done in the rifle dept, and shooting one trajectory and poin blank for everything.

Of course, the RUM is "new fangled" and has no romantic history, so it will not achieve the lofty status of the H&H. However, if you are a handloader and you want a 375 that is not finicky about powders and bullet types and weights the 375 RUM in a good rifle is the answer.

Sabot

Although I only have experiences with a handful of 375 H&H's, I (and many others) have never found it to be finicky. In fact, its reputation is quite the opposite! It generally shoots well with anything. I have loaded for many rifles in many calibres over the years, and the only calibre less finicky than a .375 H&H is the .222 Rem. The 5 H&H's that I have personal experience with all threw almost any bullet weight and load to very nearly the same point of impact which is very convenient of course.

My .375 H&H brass lasts forever -- just get a Lee Factory Crimp die and see for yourself. I think I'm up to 800 shots on 80 brass (actually more like 70 cases because I've lost a few).

Not criticizing the .375 RUM, but the extra velocity does not make it appreciably better for long range than the H&H (yes, I've checked the trajectory figures), and it does increase the probablity of bullet failure. Also, many hunters reach their limit for really precise shooting with the H&H even if they can shoot much bigger stuff standing... For me, I can shoot the H&H prone, partially wrapped around a tree but I think it is close to my limit in these odd positions.

I agree with Sabot that if one wanted to torture test bullets, the RUM is the ticket. However, currently most bullets are optimized for the H&H velocity -- something to keep in mind (so choose premium bullets for the RUM -- and I mean MORE premium than the Grand Slam -- North Fork, Rhino, X bullet instead).

If there was a *common* factory round like the .375 -338 Win Mag wildcat it would be even better because one could use a shorter action, but that is really the only thing less than ideal about the H&H (and of course the RUM is not any shorter!

I don't shoot the H&H because of nostalgia, but it has all the power I can use in all situations, and it sure is easy to get ammo for anywhere. You can't say the latter about the RUM (and it will be many years before this changes I think). As to the former, if you can shoot the RUM from really shaky improvised field conditions good for you, but the thought of firing a scoped RUM prone at an uphill target makes my eyebrow hurt just thinking about it!

Finally, turning back to the Grand Slams in the .375 H&H: I have not used that particular bullet in the .375 H&H, but I've found them OK (and only OK) in bunch of other calibres. They are not nearly as good as a Nosler Partition or Barnes X bullet though.

jpb

I agree with your entire post, except for the "finicky" part, and that's probably just the lack of a definition for "finicky".

I am just saying that if you are a handloader, you will probably find the RUM to be easier to get good accuracy with a variety of bullets than the H&H. You can also get H&H velocities at lower pressures while doing this.

Certainly this would be no reason to sell an H&H and buy a RUM, but for new acquisitions it is a consideration for handloaders. Also, over the years there has been some interest in modifying the H&H with the Weatherby Improved and JRS wildcats. These are pretty much dead now, as the RUM gives the good shoulder headspacing while abolishing the belt and using the same bolt face, magazine and action.

In terms of POTENTIAL, it will take some time for the 375 RUM to mature. With the 1 in 10 twist and additional case capacity, bullet weights from 350 to 400 grains make sense and will tread into 416 territory.

I have not experienced accuracy problems with any of the 375 H&Hs I have owned and that is many....what is hard to find is one that will put all bullets in the same POI...O'Connor said the 375s he had owned would do this but I have not found that to be so...I can usually get a solid and a soft to shoot together, and when I do thats where I quit....My present gun shoots about any 300 gr. bullet, Noslers best and it likes Northforks (most guns do) and Woodleighs...The GS bullets have been very accurate in everything I have shot them in as have the Bridgers which are my all time favorite solid..I will shoot Bridgers flat nose solid until the day I die, they are always accurate and they kill like a soft point, they take a 375 to new hieghts in dangerous game shooting...

I've got some 285gr. .375 Speer Grand Slams and 300gr. .375 Speer African Grand Slams (with the tungsten core) if someone would like to buy some.

George

Only just caught up with this thread, been busy.

The occasional 285gr GS feeding problem in my (very!) one-off rifle is entirely due to my own laziness. I load and feed the .444/.375 cartridges straight from the original .303 box-magazine without modification. Its a wonder they feed at all, but with 270gr spitzers I have never had a hang-up.

I only ever bought one box of GSs, sometimes I slip one into the chamber for the first shot and load spitzers in the magbox. The GSs shoot about 2" low at 50 yds, but accuracy is fine from a hunting peep, around 1.5 inches @ 50 yds from the bench. Admittedly the 270gr Hornadys will do better at around 1 inch, but in a fast-handling hard-hitting scrub-gun the point is lost on the quarry!

I've posted this before but will add again....I've shot over 25 head of African plains game with the 285 grain Grand Slam. both handloaded before it was available in the Nitrex line of cartridges and out of the Nitrex box. On animals up to and including eland it is an excellent bullet. I've never used it on buffalo, preferring a Barnes X or Winchester Failsafe bullet, so I can't comment on thick skinned DG. However, I think it would be the cat's meow (pardon the pun) on lion and leopard.

My 375hh loves the nitrex 285 gr. GS very good accuracy but I have never shot game with it and I use the 300 gr nosler partion because it is proven, however accuracy is not quite as good as the GS. I may try the GS this year on my spring bear hunt.