I am looking for a suitable factory round to use in my 375 on African Plainsgame. I have been looking at the Federal Premium Vital-Shok with 250 gr TBBC or 260 gr Accubonds, and the Winchester 270 gr Fail-Safes.

I have only shot the Remington 300 gr A-Frames in my gun, and they group pretty well, but am wondering if I could expect a flatter trajectory and lesser recoil with the lighter bullets.

Am I picking fly$hit out of pepper here, or are there significant differences between the above alternatives?

Wooly,

Go with the 260gr Accubond. It is every bit as good as the Partition and it works very well on even the bigger game. I used them in both my Winchester Safari Classic and in a 378GNR Encore handgun. A year ago 10 hunters in my party took 90 animals in SA and the 260 Accubond got a very good workout. It performed very well. I shot a large male Zebra through both shoulders at 200 yards and it went about 30 yards and dropped over. I also used it on a Black Wildebeest, Kudu, Gemsbok, Warthog, and a Blesbok. Stellar performance. I took 50 rounds with and left 35 there with the PH and he was quite happy. The TBBC are very good too, but the Failsafes are not well liked over there. They have a deserved reputation of "penciling" and wounding game...and you pay for the game that bleeds and is not recovered.

Woody

wooly, all, including the fail-safe, will work for you. The choice is in which performs bestwith your rifle. As for pencil-through with fail-safes, that is a much overblown statement. The first models were overengineered, and that was six or so years ago. I've used fail-safes in my 375 on plains game a number of times. All performed well, beautiful 4-leaf clover on everything from impala to kudu to wildebeest.

Just food for thought. I shot 7 of my 9 plains game animals with my 375 using factory Remingtom 300gr A-Frames. It handled them all very nicely and although I'm not at all recoil sensitive I never noticed the thump when I touched the trigger.

The 260-270 bullets will perform just fine. Just make sure they shoot well in your rifle and that you are 100% confident in the rifle and accuracy.

First pick: 300 gr. Partitions
Second pick: 300 gr. Swift

I like the TBBC. Can you buy a factory 300 grain load? It's a tough bullet, has a mechanical stop for penetration, not just relying on bonding as in the Accubond.

Try them both..............see which weight shoots better. The 300 grain gives added insurance on raking shots, than can be bloody important.

Wooly, Don't sweat the small stuff. These are animals, not tanks, and you are already using a pre-expanded bullet (compared to many 'conventional' plains game calibers). Grab a fistful of accubonds and go have fun.

About the only plains game species that you really should consider a big bore for is the eland, and you've got that covered with the .375 and any bullet aside from those freakin' Game Kings. Placement is a lot more important for plains game than just which chunk of lead you're hurling, so practice with whatever load you'll be using in the field and be good rather than lucky.

With regard to your question about recoil, I perceive much greater recoil with 300 grain bullets versus the 270 grainers in my CZ550 Safari Magnum. There really shouldn't be much difference between the two, but I feel a much harder whack with the 300 grainers. Curiously, I also think I can feel a pronounced difference in my 243 between 70 grain and 100 grain bullets.

As far as bullet choice goes, you probably won't make a bad choice with what you have listed. I am a fan of the Barnes TSX. Don't forget them.

LWD

Does anyone load the Barnes TSX in a factory round?

Federal is, but only in the 300 grain flavor:

Federal Catridge rifle page

If you want the 270 grain, try

Conley Precision Cartridge

or

Superior Ammunition

LWD

Geezzzhhh Guys, and here I m going to SA with an old .270 WCF

LLS

I just tried out a dozen Federal 260gr Accubonds at the range this afternoon. The recoil is noticeably less than with the 300gr A-Frame Remingtons. Accuracy is about the same.

I'm kind of liking the Accubonds.

Are there any votes for the Federal Vital Shoks using 250 gr TBBCs?

quote:

Are there any votes for the Federal Vital Shoks using 250 gr TBBCs?

Not from me. The slightly higher velocity on smaller bullets for the .375H&H doesn't offset the loss of ballistic coefficient. I.e. you don't really gain much if anything over the 270 or 300.

LWD

I have used the 240 Woodleighs and the 250 gr. Sierras of all things and got perfect performance from both on all plainsgame including Eland..Those bullets all gave advertising expansion.

I like the .375 on plainsgame and deer and elk, it does not bloodshoot them like a .270 or .300.and it does a premier job of killing anything that gets in its way. Leaves a great bloodtrail if they run a bit and they do from time to time.

If I'm sitting 21 hours in an airplane to shoot plains game with any cartridge at all.....the bullet choice is Northforks or TBBCs or A-Frames!