This may be a Stupid question but, I see that Woodleigh makes a .375 bullet in 350 gr. What would you use this bullet for? How does it perform?

The was a review of this bullet in one of the gun magazines. Bascically, it is a heavily designed bullet for heavy game. One of the advantages, besides the obvious heavier weight, was that it would stabilize better in some rifles with standard twist rates. There was also a discussion of rotation speed of the bullet and how it effected penetration and bullet performance.
Needless to say, if you want to kill a big animal and need good penetration and good bullet performance -- it is always nice to have a heavily constructed heavy for caliber bullet.

Hauptjager,

Kevin Robertson ("Doktari") has written a couple of books on Cape buff and African hunting rifles. He is also writing for one of the rifle magazines. Kevin is the champion of the 350 grain bullet in the .375 H&H.

He argues that the H&H twist (12") will stabilize this bullet weight, and the sectional density is about the same as the 500 grain .458" bullets. Therefore, more of a good thing is better. Kevin also thinks the .375 H&H loads should be dropped to around 2,400 fps, which the 350 grain bullet is happy to do. His argument is penetration in large game is enhanced.

I don't know of a bad Woodleigh bullet, but I think Kevin has been shooting the Rhino 350 grain bullet.

See:

http://www.theaccuraterifle.com/

and click on the March, 2004 magazine cover.

jim dodd

I have shot a number of Buffalo with that bullet in 375 and also with the 450 gr. 416...I think it ups them about one caliber, makes the 375 equal to a 416 and the 416 equal to a handloaded 458....but both have better SD...

I was instrumentall in the design of that bullet with Geoff to a small degree, from a recommendation standpoint and many conversations..I was the first to use it in Africa, so I may have some prejudices, but it sure worked for me...Pass throughs on broadside shots, unless an angle is present,then they come to rest fully expanded on the off side skin..Internal damage is massive.

A great bullet IMO.

Ray,

A few questions:

-would you mind sharing what load you use for your 375 H&H and 350 grainers
-velocity
-24" barrel?
-12 twist?
-Woodleigh or Rhino bullet

Thanks!

Prewar70,

Check this thread for some loading data:
.375 H&H 350gr data

-Bob F.

Thanks Bob for the help.

Hey Ray, if you get a chance, I would like to know what load you settled on and the other info. too, per my previous post.

James

Ray,

I just finished reading a bunch of previous posts related to this 375 and 350 gr discussion. Looks like you are shooting Woodleighs, 26" tube, and switched from RL15 to H4895. Velocity is around 2450, but I didn't see how many grains of 4895 you were using. I assume you have a 12 twist.

Has anyone tried a 14 twist in a 375? I'm curious as to the results. Judging from the 3/04 article in The Accurate Rifle magazine, a 14 twist should stabalize 300 grainers fine, and may infact improve overall performance. However, the 350 grainers maybe slightly under stabalized using a 14 twist, depending on which bullet manufacturer one chooses and overall bullet length. If someone wants to shoot only 300 and 270 grainers from their 375 H&H, it seems the 14 twist would be a big benefit as these bullets are over-stabalized with the standard 12". Does anybody have any experience with this, either from the bench or the field?

1x12 twist....66 grs. of IMR-4895 is where I settled but I went up quite a bit more until I got an extractor mark then backed off a good deal...I think one can figure on 66 to 68 max depending on your gun..My 66 gr. load is .5 under book max...IMR-4895 is the only powder that I found to work with hte long 350 and 380 gr. 375 Rhino bullets..The Woodleighs are a good deal shorter.

I also really like my RL-15 load of 68.5 grs with the 350 ge. Woodleigh RN and PP...It is a full case but not too compacted...It is the load that I have shot a sizeable number of Buffalo with...I also used 75 grs. of RL-15 behind a 450 gr. Woodleigh in my 416 Rem and I liked it as well, it is a very mild load, but I am not much of a velocity freak for Buffalo, me and Roy W. never did get used to each other.

Ray,

Thanks for the information. Have you ever tried anything other than a 12 twist in a 375? If not, do you think there is any truth to the 12 twist being too fast and a 14 working better. I'd be curious to know your thoughts on this as well as anyone elses.

PW70,

A couple of comments on .375 H&H twist. I would aver that almost 100 years of experience with the 12" twist means it is working well. This latest theory is just that.

Second, a faster twist will keep a bullet more stable in the animal, all other things being equal. This is a Good Thing.

I think you would have to do a lot of testing wilth the 14" twist to prove KR's theory.

jim

I had a 1x14 twist barrel in a 375 one time, and it shot well, but I never could see any difference, but I didn't do a lot of testing..For what I use a 375 for would make little difference to me, and the 1x12 has a proven history as Jim says....

I am not sure I would know what I was looking for for that matter other than internal damage on game..I couldn't see it but thats is something thats rather difficult to observe, the results all around seemed the same to me.....

My friend George Hoffman got into that twist trap, but nothing really ever came out of it that he could proove..He had a therory on killing power, but never got to test it...

Jim and Ray,

I appreciate the information. The article that you were referring to Jim really made sense to me and got me thinking, something intuitive about it I guess. The 12 twist has been the standard, but it would be interesting to compare the two. Just for grins, I wish I had the time to set up 2 identical rifles on a budget, maybe 700 receivers and a couple chrommoly barrels, one with a 12 and one with a 14, and start shooting some loads. See what they do on paper from 10 to 100 yards, and then do some penetration tests too. I will put this project on my to-do list, #177 I think.

I have some Rhino 350 grain bullets in .375 that I planned to load with a friend of mine this weekend. The load data I got from the scandinavian importer; Harbo Vapen is as follows:
max 60.5 grains of Norma 202 in Norma brass with Fed. Mag primers.

His load for 38o grain bullets is: (max) 59.3 grains of Norma 202, again in Norma brass with Fed. Mag primers.

Unfortunatly, the local shop was out of Norma 202...

The closest that is available is Vihtavouri 140 and 150... Norma 202 is inbetween them.

I was suggested that we try Vihtavouri 150 in a long drop tube very slowly while holding the cases next to an electric shaver (or simular) which would vibrate the case very slightly, thus compacting the powder. Or else the 150 will most likey be too bulky...

How does this sound to you guys? Or do any of you happen to have any load data for this bullet with the Finnish powder?

Erik D.