So here is the background before the question.... I also realize I am splitting hairs because dead is dead.


I live in Alaska and have done a lifetime of hunting here and am going to start doing a little guiding for a friend. I'm a 30-06 and 7mm guy, but since large bear back up will be on the menu I bumped up to 375HH for a little more terminal performance. Generally I use the biggest/bigger bullet for caliber, but as I have been doing some research I find my self torn.

For this gun I find myself leaning towards muzzle energy as the determining factor. I feel the following bullets are a good compromise for bears and large non dangerous critters... Nosler Partition or Trophy Bonded Bear Claw or Hornady Spire Point. I am looking at bullet weights of 270 and 300. So here is my dilemma.....

I like big bullets, however the 300 will have about 4400#'s muzzle energy vs 4900#'s for the 270 grain bullets. So what are your thoughts on going with a little smaller bullet with more energy or sticking with the larger bullet? Anything I am over looking?


Thanks,
JB

The heavier bullet should penetrate deeper for you and hopefully exit for a better bleed out or blood trail.

For shooting bears running toward me or away I would prefer a 300gr bullet.

Either the Nosler Partition or the Trophy Bonded Bearclaw would be fine with me.

Rather than a Nosler Partition or Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, I would choose a Barnes TSX or Swift A-Frame or North Fork soft.

With those bullets, it will make no earthly difference what available bullet weight you use on bear or anything else wearing a thin skin.

It only makes sense to shoot an alaskan bear with a bullet made in Alaska. Try the Alaska Bullet Works in Juneau for some of their Kodiak's. Kodiak bonded 270's or 300's won't make any difference to the bear as you'll probably not recover any bullets anyway.

00

I think everything you suggested except the 270 gr Hornady Spirepoint would work great. The Spirepoints are way to frangible. As mrlexmas suggested the TSX probably is the best bullet all around and in the 270 gr weight. I personally see no need to load anything else for 375 H&H.

Mark

You are quoting kenetic energy figures like a sports announcer quotes batting statistics. I am not going to tell you that such figures are meaningless, but they do not tell the truth either. Jim Carmichel used momentum as a guage of penetratating performance. In his tome The Book of the Rifle, he describes how a .378 Weatherby churns up 5660 foot pounds of kinetic energy, yet the lowly .458 Winchester with only 4700 foot pounds penetrates significantly deeper. 20% deeper.

As a kid I looked at 30:06 data and noticed that the 180 grain loading had more kinetic energy than the 220 grain loading. I knew then that the 220 grain loading was superior to the 180 grain loading if the quarry could hit back. Why, I pondered? Momentum, I would later discover.

John Taylor tried to convey this with his KO values, and he was close. But alas, he did not possess a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering like Mr. Carmichel. One example that Jim Carmichel used to very good effect was the comparison between a .243 and a factory 45:70. The hot .243 has oodles more kinetic energy than the old 45 caliber war horse. Yet, at 500 yards the 45:70 knocks over steel rams and the .243 does not. Why? Momentum. Kinetic energy is energy due to speed, whilst momentum is energy due to mass.

Ain't no flies on a 300 grain A Frame, either.

Alright,
You guys confirmed my thoughts. I'm sticking with my bigger is better credo and going with the 300 grain bullets.

Thanks,
JB

According to the Speer # 14 book useing the reloader 10x powder in both the 243 and the
45-70 max load for 243 is 35 grs and max load for 45-70 51 grs. Isn't this a case of apples and oranges making any kind of a conclusion questionable?

I get 2604 fps with 300 gr Barnes TXs from a 24" bbl Win M70 SS Classic. The 300 has a larger opening in the tip than does the 270 ... and it really performs on game.

Only one I've recovered was a Texas heart shot on a Hartebeast. Was found under the skin of the chest after penetrating the entire length of the animal. Perfect mushroom.

I'd trust it.