I have had a few guys tell me that a 375 H&H is not enough for Brown Bears. Now I think there are probably a few thousand Brownies dead and probably the same amount of Elephants that might disagree with them. I am going to be using a 270gr Barnes TSX what do you guys think?

dakor,

Good choice..............plenty for the job.

Joe

I don�t think anyone with a straight face can tell you a 375 H&H won�t kill a big brown bear, as it assuredly will. The question then becomes, are there times when a bigger gun is an advantage, and the answer is yes. The next question is, do you have a larger gun at your disposal, and can you shoot said gun as accurately as the 375? If the answer is yes, then take the bigger gun. If the answer is no, then take your 375.

Odds are if you place your shot accurately, the bear dies quickly. I�d expect most folks admonition of the 375 not being enough are based on the first shot being muffed, and repeated follow up shots being required. In that case, more gun is required, better shooting is.

I would have no qualms with using a 375 against bear, but given the choice, I�d take my 458 Lott.

The 375 H&H is the biggest I have shot. My 375 H&H is being built the one I have been shooting I am borrowing. This is the biggest I have shot so I do not know if I can shoot anything bigger or not but do I need to? I figured this cal has killed just about anything that has walked the earth for the last 100 years and does not have much more recoil than a 300 win mag so I really dont think I need more gun I just wanted some opinons. I guess the only other cals I could think of is a 338 Ultra mag or the 375 Ultra mag but from what I hear the recoil in a hunting rifle with out a break is really stiff.

I'd think you could cleanly kill Buick's with a .375 H&H.

Your .375 should work, as well as 270--grain TSX bullets. But if it was little "me," I would use heavier than 270-grain bullets, maybe 300 grainers.

if u use 300 gr. n.p. .375 h.& h. and u can't kill it cleanly, something is wrong somewhere. plenty of gun.

cold zero

Dakor,

The 375 H&H is the classic brown bear cartridge. With any controlled expansion bullet you are in good shape. A bigger gun is not overkill but its not necessary either. I personally have killed some very big animals including brown bear with the 375 and have not found it lacking in any application.

Regards,

Mark

It's considered "Thee Brown Bear Rifle". I'd be happy with my 338 and 250 grain bullets. If I was guiding other hunters and had to fix their mistakes, I'd carry a 416 Remington.

Your choice of the 375H&H is a great one for Brown Bear. I would wait and see what bullet your rifle liked best. I chose to use the 300gr. Swift and my buddy used the 270gr. Swift they both shot clear through the bears. But

I think if you do a comparisson of the 270gr. and 300gr. bullets you will find that there is not a whole lot of advantage in trajectory for the 270gr. When the shooting starts on a Brown Bear it is not likly to be at long range. Have you ever seen the willow or Alder tickets they seem to hang out in or near? This is the kind of place you are likly to shoot a bear in or have him get into after the shot. I promise the hole in the end of your barrel will look smaller about this time, that is why I like the 300gr. Make your first shot count.

HBH

Nope.!!! Sorry it won't work .....

Your going to have to use a 30/30 with 150's
To first prove you should be alowed to hunt brown bear
Then we will give you back your elephant gun

The reason I am thinking about the 270gr TSX is I called Barnes and they wanted me to use the 235gr XLC he said that their bullet retains 99% of its weight and you would not need anything over a 235gr unless you are in Africa hunting Elephants so I figured the 270gr would work really well. I have another question for you guys what do you want out of a bullet when hunting this kinda animal do you want one that opens quickly but retains most of its weight or do you want more of a solid bullet? What do you think of the 260gr Nosler Accubond the guy at Nosler keeps saying it will perform well on Brown Bear and says it will open up a little quicker then the Partition but it will penitrait well and hold its weight plus transfer more energy into the animal. Anyone tried one on Brownies?

Brown Bears hide is not super thick, but at the same time, like in the spring they can have fairly long thick hair. And that is one of the things you are looking for a good hide. It is when you get the hide off that you can see just how heavy and thick they are about the shoulders, and even spring bears have fat. You want a bullet that will break those shoulders and leave a big wound channel the whole way through exiting. I have never had any guide recommend a solid. The guys that have seen a lot of bears shot mostly mention Noslers Part.. Swifts A frame, Trophy Bonded, the Fail Safes and Barnes.



I look at it this way how many times are you likly to get to hunt Brown Bear, if you are sucessful it will be 4 years before you can go again, and it aint a cheap trip why mess around with maybe.



HBH

My personal thought is, a brown bear bullet should be capable of penetrating both shoulders, and leaving a decent wound channel. Such a bullet will still open up on a heart lung shot, but most importantly it won't fail on heavy bone.

I would be suprised if a 235 gr .375 bullet could do that consistantly. My take on 270 gr vs 300 gr is the higher velocity of the 270 gr isn't for longer ranges, as bears shouldn't be shot at long ranges, but that the lighter bullet will expand more, and hence create a larger wound channel.

dakor,

I would agree with PaulH on the 235gr being a bit light for maximum shoulder destruction consistantly. I think, if you're concerned as much as it seems with recoil, then you better start practicing with something you will be really proficient with as a Brown Bear in the alders is nothing to play with; Brown Bears deserve the respect of getting close and you doing the job, not slinging lead from a distance. Shooting long range at Brownies can cause you and your guide more problems than a few.

Joe

Recoil has nothing to do with it I have been shooting 270gr bullets just fine like I said it doesnt kick much more than a 300 win mag and I can hit a pop can at 100 yards off hand consistantly. I was just stating what Barnes told me they suggestad the 235gr. I am going to use the 270gr not for shooting long range. I am using it because the 270gr is almost 200fps faster and hits harder more FT-LBS isnt that what you want? Paul you brought up another good point about the lighter bullet making a bigger wound channel by expanding more so I will stick to the 270gr. Thank you everyone that has taken the time to reply!!

Ever here of Harry Manners? The elephant hunter who used a 375H&H. Ever here of Larry Kelly the hunter who used a 44 mag revolver on Brown Bear?

These are rhetorical questions you could ask any idiot who questions the choice of a 375 H&H for bear.


For a quick expanding bullet capable of penetration, I would use the 300 grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claws. If you are still open to a new bullet design give them a look.

David

dakor,

There will always be someone around that will argue that one cartridge is not enough while another is just right. Recently I had a discussion with a gentleman who claimed the 375 H&H was worthless against moose and he would never use it on bear. He cited an incident in which he pumped numerous rounds into a bull moose only to have him walk away and be cleanly dropped by his son with a 338 Win mag. He immediately divested himself of the 375 and procured a 338 which he hunts with now and spends his non-hunting time heralding the inadequacies of the 375 H&H. My only response to this gentleman was that a 375 failing to bring down a moose could only be attributed to bullet or shooter failure. My personal best guess is that bullet failure was not an issue.

Use your 375 with the greatest confidence and know that hunters have depended on it for many decades to face down all manner of surly beasts. Pick a good bullet and as my mentor used to say, "lay a good egg". I am having a 375 H&H made up right now and will use it here in Alaska and in Africa should the opportunity arise. Good luck and good hunting. Mart

"Chances are equally good, however, that next time I try for a brown bear I'll go right back to where I started and carry a .375 H&H. The good old .375 is the classic brown-bear caliber and with good reason. It will stop a charge if necessary, and if necessary it will also make 200-yard shots with ease. And although it's been very good for 85 years now, it's better than it ever was thanks to superb new bullets like the Swift A-Frame, Trophy Bonded Bearclaw, Barnes X and Winchester Fail-Safe. If you have a .375, you have your brown bear rifle." -- Craig Boddington, "Big Bear Guns," Petersen's HUNTING, February 1998, p. 58.



"Few who have a great deal of hunting experience with the .375 H&H Magnum will disagree when I describe it as one of the most useful big-game cartridges ever developed. The .375 delivers far more power than is needed for most North American game, and it is a but shy on bullet diameter in times when some of the heavier African game have to be taken under the worst of conditions, but the fellow who decides to hunt all over the world with one rifle can do a lot worse than choosing the .375 H&H Magnum. . . . I can think of no big-game animal presently residing anywhere in this world that I would not tackle with a rifle in .375 H&H Magnum." -- Layne Simpson, Rifles and Cartridges for Big Game, Safari Press (2003), pp. 241-242



"As much as I like the .375, I have never seen much use for it in North America, except for hunting the big Alaskan brown bear. However, if anyone wants to use it on elk, moose or grizzly, I am not going to take exception. It is a hard-hitting, flat-shooting cartridge, for which I have scored a higher percentage of one-shot, in-the-tracks kills on medium to large soft-skinned game than with any other cartridge." -- Jack O'Connor, The Complete Book of Rifles and Shotguns, Outdoor Life (1961).



"I know, from using the rifle myself, that the .375 magnum can safely be taken against any animal anywhere in Africa."-- John "Pondoro" Taylor, Big Game and Big Game Rifles, Safari Press (1993), p. 103.



What else can I say? The testimony for the grand old .375 seems to go on and on. Personally I'm new to this cartridge, but am learning more and more what a wonderful round it is. Men who've dropped game by the thousands with it are it's best testimony. John Taylor could not say enough good about it and praised it up and down. I will defer to his expertise and experience here.



Let us know some day how your hunt goes and what you choose.

dakor,

I wasn't trying to offend you just commenting on your statements concerning the recoil of .338 & .375 Ultras.
I shoot 270gr. XLCs out of my .375Ultra and couldn't be more satisfied. As I first stated, the .375H&H is plenty of gun. I apologize if I offended you, but a Brown Bear is no pop can.

Joe

Ovis you didnt offend me I just cleared a few things up I didnt mean to bust your chops So I apologize if I did. I know a Brown Bear is not a pop can but I like shooting at small objects because it helps me when I pick a spot on the animal I am trying to shoot. I start with the first can at 100 yards and the second around 50 and the third at 25. I practice like that because that would kinda be like how the bear would be comming at you changing distaces and such and it is a real challenge shooting as fast as you can and trying to hit the second and third can. I know it would be alot different if it was a real bear running at you but I figure at least I will get used to working the bolt fast and shooting at different spots.

I've been on 2 Grizzly Bear hunts and have practiced the same way. Once my gun was sighted in, all of the practice came "off hand". I would also shoot once at 100 yards, then 50, and finally at 25 yards. I didn't try to shoot as fast as I could, but tried to shoot smoothly and consistenty as I came off of the recoil of my 300 Weatherby. I mentally focused on a specific spot on the target and shot for that, not the whole target.

The .375H&H in my opinion is THE best big bear cartridge avaliable. I also use 270 X bullets for my all around use with the .375 but I have used 300 grain Swifts, Nosler Partitions and Trophy Bonded bullets and 285 North Forks and Grand Slams and they are all superb killers of big bears. Anyone who tells you different either hasn't tried it or else botched their shot.

Well I think I will take my chances with the 375 H&H I think it will do its part and then some if I do mine.

I think....... that 2 hippies tending a set-net site on the Kvichak River delta on Bristol Bay some 20-odd years ago killed an ornery 800 pound brown with a 22 long rifle to the left ear. Sorry, guys. It was all that they had at the time.
Practice, stay calm, shoot good. Your 375 is plenty.

absolutely !!

these excamples just go to show that it's not always up to you or the gun if your number is up.