The .375 H&H is too much gun for white tail hunting.

Hotwheels81 said:
Bullet drop is just simple math... I'm not obsessed with having a massively efficient bullet when I can simply aim higher :)
Most of the game I take I end up putting the cross hairs 2" higher than what i want to hit anyway if you get my drift.
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Yep and when you run the numbers, you find literally everything shoots within a few inches of each other all the way out to 400 yards. It can be quite startling actually and gets you off shopping BCs as a primary consideration in bullet choice.

As for the Blue Box, another poster I respect and believe here had one stay inside a Coyote (300gr .375), however my experience has been the opposite. Even though it's soft, I put one through some very bony parts of a large Wood Bison bull that makes any Elk or Moose look pretty deer like, and it performed admirably. Oh I took a Gemsbok (big bull Elk sized creature) with the Blue Box as well, at 200'ish and clean wound. If anything, it's not bad, but is inconsistent. Price is right and they sell em everywhere though. I did have one factory faulty round with Blue Box too, discovered on the sight in shoot in the Kalahari for my Lion hunt of all times and places.
 
Yep and when you run the numbers, you find literally everything shoots within a few inches of each other all the way out to 400 yards. It can be quite startling actually and gets you off shopping BCs as a primary consideration in bullet choice.
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Indeed but one must never tell that to a .270 owner.
 
I use 300 gr TSX for almost everything. It opens big and nasty when it meets heavy resistance (I.E. moose shoulders, or bear bones) but stays relatively half open for the smaller stuff. Believe it or not, I shot a wolverine with my .375 ruger and the 300gr X bullets. The entry was only .5" while the exit was only an inch. I chrono'd the loads and they were travelling a bit under 2300 f/s. (they are my own home rollies)
 
If i were to use a 375 hh I'd use 300 gr A frame or partition for everything except elephant

Over gunned for deer? Majority are. So don't worry about it. I'd have no issues using my 458 wm for white tail if I hunted in a center fire rifle zone for them
 
If i were to use a 375 hh I'd use 300 gr A frame or partition for everything except elephant

Over gunned for deer? Majority are. So don't worry about it. I'd have no issues using my 458 wm for white tail if I hunted in a center fire rifle zone for them
 
I carry 2 loads with me. one with 230 grain Nosler partition and 300 grain TSX. On 50 yard I'd do 230,but if he is between 200 - 300 yards, tsx is the way to go.
Nice thing is that there is no chase after your shot.
 
Hotwheels81 said:
I sent a 270gr federal thru a doe this evening at 50 paces... The wound channel was beyond impressive if you are hunting bison or velociraptor... However it is possibly a bit much for a white tail deer to have a 2" entry hole and a 4" exit hole (granted you "could" eat rite up to the edge)...

Any advice on something a bit less destructive?
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It all comes down to shot placement with large and/or explosive calibers on small game, it is easy to lose both front quarters to bloodshot meat on smaller animals if you hit it wrong.
 
I've taken deer with .375H&H, .416Rigby, and of course .45-70. All of them showed far less tissue destruction (i.e. bloodshot, inedible meat) than the ones that have fallen to .300WinMag and .270.

Why do people get all twisted out of shape about the idea of "overkill" and being "overgunned"? Many of them wring their hands about it without ever having even tried one of the bigger bores, but they "know" how terrible the destruction will be because of threads like this one. There isn't even a question being asked here...the title simply tells us the "fact" that the .375 is too big for deer...case closed. Ridiculous.
 
Many (most?) .35/.375 calibre bullets do a great job on deer as long as the velocity is held down. Larger bullets do their job with weight & diameter and start getting erratic results on target when the velocities at impact get extreme
 
I shot one a couple weeks back with my .375 using 260 gr. Nosler partions. In at .375 and out at about an inch, double lung shot, 8 pt. just fell over dead. Eat up to the hole's on both sides. Shot one few years back about the same size, distance and shot placement with the .243 with 95 gr Nosler partions. In at .243 out at about 2" massive blood and meat damage to the far side. Deer ran about 50yds. and flopped around for a few minutes. Lost a deer the day before with the .243 as the bullet got misdirected by many maple gads.
That's the big plus in hunting in my territory with the .375 you don't fret the small timber between the end of your barrel and the deer. Have shot many with the 30-06 using 165 gr Nosler partions, in at .308 and out at about 1" they may fall over dead on the spot or they may run 50 yds or so and then fall dead. The usual far side damage of a six inch circle.

So is a .375 to much for deer. No, not in my opinion, as the fellas already stated stay with the stouter bullets for the deer to minimize the damage. Put it this way if I had the buck of a life time standing in front of me I would rather have the 375 HH in hand than the .243. Because with a decently placed shot from the .375 he is not moving off the ground he is standing on, and I don't have to be concerned about a few gads deflecting the bullet along the way.
 
I shot a whitetail doe at 65 yards with a 300gr fuzion. Exit hole was not even 2 inches in diamete, and little to no damage to the meat. I should have taken a Picture. If I shoot another deer, I will take a picture and post it. My 270 with 130gr sst did more damage than my 375 H&H has.
 
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