300gr 375 H&H Federal Blue Box

Realising you've seen them too, Zebra aren't that big, size of a cow Elk roughly and not noted for particular toughness as a generality. I had TSXs in the box too but saved them for heavier game, I'd still feel OK with cup and core on something like Zebra mind you. Considering a 200gr .30-06 or a .35 Whelan make ideal large plains game medicine, certainly didn't feel undergunned at 235 grains. This all said, would have been wise to have kept shooting the heavier stuff, I brought the 235's in case my brother was going to use my rifle, but he used a loaner .300 Weatherby so I had a surplus of rounds I didn't want.

Headed back, to Nambia in Feb for Lion, and I still haven't decided what I'll load. Likely something lead core and a bit soft, as I want violent expansion and they're not terribly heavily built animals. The one thing I have noted with cheap, soft bullets is they seem to have the most "KO" factor- when they work. If I can decide on something quality with rapid expansion, that'll be the ticket. If not Barnes as usual, I just don't need the ability to shoot through it lengthwise like Buffalo.
 
I had poor results with GameKings, 165 gr. .30-06, in a Federal Premium load. This was on larger White Tail deer. I now use Partitions, and Barnes in '06, A-Frames in .308 Norma Mag, and Barnes in my .338. I am "plinking" with my .375, but will move to A-Frames or Barnes when I collect enough brass to reload. And I have a large stash of Barnes in .348 Win.

Cartridges are the cheapest variable of our hobby. Don't skimp - the gas, time-off, and money is too big to fetter away.

My .02$
 
Ardent said:
Realising you've seen them too, Zebra aren't that big, size of a cow Elk roughly and not noted for particular toughness as a generality. I had TSXs in the box too but saved them for heavier game, I'd still feel OK with cup and core on something like Zebra mind you. Considering a 200gr .30-06 or a .35 Whelan make ideal large plains game medicine, certainly didn't feel undergunned at 235 grains. This all said, would have been wise to have kept shooting the heavier stuff, I brought the 235's in case my brother was going to use my rifle, but he used a loaner .300 Weatherby so I had a surplus of rounds I didn't want.

Headed back, to Nambia in Feb for Lion, and I still haven't decided what I'll load. Likely something lead core and a bit soft, as I want violent expansion and they're not terribly heavily built animals. The one thing I have noted with cheap, soft bullets is they seem to have the most "KO" factor- when they work. If I can decide on something quality with rapid expansion, that'll be the ticket. If not Barnes as usual, I just don't need the ability to shoot through it lengthwise like Buffalo.
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It's not so much the construction that I don't like, it's the abysmal sectional density (.239) that gives me the willies. I tend to prefer heavier bullets and a little tougher construction which would point me more toward the Partition as an all around bullet for non-dangerous game.
 
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blueoval56 said:
This cartridge really opens up when you hand load it. I have had great success with mine with the 260gr Accubond. Good BC and excellent penetration.
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I shot a small bull moose in 2008 with a 375CT and 260gr ABs at 2700fps.

Both pictured bullets were lung shots and found against the hide on the far side. I was quite surprised to find they didn't pass through. The next moose shot with the same rifle was with a single TSX. It's still going. : )

375Nosler08moose006.jpg
 
BigUglyMan said:
That's an awfully light non-premium bullet for the task at hand. I'm surprised you'd use a bullet that light for the 375 when there are so many goos 270 grain bullets available.
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I contacted Speer one time a few years ago concering those 235 in 375cal. I was informed that they were intended for deer sized game, so I assume the jackets are a bit thinner than the heaviers. I think a lot of folk use them for reduced loads as well.
 
Ardent, unless you are presented with a broadside rib shot on your lion, I would use nothing but tough premium bullets. They ain't near as soft as they look and their muscles are about twice as dense as an ungulate. I used the 270 TSX, but then I also shot it in the face, I would highly recommend an A-frame or partition for the best of both worlds but would not hesitate to use the TSX again. I liked the TSX in case all went to hell in a handbasket, so I could end to end him if necessary and damage as many organs and bones as possible. I found a disproportionate number of my 270 gn TSXs in Africa, the game there is just a lot tougher. Also a lot of front end shots, looking at me, couldn't wait for better angles as bush was just too thick. A lot of now or never shots so I was thankful for the TSXs, and I noticed the greatest percentage of bang/flops of all my hunts there was with the 270 TSXs believe it or not. The 3 hunts there in Zambia, SA, and Congo, where I used my H&H with the 270 TSX we didn't have to track a single animal, truly 75% were bang/flops and the other 25% were dead in sight not one animal going more than 25-30 mtrs. Well OK except the stupid giraffes, which both required multiple hits, they're the toughest thin skinned game I've ever taken.
I think using a less than premium bullet on lion may be a big mistake, but then I've only shot exactly 1 and it was very anti-climactic..................
 
The .375 H&H is a great cartridge. My favorite in fact. I have done extensive bullet testing and shot several dozen animals with it. The first thing that must be determined is how you want a bullet to perform. One guy will claim that the bullet needs to stay in the animal and absorb all the energy. The next guy will settle for nothing less than a full pass through providing a good blood trail. With the .375 H&H I believe that pretty near anything you could put down the barrel is "going to knock em down". That being said there are bullet choices that are better for certain game. Bullet choice and performance are also dependant upon shot placement. For lion you do want a softpoint bullet. You want rapid expansion, shock and tissue damage. My choice would be my favorite bullet, the Winchester Power Point. John Taylor shot everything on the plains of Africa with this bullet and deemed it king.
 
bettieguitar said:
My choice would be my favorite bullet, the Winchester Power Point. John Taylor shot everything on the plains of Africa with this bullet and deemed it king.
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The 270 gr. Power Point is long discontinued. Tony Sanchez-Arino wrote that it was a fantastic lion bullet, but I think John Taylor was finished his hunting career before it was introduced.
 
bettieguitar said:
With the .375 H&H I believe that pretty near anything you could put down the barrel is "going to knock em down".
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While I don't have the experience that others do here, I've never seen a moose get knocked down with anything up to a 375Magnum unless it was a spine or neck shot. Initial indications on a lung shot would trick you into thinking it wasn't hit at all.

The one and only caribou I shot with a 375 was the same.
 
I like penetration! A bullet can't break what it doesn't reach. As a general rule, penetration is compromised by bullet expansion, the degree to which is determined by the bullet's weight, construction, and impact velocity. The higher the velocity, the sooner after impact the bullet fully expands, and the more penetration is negatively affected. Explosive penetration might prove to be a good killer when it occurs in the lungs or the brain box, but if it's prevented from getting there by heavy bone or thick hide, the benefit of such performance becomes suspect. A head on lion presents a significant problem for a bullet to overcome. A-Square's Lion Bullet, which was essentially a frangible bullet designed to grenade inside the lion, quickly gained a poor reputation in the field because it tended to break up on the lion's teeth when the target angle was 0 degrees. That's not very comforting at "blood on the shoes" ranges, and one can't always depend on a broadside shot, particularly in tall grass or in a Karongo. A heavy bullet at moderate velocity, upon impact expands slower, thus penetrates deeper and breaks more stuff. But the mono-metal bullets like the TSX or GS Custom's HV, have proven game changers in that bullet weight can be light, allowing high impact velocities, yet the bullet penetrate like the devil. A 270 gr TSX impacting at nearly 2900 fps showed equal penetration to the 380 gr Rhino at 2300 from my .375 Ultra. While the wound volume of the 380 proved much larger, in a lion's skull the difference doesn't matter, and either bullet would get past those teeth to get there. Bullet choice should lean towards tough construction rather than explosive expansion, and I don't think that's bad advice on any big game.
 
Having just got back from Africa and seeing a number of animals falls to the 375 including lion, I can say for me personally that mono metals are the perfect all round choice. They expand lots and very violently at closer ranges but still maintain the weight to ensure unmatched penetration from an expanding bullet. Our PH said our loads were the best bullet performance he'd ever seen.
 
Like Super Cub I also don't have the experience of many here, have never hunted Africa and never will on my pension. But I have shot alot of moose and deer here in Ontario. Nosler partition's in 165 gr out of a 30-06 has taken almost every one. The few partition's I have recovered out of moose have been peeled back to the partition with little if no lead remaining of the front half. I find the hump shot can be deadly as in bang flop but the spine has to be directly hit and it is a small 2" target and easily missed. The area below being all hide lung hide is not that thick across about 8" or so and the partitions will whiz straight through with no expansion as evidenced by pencil holes as entrance and exit marks. When this happens, and has on several occasions the moose either just stands there with no appearance of being hit or takes one step forward which calls for the shot being tried again to hit the spine or tucking one in behind the shoulder. I have been most fortunate over the many years to have encountered patient moose, and have never had one go more than 40 yds after being hit.
The last one a nice bull was shot at about 30 yds head on with a 165gr Accubond, hit him a little high between the front shoulders, it destroyed the wind pipe and messed up both lungs. He turned and trotted about 40 yds, turned broadside and did the side ways two step, as he went to take a step forward I nailed the spine at the hump and he dropped like a stone and never twitched. Never found the accubond despite all the looking through entrails. But it penetrated well and caused alot of destruction.

A friend shot a moose one year with one of my loads, 165 gr Nosler in a 30-06, small bull at about 50yds. Hit him high in the neck, it ticked the spine turned 90' and came out the back of the throat and enterered the base of the tongue, traveled up the length of the tongue about half way turned up 90' into the roof of the mouth for about 1 1/2", turned 90' towards the snout were we found the nosler partition nicely mushroomed back to the partition just under the skin at the end of the mooses nose. It took alot of carefull disection to figure all this out as we could not find a exit hole. Strangest dam thing I ever seen a bullet do. Moose fell dead in his tracks in water about 3" over the tops of my boots, so I guess he got the last laugh.

Deer with the Nosler partition placed behind the front shoulder will result also with little expansion unless ribs are hit either way the deer have never gone more than 50 yds. One hit behind the shoulder at 30ft reared up, fell on it's back, kicked it's feet a few times and thats was it. The partition on that one from the size of the exit hole never appeared to expand much, but the deer was very dead on the spot which is all one can ask for.
Not being bothered by gutting animals has made me the first one they fella's come get over the years. So I have seen the results of many different types of bullets all factory stuff except for my own handloads. Of all the bullets I have recovered and the parts and bits there of. By far the Remington Corlockets were the most nicely mushroomed looking bullets, all taken from deer, and all mushroomed back nice like you see in magazine adds for bullets. They always appeared to hold together even after hitting some bone were other's such as Imperial and Winchester silver tips were either badly mangled or fragmentated.

Shot at a buck a couple years back out of a elevated stand at 28 yds. with a .243 with 95 gr partition's, rifle rested steady and deer standing slightly quartered away. Bang, deer took out with head and tail high never to be seen again. There was many fine little maple gads through which the bullet had to pass. I don't think the little 95gr. partition made it through the gads to ever hit the deer. Called the gang over and we did a huge search of the area down to the swamp, never found hide nor hair or blood let alone the whole deer. The next afternoon out came a doe in the same spot but I let her pass through where the little maple gads were until there was nothing between her and me except air. Bang with the .243 again, she took out head and tail down and crashed into a dead fall about 40yds away dead. That little 95 grain partition destroyed both lungs, hit a rib and came out the size of a silver dollar. The long and short of it is there is nothing wrong with the killing abilities of a .243 but only when there is clear space between the end of the barrel and the intended target.
Just my personel experiences over the years reguarding bullets.
 
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Having seen a few lions up close recently, there is plenty of mass there for a bullet to expand in. Take a cougar and times it by three.
 
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