375 Cal Hornady 300 grain RN IL's...how tough are they?

[BigUglyMan]

Anyone have any experience with Rhino Bullets' .380 grain .375 bullet?

Kevin Robertson. He thinks they're the greatest thing. I'd trust him.

I used the 300 DGX in a 375 Ruger on Buffalo this summer in Zim. I put a single round through the shoulder of a buffalo bull at a bit over 100 yards. Bullet didn't exit - ended up somewhere in the offside shoulder. The bull didn't go 20 yards and fell over, dying in a very timely fashion. I'm still pissed that I didn't stick around for the butchering to try to recover the bullet. Still, straight line penetration and a dead nyati with one shot isn't bad. Bonus is that the DGX isn't hellaciously expensive either. But for deer, moose and bears over here I wouldn't hesitate to use the Interlock.

 

[NolanOsborn]

http://www.federalpremium.com/products/details/rifle.aspx?id=597

 

[Why not?]

The old, pre-Interlock, Hornady 300 gr bullet worked very well on a big woods bison a friend of mine shot a few years ago. One shot from his H&H at 200 yd, low behind the front leg, and it was all over.

Complete penetration, exit hole about the size of a golf ball, blood everywhere and from both sides of the animal. The two guys with him were amazed that the bull was done with one shot, and down so quickly.

Having said that, I was standing right there when a 300 gr IL come completely apart when shot from less than ten feet into the neck of a wounded moose that got up on a guy. That bullet penetrated less than a foot along the length of the bull's neck. (I killed it with a 285 gr Grand Slam into the vertebrae, and that bullet exited.)

The difference? The old 300 gr impacting at 200 yds was probably going around 2000 fps, and expanded quite nicely. The 300 IL at ten feet was over 2600, and came apart without touching any bone at all. All that was left was the base of the jacket, a bit of the shank and a pea-sized bit of lead core. IIRC, the remnant of the bullet weighed 57 gr.

Not what I would have expected, but that's how it happened.

Ted

 

[Republic of Alberta]

Just to let all you 375 IL users know.

I just bought a box of 270g interlocks and they are different now. The old ones had a pointed lead tip the new ones have a flat lead tip with 6 very small notches cut in the jacket opening. The part number has also changed from 3710 to 3711. Could be a new bullet or a replacement for the old one?? Just checked the web site, no more 3710 is listed only the new 3711.


For those that are interested the new 375 270g is almost the same design as the new 286g 9.3 interlock. The only difference is the 9.3 has ever so slightly larger slits in the jacket at the front.

 

[mikeyb]

Thing with the Interlock is it was designed to work well at H&H velocities. Not reduced velocities, and not at Weatherby velocities where you'd be better off with a Partition or A-Frame. So if your goal is 300gr at 2500fps then you're right on the money as far as the design of that bullet is concerned.

Than being the case, I'd still prefer a Partition, that's what I used in my stupidly sold M70 Safari on deer and moose, and the performance was dead-right-there awesome.

 

[Jeff/1911]

Thing with the Interlock is it was designed to work well at H&H velocities. Not reduced velocities, and not at Weatherby velocities where you'd be better off with a Partition or A-Frame. So if your goal is 300gr at 2500fps then you're right on the money as far as the design of that bullet is concerned.

Than being the case, I'd still prefer a Partition, that's what I used in my stupidly sold M70 Safari on deer and moose, and the performance was dead-right-there awesome.

Thanks Mikey...good to hear. That's just what what I was wondering.

Jeff/1911.

 

[1899]

I like the 380 gr Rhino, I've found it to be accurate and takes a large case .375 bore rifle to a slightly higher level.

...


I would restrict the choice for the Rhino bullet to long cartridges like the H&H, the Ultra or either of the Weatherbys. Shorter cartridges like the .375 Ruger can't hold enough powder due to the bullet's long shank extending into the powder column, even with ball powder. I tried to make it work and I barely broke 2000 fps with Win-760.

What about RL17? It is a touch slower than 760 but the load density should be better, no? I think Gatehouse had excellent results with RL17 and 300gr bullets in the .375 Ruger. I have also seen posts in other forums of hitting 2900fps with the 270gr TSX.

 

[Boomer]

The only powders I tried with the Rhino 380s in the .375 Ruger were: H-4350, Win-760, Re-19, and H-100V. Due to the fact that it wasn't my rifle, and that my supply of bullets was getting low, I didn't pursue the issue beyond that. Re-17 might be worth trying, but as a rule the choice of faster powders behind heavy bullets seems to produce pressure before the desired velocity is achieved and slower powders run out of volume before the desired velocity is realized. I expected Win-760 to produce the best results due to it's high loading density and a burning rate on par with 4350; it did produce the best velocity of all the powders I tried, which upon checking my notes indicates it was pushing the 380 at 2150; 50-100 fps below what I was looking for. The burning rate sweet spot for the .375 Ultra appears to be similar to Re-19 and I have achieved higher velocities across the board with the use of H-100V which seems to fall into that niche, so perhaps Re-17 is the right fit for the .375 Ruger.

It is interesting to note that when Gate and I have compared load data, my velocity is often lower. Now that might be due in part to the fact that we are using different chronographs or it could be that I'm at sea level where he is at higher elevation, or that much of my .375 Ruger testing was done in the low to mid -30s, or it could be a combination of all the above. 2150 wasn't the velocity I wanted so I didn't check to see if the load would shoot. If you just have to get 2200-2250 fps from the Ruger when loaded with 380s (the velocity that has been achieved with the H&H) I think you would have to chamber a long action rifle for the cartridge, incorporating a long lead to accommodate the bullet seated long so the shank does not enter the powder capacity of the case. The long lead would probably have a detrimental effect on accuracy when attempting to shoot any shorter bullets, but it would certainly optimize the performance of the 380s. This arrangement might allow you to approach 2300 fps. The fact of the matter is that I use the 380s for a specific purpose, but as a hunting bullet in the North American context, they have some limitations compared to good quality bullets of lighter weight.

 

[woodlotowner]

Hope I'm not off topic here, but what about Frontier bullets? Apparently they are rated for dangerous game. I picked some up at Marstar for plinking quite a while back, but would anyone actually hunt with them? They are full copper sheathed, but electroplated rather than formed in a jacket. The shape is a very blunt truncated design that is interesting to set COL I have discovered. I use them for plinking because they are very inexpensive.

 

[X-fan]

Boomer,

What load are you using with your Ultra/380's and what velocity do you see?

Remind me as to your barrel length?

Thanks

 

[Boomer]

I'm using 85 grs of H-100V behind the 380 for 2350 out of my Smith 20" 1:12 barrel. Previously I was getting 2300 even with 84.0 grs of H 4350.

 

[X-fan]

Boomer,
What happens when you try the slower powders?
Blinding flash?

 

[Jeff/1911]

I'm interested in using H-1000 in my .375 H&H...I have some on hand and want to try it out.

 

[Boomer]

Boomer,
What happens when you try the slower powders?
Blinding flash?

The powder density isn't high enough so velocity suffers. 85 grs of H-110V is starting to compress, so H-4831 or Re-22 bulk out. They might work in the.378 Weatherby with a 380, but not with the Ultra.