i am taking a 375 H&H on a black bear hunt this fall. i just fell into a steal on several boxes of remington 300 gr. safari a-frames. i had planned on using either 260 gr. accubonds or plain remington 270 gr. sp. my question is this. would this stout of bullet reliably open up on a thin skinned black bear? i know this is meant for some seriously big and dangerous animals so that's why i ask. i also know you can never kill something too dead. basically, will it expand properly at a realistic range of point blank to 50 yds.?
A-frames have a good reputation as to penetration and will expand when heavy meat is hit. I'd just go ahead and shoot a bear and be satisfied. When you do, post a pic both of the bear and the bullet(s) if you recover any.
Hi Ohiohunter. The AFrame will open readily, fully and reliably. Although blackies are classed as thin skinned, animals will be fat during the Fall. Also, both Bear and Boar are very compact animals and tend to soak up bullet energy far better than deer.
On very lean Deer, the biggest problem I have with heavy, stout bullets including the Aframe is that even though the bullet will expand fully and destroy vital tissue, the bullet still holds a great deal of momentum and cleaves to much of its energy. In such cases a bullet like the 220gr Hornady flat point (.375Winchester) driven as fast as I can push it gives much more satisfying results, more satisfying than using the softest of conventional hunting bullets designed for the H&H.
Cheers, Nathan.
http:www.ballisticstudies.com
On very lean Deer, the biggest problem I have with heavy, stout bullets including the Aframe is that even though the bullet will expand fully and destroy vital tissue, the bullet still holds a great deal of momentum and cleaves to much of its energy. In such cases a bullet like the 220gr Hornady flat point (.375Winchester) driven as fast as I can push it gives much more satisfying results, more satisfying than using the softest of conventional hunting bullets designed for the H&H.
Cheers, Nathan.
http:www.ballisticstudies.com
I do not personaly shoot a 375, so I can't speak from first hand experience, but to add to the thread, I have a good Alaskan friend who hunts exclusively with a 375 RUM. He shoots only factory loads, which are only made by Remington obviously. The last black bear he shot using 300 gr A frames left a 4 inch exit hole it that poor critter.
Seems needlessly overpowered for any black bear I have ever met, and I've seen and shot them to 450 pounds. An '06 through the shoulders works fine, but if that's what you want, have at it.
But Shootist BIG GUNS are more fun. 416 Rigby, .458 Win Mag
The 300 gr Swift .375 should open perfectly on black bears and even more improtantly it will probably exit from almost any angle, which will leave a better blood trail in case you have to follow it.
shootist
There's no such thing as too much power or too much gun when hunting. If it suits you, use anything that anchors them from any angle.
There's no such thing as too much power or too much gun when hunting. If it suits you, use anything that anchors them from any angle.
Originally Posted by the_shootist
. . . . but if that's what you want, have at it.
Maybe this part didn't come out in the original post.
Just in case it didn't, here it is again. And quite honestly, I have never shot a black bear with anything larger than a 7mm Rem Mag, and got a pass through at 70 yards with a Remington 175 core lokt from behind the shoulder to out through the neck. Bear weighed 450 lbs. It went exactly 0 yards after the shot. Blood trail was being laid in. 
I have never had any problems with A-frames. Bears are usually shot at short distance, so the impact velocity should be more than high enough to ensure prefect expansion if you use a normal load.