Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .375 H&H w/ 300 gr TSX - Question for Mule Deer

I'm thinking about another trip to Africa to hunt buffalo. Last time I used factory 300 grain TSX loads in my CZ 550. They shot well and gave good performance on game. This time I thought I would use handloads and would like to get at least 2500 fps.

In The Big Book of Gun Gack you list a 300 grain TSX load with 75 grains of H4350 at 2410 fps from a 22 inch barrel. Is it reasonable to think I might get 2500 fps from a 24 inch barrel with this load? I realize every rifle is different but 2410 seems a bit slow. Did you run out of room for powder or were there other reasons this was your max?

The Barnes website lists velocities over 2500 fps for a 300 grain TSX with RL15, Big Game and Varget (all of which I also have) but they don't list a load with H4350.

I would appreciate advice on which powder might be the best for my purposes.

Ran out of powder space in that rifle. The 300 TSX is a LONG bullet, but wanted to try it with H4350 since the powder had worked so well with other bullets. Plus, a friend had used that load on several buffalo because it recoiled noticeably less than "full power" 300-grain loads, and it worked fine on every bull.

You might get another 50-75 fps with that load in a 24" barrel, but .375's will vary some in results because, as with many older rounds, throat length will vary. Probably one of the other powders you mention would also get around 2500 fps, since they don't take up as much room as H4350, either in the charge itself or powder bulk.

Thanks for the information. I guess I'll have to work up some loads and see what results I get.

As you are reloading you might try the 270gr TSXs, pretty easy to get 2700fps with them. I only took one rifle to Africa this year and wanted something a little flatter shooting so loaded the 270 gr TSXs. I got good penetration and excellent performance on two buffalo with them.

I noticed the same thing about the .375 with the 300 gr bullets, it seems to be similar to what happens with the .30-06 and 200 grs. You don't have enough case capacity to push that heavy of a bullet well in the first place, and then the longer bullet eats up even more room, resulting in meager velocities.

What I am curious about is if the 300 gr bullets exhibit better performance than the 250 grs inside of 100 yds, due to their greater SD and penetration.

Why not just work some up with RL15?

I may just do that. I prefer 300 grain bullets for buffalo since they give a bit more penetration. Since I'll be hunting in thorn brush areas where shots over 150 yards are uncommon, I'm not too concerned about the flatter trajectory a 270 grain bullet would provide.

I hear that. I know I've had good luck with RL 15 in my 375H&H and my 9.3x62mm. If you already have it on hand, it makes sense to try it. Good luck finding H4350 too..

I actually have more H4350 than I do RL15 but I have enough of both that I could use either for the .375. Thanks for the suggestions.

I'd be willing to wager 10 to 1 that there is not a meaningful difference in penetration between the 270 TSX and the 300 grainTXS. My cousin felt that the 300 would penetrate deeper and that is what he started with. I talked him into trying the 270 grain TSX, once he tried the 270 he never went back to the 300 grain TSX.

There are certain combinations of bullets and cartridges that work so well there is not much reason to use anything else. In the 375 H&H, it is very difficult to beat the performance of the 270 grain TSX for anything requiring an expanding bullet.

300gr TSX: 72gr RL-15 F-210 primers 2650 fps
270gr TSX :74gr RL-15 F-210 primers 2530 fps.

jwp,

Actually, there is a meaningful difference in penetration between the 270 and 300-grain TSX's, which more than one of the PH's I know has mentioned. The 300 will usually exit Cape buffalo, while the 270 often does not. To those who believe an exit is always desirable this might seem like a plus for the 300-grain, but many PH's prefer the bullet NOT exit when hunting herds, due to the possibility of going on through and hitting another buffalo. The rest of the herd isn't always visible in cover, partly because buffalo are dark so are obscured in shadows.

This may seem like a remote possibility, but it's not unusual. In fact it happened to a good friend of mine on his first (and so far only) buffalo hunt. Luckily, the bullet killed the second buffalo, a cow, rather than just wounding it.

I know that the 270 grain TSX will exit big Alaskan bull moose

Yes, and they'll sometimes exit buffalo as well. But buffalo are far more solid and thicker-skinned than moose.

i'm not disputing you, i'm just surprised that after expanding, and losing so much velocity, that it would pose a problem to another animal. i appreciate your knowledge

Where do those numbers come from Jorge?

The Barnes website lists:

75 grains RL15 w/ 300 grain TSX for 2612 fps

75.5 grains RL15 w/ 270 grain TSX for 2725 fps

Is RL15 as temperature stable as H4350? It does get hot in Africa.

Jorge's numbers come from his experience in his own rifle, and reflect pretty closely to my results with the 300. I never loaded the 270. The above load in my M70 Super Express, which is what Jorge has I think, shot 3 rounds into about .75" easily. It was accurate, fast, and now signs of pressure at all. What I've found is that book and website loads are a good suggestion, but only real world load work tells the true story.

I had determined in the end that I would take 350gr Woodleighs. Then the economy tanked and we're still recovering. So that's a distant thought for now.

Also had good luck with Varget and it's supposed to be more temperature resistant than RL-15, although it's usually hotter here in South Texas than Africa when I've gone there.

I agree that the manufacturers numbers often don't correspond that closely to what I see in my rifles. I'll have to see what results I get in my CZ 550.

Hidalgo: I thought about Varget as well. I have a bunch so I could give it a try.