Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only .375" 300 gr Nosler Partition?

I read here and there on our forum that the 300 gr Nosler Partition is not a particularly good choice for Cape Buff, when using a .375 H&H rifle.

I don't have much experience with the 375, having shot only a few black bears with mine, all with the 260 gr Nosler Accubond.

What is the issue with the 300 gr Partition? Curious, because they shoot quite well for me, and I had intended to use them for dangerous game, perhaps cape buffalo if I can make that trip happen.

Thanks, Guy

Guy,

in the old days they were very good, now use a stronger bullet like the aframe.
nosler partition in 300 grains will work very well on lion if needed.

I know there are many that have successfully used it as you require. That said, my owner/guide on my SE Alaskan brown bear hunt or four PH's on my recent buffalo hunt in Zimbabwe had little good to say about it, with the latter having the same view regardless of round used. All with many years of experience. They all were fine with the TSX, A-Frame and Bear Claw and particularly pleased I was using the TSX. Just a few seasoned folks view.

I can't speak about Cape buffalo but as far as brown bears go 300 grain partitions don't do them any good at all. I've killed a bunch of them with this bullet from 2-50 yards and never had a bad experience. Stem to stern penetration is common. The recovered ones consistently have 75-80% weight retention.

Don't know about the 300 gr 375's, but, I have a lot of ammo loaded wit the 400 gr .416 and 500 gr .458 Partitions, from what little I know, I wouldn't be afraid to hammer anything with either except an Elephant skull, have BBW #13 solids in all calibers .366 and up for that.

Other than Big Beautiful Women, what's "BBW" stand for?

Guy

Cutting Edge Bullets makes a solid with their BBW #13 meplat.

https://cuttingedgebullets.com/375-300gr-300gr-safari-solid

DF

BWAAHAHAHAHA

DF's got it ;]

Well, that is a mighty fine looking solid bullet, I'll admit.

Guy

I don't know any reason the 300 gr partition would not work just as well on a 1600 # Cape buffalo as they do on 1600# brown bears.
they work as well as any bullet on big bruins !

Now there's a ringing endorsement.

+1

But, I wonder what those who dis the 300 NPT .375 are seeing.

Where there's smoke, maybe there is a fire. I would like details.

Maybe a cape buff is tougher than a big bear. I don't know, haven't shot either one.

DF

Same here DF, I've never hit a cape buff with a 375 cal NPT, with that said, every other animal across the caliber spectrum I've hit with a NPT had an immediate bad day, albeit waning fast.

I can't say from actual experience because the only cartridges I have used in Africa were 404 Jeffery, and 7.62 NATO. I saw the 458 Winchester used a number of times with excellent results.

But I have a LOT of experience with the 375 in other places, and the 300 Gr Nosler Part. has been one of the best, if not THE best bullet I have ever used on everything I have shot with it. Elk, Moose, the bears I have killed, and various domestic cattle and horses are not as big or tough as cape buffalo, so if someone with actual experience were to tell me that the 300 Gr Noslet Partition was lacking on Cape Buffalo I would have to believe him, (especially if they had experience on several instead of just 1-2) but for anything I have hunted, they have been as close to perfect as a bullet could be. I love them.

Phil,

Brad Dennison had a different view. That's all.

I've had PHs say they only wanted solids used on buffalo, and I've had other PHs say they wanted good softs used.

They're 1/2 right and 1/2 wrong, but which is which???

I've had PHs say they they didn't want Remingtons and Sako Safari grade rifles used for buffalo, and I had a PH that carried a 700 in 416 Rem Mag as his backup rifle.

They were 1/2 right and 1/2 wrong, but which is which???

The ones I know who've shot'em talk about .40 cal and up.

My good bud shot a nice 41'' this year in Zim. He was shooting 400 TSX's out of his .416 Rigby, Ruger RSM, recovering a near picture perfect expanded bullet. One shot, buff ran. They followed him (probably too soon), he got up but no one got a shot. They tracked him into thick brush, both .416's at the ready, only to find him dead. They were glad he was dead in those close quarters. Could have gotten interesting...

PH carried a .416 Rem, PF M-70, thought the RSM was a bit heavy, generally liked .416's for buff.

DF

Buff and bullet.

I would be interested in hearing Brad's experiences and reasoning as I have killed a lot of bears with Nosler partitions and seen a hell of a lot more killed with them and never seen any problem with them. They work as well and consistently as any bullet I have ever used, and a few years ago Nosler moved the partition forward on the .375 bullets for even more weight retention and penetration.

On the other hand I have also seen a lot of hunters who were using partitions who badly misplaced their shots but claimed they had made perfect hits and blamed the bullet.

I've spoken with a couple SE guides who had bad results with clients who used lighter NPs in various magnum .30s with less than hoped for results. They consequently ruled that NPs aren't up to the task not realizing Nosler builds the larger partitions differently than the smaller ones. If I were forced to use a 300 RUM on a big bear I'd choose a TSX over a NP, but that will never happen because I'll keep on killing them with the .375 and 9.3 with those beautifully consistent partitions.

Nice, I'd have to see to believe why MY 300 gr Partition 375 H&H handloads AND SHOT placement would not work on a cape buffalo, I full well believe I'd have a dead bull in a very short matter of time.

I've got an old pre-64 300 H&H with a Lyman receiver peep chunking 220 gr Partitions at a leisurely 2750 that I'd dearly love to shoot a big brown with, betting the cost of my hunt they'd work.

That's a nice one, but you got a lota nice "toys"...

DF

Thanks DF, I'll have to show you my Rube Goldberg M-70 classic 375 someday.

Think I remember when you put that one together.

DF

The 300-grain .375 Partition has been one of the models designed to retain more weight for a while now. In the fall of 2003 Phil and Rocky stopped by our place in Montana for a quick visit. It was the first time we'd met, but knew each other through some correspondence.

Phil and I naturally started gacking about guns, and among other things I well remember showing him the two 300 .375's I'd managed to recover. (I've shot a bunch of game with them since, but those are still the only two recovered.) One retained 87% of its weight and the other 88%, and after handing them to him he said, "That's just perfect!"

A few years later I had a talk with John Nosler about the Partitions designed to retain more weight. He said they move the partition forward enough to guarantee a minimum retention of 75% of the original weight, even if the front core and jacket totally disintegrate. I have only found one that light, a 286 9.3 that whacked a big blue wildebeest in the shoulder joint as it stood quartering toward me at around 200 yards. The bull went about 25 yards and keeled over, and the bullet ended up under the hide at the rear of the ribcage.

That's also one of the only pair of 286 9.3's I've recovered, the other from a big bull moose in northern British Columbia, which retained a little over 90% of its weight. Have also recovered a pair of 400-grain .416's from Cape and water buffalo, which retained 83% and 95% of their weight.

As with most lead-core bullets, the lighter retained weights have occurred with bullets that hit heavy bone. The lighter .416 Partition, for instance, broke the right shoulder of a Cape buffalo--after penetrating from the rear of the left ribs, a distance of at least five feet.

I have also discovered that the 220 gr .308 caliber partitions in my 30-06 penetrate as deeply and reliably as the 300 gr .375 and have had great performance with them on 1200-1400 pound bears.

I darned near chose the 220 gr Partitions for use with the 30-06 on my arctic grizzly hunt last year, but the 200's shot so well... And I was anticipating a shot out to say 300 yards or so where that wonderful accuracy might have been important. So, here I have a couple of boxes of 220 gr .30 cal Partitions on my loading bench. Ah well, it doesn't cost anything to keep them there.

Guy

Impressive John. Thank you!

Guy

One other comment: I've found many of the relatively few people who criticize Nosler Partitions do so not on how they kill or penetrate, but the amount of weight they lose. This fixation on retained weight probably began in 1977, when Bob Hagel's book GAME LOADS AND PRACTICAL BALLISTICS FOR THE AMERICAN HUNTER appeared. Hagel was the first hunting writer I recall who mentioned retained weight, and for some reason it became the standard measure for "premium" big game bullets.

Back then, however, the only reasonably available premium bullets in the U.S. were the Bitterroot Bonded Core, Nosler Partition and Speer Grand Slam. The early Grand Slams weren't very good (as I discovered myself in the fall of 1977 when one failed to penetrate on an angling shot into a cow elk), though they later improved considerably. The BBC retained the most weight of the three, but Hagel pointed out that it didn't penetrate as deeply as the Partition, because of the BBC's very wide mushroom.

However, many if not most hunters assume more weight retention means deeper penetration, and since "average" Partitions retain around 2/3 of their weight--rather than the 90-100% of some other bullets--many assume Partitions don't penetrate very deeply. This isn't necessarily true, as Bob Hagel noted about BBC's.

An example from my own collection of recovered bullets would be the Partition that retained the least amount of weight, a 150-grain .270 that my wife used to take a middling-size Shiras moose. The bull stood quartering away at about 125 yards, and Eileen put the bullet about midway between the left shoulder and the rear of the ribs. The bull took a step and a half a piled up dead, and we found the bullet under the hide in front of the right shoulder, retaining 54% of its weight. Now this moose wasn't anywhere near as big as an Alaskan moose, but was as large as any bull elk I've seen on the ground, and penetration was at least three feet. So no, retained weight isn't directly correlated to how well a bullet penetrates or kills.

But it's also a mistake to assume that because smaller Partitions average around 2/3 weight retention that ALL Partitions will retain the same amount of weight.

Guy....you have a PM

Yessir, ole Rubes still wearing your stainless bottom metal proudly, I was in shock on how tight and well fit it went into an existing stock.

I haven't shot the 300gr NP at a Cape Buffalo, but (out of a .375 Wby) it instantly killed the attached immediately and went through about 3 feet of bear and exited. The bear jumped when hit, spun around and tried to bite what it thought was biting him, and died 25 feet from where the initial claw marks and blood spatter were. I know that Cape Buffalo can be harder to kill, but I was pretty amazed by the performance.

Cant speak to the terminal performance but I could never get the 300 partition to shoot in 2 different 375's. The 260 partition was another story. I plan on using a 270 TSX where a 300 part would be required. The old hornady 300 RN always worked on AK bears for me but heard that bullet has been changed.

Nice bear and shot placement MH.

Thanks gunner. I actually was aiming about 8 inches further to the right. But I didn't "lead" him, and he was walking fast enough that, even at only 100 yards, he would move that much in the 0.11 seconds it took for the bullet to go 100yds. Lesson learned.

Nice bear! Congrats.

Guy

Guy,

Those who have hunted Cape buffalo--- swear by Swift A-frames. That's what I'll use in my 375 Ruger. I'm actually thinking of a Aussie Buffalo before a Cape. It might be an easier sell to my better half--Australia over Zimbabwe.

I used a 270 grain Hornady interlock this past June for my AK grizzly.

MarineHawk-----that's a real good bear---Conglads--Bob

Bob-not to hijack, but how did the 270 interlock do? My current rifle likes them, but Ive heard they are more frangible than expected. Did you get an exit?

Tom---I tested them in both both wet phone books & dry phone books. Wet books gave a perfect mushroom @ 180 grains size of a quarter. Dry phone books gave a 170 grains and the bullet looked like everything above the interlock was gone. Size was .375 On the bear she was facing me & at a quartering angle @ 100 yards. Bullet when in just inside the left shoulder & exited just behind the right shoulder. Exit hole was about the size of a half dollar. FYI--I booked another grizzly hunt in 2020 with Jake Jefferson. I'm planning on using the same load. Bob

Photo of the bear is in the Alaska section.

colorado bob,

I have seen a number of big-game animals (meaning larger than deer) killed with both Nosler Partitions and Swift A-Frames, including Cape buffalo. I dunno what "swear by Swift A-Frames" means, but in my experience Nosler Partitions of the same caliber/weight penetrate just as deeply, and sometimes deeper.

This is not denigrating the A-Frame. It's a fine bullet, but what many hunters don't realize only front core is bonded, and the jacket over the rear core is thinner than the Partition's--which also features a rear core much harder than the A-Frame's.

This is why A-Frames tend to expand wider than Partitions, particularly in the rear end, which often bulges due to the softer rear core shifting foreward. This is also why A-Frames typically don't penetrate any deeper than bigger Partitions of the same weight and caliber, and often not as deeply.

As I noted above, bigger Partitions with the jacket wall moved forward usually generally retain 85-95% of their original weight, which is exactly why they penetrate deeply. In fact, the 286 9.3mm Partitions will normally penetrate more than 250-grain Barnes TSX's, but not quite as deeply as 286 TSX's.

Thanks Bob, read your nice write-up in the Alaska section. I remember Jake from when he first started guiding and posting on the Alaska outdoors forums. I use to hang out there a bit when I was still living there. My big bear huntings days are mostly behind me now being a non-res, but keep my 375 hanging around for a trip to Africa someday.

John----I hang out over at Accuratereloading. The guys there that have hunted more cape buffalo than I ever will. The ones that I value their opinion are in 2 groups-----1 for the A frame and the other is TSX. No one over there likes the Hornady DGX.

Didn't mean to infer anything bad about the partition. Just seems like most like to shoot them a N/A animals---especially elk. Bob

FWIW....I just spoke with one of my P/H friends in Zimbabwe regarding the .375 H&H and the Nosler Partition for buffalo. Quote: "The success of he NP is not to be diminished for plains game, up to, and including eland. The problem seems to be what makes the NP so good is its Achilles heel for buffalo. On a broad side shot on buffalo, the velocity of the .375 H&H, plus the thin forward jacket of the NP sets up too quickly on the broad, over-lapping ribs of the buffalo, then fails to penetrate deeply into the vitals." "Bonded bullets, such as Swift A-Frame, and Trophy Bonded Bear Claw punch through the ribs, and continue to penetrate, and cause internal damage."

Best to inquire from your P/H which bullet is recommended for buffalo.

That's very interesting. I wonder how "setting up too quickly" causes Partitions to fail to penetrate.

I have personally seen 7 Partitions shot into buffalo, most (but not all) mine. They either ended up under the skin on the far side, including one that entered the rear of the ribcage on the left side and was found in the right shoulder. But the last one exited on a broadside shot, blowing chunks of lung over the sand. It left a big blood trail, which ended in a buffalo 60 yards away.

But the PH I've hunted with more than any, Kevin Thomas, has had far more experience with Partitions on Cape buffalo. He retired a few years ago, but grew up in what was then called Rhodesia, and started working as a game ranger for their game department when he graduated from high school, and later worked for a huge ranch as a game-control officer, culling over 500 buffalo. For the culling he primarily used a .30-06 and 180-grain Partitions, and while many of the buffalo were obviously cows and younger animals, many were mature bulls. He never had any problems with the 180's penetrating the ribs and on into the chest, even on frontal shots.

He eventually became a PH, killing another 100 or so buffalo either when finishing them off for clients, or during his own hunting. To make sure I remembered our many fireside conversations about African rifles, cartridges and bullets I just e-mailed him, asking specifically about Nosler Partitions. He sad this to say: "Regards Nosler Partition on buffalo, I've never had any problems with them, or heard any of my colleagues complain of problems."

Kevin started writing about his adventures, not just in African hunting but as a member of the Selous Scouts, a few years before he retired, and his first book SHADOWS IN AN AFRICAN TWILIGHT, is a very interesting chronicle of many of those adventures. But in "retirement" he's now writing a lot more, and also informed me in his e-mail that his 4th book, mostly about buffalo, will soon be published.

Off topic, my next safari will be a 'one gun' Mozambique Cape Buffalo hunt with an old FN Browning safari grade 458 WM firing 500 gr Partitions at 2150 fps, I have no fear.

Also gonna hunt and try to bust a Leopard with the 458, some may question that, but, I'm banking with a squishy 350 gr Woodleigh 450 BPE bullet at 2500 fps the crap will be handily slapped outta that cat.

I can find no issue with any Partiton bullet I've ever used, and certainly don't expect to find any shooting Cape Buff with a 300 gr 375 NPT, except of course a dead buffalo.

I’d shoot 270 TSX, in 375 for plains game and Cape buffalo and never look back.

The 270 TSX has become my go-to bullet with the 375 as well. As the late Don Heath once so elegantly put it " you don't need a bigger bullet, you just need a better bullet"

I know more than one African PH who recommends the 270 TSX as an all-around .375 bullet to their clients, because it shoots flatter than 300's--and also tends to stop under the hide on the far side of buffalo, a good thing when hunting herds, so a second buffalo doesn't get accidentally shot too. The 300 TSX's tend to exit more often.

To the extent some of you are looking for .375 options that maximize the effective range, has anyone considered loading the new Barnes 270gr LRX in your .375s?

It's all copper, like the TSX, but is tipped, like the TTSX. It increases the 270gr TSX's B.C. from 0.326 to 0.449. According to my calculation, that means that a 270gr TSX leaving the muzzle at 2,700 fps would slow down to 2,170 fps at 200 yds, but a 270gr TSX launched at the same 2,700 fps MV would not fall to 2,170 fps until beyond 275 yds.

I know some traditionalists don't like the thought of a plastic tip, but I have had good results with the TTSX, and they are supposed to make the copper bullet open up more reliably at slower speeds than will the TSX.

Is there any downside to the LRX with its lower air resistance, given that it's an all-copper expanding Barnes bullet, like the TSX?

I do not want a tip in my dangerous game rifle. I recently used a 416 Rem with 350 gr TSX's in Zimbabwe as my buffalo and plains game rifle and had zero issues though only shot out to a bit over 200 yards. A 300+ yard shot is a no brainer. As I noted earlier the PH's I have used and spoken with highly recommend the TSX, TBBC and the A-Frame. I see no reason to doubt them.

It's always interesting to hear about PH's recommending the TBBC and A-Frame, because they're the only two bullets I've actually seen "fail" to penetrate properly on buffalo. This does NOT mean they're not great bullets, but that any bullet can fail occasionally.

The first was a 300-grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claw from a .375 H&H Federal factory load. I was sitting with my hunting partner and two PH's near a herd of 30-some buffalo, including a mature herd bull that eventually stood broadside in the open, about 100 yards away. At the shot we all saw a dust cloud on the shoulder, perfect shot placement, and the bull bucked into the nearby thornbush. We waited an hour but didn't hear a death bellow, so started to follow-up, spread out about 50 feet from each other. Pretty soon I jumped a bull that ran away, but couldn't see any blood so didn't shoot. Upon investigating the tracks, however, we found a little blood, and since the brush was getting considerably thicker, the two PH's told us to stay behind while they and a tracker went after the bull. An hour later, the buffalo finally died from 10 solids, all from the rear, shot by a .416 Rigby and .458 Lott. Back at the skinning shed the original Bear Claw was recovered, perfectly expanded--but from the ribs on the SAME SIDE as the shoulder it entered. Our best guess was the shoulder bone caused to bullet to spin somehow, the reason it only entered one lung--and the reason the buffalo remained quite lively.

The A-Frames were also 300-grainers, started at about 2650 fps from a 9.3mm wildcat carried by my hunting partner, that apparently hadn't bonded. The first one hit a water buffalo's shoulder joint as the bull stood quartering toward us at 50 yards. After several more shots, including a couple solids from the .458 Lott the guide carried, the buffalo finally died. The first A-Frame had broken the shoulder, but was recovered against the ribcage, the rear core having broken through the partition. It retained just about exactly half its weight, and was about as flat as a bottle cap. Only one of the 300's made it through the ribs, the last one, fired between the shots from the .458 Lott.

Luckily neither buffalo charged. The Cape buffalo had plenty of opportunity to, but every time he was jumped went the other way.

Have seen nothing but great results from both bullets on other animals over the decades. But can also say the same about Partitions.

I have a significant stash of federal safari ammo with the 300 gr bear claws , as well as 300 gr partitions in.375 ... had been wondering if they were any good as I typically hear A frames and Tsx recommended as well

Given the data it is more than interesting to see one repeatably push Nosler though given the hunts, well why not...

Big shrug. I've been on around 100 big game hunts in North America and other places, paid for by various entities including manufacturers, booking agents, outfitters, and my own bank account. Have done even more hunting on my own in Montana since taking my first big game animal here 50 years ago, including some guiding. This experience has allowed me to personally observe quite a few rifles, bullets, optics and other hunting products in action, and that experience has helped me considerably in my profession.

So far in this thread the "negative" opinions about Partitions have been second-hand quotes about which other bullets PH's recommend, but there haven't been any detailed examples of how Partitions failed. I'd be very interested in reading about specific examples, because am still eager to learn.

There may be a good reason for that, but what is it? I can't understand yet what it is without further explanation.

While hunting for bear and others, I shot the huge moose in the attached three times in about five seconds with a 225gr TTSX in my .340 Wby (MV 3,160 per chrono; 3,050 fps at impact). Two zipped through the giant moose blowing large amounts of tissue and bone into jelly-like goo. The third attached recovered one did the same and was just under the far said pelt. I've shot hundreds of these tipped rounds in my .375 Wby; .340 Wby; .300 WM; 7mm Wby; .308 Win; .and 243 Win. Never has one failed. Is there any evidence that these ever can fail? They just are shot when fired and don't slow down as fast I think.

https://imgur.com/5OUz9dK

https://imgur.com/YyC01Na

https://imgur.com/0E4sXBP

Wait, wait! I had a 300gr Nosler "fail". I shot the south end of a north bound, previously shot bull moose. I found where the bullet came to rest in the neck meat after 4+ feet of penetration. That sucky bullet looked perfect except that it slipped its core. Looked like a normal expanded bullet but was obviously much lighter. It was a wonderful "failure"

Man, it's really hard to speak badly of Partitions. I've used them with great success but in my experience they tend to shoot less accurately than others and especially TSXs. I've shot buffalo (Cape) with the Swift (416 and 375) and while they shot extremely accurately, I agree with MD they don't tend to dig in as deep as others. To cut to the chase, if Partitions were to shoot well out of my 375 I would have 100% confidence in them, but given a choice, I'm am now in the TSX camp all the way.

I also fail to see a problem with the TTSX, bullet. The larger hollow that is required for the post of the tip, increases the speed of expansion and improves the BC. A win, win any way you look at it, since the penetration is excellent to boot.

jorge,

The tendency of A-Frames to not exit buffalo is one reason some PH's like them. As I mentioned in an earlier post, several PH's I know prefer the 270 TSX .375 to the 300 TSX, because it has less tendency to exit buffalo, thus preventing the exiting bullet from hitting another buffalo in a herd. This happens occasionally, a decidedly stressful complication! A-Frames tend to expand widely, the reason they don't usually exit, but it's also why they put a big hole in whatever they hit, an excellent combination.

What loads have you tried with the 300-grain Partition? It's shot well for me in three .375's, two H&H's and a Ruger, especially in the Mark X Mauser I've had for over 25 years now. Though it doesn't shoot any better than the 270-grain TSX, which will probably be the bullet used if I ever go on another buffalo hunt.

Hi John. My comments on the Partition were of a general nature. I've had issues with accuracy in my 257, 338 and 7mms. I've never tried it on the 375. I used the Aframe because they were "all the rage" back in the early 2000s and a good friend with lots of Africa under his belt recommended them and they shot lights out in my 375 and 416, not so well in my 338 or 300. As to the TSX, I remember speaking with Connie Brooks years ago and she mentioned they obtained better results with the 270gr in the 375 and the 350gr in the 416.

Ah! Yeah, that makes sense, due to rifling twist rates.

300 A-Frames (and Break-Away Solids) also shoot very well in my Mark X .375 H&H. In fact it shoots well with almost any bullet, and also tends to shoot various bullet weights to the same point of impact, handy for field-testing. Which is why it's the only .375 I've kept over the years

My Ruger No. 1 .375 H&H, which I used even more in Africa, would shoot most 300-grain bullets to the same POI, but other bullet weights landed in various places. I did manage to work up a practice/deer load with 220 Hornady flat-noses at around .38-55 velocity that landed in the same place as full-power 300-grain loads. Used them considerably when practicing for an an all iron-sight safari 15 years ago, and the Hornadys exploded prairie dogs just as well as a .22-250.

Well, this thread settles it, there must be 500 years of combined worldwide hunting experience in this thread, I'll go and shoot a Cape Buffalo with a 375 H&H with 300 grain Partitions and find out for myself, will try like hell for a shot straight through both shoulders.

Then report my findings.

Photos of ole Rube. Gunner finally got wifey to send these photos, all this computer stuff is deligated accordingly....

Gunner, that's nice checkering. I know you didn't do it, what's the story...

That SS bottom metal did fit really well. I like the barrel band and the whole set up.

You done good...

Ole Rube would look good in any setting, would look great leaning up against dead trophy critters in Africa...

DF

LOL DF, hope Guy doesn't mind me dirtying up his thread.

'Ol Rube is quite a story, the action came from a classic Laredo in 7mm STW I bought new back in the early 90's, torched the throat on that, pulled the barrel, sold the stock, had 'Smith take a classic stainless 375 H&H barrel, drill it to 375 A.I. then screw it on.

Called American Gunstocks out in Cali about a stock they had in stock, it had a 14" LOP that no one wanted, SOLD I said, took it along with a set of engraved cross-bolts, barrel band and rear sight from NECG back to 'Smith, had him bed barreled action to stock and install cross-bolts, barrel band and rear sight, I filed rear sight dead on at 25 yards with the 300 gr BBW #13 solids at a very easy 2700 fps, returned the sight blade for bluing and final shaping.

Then along comes a dude named DF with some classic stainless bottom metal for sale.

That rifle wears a 2.5-8 Leupold in Talley QD rings, it's one of the most consistently accurate rifles I've ever owned, it's also the rifle I used to power 270 gr TSX's to 3100 fps with RL-17, have backed all other 270 gr TSX loads back to an even 3K, made a thread here about that, haven't found a bullet yet it wont shoot accurately, Ol Rube Goldberg has a muddy bloodline, but I'll never sell it.

Thanks for posting the pics.

Gunner

Oh, BTW, the fluer'd leis? checkering was already cut.

Really nice. I love the stock and checkering.

DF

Thanks DF, it's been said before, but, the pics don't do the wood justice, it's much darker and richer in person, I got lucky on that one.

Kinda like any other Nosler Partition thread....


Yes there are plenty of great bullets out there nowadays..( I like Swift A- frames in the context of this thread...) but the NPT is one of the few sure bets in life...it will work!

I like the looks of that rifle Gunner!

Thanks Poobs, 'ol rubes a shooter.

That 14" LOP would fit you like a glove.

gunner, does that 14" LOP qualify you as a long armed, knuckle dragger...?



DF

That would depend on how long his legs are, wouldn't it?

Dirty up the thread? With pictures of a beautiful Win Model 70 in 375? My goodness... go for it!

I kinda like purty 375 Model 70's myself:






No checkering on mine. I found it on the used gun rack at a local shop... They really didn't know what they had, so I scooped it up. Built by Michael Scherz. He told me all about the rifle when I phoned him and confirmed that he'd built it. Someone here on the campfire steered me in his direction, recognizing the scope bases. Douglas barrel, quarter rib, etc. Topped it with a 1.5-5x Leupold in QR Talley rings. Shoots great! The iron sights are perfect at 50 yards with 300 grain ammo. Am waiting for a cape buff to charge through central Washington so I can use it on something other than targets...

Somehow, I ended up with two 375's, the other is a Ruger Number One that my sons have named "Dad's bear rifle" because I keep taking it for our Washington black bear.

Guy

Michael told me that the original owner took it to Africa and killed 22 head of big game with it on its first trip.

So... I'd kinda like to take it over there and see about adding another half dozen or so critters to the tally.

Guy

Nice, super wood.

I like it.

DF

They pretty long...

Knuckle dragging is a whole different matter...

DF

UH, yes, and no.

Thanks Guy, that's a nice stick, you need to get that rifle to Africa, gotta build a history with it Buddy.

Right again Men, those 300 gr 375 cal Partitions are so crappy I just bought 10 boxes from SPS today, that should keep the old pre-64 375 perking along just fine for awhile.

An earlier SPS sale is how I ended up with a few bags of 300 gr Partitions...

Guy

Ya, it deserves to be used.

ALMOST took it to Alaska for grizzly last spring, but decided on the lighter 30-06 instead. The smaller rifle worked fine, but in retrospect I kind of wish I'd smacked that big bear with my big rifle.

Guy

I've got 3? boxes of 300gr NPs, brass aplenty, but no .375 rifles at the moment. Obviously that needs to change,
😃

You may be a 375 addict if you've got bullets & brass, but no rifle!

Guy

Yessir. I need an H&H like another hole in the head. 😃😃I'm looking at a M70 or even maybe that Howa(Weatherby)?

There is a good guy, selling a great .375 H&H, Weatherby Vanguard, with a LOT of cool stuff, like a McMillan stock, Leupold scope & more... asking a very reasonable price, over on the Nosler Reloading forum. I haven't checked to see if it's in the classifieds here or not.

Heck of a rifle.

Guy

Everyone needs at least one .375 H&H.

Just 'cause...

DF

That is a good looking rifle! There is a thread on another forum here that says the .30-06 sucks, and yet another that says its obsolete. So you'd best go back to Alaska and slay another bear with the .375!!!

I guess packing an old '06 will get you eaten by a big bruin...

Don't ask Phil about the '06, just read his by-line...

If hunting a big bear, I'd be packing my .375 H&H, likely stoked with 270 TSX's or 300 NPT's, either one should do the trick if I do my part.

DF

How about an Interterms Mark X Whitworth?

Wheres the barrel band on that Mofo?

Ingwe,I think this is an earlier version of the Whitworth,as there is no barrel band.

Nice rifle Elk, is that a 3X Leupold on that rifle?

That scope on Elk's rifle looks more like a 2.5x to me. I've got an older 3x on my 375 Ruger Number One, aka "Dad's bear rifle."



Guy

10-4 Guy, that'll work too.

Ingwe had a real nice one with exceptional wood.

When he converted to trick shooting, he sold it.

DF