Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 375 H&H for elk thoughts....

I have knocked a few bulls down with a 375 H&H using 260 grain Accubonds. My rifle is a left handed Remington KS Mountain Rifle with Leupold 2.5-8x36. Easy rifle to carry and not to bad on the shoulder. All of the shots have been under 200 yards. Have yet to recover a bullet.

Howdy neighbor! I guess that I’m not the only one around here that uses the 3/8” bore!

Oh.......welcome to the “fire”! memtb

I picked up the same rifle last year to go with my left handed KS in 300 H&H. I haven't had a chance to hunt it yet and I'm not likely to get much elk hunting with it up here but it ought to work fine on moose and caribou. I haven't decided on a bullet yet.

Mart, Unless you intend to do some long range work, consider the Hornady 270 SP. I know that it’s a bit “old school”, but, in several .375 H&H’s that I’ve worked with....it’s a “match made in heaven”! The Hornady 270 SP Interlock works great at H&H velocities. If you push them harder (RUM’s, Weatherby’s, AI’s), I don’t think you’ll be quite as happy! memtb

memtb, why do you exclude the old 270 Gr Hornady Spire Point from long shots? In my experience the 270 Spire Point was better at longer ranges then it is at close range. When I used that bullet in Idaho for several elk I found the bullet would do very well putting elk on the ground "right now" but I always found bullet fragments where you can see how it was coming apart. I got exits, but the wounds and the meat on the off-side usually had some lead and copper pieces in it. Not so with the round nose bullet.
I have used both the spire point and the round nose and found the round nose to work better and even be a bit more accurate then it's pointy brother, but the spire point was good for carrying out to longer distances and held together once it got past 200 yards.

As a 375H&H fan I'd love to hear your experiences too.

I don't know how many elk I have killed exactly, but I am betting of that number, about 1/2 were killed with my 375 and the other half were killed with a mix of the following firearms: Four 270s, two 308s, one 300 Savage, two 30-06s, one 8X57, one 7MM Mag, one 7X57, one 300 Win Mag, one 308 Norma Mag, one 30-378 mag, two 300 H&H mags, two 44 Mag hand guns, one 454 Casull, one 416 Taylor, one 58 cal cap-lock Hawken and one 62 cal Flintlock. As I write this those are the ones I can remember off hand but I may have missed one or two also.

From my kills and a whole lot more that I have seen killed as a guide or just hunting with friends, I have come to appreciate a hole that goes clear through and exits, no matter the angle of the elk. What I have learned is that bullet construction becomes more important the faster a bullet is shot, and/or the smaller the bullet is in weight. Once you get to the 375H&H the problems with weird bullet paths and non-exits seemed to vanish completely.

While I do like large rifles, I am 100% convinced that anything from a 243 and up is a good for elk if they have "elk bullets" in them. I have personally seen 5 kills with 243s on elk and 2 were at over 400 yards, in which all 5 left exits. All were shot with Partitions and Barnes X bullets. One moose I saw killed with a Winchester Factory 100 grain 243 was heart shot and died within about 6 seconds. But when I helped my friend dress it out and cut it up for packing we found the bullet lost most of it's weight (38 grains was what we got back) and penetration was only about 14". Sure it killed the moose, but I would not recommend that bullet for such hunting. We used to kill cattle in the slaughter house with a 22 lr, but that doesn't mean a 22 LR would be good for hunting game up to 1600 pounds.

Anyway....like you I found the old Hornady's to be superbly accurate in my 1st barrel, and the RN was about 25% more accurate then the spire point. but both could keep all 4 shots inside a target about the size of a chicken egg at 200 yards without fail.
As I said in my earlier post, the 270- grain Spire Point, the 235 grain Speer and the 300 grain Sierra would all come apart to some degree, and the Sierra's shed their jackets most of the time. (In fact they did every time I used them) In a 270, 7MM or 30 cal the same degree of disintegration by percentage might have given me a problem, but with the 375 it's large and powerful enough that even the "bad bullets" work very well. For elk and anything smaller, I think it would be impossible to find a bullet that was not good enough in a 375H&H. Bad one are good. Good ones are outstanding.

I do not recommend the 375H&H as an elk gun for someone to go buy before they come out here to hunt elk. I tell them to use the rifle they have and shoot the best. The man is 98% of the equation. In hardware, look to bullets far more then you should look to rifles and "calibers".

But if they have a 375H&H already, and can shoot it well, they will never have a complaint about how well it will kill elk................or about any other N. American animal too. From rock-chucks and coyotes to moose and buffalo.

memtb,

I have quite few of the Hornady 270 grain, both SP and RN. I'm pretty well stocked with their 300 grain RN as well. Also have a bunch of Speer 235 grain and found a great deal on a lot of Barnes 350 grain RN. I also bought a bunch of 260 and 300 grain Accubond seconds to try. This is my second 375 H&H. My first was a Montana 99 they built for me back when they did the charter offer.

I've known two gentleman who used nothing but a 375 H&H for big game. One shoots nothing but the Sierra 300 grain and has killed 14 moose with that bullet. Prior to moving to Alaska many years ago he hunted mule deer and elk with the same bullet. The other fellow, long since passed, shot the Speer 235 grain bullet over four decades for everything the northwest had to offer; antelope, deer, elk, moose and black bear as well as a lot of jackrabbits and coyotes. I think both those bullets are somewhat overlooked and perhaps under utilized. I know the gentleman who used the 235 Speers thought they were a great bullet. We discussed it more than once over morning coffee where a local bunch of gun nuts used to meet daily. He thought it worked wonderfully on elk.

Mart - I've only used the 235 gr Speers for practice, but a buddy of mine used them on deer & elk and was very pleased. He called it a "train wreck" when describing the damage they did to the vitals on a mule deer or elk.

I've used only the 260 gr Nosler Accubond on game so far. Three black bear. Worked great.

Guy

szihn, I haven’t taken nearly the amount of game that you have, so comparatively speaking, I’m a novice! The .375 has been my only hunting caliber since 1982. Though, it didn’t draw blood until my moving to Wyoming. Hunting, without belonging to a hunting club, was very difficult where I lived previously!

Prior to moving to Wyoming I developed a load using the Sierra 300 SPBT. It was used during my first fall of hunting and the following spring for bear. Three shoots taken, three dismal failures. Yes, two animals were recovered. But, with broadside shots and no major bone hit.... I got no exit! Which, is what I consider a “bullet failure”.....when a 300 grain bullet fails to exit relatively small big game animals.

When talking to Bob Milek, he highly recommended the Hornady 270 grain SP. I tested the Hornady side by side with the Sierra 300, into a “test medium” @ approx 100 yards. The Sierra’s completely “disintegrated”, while the Hornady’s gave the results shown in magazine advertisements! Not only did I get superb groups with the Hornady, but I was very satisfied with the way it performed on game. Though, admittedly, my kills were limited in the H&H, as I started hunting with my AI, in spring of ‘90. My first elk, a spike bull taken in fall of ‘90, was shot at approximately 80 yards, broadside, behind the shoulder, hitting “only” a rib......failed to exit. The bullet was recovered beneath the offside hide! Again, the recovered bullet was “picture perfect”! But, in my opinion, it opened too quickly and shed too much weight to give reliable exit wounds! I assumed the additional velocity was a bit much for the Hornady.

The gunsmith that built my rifle, did some bullet tests/evaluations with Randy Brooks (Barnes Bullets) using a 6MM Rem. and the then “fairly new” X Bullet. When Jay ( my gunsmith) told me of their results, I tried the X Bullet. My next elk kill, was an end to end shot, breaking heavy bone, giving three hide penetrations.....the bullet was recovered beneath the hide, failing (thankfully) to make the 4th hide penetration. The recovered bullet, had one petal broken off. I had found “my” Holy Grail of hunting bullets. Since then, I’ve taken animals from Fox/coyote, Pronghorn, Elk, and Moose, and have no complaints. In fact, as Barnes technology advanced, my results are also improved.....especially accuracy and velocities!

The “only” reason I suggested that the Hornady 270 grain SP wasn’t a good long range bullet, was “solely” based upon it’s BC....thinking of shots exceeding 500 yards! memtb

Geez, and all I wanted to know was how your wife did with her 338wm on elk this year... Geesh...

Dang Scotty. How heavy is that 338 Alaskan of yours. Mine only weighs 7 pounds bare.. 8 scoped... I wouldn't want to shoot an 8 pound 375...

Oh come on now.. I was really starting to buy into that bs of a typical outfitter guide has concerning people shooting magnums.... Its a known fact that you just can't hit with a magnum rifle of any kind... Just can't happen... Unless its the size of a barn door, it can't be hit with a magnum.... They just aren't accurate. Only less than 1/2 of 1 percent of american macho men and your wife of course, can shoot a magnum properly... Trust me...

bsa1917hunter, We haven’t been yet. We’ve had family issues preventing us from going out. We thought that we’d get a deer of two, but never went. We’re just going for cows, and have until 12/21. So, no pressure......yet! memtb

My 338 is about 8.75 lbs BSA. With the 6x36 on top. The 375 is 9lbs flat with the 6x42 on it but it’s also got the mag fill Legend as well. Both feel super close really.

8-8.5 lbs with a 22-24" barrel is a good place to be for a general hunting rifle IMO. Light weight and short barrels are the enemy of accurate field accuracy IMO.

BWalker, It would be pretty hard to argue with that statement.....though some will! memtb

I liked 250 gr Swift A Frames, 270 Barnes XLC's and 270 TSX's. If I was going to use my 375 for elk today I would use the 250 grain TTSX.

I use the Barnes 270 grain TSX in my 375 Rugers for moose.
I would think the 260 Accubond would also work well. Though being a monolithic bullet user, I would try and have intentions of trying the Barnes 270 grain LRX.
I have 375 H&H and Ruger versions. I have used / use scopes in the 1.1-4x24, 1-6x24, 1.5-6x42, and 1.5-8x42. All of these have ample field of view for near in-my-face type encounters and enough magnification for my distances. I like the 42mm objectives for very low light. My distances are usually 200 yards maximum.
I prefer the straight tubed variables on my M70 375 H&H's. This allows me more scope adjustment for my eye relief with the rings and bases that I use. My son has a 1.5-6x42's on his 375 H&H.
Your sight in, trajectory / hold-over, and Wind Drift will be determined by your bullet ballistic coefficient and velocity.

Shoot and practice as much as possible a 100 and 400 yds and you won’t have many surprises in the field. Bench,sticks, and offhand Even dry firing helps a lot. Don’t know of a bad 375 bullet. Shot a big bull at 430 yds with 300 a frame. Don’t worry about the about the old 375 if you do your part. Practice, practice, practice builds muscle memory and confidence when that big bull is going over the hill. Ain’t rocket science. Happy Hunting

Then, there's the thread here on the Fire, advocating that the 7-08 with 150 NPT is all that's needed for elk. And, there are plenty of dead critter photos as evidence.

I've never killed an elk with a 7-08/150 NPT or a .375 H&H, although I have both. I CAN tell you what a 180 NPT out of a 300 mag will do... Like put meat in the freezer...

Probably more than one way to skin a cat.... Or kill an elk...

DF

The .375 is a completely inadequate Elk cartridge. You should get something much larger like a 6.5 Creed.