Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Lifting the 375 H&H up a Level

Recently read THE PERFECT SHOT by Kevin Robertson and then the latest Sports Afield just arrived contained an article by him, "Practical Ballistics for Buffalo.

In both of these he writes about using 350 to 380-gr (the latter by Rhino Bullets - Kobus van der westhoizen, East London, RSA) premiums. In testing the Rhino bullets in the 375 he stated that, "the 380-grain Rino is rapidly gaining a reputation for producing one-shot kills on big buffalo."

Because Momentum, not kinetic energy (which is tied to velocity) is important here, the 375 with a 350 Woodleigh or 380 Rhino at 2300 to 2200fps respectively results in outstanding penetration and terminal performance with Momentum (lbs-fps)of the 380-gr equaling the 300-gr in the 375 RUM and coming very close to that of the 378 Wby without the recoil, muzzle blast, and chance of erratic bullet performance due to high velocity.

So, those of you who are anticipating a buff hunt in the near future with the 'ol Six Bits might consider these heavy premiums.

FWIW.

Gdv

Yeah, Kevin has been beating the heavier and slower drum for the .375 H&H for some years. Having used the 300 gr premium bullets on buff, I don't know that you need to go up in weight with a premium design (the SD of a 300 gr .375 bullet is already over .300). If you have to get heavier with a premium bullet, that is against conventional practice with premiums.

I don't think the Woodleigh or the Rhino is necessary, but they are sufficient. You still need to put the first one in the right place. I am more inclined to use the 270 gr FailSafe.

jim

Yea, the new Norma PH series of ammo with his input follows the same concept of heavy-for-cal slugs at the same or reduced pressures and velocity. I.e., the 458 Lott utilizes a 550-gr bullet IIRC at about 2150 fps.

Well, after seeing buff in the triple digits taken he has the experience (along with others) as well as Vet training to analyze wounds on which to hold some well-based opinions.

I have 350gr solid Woodleighs on the way as we speak, errr, type. I'm gonna give them a try as well as the RN softs as soon as they're available. Seems Midway and Huntington's are the only stockers in the US and they're both out of all the softs and only Huntington's had the solids. I've also ordered the Lee reloading book volume 2 that is supposed to have 350gr. load data. That combined with the information over on the big-bore forum should give me some good starting loads. If these will shoot for me, I'll be taking them for buff as soon as possible.

David

I've been toying with the idea of the 375 H&H with 350 gr. Woodleigh softs & solids for quite some time, and I may well try that approach on a future safari.

But really, all things considered, in my opinion the best way of "lifting the 375 up a level" is to trade your Three-Six-Bits in on a 416.......

AD

Yea, that'll work too....

What about the need for a higher twist, in general, for slower and longer bullets. Will the conventional .375 twist stabilize a .380?

Indy-

This is not a subject I've explored personally at all but in the book referenced Robertson didn't mention that as a factor at all. One would assume stabilization would necessarily go hand-in-hand with good penetration and terminal performance though. However, a 350-gr Woodleigh and even the 380-gr Rhino might not be much longer than a 300-gr TSX which I've not heard has stabilization problems in normal twist-rate 375s.

Sorry I can't be more definitive.

Gdv

isn't the standart twist 1:12 on an H&H ??
I know it's 1:14 on a 416 Rem and Ruger uses that on the Rigby.
The SAAMI spec on a 416 Rigby is 1:16.

If 400 gr will stabilize at 1:16 in a rigby (CZ uses this twist) then I can't see any problems with 300-400 gr out of a 1:12 or 1:14.

This may or may not have any bearing on this thread, but a few weeks ago I saw a 300-grain Trophy Bonded from a Federal factory load .375 H&H deflect off the shoulder of a buffalo. The bull was just about perfectly broadside, and the bullet hit the shoulder about 1/4 of the way up. It should have been a 1-shot kill, but the bullet evidently tumbled, and instead of plowing on through the heart, it made a big curve through the near lung, ending at the rear of the ribs ON THE SAME SIDE as it went in. It was perfectly expanded.

Would a 380-grain Rhino have done the same thing? Don't know, but it seems less likely.

To a certain extent I agree with Allen--whynot just go to a .416?--but many people prefer the .375, partly because it is more versatile (or at least perceived to be so). A heavy-bullet buffalo load makes it more versatile.

JB

I love the 375 H&H, and I think that everyone should own at least one of them. But I also see it as something of an icon that's either quite fish nor foul.

If you're going to have just one rifle for African hunting, the 375 H&H makes a lot of sense, and is just about the perfect candidate. But if buffalo, lion, and plainsgame are on the menu, I'd rather take a two-rifle battery that includes a bigger cartridge, especially a 416, plus a "regular" all-around caliber such as the 30-06, 300 Winchester, or 338 Win. Mag.

The 416s just simply whack stuff harder than the 375 does, and with a 416 Rigby or 416 Remington, you're in good shape for 200 yard shots, if need be, and you're much better equipped for 25-100 yd. shots on buffalo and lions.

Mostly, I leave the 375 at home these days.........

AD

MD, was that an "old" TBBC or a "new" TBBC ?? Do you think it mushroomed too early?? I've recoverd a few of these in smaller calibers and was not happy with the huge size of the mushroom. I'm leary of trying even the old ones (I don't have any) in my 375 or 416.

Don't know what you mean by "mushroom too early." High-speed filming has shown that almost all expanding bullets start to expand as soon as they hit an animal (that is, if they're going to expand at all). About the only exception is the Berger VLD.

It was a new TBBC, from fresh factory ammo. These have been about at least 10 years now.

I have generally found the new TBBC's to open less widely than the old ones, and to a flatter frontal area, which helps them kill quicker. The old ones use to exoand very widely, but also tend to ball up.

This one did not open super-widely, certainly not as much as a Swift or Woodleigh would have.

JB

my thoughts were mostly along the lines of "open too easily" for a premium bullet and thus limit penetration. Sounds like this has not been your experience.

By "new" I meant the guilding metal jacket that several PHs have seen issues with. This also does not seem to be your experience ?

Your old "Six Bits" must be a double barrel I guess.

I have not much use for a sixbits .75 cal with a 380 gr bullet - that's smaller than a roundball...

Brent

I'm currently pondering the usefulness of the 375H&H set up with the 350 gr. Woodleigh @ 2300+ using a 1.5x5 in QR Talleys, and the 260/270 gr. Partition/AFrame @ 2700+ using a 2.5x8 also in QR Talleys.

If you're going to have just one rifle, that approach just might be the ticket...

Although I have not checked them head to head against one another in a lab, I rather doubt that anything is going to beat the terminal performance of the 300 grain TSX bullet out of the 375HH.

I happen to know a guy who has killed about a 100 buffalo with them now and he's still shooting them at the rate of 5-10 per year. That is the resolution that means something to me. Especially when you consider how easy they are to find and load for. Some of these more unusual or odd bullets may be a problem from time to time to get your hands on.

shooting at dangerous game at 200 yards is NOT hunting.

I would think that the 300 gr. TSX would get just about all of the penetration and killing power possible out of the 375 H&H.

I've not yet met the PH who wasn't big on the Barnes X or TSX on buffalo, plus other stuff.

The now sadly obsolete Winchester Fail-Safe was incredibly good as well, and even the 270 gr. Fail-Safe in the 375 H&H penetrated on and on, and it didn't seem as though anything could stop it..........

AD

What are the thoughts on using the 270 grain TSX instead of the 300 for buffalo as suggested by Randy Brooks?