Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa 375 solid bullet recommendations

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading the thread below about Buffalo bullets. I’m contemplating a Cape Buffalo hunt and want to be prepared. I’ll be shooting my Whitworth 375 H&H. Left to my own choices, I would exclusively shoot 270 grain Barnes TSXs. These have taken Kudu, Nyala, and Black Wildebeest in Africa, and a Caribou in ANWR (rifle carried because of grizzlies). And in the thread on Buffalo bullets, there are very good arguments in favor of the 270 TSX.

But there is a real possibility that the PH will want me to step up to 300 grain bullets and may want solids for follow up. I’ve got a good supply of 300 grain TSXs but only 20 Swift A-Frames. In the past I’ve worked up loads for these that shoot well. I have no solid bullets, and it is clear that many are difficult or impossible to find.

I’d appreciate recommendations for solids so I can start looking to see what is available. The hunt is not imminent, but who knows when or if supplies will return to normal? And I don’t want to be doing load development at the last minute if the PH insists on solids.

Al: I was able to get the 300 grain Woodleigh Hyrdo-stabilized solid to print 1/2” higher than my 300 grain TSX load and 1” lower than my 270 grain LRX load at 100 yards

I used the 270 grain LRX and the 300 grain WHS this September on Buffalo in Namibia with Kowas Safaris there is a picture of a recovered LRX in one of the 4 posts about the trip.

I shoot 300 grn Nosler Partitions for my softs and 299 grn RWS solids. They both hit with in an inch of each other at 100yds out of my .375. I've used them on 3 Cape Buffalo. I liked the combination.

Woodleigh Solids

The Cutting Edge and Northfork solids are both bore riders, which does a lot to simplify loading and keep pressures down. I think you can backorder Cutting Edge and get them "somewhat" soon.

Just an FYI, if/when you get some solids make some "dummy" rounds to make sure they feed into the chamber with no problems. Some of the solids are not round-nosed like the old Hornady or the current Woodleigh. They have a truncated nose like the Trophy Bonded Sledge Hammer and they may need a bit of gunsmithing for them to work flawlessly. Best time to figure that out is long before (if) you go to Africa.

This is what I am talking about with the different nose designs....
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1019827374?pid=493714

Woodleigh RN
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1010852176?pid=523083

.416, not .375, but a lot of DG bullet info. https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/15839685/6

Swift makes a Breakaway solid, designed for the tip to blow off, leaving an open nose like the Hydro-stabilized, which sometimes don't feed so slick.

These feed slick and after contact, have the big open profile, sorta best of both worlds. The Breakaway cost around $7 a pop (when you can find them). And they aren't quite as accurate as 400 gr. NPT and SAF softs, but are still sub "minute of a buff". By the time you're down to solids, MOA isn't your primary concern.

Picture of 400 gr. .416 SAF, NPT and Swift Breakaway Solid.

DF

I’m leaving in a few days for a western Tanzania hunt with Alan Vincent on his Mlele concession, which includes 3 buffalo bulls on license. I’m shooting a .416 Hoffman, so not .375 but the principle is the same.

For solids, I’m using 400 grain Cutting Edge. I’ve found then to group within an inch of my other Bullets. I also got Trophy Bonded sledgehammer solids (which I’ve shot before with good results) and Swift Breakaway solids to try. In load testing, the Cutting Edge solids shot well enough that I didn’t shoot either of the other two, but will get around to trying them after I return home. My old .416 load was 2,510 FPS and new load is 2,350. It groups better and is noticeably easier on my surgically repaired shoulder.

On this trip, I’ll be using 3 different Bullets, with the others being Cutting Edge Raptors and Trophy Bonded Bearclaws. I’ve shot buffalo with Bearclaws before and they are great. Haven’t yet tried the Raptors but hear great things about them and my PH is also keen to see how they perform, so we will shoot at least one buffalo with them. Alan wants me to have a Bearclaw for the first shot, to avoid a pass through. Fortunately, both Bullets shoot under an inch in my rifle and group together, so it’ll work easily.

For those of you who get on AR, this is the same hunt as Saeed is posting about right now, though mine will be 16 days, while he’s hunting 21 days. They’ve shot a pile of buffalo so far, over a dozen among the group, in first two weeks. Lots of very old bulls, he tells me.

Sounds great.

Reports and pictures, of course.

Breakaway accuracy was ok, just not as good as the NPT which was slightly better than the SAF. I was using Bill Hober data. It took 77 gr 4064 for the solids to have same POI as the softs at 75 gr. I called Swift and he answered the phone, which was impressive. The interest and time he spent with me, even more impressive. Google Swift and Bill Hober to understand what I’m saying.

DF

Al
I would use the 270 TSX. Tell your PH whatever he wants to hear. PH’s are not rifle nuts, usually, and are creatures of habit. If he wants a Swift say “that’s right” and do what you want. If he wants 350’s or 300’s just agree.
On buffalo I would never load backup solids. That idea is a holdover from the old days when expanding bullets routinely failed.

I promise you that you will have thought about it more than he has.

The most important thing is to be patient and place the first shot perfectly. Don’t rush into a poor shot.

Solids are for elephants and hippos.

I used the 300 Swift A-Frame and 300 gr A- Square Monolithic solids in my Whitworth. I dunno if A- Squares Are still available...Your choice of a 270 TSX is a good all arounder in my opinion.

The 270 TSX in the .375 H&H has a well deserved following.

I’ve noticed that some ares in Africa, PH’s like that bullet. Other areas seem more in the old school mold of softs followed by solids.

And it’s been said, PH’s are generally great hunters, not all of them are gun people. Old habits die hard.

DF

Ingwe, A-Square solids are no longer available.

Figured as much....

Gents, Many thanks for all of these responses! You’ve given good information and a lot for me to think about.

Feeding is an important concern because the Whitworths were built on a standard length commercial FN action rather than a magnum action. I don’t know, but that might make this rifle more susceptible to feeding issues if the bullets are at all problematic. An older version of a solid that feeds smoothly will do a lot more good than the latest technology that won’t.

My rifle is very accurate with 270 and 300 grain TSXs and 300 grain Swift A-Frames.

I’m sure African PHs have differing opinions like most of us. I’ve read Kevin Robertson’s book, “Africa’s Most Dangerous,” and he is adamant about solids in the magazine. But that book was copyrighted in 2007, and there’s been a lot of development and experience since then.

I still prefer using the 270 grain TSX. In 2015 I shot a Kudu with my load at what the PH said was 218 meters, so almost 240 yards. The bull was severely quartering. The bullet went in behind the left ribs, tore up the right lung, broke the right shoulder, and was found right under the skin. It was a perfect mushroom and weighted 269.5 grains when I got it home.

I’ve looked around and find the Woodleigh Hydroshocks, Cutting Edge solids, and Swift Breakaways are available in different places. I’m tempted to order the cutting edge bullets to have something on my shelf that would likely feed well. But the technology of the others is very tempting too. But I hate to spend a fortune on bullets I hope to avoid using. We’re all different personalities. If my PH insists on solids, I’ll humor him.

How about Norma 350g Woodleigh and Norma 300g Oryx for everything else and buffalo in a pinch

I was going to recommend the Barnes Banded Solids, but a little research shows they were banned by the ATF. I need to see if I still have any- things are probably worth a small fortune now.

+1000..

Nothing much left to add to that.

Hornady DGS in 300 gr. Solids are available at Powder Valley. The matching Bonded Core are out of stock at the moment.

Phil