Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only 375 H&H reduced recoil loads?

I want to take my 375 H&H deer hunting this fall, and would appreciate anyone who has reduced recoil reloading recipes they want to share with me, especially using 200gr to 250gr bullets.

Yeah, I reduced my 250 gr Sierra's to right at 2850fps....LOL

no problem...bang, flop

The lighter bullets give me markedly less felt recoil even without slowing them down.

jim

OK, thanks Jim. (Oh and uh, you too tightloop.)

I'm not especially recoil sensitive, just looking for some easy-shooting loads...........

Mark

For a reduced load, I loaded Speer 235gr bullets over 35 grains of H4227. I never chrono'ed the load, but they shot well and hit the same point of impact (at 100 yards) as my 300gr loads. Recoil is very light, compared to the full-bore 300grain loads. I think that would be a decent short-range (150 yards or less) deer load.

I used 41grs of AA5744 behind Hornadys 220fp and it hardly kicks at all. Didnt chronograph it but it shot ok. Will probably try the 225SP next with enough to get 2400fps or so. Then again the 300gr RN with 78grs of IMR4350 should get the job done too. Loaded up to 2400fps the 225 should be fine ou to 200 yards.

With 48/H4895, the 255 Barnes original does 2031 f/s and is very accurate.
Same charge with the 220 Horn FP does 1995.

Either one is essentially a 38-55 on steroids and would handle any deer nicely at shorter ranges.
I'm about to try the 235 Woodleigh, which would be a better for longer (200+) ranges.

SOS

I have used basically the same charge of IMR4227 as DaninAlaska uses with 235 Speers, but with the Hornady 220-grain flat-point. It basically duplicates a hot .38-55 or the .375 Winchester Big Bore, at around 2000-2100 fps. It generally hits about where full-power 300's hit (you can tweak the load a little to make it work) and not only is a good deer load, but works great on varmints as well.

JB

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I really appreciate the help, and will put it to use.

Mark

I load the Hornady 225 grain spire point under 70 grains of H4895 in Remington brass with CCI 250 primers for a deer, black bear and hog load. Works great. Could go as low as 64 grains and work up to 70 looking for a good shooter.

Sounds like putting half water in your Crown Royal to me.

Wayne

Mark, If you put together a spreadsheet for this info, please share as I'll be working the same thing up in a few weeks. Mine's at CAS getting gun metal grey, floated and bedded. Greg

I just returned from the range today where I was trying some loads to try and achieve what the original poster was looking for. I had some 235 gr. Speers loaded with 73-75 gr. of RL-15. I do think that the recoil was reduced, but the accuracy was nothing to write home about. The best was 73 gr at just over 1 1/2 inches. This rifle shoots the 300 gr. Federal Partition factory load under 1 inch at 100 yds. This was my first go around with handloads for it. I guess I will keep looking for a better load. I have a bunch of Hornady 300 gr. roundnose that came with the rifle and one box of Sierra 300 gr. boattails.

vacrt2002,

I will do some serious load developement in the next 30 days and post my results.

My 375 H&H deer load is a 350g Woodleigh PP at 2400 fps ... imagine it will work fine on elk too



Chuck

I'm using in my 375X284 a 265 LEAD Gascheck Bullet for Plinking. Try the H870. A VERY slow burning powder.

My Full load is with a 300Grain Win Silvertip!! (When Win stopt selling bullets I went to all the shops and bought all the 300Gr Silvertip they had. Even when I went into different towns, was I looking for Gunshops) The 300 Silvertip has two canelures and I use the bottom one, since the bullet goes flush with the neck and I gain some more room for powder. The chamber has a long throat and the bullet is just touching the lands.

Depending on use, a really short range load could be made with a Hornady 220 grain Flat Point using 42.0 grains of SR4759 for about 2300 fps. A 235 graain Speer soft point using IMR 3031, 63.0 to 67.0 grains, should give 2478 fps to 2702 fps, according to the Speer 13 manual. I've loaded 64.0 grains of Varget at 2600 fps in the 376 Steyr and my normally recoil intolerant cousin, he has a .338 Win Mag but doesn't use it for "small game" like deer, pronounces this load to be an acceptable elk load in a 9 pound rifle. The earlier RL 15 loads should be a one gun- one load option at 2900 fps for deer and elk. A light, fast 250 grain or less Barnes X bullet might be another light recoiling load option. I have a close-out batch of these from their web page and plan on reloading for the .375 H&H with them.

When I had a 375H&H (actually two of them) both used but two loads. A full-powered 300gr RN sighted 2" high at 100m was for hunting. Second load was a 220gr Taipan infront of 39gr AR2205 (sold as Hodgdon H4227 in the USA) for practice and plinking. The reduced load was spot on at 100m. A very handy combination and it gave the young teenagers at the range a buzz knowing they'd fired a 375H&H.
Cheers...
Con

You probably already know this, but I suggest you use magnum primers with reduced loads suggested here. My first try I used 225 gr Hornady SP/ about 36 grs H4227 and standard primers and got several hangfires. They make me really nervous so I stopped shooting them and dismantled the rest. Went to magnum primers and the problem went away.

My very favorite reduced load in .375 H&H is 38.7 grs SR4759 under a 200 gr Sierra FP for 2300 fps. That's all you need for a deer load in this caliber. Very accurate too.

Good shooting!

Resurrecting this one because no one is coming up with anything on Big Game Reloading for my query.

Anyone else have some reduced/mild data for the 200 gr. FP?