Stupid thing won't let me post more than a couple pictures per post. Don't have time to fix it now. Will repost later.

Well, dangit...get with the program. We want to see!

Damn, I was looking forward to this.... At least tell us what bullets you were testing.... Photos can come later...

tag for later view

Yep, tag. I was looking for some reading

Yeah hurry up...GRINS...ScottyO.

looking forward to it

Ok, here's a preview.

You're such a tease...

Ok, here's the moment you have all been waiting for.

The line up, as previously revealed:



- The impact velocity was made to duplicate .375 Ruger and .375 H&H loads at 100 yds.
- Expansion was measured at the widest part of the bullet. Take a look at the pictures when comparing the expansion of different bullets, sometime a sliver of lead or copper at an odd angle can give deceptive results.
- Test rifle: Ruger Alaskan .375 Ruger
- Test media: Wet newspaper....lots of wet newspaper!!
- Disclaimer: I know wet newspaper does not give identical result to flesh and bones, blah, blah, blah....

Speer 235gr HC
Average Penetration (inches): 15
Average Weight Retained (grain): 200.5
Average Weight Retained (%): 85.3
Average Expansion (inches): 0.764
Note: Impressed with this little cup and core bullet. Great penetration and retained weight. No sign of the core slipping.

CEB 235gr Raptor
Average Penetration (inches): 23.8
Average Weight Retained (grain): 182.4
Average Weight Retained (%): 77.6
Average Expansion (inches): 0.409
Note: Crazy penetration for a 235gr bullet. The petals did shear off in a "star" pattern and really shredded the paper for the first few inches then the shank continued for super deep straight penetration.



Barnes 250gr TTSX
Average Penetration (inches): 18.3
Average Weight Retained (grain): 246.1
Average Weight Retained (%): 98.4
Average Expansion (inches): 0.738
Note: Typical TTSX performance.

Hornady 250gr GMX
Average Penetration (inches): 19.5
Average Weight Retained (grain): 247.4
Average Weight Retained (%): 98.9
Average Expansion (inches): 0.753
Note: If this was a beauty contest, the GMX would win for sure. Very impressed with this bullet. I was surprised that it expanded deeper in its hollow point than the TTSX since the TTSX is supposed to expand to lower velocity. I haven't shot any game animal with anything by Barnes bullets in over 10 years but I might have to try the GMX next year!



Nosler 260gr Partition
Average Penetration (inches): 17.83
Average Weight Retained (grain): 207.3
Average Weight Retained (%): 79.7
Average Expansion (inches): 0.690
Note: Typical Partition performance. The top lead portions are just sitting on top of those bullets, they are no longer attached.

Well I hate to be the one...but 'newspaper' will do that.


AT the same time I DO appreciate your time, effort, and diligence for this project.

Thanks A Lot

Jerry

Nosler 260gr Accubond
Average Penetration (inches): 16.7
Average Weight Retained (grain): 204
Average Weight Retained (%): 78.5
Average Expansion (inches): 0.742
Note: Pretty much mirrors the performance of the Partition in a sleeker package.



Hornady 270gr Interlock
Average Penetration (inches): 18
Average Weight Retained (grain): 228.7
Average Weight Retained (%): 84.7
Average Expansion (inches): 0.90
Note: Very impressed with this plain vanilla cup and core. If you compare it to the Partition, it penetrated deeper, retained more weight and expanded wider! No sign of the core slipping.

Swift 270gr A-Frame
Average Penetration (inches): 18
Average Weight Retained (grain): 266.2
Average Weight Retained (%): 98.6
Average Expansion (inches): 0.71
Note: Probably the most consistent performer of all. Each bullet look identical, weigh the same, etc... One slipped out of the stack.



Matrix 270gr Bonded
Average Penetration (inches): 16
Average Weight Retained (grain): 189.6
Average Weight Retained (%): 70.2
Average Expansion (inches): 0.8
Note: One of the bullets lost its jacket.




Barnes 270gr TSX
Average Penetration (inches): 19
Average Weight Retained (grain): 269.15
Average Weight Retained (%): 99.7
Average Expansion (inches): 0.71
Note: 100% weight retention. One slipped out of the stack.

Thanks for all your work. I enjoy seeing all the test results. I personally shoot old stock Hornady 270 gr out of my Ruger Alaskan 375, they work great on everything from whitetails to elk.

CEB 270gr Safari
Average Penetration (inches): 23.2
Average Weight Retained (grain): 197
Average Weight Retained (%): 73
Average Expansion (inches): 0.418
Note: Similar in performance to the 235gr Raptor despite weighing 35gr more and a very different profile.



Hornady 300gr Interlock RN
Average Penetration (inches): 17
Average Weight Retained (grain): 167
Average Weight Retained (%): 55.7
Average Expansion (inches): 0.581
Note: Factory ammo, not loaded down. Was running out of fresh newspaper and this is the only one I was able to recover. Disappointing performance for a 300gr bullet compared to the other lighter cup and core tested.

Very cool test. Thanks for putting in the effort. I like to test any bullet before I use it hunting. You can learn some very cool things. There no perfect media to test bullets in but as long as the media is consistent from test to test the results the results are informative and useful.

Thanks again. GRF

I really don't intend nor want to be the contrarian but..

I/we have been told numerous times that the R N bullets are designed for faster and wider expansion...so IMO it performed as designed.

Thanks Again

Jerry

Wow...very interesting. Thanks for doing that for us.

I like the looks of the Hornady GMX, even though I have lots of 260gr. Nosler partitions loaded up. I might just have to give those GMX pills a try too... Thanks for posting your results.

Good test!

I like the 260gr partition thats what i shoot in mine

The 260gr accubonds shoot good in my xcr. I'm glad to see they are on par performance wise as the partition. I've had less than stellar results with 200gr 8mm accubonds vs partitions, so I've been leery. Piqued my interest in the GMX too. Thanks for the effort!

Pretty much all of the bullets performed well. I like the 235 gr Speer in particular, wish I would have shot a black bear with them before my 375 Ruger went down the road. I really liked the 260 gr Accubond on both grizzly and black bear. The 250 gr GMX does look very good and looks like a top choice.

Thanks for posting your results. As for only shooting Barnes for the last 10 years, variety is the spice of life they say your test shows lots of great bullets to choose from.

Great report; thanks for lugging all that wet newsprint around! I've wanted to load up the 250 grain Barnes TTSX and GMXs for a while now. Would you mind sharing your load for those two? Just curious what is working for you.

Thanks again.

BCSteve,

Thanks for all the work and posting. This info will be fun for years.

My hunting load in my .375 Ruger is 83.5hr of H4350 behind a 250gr TTSX. Shot my last two moose with that load without any complaints. That being said, if I see a couple boxes of 250gr GMX a the local gun store, they are coming home with me.

The loads used in the test were just starting loads of whatever suitable powder I had.

Thank you for all the work.

I was planning on using the 250gr GMX in my new 375 H&H for an upcoming African PG hunt. If I cannot get those to work, the 250gr TTSX will be up next.

This test just helps confirm my choice.

Sure looks like lots of great 375 bullets around today. Excellent thread and thanks to Steve for sharing all this. Nice!

Here's a couple more pics and thoughts...



300 Partition. 375 H&H, 50 yards to so, moose shoulders, large bull; including some of the scapula



235 TSX. 375-350 Rem Mag, left, 150 yards medium bull moose shoulders, no bone. right, 50 yards, water jugs



235 Speer Hot-Cors into a dirt bank rather heavy on pea gravel. 375 H&H. These little dudes rather surprised me with their integrity.

I've seen the Interlocked RN bullets used on and stopped by seals. They're lethal, for sure, but I'd not want to use them for heavy bone encounters.

The 250 GMX seconds I got from Midway did not fare well at all in the testing I did on them. Their expansion was very minimal. I was going to get rid of them, but then realized that they are probably great for a whale hunting bullet where the bullet sometimes encounter water before it hits hide. They make good barter material for one of my friends who does a lot of favors for me - and he's a big-time whale hunter.

What was the impact velocity of the 250 GMX....more or less?

Thanks. As you said, it's not meat or bone but it does allow comparison between bullets.

Hey Bob, it would be interesting to see how the old 275gr. BBC (Bitteroots) did against these newer bullets..

jwall already very briefly mentioned one problem with this test, but without a pertinent detail about newspaper tests. Wet newspaper is very kind to bullets, which is why so many bullet companies used it for years, especially if they wanted a nicely mushroomed bullet to pose for a photo.

Dry newspaper, on the other hand, is hard on bullets, more like hitting heavy bone. I've tested most of the same bullets used in this test (though not all were .375's) in dry newspaper. Most "premioums" performed very much the same as they did in this test, but the non-premiums did not.

Put a cow knuckle after for inches of wet paper follower by more wet paper. Does bad things to bullets....

Probably somewhere between 2500-2600fps.

That was covered in my disclaimer in the first post: "Disclaimer: I know wet newspaper does not give identical result to flesh and bones, blah, blah, blah...."

Thank you sir!

http://forum.nosler.com/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=28342

bsa: It would. I suspect they will hold their own.But I don't worry much about it because I've already "tested" the 250 gr- 375 BBC on brown bear,which beats most tests we can do.

I'll see if I can dig it up and text a picture to you. I think you will like it.I only found one. The other two made pretty big holes in the bear on the way out.

An acquaintance of mine has used the 275 BBC from the 375 on about a dozen coastal and interior grizzlies. he gives the same reports.

Another old acquaintance from out west, now deceased,used the 250 BBC from the 375 AI on half a dozen Cape buffalo in Africa.

The BBC is pretty well proven. On animals. Steigers made sure they were thoroughly tested.

I would expect a BBC to do about the same as a Swift Aframe or Northfork.

Thanks Bob. I wish they were easier to find though....

Nice work, thanks for sharing your test results.

JD338

bsa: They don't make them any more.

But Northforks and Aframes are similar.

You have been texted.

BobinNH,have you tried the Northforks in .375?

Hey guys, here's one that BobinNH found on the offside hide (after passing through both shoulders) of a brown bear he shot:



250gr. BBC (Bitterroot Bullet Co.) Looks pretty damn good to me..

Ken: No. I have not. I have a very long supply of BBC's in various calibers and weights,so never bothered. Just never got around to them since there wasn't much point.

Friends have. They did not have BBC's. Excellent results. During a phone conversation with him, Mike Brady told me he admired the BBC and tried to duplicate their performance with the NF. He said as much in an article he wrote for Safari Magazine as I recall.

Yup.

bsa: That bullet broke both shoulders,and was found against the off side hide.Expanded diameter is about 3/4". 243 gr retained weight.

Two others blew through. One through the shoulders and the other through the lungs and ribs,leaving large exits.

Almost forgot...distance about 150 yards; MV of 2940 fps .

Thanks Bob. I know this helps me out, since I have some of them. Now I just need to find a big brown bear or moose...

Awesome Bullet test. That's a lot of work. Thank you for taking the time to do it.

Those 375's do have some awesome frontal area on them.

That's for sure.

Happy Birthday Hammerdown.

thanks

Ok,thanks BobinNH.

Missed this last night.

Good work, Steve.

I'm reminded of why I shoot the 270 Interlock out of my Ruger Magnum in 375 H&H. It's just tough to beat for the money and performance. Swift A-frames are also very accurate out of my rifle, but It's hard not to like the Hornady.

Thanks Steve. I was looking for a new bullet for the Ruger, and it looks like the 270gr Interlock performs pretty well for less money than the others. I will be looking for some. Was hoping to see the 250gr Sierra in there as I have heard good things about it, but I understand you can't test them all.

Very true, and no offense, really. But now try the test with dry print and you'll see very different and more realistic true to life results.

Nice work. I'll be using the 270 TSX.

I have sent a bunch through Kodiak bears and have never caught one, even when shot end for end...

In April I will be trying the same.

Which unit, guide?

Several 24hour folks have tags for the same time...

Great report, Steve. You didn't test it, but I had excellent results with the Swift A-Frame on Cape buffalo, kudu, etc. Here is the bullet the skinners recovered from my buff, penetrated near-side shoulder (shattered it), transected the top of the heart, and came to rest under the skin on the far side. Total penetration approx. 30", retained weight 292 gr.

Lovely.

BCSteve,
Thanks for all the excellent pictures, data and thoughtful work on this comparison.

One of the very best comparisons I've seen.

Happy New Year!

Couldn't have said it better. Those Swift's are pretty awesome bullets as well.

I'm thinking one of these three is going to be my bullet for my upcoming black bear hunt.

What he said

Looks to me like there is no "bad" choice in anything tested.

Cool test Steve!

260 gr Nosler Accubond, recovered from black bear:


Bullet was hanging in the off-side hide, after penetrating much of the bear, which was shot at about 15 feet or so.

I've got that bullet around here somewhere. If I find it again, I'll weigh and measure it. Third black bear I've shot with the 260 Accubond, first bullet I've recovered.

MV runs 2620 fps with that load.

Regards, Guy

Funny Mssgn said this. A brown bear guide I hunted with in Alaska told me he doesn't worry too much about bullets when a client shows up with a 375 H&H because so many of the bullets perform uniformly well.

thank you for this review
I might have to try that little 235 gr that was first on the list.

I've got a few of those Speer 235's, and when I tested them I too was impressed.

A buddy has used them considerably on elk & mule deer with great success.

Guy

Great report, Steve. Those CEBs are really "cutting edge", too bad they're so fugly! I took particular note of the Interlocks and it looks like the 270's "interlock" sits a lot higher, hence the greater retention. I used A Frames (300s) in my 375 and H&H on buffalo, but I'm a TTSX user now and that's what I use exclusively in almost every caliber.

That is super impressive