Met Jim for dinner last night, as he was in town for a meeting. We enjoyed a good evening. All yof ou that have hunted with him know he's a good story teller and a stand up guy! Always good to rendezvous with Campfire Buddies.

Did he say how he ever got involved with Safariman and the infamous ass shot bear?

Never thought of him as anything less than a stand-up guy so his involvement in the Safariman incident left a ?.

Didn't come up in conversation

Mark called me after having shot a bear. Asked if I could track it for him because he had lost the track and was not having much luck finding it.

I found evidence of the hit, tracked it for an hour or an hour and a half maybe. Then found good evidence and had to climb down under thick black berries to follow the track. After maybe 20 yards on hands and knees I see the bear and it's turning to come at me. As it was so thick I struggled to get the gun in a position to fire my sleeves and shoulders were stuck on the thorns.

At about 15 feet or so the bear was coming down the side of the embankment an started to roll a bit as it's hip was broken. I shot it from 10-12 feet with the .44 mag revolver. As it rolled I shot again because of how close it was and how difficult it would be for me to retreat backwards.

That was it, he let out a dying gasp and it was over. However the bush was impossible thick. I could not easily stand up anyplace. We cleared some brush chopping it away and winched the bear several hundred yards up the cliff to the road. The land owner had some crazy long winch cable mounted on a spool in the bed of his pickup.

That's about all I can share with you. Although about a month later I had another guy in Oregon call me to find his bear which was much less adventurous and more open habitat.

Dang!

Next time he's in town, give me a holler.

Jim,

You're a class act. Hope to meet you one day.

Jim,

Used your recommended 168 TTSX in my 30-06 in Namibia. Performance was flawless.

What do you recommend in a .375 for both plains game and buffalo?

Thank you!

Not Jim, but I tried his recommended load in my 375 H&H and it works great. Max load of RL-15 behind a 270 Gr. Barnes TSX. Shoots tiny little groups for me and will work on anything from a Duiker to a Cape Buffalo. It's my do everything load for Africa.

Yep. beat me to it Tom, I think it ends up around 75 grains but figure out what you and your rifle are happy with specifically.

That 270 is a magical projectile in the 375HH. Lets think back to the original 375 loads for both speed and weight 2400-2500 was typical at 300 grains with a bullet that was not always stable and often crumbled. Even the FMJ bullets we often failing.

The 270 TSX does not go to pieces, might lose petals but the mass will continue to drive through, and drive through straight. With the brilliant reputation the 375HH had, now imagine what it does with this load. Think back as well to the original 375 Weatherby magnum, not the current Weatherby but the original. That rifle was an overwhelming popular and supremely lethal gun on African game. However the bullet was still the weak link.

Now with a 270 grain TSX you can transform your standard 375HH into something even better then the original Weatherby version. It will shoot a 270 TSX at 2800 or a bit more. Using a bullet that will handle impacts at that speed flawlessly.

The 270 TSX in the 375 is the perfect match to this cartridge. One thought that we collectively need to get though, be aware that all rifles are different. Make sure your cases come out easy and cycle flawlessly. Don't risk 2850 to struggle with feed, extract issues. 2775fps will function just as well on soft tissue! Cycle every round through your gun before you take them into the bush.

My rifle shoots 2850 very nicely, however I eventually settled on 2800 for safe and reliable function in my model 70. When nearing the maximum levels small amounts of powder get you to trouble quick!

Jim, what powder do you use with that bullet?

Thanks very much!!! Look forward to trying it out next summer!

RL-15 I think? I hate to say that now I'm second guessing myself. No I'm pretty sure it was RL-15,

Tom and Jorge correct me if I'm mistaken.

Jim's memory is still good. It's RL-15.

74gr RL-15 F-210 primers WW brass 270 TSX...

My load as well, though with 215's.

Ed: A Federal engineer once told me to try 210s (or any non-magnum) if the charge did not exceed 79gr of powder. I have to tell you it worked wonders in the 375 and 338 accuracy-wise.

I can second this but used H4350 and at a little slower velocity--~ 2700 fps. It was unbelievably-to-me accurate. And took all the PG with one shot.

John Barnsness made the same suggestion and going from a magnum primer to the CCI BR primer made all the difference in my .300 H&H. I was really surprised. It shrunk the groups by 1/2.

Great thread, guys. I've thinking of switching from my 300 gr A-Frame load to the 270 TTSX, for a while. I actually would've started with it, but my PH insisted on the 300 gr A-Frame for buff.

Thanks. I have 210's and will give them a go. Just always used 215's in my 375's. My SS M70 is running around 1 1/4" consistently with said load so I thought good enough for brown bear.

James,

Both of my brown bear guides used the 300 gr A-Frame, full stop. They also were not bothered with my 270 gr TSX choice.

Ive had the pleasure of meeting JJ, and you know instantly he's the real deal. Ed, Doc, I used the 300 Gr. A-Frame on my buffalo and a Sable and it performed flawlessly. Ive heard good things indeed about the 270 TSX, and you know Im a Barnes whore....

Tom,

I'll be using the 270 TSX in spring '18 for a Kodiak bear. Coming fall, 2017, will have me in Zim chasing buff/sable with my 416 M70 and the 350 gr TSX. I know if I do my bit the rest will do theirs. I do need to get out shooting more but have been toying with the car toy.

I have used the 260 Nosler partitioned in my 375 H & H Ruger along with 74 grains of RE 15 and been very satisified with groups and performance on game from eland to impala.

I have always thoroughly enjoyed meeting fire members in person; no surprise here!

I'm pretty positive I'd really enjoy meeting face to face with guys who rub me (and whom I've rubbed) the wrong way here.

Glad to hear it!!

I used exactly that load on two bull elk years ago.