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Posted By: keekeerun Light bullet impact? - 04/23/21
Will light bullets like 235&250 hit higher or lower than 270/300gr. bullets in the 375 Ruger rifles?

My rifle is shooting 270 and 300 gr.bullets 4 inchs low and already has the lowest front sight Ruger makes on it.
Who makes a really low front sight replacement?
Thanks for any help
Posted By: HitnRun Re: Light bullet impact? - 04/23/21
To think that bullets fly like the pictures on ammunition boxes is erroneous. How any bullet leaves the barrel will change with any cartridge in any gun.
Posted By: Bugger Re: Light bullet impact? - 04/23/21
Originally Posted by HitnRun
To think that bullets fly like the pictures on ammunition boxes is erroneous. How any bullet leaves the barrel will change with any cartridge in any gun.


This ^^^^
Posted By: mainer_in_ak Re: Light bullet impact? - 04/24/21
Bugger Cockeyed 77s (Ruger Hawkeye 77) have crooked receivers fresh out of the molding process.

Through some hokey voodoo with a dial indicator jig, they straighten them out. I had a 375 Ruger that didn't hit anywhere near the elevation of the open sights. I suspect the receiver or the barrel was crooked.

I can't help but wonder if Gandolf the ancient receiver wizard was sick one day, and the replacement guy didn't have the magic touch. 3:25 of this vid:
Posted By: Riflecrank Re: Light bullet impact? - 04/24/21
You are just going to have to shoot it and see.
Slow and heavy bullets may shoot higher at close ranges due to longer barrel time and muzzle rise in recoil.
Lots of times lighter and faster bullets will shoot higher at 100 yards.
Multiple factors besides muzzle rise and barrel time.
Barrel oscillation and angle of bullet departure when barrel is whipping up or down,
baseline trajectory (BC and MV), pitch of stock, etc.
Shoot and see.
Posted By: TX35W Re: Light bullet impact? - 04/28/21
Rifle crank has this right. NECG makes front sights.
Posted By: Bugger Re: Light bullet impact? - 04/29/21
I don’t understand the problem. Why not raise the rear sight?
Posted By: reivertom Re: Light bullet impact? - 04/30/21
It depends on where the barrel harmonics sends it as much as the weight.
Posted By: fourbore Re: Light bullet impact? - 04/30/21
Originally Posted by keekeerun
Will light bullets like 235&250 hit higher or lower than 270/300gr. bullets in the 375 Ruger rifles?

My rifle is shooting 270 and 300 gr.bullets 4 inchs low and already has the lowest front sight Ruger makes on it.
Who makes a really low front sight replacement?
Thanks for any help


Usually the lighter bullets will hit lower. USUALLY. Most of the time. That will make your problem worse. I would not waste the time and money.

So; yes, you need to look at the sights. I do like the NECG if that matters. Not everyone wants an aperture on game that fights back. I get that too. Someone already suggested the rear sight? That maybe an option? I wish I knew more to help.

While, I probably would not bother (I might) with a return, this is a problem or defect of sorts with your gun. You could pursue this with Ruger. At some point, the gun will look stupid and sooner than that you could be locked into one load for ever. The 375's are supposed to be versatile calibers.
Posted By: fourbore Re: Light bullet impact? - 04/30/21
Follow up, the logical ammo idea is to try another maker of ammo in 300 grain. Is there a source other than Hornady? Also try hand loading 350 gr bullets,
Posted By: Riflecrank Re: Light bullet impact? - 05/01/21
If OP is shooting with a "fine bead, target-style hold" on the top edge of his bead on center of bullseye at 100 yards,
he might be dead on with a "combat-style, coarse bead" hold on the target.

That big white factory bead on the Hawkeye .375 Ruger will cover an 8-inch diameter target at 100 yards ...

If you are sighted perfectly for dead on the center of the bead at 100 yards when using a "coarse bead, combat-style,"
you cover that 8-inch bullseye with the bead and you hit dead center.

Then when you try that fine-bead target hold you will be hitting 4 inches below the dead center of that 8" bullseye.

Those Ruger Hawkeye Express sights are great for quick shooting at 50 to 100 yards.

I use a scope for swapping bullet weights to wherever I need them to land.

My .375 Ruger shoots 300-grainers to the center of the big white factory bead, combat style, at 100 yards, and I do well to stay inside that 8" target with 3 shots.

At 100 yards with a scope those 300-grainers go into less than an inch for three shots, zeroed at 100 yards.
The 270-grainer point of impact is two inches higher at same 100-yard target.
Hornady factory ammo was test-fired for above sight checks with the 23"-barreled African.
I chronographed to compare 23" to 20" velocities, see below:

10-shot averages, 5-yard chronographing of Hornady .375 Ruger factory loads, 77 degrees F, no correction to MV:

300-gr:
23" barrel (African) = 2658 fps
20" barrel (Alaskan Stainless) = 2587 fps

270-gr:
23" barrel (African) = 2782 fps
20" barrel (Alaskan Stainless) = 2682 fps

Just to brag a bit on the Hornady Factory ammo in a 20"-barreled .416 Ruger Hawkeye Alaskan stainless,
25-shot average, 5-yard chronographing of Hornady .416 Ruger factory loads, 76 degrees F, no correction to MV:

400-gr DGS
20" barrel (Alaskan) = 2337 fps, ES 39 fps, St.dev. 10 fps. Corrected to MV for BC = .319, MV = 2350 fps exactly

A stainless Ruger No.1 with 24" barrel, factory .416 Ruger, 67*F,
20-shot average, again for 400-gr DGS:
24" barrel = 2388 fps, St.dev. 10 fps. Corrected to MV = 2401 fps.

Sweet, when the Standard Deviation in fps is less than the number of shots fired, with factory ammo !
Posted By: fourbore Re: Light bullet impact? - 05/01/21
Great post. I stand corrected. The 270 hit higher!

We assume the OP was shooting at 100, but; it could be 50? There 4" is a bigger deal.
Posted By: navlav8r Re: Light bullet impact? - 05/02/21
You just have to shoot them and find out. Although they’re within about 10 fps of each other with the same charge of H4350, my 6.5 Creed shoots loads with the Nosler 140 Accubonds over 4” higher at 100 yards than the 140 Berger VLD’s.
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