375 H&H for Elk, Making the switch.

NiceRack

Active Member
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Any advise out there for the 375 H&H for Elk? I have 270gr Rem. factory rounds but was going to load up 235gr or 270gr Barnes TSX. I have been using my 300wsm with 165gr TSX for many years and killed eight bulls. I have noticed that with several of the bulls that were hit behind the front shoulder and taking out the lungs the bulls either ran for 50 yards or so....or worse got back up after I came apon them requiring a follow up kill shot. I am hoping with the bigger bullet and more foot pounds of energy the bulls will go down for good when hit.
PB
 
I have used a 375 H&H on elk. Hate to say it but all of mine have required a follow up shot. I have used a 300 grain round nose knowing that the animals would be in close and it took two shots on a few different cow hunts. Also used a 270 grain TSX and had to hit a spike twice with it, about 300 yards away. I am loading max loads so not sure what to say.

That said I have shot multiple cow elk as well as a 6 point bull with my 300 Win mag. 180 grain partitions and all but one have taken two shots behind the shoulder.

Elk are just dang tough animals. The only real positive to me is that both guns seem to hit hard enough that they don't run off, I can get a follow up shot pretty easily.
 
I couldn't get any accuracy with the tsx 235's in my 375......the tsx 270's are very accurate
 
I'm going to try the newer 250 grain barnes TTSX out in my .375 ackley. I am very optimistic that this will become THE magic bullet for my rifle.
 
Maybe the reality is that Elk are just one tough animal. I think I will load up the 270gr TSX and try them next year. I was thinking about trying a "Vortex" scope on my 375. I have heard good reviews.
PB
 
Before going that route I'd try a heavier bullet.

High velocity coupled with high bullet weight retention can lead to bullet pass through with much of the energy staying with the bullet rather than being expended in the critter.

I've switched to 200 grain accubonds many seasons ago and haven't looked back.
 
If I have to choose between a bullet passing completely through an animal and exiting vs. staying in the animal, I will take the bullet exit every time.
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-16-16 AT 07:42PM (MST)[p]Many hunters do but not at all the point. Just pointing out that different bullets transfer energy differently. People have different preferences and different experiences. My experience with bullets that retain 99% of their mass is similar to that described in original post. Energy expended on the hillside behind the critter does no good. ABs run 85% or so and the bullets I've found come very close to that. Many if not most pass through though.
 
The energy expended in an animal isn't what kills. It is the damage caused by the wound channel. If expended energy is what kills, a man shot in the chest with a bullet proof vest would be just as dead as if shot without the vest. You could also say a bullet that didn't pass through didn't have enough energy to get through.

This debate has been going on for decades and I do understand your point, even though it's wrong ;-) (just kidding about you being wrong)
 
Eight bulls with the 300 WSM sounds like its working pretty good to me! It seems like we all get caught up in the idea that we simply must have a bigger, faster caliber to take elk.
I know I did.
The elk I've taken with my .338 Win Mag didn't die any "deader", or faster, than the elk I've taken with my .270 Win., or my .300 Win Mag, or my .270 WSM! When I hit em right, they go down. When I didn't, , , ,well, it didn't seem to matter what I hit em with.
Elk are big, tough, animals. In my personal experience, they almost never drop in their tracks, no matter what I hit em with.
Having said that, , , , I have a friend that will not hunt elk with anything but his .375 H&H. I was standing right next to him when he shot his last bull. It was trotting straight away at about 60 yards, in heavy cover when his 270 grn bullet entered the right ham. It exited the left shoulder destroying just about everything in between! That elk folded right there! After that shot, he looked at me and said, "I don't like to wait for them to turn broadside and stop!" I had to admit he had a good point!
I am tempted to pick up a .375 H&H in a Ruger #1.
 
Many years ago I read a well written article from a guy who had done a great deal of culling work around yellowstone. His two rifles were an 06 and a .375. The gist of the artice was a comparison between the two calibers for elk. He did his best to control for shot placement and range. The upshot was that there wasn't a huge difference between the two. Wish I'd saved that article.

Be interesting to see if todays new bullets would change the results. and how. I suspect he might get more out of the .375.
 
I guess there is no need to wait for a good shot with a .375. Shoot them in the ass and knock them down. If you need a .375 to kill elk, you are hunting them wrong. mtmuley
 
"If you need a .375 to kill elk, you are hunting them wrong. mtmuley" That is your opinion and you are entitled to it! I remember back when I knew everything there was to know about elk hunting too. 45 years of hunting elk has taught me to base my opinion more on personal experience than what I read! That is why I posted the story about my friend.
I do not promote poor shot placement and I do not think I need a .375 H&H to cleanly take elk. I have also witnessed enough elk being taken to say that there is no such thing as too much gun! So, don't worry. When you pull into my camp to ask me to help you track that elk, I won't tell you "your hunting them wrong"!
 
I think a guy can use what he likes. More than a few elk are killed with archery equipment every year. Some kill elk with a .243 , others use a 375 Cheytac. If what you're using isn't working, find out why and do something about it.

Or just insult others and argue on the interweb
 
I just looked into the Nosler Accubond Long Range 190gr for my 300wsm. Seems like the reviews are outstanding. Maybe a little larger bullet for my 300wsm might be just as good.
 
>Either way you still NEED a
>375 H&H.


and then you need to take that .375h&h and have it ackley improved
 
Tell me about the 375 H&H ackley improved????
I know Ackley calibers are hot #####, but I have never looked into them.
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-19-16 AT 11:19PM (MST)[p]For me the best reason to Ackley is because it means a lot less case trimming from stretched brass. The extra velocity is just a bonus. You can still fire the original chambering in an Ackley and that will lose a little velocity over a standard chamber, but the blown out Ackley case adds a little more powder capacity. In the .375 that's good for about 200fps more.
 
I have shot a 375 ackley as well. We had a hard time with stretched primer pockets if we loaded things full house to get the 200 FPS. My dad since sold the rifle. What brass do you use or recommend?
 
anything but federal ;-) Federal brass is usually really soft and results in loose primer pockets quicker than most. What brass were you using?
 
I took my 375 H&H to the local gunsmith here in Nampa, ID. to have a muzzle break installed. Should have it back soon, can't wait to test it.
I am going to try the Nosler Trophy Grade 260gr partition rounds for starting.
Anyone use these yet?
PB
 
Sorry, I don't visit this forum very often.

I've been loading for 375 H&H for a while now. Started with IMR 4064 but ended up with H414 (which I use in many other things) as my main powder.

I like the 260 partition and accubond. I have fooled with TTSX's just a bit. I think the accubond would be about the best thing for anything other than cape buffalo.
 
Why anyone would chose the 375 for elk eludes me. a 12 lb rifle with the trajectory of a shotgun that doesn't kill elk as well as a 30-06 . whatever turns your crank I guess.

















Stay Thirsty My Friends
 
No one NEEDS a .375 to cleanly take elk. Period. If you WANT to use one, fine.

And IMO no one should make the mistake of thinking a cannon is a substitute for poor shot placement.

Neither of those opinions is earth-shattering or new.
 
"Taking out the lungs" doesn't put down an Antelope let alone an Elk; they'll hang on till the brain runs out of oxygen.
If you want them to drop in their tracks you need to disconnect the brain from the rest of the body ie; high shoulder.
 
If all else fails, just ram them with your smoke belching , jacked up truck . 9000 lbs @65 mph has way more kinetic energy than a 375 H&H . As a bonus, you won't have to go far from the road to retrieve it.
 
Designed in 1912. The God Father of belted magnums. Tons of rich history. I loved reading Capstick's books and he was fond of it. Why anyone would care to embrace a rifle with such a heritage and legacy is beyond me.
 
I don't think of my 375 as a "cannon". Just another belted magnum in my collection.
I have taken Elk with several of my rifles...7mm Rem. Mag., 300 Win. Mag., 300 WSM. and all of the shots were placed in the vital section and all animals recovered. I'm just trying to determine if the 375 H & H will be an improvement in knock down power.
As far as rifle weight is concerned my 375 is only 1 pound heavier than my 300 Win. Mag.
With regards to hunting with a rifle with great tradition.....I'm all for that!
PB
 
Tsx and ttsx seem to need to hit bone for drt kills I know from personal first hand experience an A-frame through the lungs of an elk from a 375 h&h is a drt elk. I had better and shorter blood trails with a 170 interbond on elk than I did with the ttsx or tsx.
 
Just sighted in the 375 H&H with the new muzzle break. Seems to be about a 30% reduction in recoil from stock barrel. Had 1 inch groups at 100 yds. with Hornady Superperformance 250 grain GMX rounds. Had to take the rifle back to the gunsmith for a trigger job. Way too much creep and too heavy. I'm hoping to get the shot groupings to 3/4 inch or tighter after the trigger job. The rifle seems to like the Hornady ammo. Had no problem whacking the 9 inch metal gong at 300 yds. at the range.
PB
 
I'm jealous. I had my hands on a pre-64 .375 and also one of the last model 70's from Connecticut in .375. Both opportunities arose when the check book said no. You should wallup the wapiti.
 
Just got my 375 H & H back from the second visit to the gunsmith. Had the trigger job done....wow, what a difference. No drag or creep, just crisp and smooth at just under 3 lb. pull. Should be a good shooter now, muzzle break and sweet trigger.
PB
 
Yes, I reload.
All the 375 H&H data I have is not quite as hot as the Hornady Superperformance 250gr GMX.
Got any suggestions?
PB
 
Well as it turns out, after all the work on my 375 H&H and the dialing in of ammo I ended up killing my Bull Elk opening day with one shot from my 270 Weatherby Mag using 130 grain Barnes TSX BT bullets. I hit the top of the heart and he ran 30 feet and crashed.
Maybe next season for the 375?
PB
 
Oh wonderful. I don't have a 270 Weatherby or a 375 H+H. Guess I need to go shopping. I know,more frivolous spending. Hey if that's what it takes I'm game. Ready to do my part. Honestly,I'm looking to burn my deer points next fall in Colorado second season. Ill buy the elk license as well. For me it boils down to the 30/06 or the 7 Rem mag. If I did in fact have a 375 H+H,I'd have no reservations about using it for elk. Deer? Not so much.
 
Now here is a switch for you.....after all the work on my 375 H&H i'm buying a Remington 700AWR in 338 RUM with a vortex 4-16x viper scope. I just can't get enough rifles. I'll post the ballistic and sight in results soon.
PB
 

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