Seeking 300 gr solid recommendation in 375 H&H, pending expanding heads on FAC

AI perfector

Well-Known Member
I'm acquiring my first 375 H&H Magnum imminently. Pro tem, I only have solids on my FAC.
I'm looking for a bullet manufacturer and economic, readily available, 300 gr solid head profile that will let me develop a solids load for UK range practice. When ready to don my pith helmet, I'll then get expanding on my ticket, at which time half of the development work will already have been done with solids. Any pointers?
 
"economic, readily available" that'll be the day!

I am in a similar position to you only with a 9.3mm rifle. Non expanding bullets are almost non existent and nearly impossible to obtain. As for cost - you just have to expect to pay for having something that little bit extravagant. I would have a look on www.e-gun.de if I were you, or otherwise Midway are probably the most reliable source of large bullets.
 
Gentlemen ............................. may I suggest you think about both cast and paper patched for you rnge practice ;) as well as a spot of fun. Matthews was able to obtain Five shot groups of 1 1/2" usign a 302 Grin PP bullet at 2000fps.

Now for proper solids you might try ordering direct from this manufacturer:-

http://www.gsgroup.co.za/13orders.html

In Kevin Roberton's book "The Perfect Shot" he highly recomends then for African game. They have load data on their site too.
 
Hi

300gn Hornady solids from midwayUK. I am always fascinated why people thing the words 375 H+H, 9.3mm, Africa and economic should go together in one sentence. If the rifle is good then minimal load develpment will be necessary.

Mark
 
OK, so 'economic' was maybe inappropriate but "If you don't ask ....
I've had a quick look at www.e-gun.de but didn't get past 'Women seeking men' and 'Panties'!:D
Yup, Midway. I should have thought of them :oops:.
Noted, BritHunter. Wil dig deeper in GSGroup web site.
So, from a trajectory point of view, will a flatter or round nose head give me, as near as damn it, the muzzle velocity and short distance (<300m) trajectory I'll be looking for with the later-to-be-acquired expanding rounds if the head weight is the same. i.e. 300 gr.?
 
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GS Bullets do some rather innovtive bullets especially in the expanding type line. Their site is a bit cumbersome as it keeps openign new windows :rolleyes: so bear that in mind and I say hear that I have never used them but they look interesting and they have been proven on game in Africa. Depending upon price I might look at their .270 and 25-06 offerings :D.

Also there is a chance I might actually sell my .458 and change it for a .375 as I saw a real beauty a while ago but already ahve the same model in .458 it seems that someone may be interested in the .458 as well.
 
GS may be quite good but aren't they expensive? I thought the question was about cheap practise bullets rather than high spec specials.

It's already been mentioned but give cast bullets a try - .375 molds are readily available unlike 9.3mm.
 
Hi AI

So, from a trajectory point of view, will a flatter or round nose head give me, as near as damn it, the muzzle velocity and short distance (<300m) trajectory I'll be looking for with the later-to-be-acquired expanding rounds if the head weight is the same. i.e. 300 gr.?

The answer is 'possibly' but don't bet on it. What would you intend to hunt in Africa. A practical MV is about 2300ft/s it gives a more loopy trajectory but thats not a problem out to 150m but does give you better penetration than a mv of 2500.
Remember very little hunting will be done from a bipod or sandbag - most likely standing with shooting sticks.
Check out my post on '375 for the woods'. I hunt with a 155gn monolithic copper round in my 375 - awsome.

Mark
 
You could take a look at Frontier Metal Processing's "Game Ranger" bullets.

http://www.frontierbullets.co.za/gameranger.htm

They are solid lead, flat nosed, with a thick plated copper full jacket. Developed for maximum penetration on big game in SA. None-expanding.

375 are available in 300 and 400 gn.

European distributor is http://www.bold-action.com/

He has a stand at the Bisley Phoenix meeting every year. This year I bought some Game Rangers in .30 calibre to try. Pricing is VERY good, i.e. £15 for 150 .308 150 grain solids.

Bold Action are advertising the 375 versions at 21 to 23 Euros per 100 :D
 
Sharpie I had a look at the Frontier Game Ranger bullets at the Phoenix and was very impressed with the quality, much much better than the copper plated bullets I recently had sent over from Germany.
I bought quite a bit off the "Dutch Guy" but unfortunately he didn't have any 9.3mm bullets. He did have .416 bullets at £27 a box which I thought was tremendous value for such a large calibre. I will certainly be contacting him to see if he can get some 9.3mm sent over.
 
8x57, the Dutchman always has good stuff at great prices.

As well as the solids I bought a bag of 500 .308 168 gn HP BT Match for £65.

Regarding the Game Rangers, they do seem well made. I was dubious about the concept of plating up a lead core instead of swaging lead into a jacket, but they seem to have the process well controlled. I measured mine and gave up after the first 50 when they all measured .309 +/- 0. (my calipers resolve to 0.0005)

However they do vary slightly in weight. Probably irrelevant for their design application, but a sample varied by about 5 grains overall. Maybe worth sorting if you are trying for sub MOA groups.

They claim that the cast lead core is of much harder alloy than is possible with standard swaged soft lead and jacketed bullets.

Maybe of limited application in the UK, but I was thinking about boar. They will anyway be a useful practice round for my 30-30, being flat nosed. And cheaper than any plain lead gas-checked bullets from one of the UK cottage-industry casters.

I too will be contacting him regarding future supplies, if they work well.

Their CNC turned copper monolithic "Spartan" HP look interesting too. Maybe an alternative to Barnes etc. ?
 
You are off base calling the copper electro plate process "dubious". Remington used it for years fro bullets in their small bores and many fine handgun bullets here in the US (Ranier Bullets, for example) still use it. "FMJ" 22 magnum bullets are made the same way. A jacket it a jacket. The claim that the cores are harder then swaged lead is correct: Swaged bullet must by nature be almost pure lead. Not so with cast cores. I have shot deer with the Ranier bullets. You can't tell the performance from "real" jacketed bullets.

All that said, and back to the topic, I would do as BritH advised and cast bullets for the 375H&H. It is a great cast bullet caliber. Easy to cast and easy to achieve accuracy with in a gas-checked form.~Muir
 
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