.375 h&h for whitetails

[jnmullins]

I used a 260gr Partition to good effect on a 200+ lb Texas pig. Hit her two out of three shots as she ran across at about 100 yards. The one through her shoulders stopped her with authority.

 

[John Wasmuth]

300 gr PPU sp at 2400 fps works rather well be it H and H or Ruger. Very little meat damage.

 

[IvW]

Whitetails maybe.....

 

[Daisy]

I bought a bunch of 270gr sprp when I first bought the caliber I need to use up. The cases are worth more than the ammo. Pushes at about 2650

 

[Uxas]

I have no idea why anyone would hunt deer with a .375.
375 H&H for whitetail, now I've heard it all.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

It’s my favorite groundhog rifle by far.

 

[John Wasmuth]

.375,9,3, .35, heavy for caliber at a moderate velocity doesn’t blow big holes nor cause a lot of blood shot meat. Looking in through the exit wound you can see the entrance wound. Nothing torn up at all.

 

[F. Vaccaro]

I have no idea why anyone would hunt deer with a .375.
375 H&H for whitetail, now I've heard it all.

Actually, the .375 doesn't tear up meat as some calibers do. It destroys very little meat especially if normal bullets are used like 270 & 300 grain bullets.
Then there's the factor of using the rifle you'll use on really big game. A person once asked me why I was using a .375, I told him with it, angles don't matter. If a monster elk got up with the .375 I wouldn't have to pass up a shot because of a poor angle. Aim for where you want the bullet to go & it'll get there. I have actually experienced this on an elk 200yds away & quartering away from me.

 

[wesheltonj]

I have no idea why anyone would hunt deer with a .375.
375 H&H for whitetail, now I've heard it all.

My dad had a friend (that owned a gun shop) and he shot everything with a 375. That’s too much recoil for hunting white-tail to me., but to each his own.

That said, I’ve shot everything in Africa with a 375, except a blue duiker. More recoil than necessary, but you never know when you will need the extra horsepower.

 

[DieJager]

Just bought a rifle in 7x64. Still waiting for the documents and registration but until now only used my 375. Used it mainly for roe deer. Plus point is that I am used to the rifle and that is needed when hunting DG. No getting used to the rifle for me.

 

[Siennacoyote]

Seems like overkill but the guys doing it keep doing you

 

[BeeMaa]

No points lost for making them DRT or shortening the tracking job by using a 375.

 

[John Wasmuth]

No points lost for making them DRT or shortening the tracking job by using a 375.

Tracking job usually entails 2 and 1/2 feet straight down…. Lol

 

[pilar]

I take a deer or two every year will my 375Ruger, usually a neck shot because the 250gr CX will leave a lot of meat damage on a shoulder, good practice Imo
my buddy thanks I am crazy, but his 375 is a safe queen unfortunately

Forgot we hunt nilgai and Sambar deer also while we deer hunt so I think 375 & 35whelen are appropriate for a general purpose deer rifle

 

[JG26Irish_2]

I used my 375 on an 8pt whitetail buck in WV last year. I used the 250g federal ammo loaded with the trophy bonded bear claw. It was running about 2750 fps if I remember correctly. I had the rifle topped with a nice little Leupold 1.5-4x LPVO. The 375 is too much gun for deer but I had reason to use it. I was getting familiarized with the rifle for an up coming trip to SA and wanted to get some real life trigger time on the rifle before the trip. Glad I did it. The ammo worked great but after that hunt, I replaced the scope with a Swarovski Z6i with the illuminated reticle for use in low light, deep woods, etc. I had trouble with the little Leupold since the shot was only about 15 min after legal shooting light and I had trouble seeing my reticle under those conditions. The deer dropped in its tracks. The Bearclaw seemed to expand so slowly that it did only minimal damage to the deer. If I had it to do over, would use the 300g Barnes TSX or the Swift A-Frame 300's that I will be hunting with in SA.

Rifle is a FN Browning Hi-Power Safari Grade.

 

[woodsrunner]

I carry my .375 H&H earlier in the season on whitetail hunts on account of grizzlies. I have made the decision based on literature and personal experience to use 300 grain bullets, i think it is flawed reasoning to load-down, more on that below. Not just better in the advent of a bear misadventure, but more likely i am thinking to leave a small exit wound. People are forever joking about being "overgunned" in conversations like this. My worst experience with being overgunned for my quarry was with the tiny .204 Ruger on varmints, thinking i would get to save fur on my farm. Nope, the exit holes were grapefruit sized or larger, those little rounds just exploded on impact. There is no doubt in my mind the hole would have been much smaller on a fox if i had used my .375 H&H. This subject is much more nuanced than many realize. I would not load lighter bullets for smaller game in my .375 for the same reason i sold my .204 ruger.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

I carry my .375 H&H earlier in the season on whitetail hunts on account of grizzlies. I have made the decision based on literature and personal experience to use 300 grain bullets, i think it is flawed reasoning to load-down, more on that below. Not just better in the advent of a bear misadventure, but more likely i am thinking to leave a small exit wound. People are forever joking about being "overgunned" in conversations like this. My worst experience with being overgunned for my quarry was with the tiny .204 Ruger on varmints, thinking i would get to save fur on my farm. Nope, the exit holes were grapefruit sized or larger, those little rounds just exploded on impact. There is no doubt in my mind the hole would have been much smaller on a fox if i had used my .375 H&H. This subject is much more nuanced than many realize. I would not load lighter bullets for smaller game in my .375 for the same reason i sold my .204 ruger.

So true about using light fast bullets on smaller game. I hunt coyotes with a 223 loaded with 40g BT's running about 3660fps and it f's them up pretty bad, lol. I shot a little Duiker in Africa on my last Safari with a 308 using 180g bonded bullets. The little antelope is only about 30-40lbs? The exist wound was the size of my fist. Pretty messy. Over there, they often have clients use their 375's on the tiny 10 so they do not blow them up too bad.

 

[woodsrunner]

So true about using light fast bullets on smaller game. I hunt coyotes with a 223 loaded with 40g BT's running about 3660fps and it f's them up pretty bad, lol. I shot a little Duiker in Africa on my last Safari with a 308 using 180g bonded bullets. The little antelope is only about 30-40lbs? The exist wound was the size of my fist. Pretty messy. Over there, they often have clients use their 375's on the tiny 10 so they do not blow them up too bad.

Yeah, i was disgusted with the .204 Ruger, which was too bad cos my rifle in that calibre was a beaut of a Ruger #1. Oh well. The only fur i got to save was in the case of larger coyotes shot chest-on, with the length of the body to spend the bullet. I intend to hunt varmints where i need to now experimenting with heavy bullets in my .308, though your Duiker experience makes me wonder now. I know a fella here hunts coyote with FMJ's in a .308, which so many say is a no-no, but he claims he has never run into issues and fur damage is close to nil. I've loaded my .375 H&H with the 300 gr Nosler accubonds which i am confident will perform well and not expand too fast - or much at all in a deer. If i could find a 300 grain copper monolith, even better. I shot a big whitetail buck last fall with a copper monolith 180 grainer (.30-06), heart/lungshot that exited with a hole not quite an inch across. That's what i prefer to see, i'm impressed with that bullet.

 

[Fatback]

I use my 375 for deer and hogs every year here in South Georgia. Took this buck and a couple of does last season. I use 260 grain Nosler Partitions or Accubonds on deer and pigs, mostly. Sometimes I’ll use a 300 grain Aframe or TBBC, just to mix it up some. Any of these do as little or less meat damage than my 25-06, 270, 30.06, etc…

 

[CoElkHunter]

I use my 375 for deer and hogs every year here in South Georgia. Took this buck and a couple of does last season. I use 260 grain Nosler Partitions or Accubonds on deer and pigs, mostly. Sometimes I’ll use a 300 grain Aframe or TBBC, just to mix it up some. Any of these do as little or less meat damage than my 25-06, 270, 30.06, etc…View attachment 679039

Nice buck!