A New Offering Of .375 Holland & Holland Magnum Ammunition Has Been Released On The Market

[Hunter-Habib]

375 H&H MAG. – SP (V343122) – 300 GRS – Sellier & Bellot

www.sellier-bellot.cz

Sellier & Bellot has just released their first truly big bore offering of ammunition. And that too, in my favorite caliber- The .375 Holland & Holland Magnum.

Pushing a 300Gr lead cored soft point at an advertised 2559 FPS, the ammunition looks pretty promising and I certainly hope to try some really soon. It looks like it would do quite the number on lions, leopards & most of the African plains game. The nose is flat, quite similar to the old German DWM brand soft points of the 1960s.

Being unbonded, I'm still undecided as to how well they would perform on the hard framed biggest of African plains game- The eland. I definitely would not want to use them on hippopotamus or Cape buffalo (barring broadside double lung shots on the latter). For those, I will definitely be sticking to my currently preferred tried & true 300Gr Barnes TSX.

But if I like what I see, then maybe... just maybe, I might actually be using these Sellier & Bellot 300Gr soft points on my next lion hunt.

 

[Longwalker]

It's so nice to see a new manufacturer enter this market! Congratulations to S&B!
And a flippant comment .... there is a big mean Cape buffalo on the package, so it must be good ammo for hunting buffalo, right? ;-)

 

[Doug3006]

I’m interested in hearing how these soft points perform. Premium bullets were a response to the poor performance of bad bullets. Good bullets were good then, and still are. Maybe these are good bullets. If so, we have another option, and that’s a really good development.

 

[Safari Dave]

Perhaps the most frustrating thing I've had to deal with (concerning ammo) over the last decade is sighting my rifle in with a certain factory loading, then that loading being discontinued by the manufacture.

This has happened with multiple cartridges and manufacturers.

(I only drill down to lot numbers, with one completion rifle in .22 LR).



I hope S&B offers a solid that shoots to the same POI, then I will stock up.

My experience has been that S&B offers quality ammunition at very good prices.

 

[Sideshow]

Be interesting to see what powder there using?

Have a mate that uses a lot of S&B in his 6.5 says it goes okay….and that the brass is nice to reuse.

 

[Luvthunt]

Let’s hope we get some info soon.

 

[mark-hunter]

Sellier & Bellot has just released their first truly big bore offering of ammunition. And that too, in my favorite caliber- The .375 Holland & Holland Magnum.

This is the news, but I advise caution. In any case I welcome the information and effort of the company!
But advise caution to forum members.

Since beginning the ruso- ukranian war many European ammunition makers face problems.
The information I got from internet (arguable as it is), says that main smokeless powder chemical components are imported from China and Russia.(?) If that is the case, this affects many if not all factories, when regular commercial routes are affected. Either in quantity to produce, or in quality.

In any case and for whatever the reason, recent lots of S&B ammunition are showing inconsistencies even in same lot - and same box, and group spreading.

Does it affect European market only, I have no idea.
A friend of mine, having a gunshop, and giving service to costumers of installing optics for clients who buy rifles at his shop, tells me he has serious problems zeroing the rifles with S&B ammo. This is being sampling, and it coincides with my experience:

I use S&B 30-06 FMJ 180 grain for training. Rifle is around 1-1.3 Moa, the grouping of these last lots od S&B ammo goes to 4 moa or more, all over the target. (The worst ever, and I can compare becasue at the time I was using S&B FMJ exclusively for training as they were the cheapest on the market)
I did not test latest velocities, as the point is just regular training, but that is my experience. (I could test, if necessary)
Other experience:
9.3x62 - 286 grain SP, by S&B, the last lot I bought (sometime around 2018) did not cycle the bolt enough to strip next round from mag to chamber in my semi auto. Previous lots did work perfectly. Since then I changed the brand for 9.3. (I spent then what I had by manually cycling the bolt, and switched to other brand)

 

[Hunter-Habib]

This is the news, but I advise caution. In any case I welcome the information and effort of the company!
But advise caution to forum members.

Since beginning the ruso- ukranian war many European ammunition makers face problems.
The information I got from internet (arguable as it is), says that main smokeless powder chemical components are imported from China and Russia.(?) If that is the case, this affects many if not all factories, when regular commercial routes are affected. Either in quantity to produce, or in quality.

In any case and for whatever the reason, recent lots of S&B ammunition are showing inconsistencies even in same lot - and same box, and group spreading.

Does it affect European market only, I have no idea.
A friend of mine, having a gunshop, and giving service to costumers of installing optics for clients who buy rifles at his shop, tells me he has serious problems zeroing the rifles with S&B ammo. This is being sampling, and it coincides with my experience:

I use S&B 30-06 FMJ 180 grain for training. Rifle is around 1-1.3 Moa, the grouping of these last lots od S&B ammo goes to 4 moa or more, all over the target. (The worst ever, and I can compare becasue at the time I was using S&B FMJ exclusively for training as they were the cheapest on the market)
I did not test latest velocities, as the point is just regular training, but that is my experience. (I could test, if necessary)
Other experience:
9.3x62 - 286 grain SP, by S&B, the last lot I bought (sometime around 2018) did not cycle the bolt enough to strip next round from mag to chamber in my semi auto. Previous lots did work perfectly. Since then I changed the brand for 9.3. (I spent then what I had by manually cycling the bolt, and switched to other brand)

So Mark, in your opinion... Due to the inconsistency in the quality of ammunition, I'm assuming that it wouldn't be a very smart long term idea to have a double rifle built that is regulated for the Sellier & Bellot 300Gr soft point ?

 

[PerH]

Sounds good as an option for practice that one and medium game / thin skinned . Hope the importer here will bother import it . And price be ok for trying it .

But here SB is seen by many as practice and small game hunt/ novice ammo .

I would regulated a double with ammo that is concistent and equal components.

If the big game ammo is lacking in parts due to a lot is either not coming due to trade stuff or distributed to millitary purposes . That means one must find a dependable source of ammo from a source that have it , or will bother import it in quanta’s enough for it to be worthwhile.

 

[mark-hunter]

So Mark, in your opinion... Due to the inconsistency in the quality of ammunition, I'm assuming that it wouldn't be a very smart long term idea to have a double rifle built that is regulated for the Sellier & Bellot 300Gr soft point ?

With my recent experience, not for now till the ammunition is tested from few lots.

I am not using every ammunition brand in the world, but the brands that did show consistency in my other rifle 308 win was Hornady and Norma, from lot to lot, same point of impact.

I dont have double rifle, but if I am to have one I would look for ammunition that is produced with soft points and solids of the same weight and preferably same BC. And then to be proven in constant quality.

 

[mark-hunter]

But here SB is seen by many as practice and small game hunt/ novice ammo .

Same here at my place! But it has market. Large portion of hunting community are retired people, on small pension. As a cheapest on the market, they usually use S&B for hunting.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

One can always buy the ammo, pound out the bullets, and reload the brass with a recipe you know works. I am contemplating this very scenario for my 404J. Hornady apparently just did a run of loaded ammo and I'm suddenly seeing quite a lot available. I think their bullets are okay but Hornady gasses up their ammo way too much for my liking. Hornady brass is excellent.

 

[mark-hunter]

One can always buy the ammo, pound out the bullets, and reload the brass with a recipe you know works

In countries where reloading is legally allowed, and components available.

 

[Milan]

Since beginning the ruso- ukranian war many European ammunition makers face problems.
The information I got from internet (arguable as it is), says that main smokeless powder chemical components are imported from China and Russia.(?) If that is the case, this affects many if not all factories, when regular commercial routes are affected. Either in quantity to produce, or in quality.

In any case and for whatever the reason, recent lots of S&B ammunition are showing inconsistencies even in same lot - and same box, and group spreading.

I think S&B makes their own powder but I could be totally wrong. However, I too encountered inconsistencies in their ammo. Namely .22 magnum and 6.5x55 FMJ ammo.

The 6.5 FMJ ammo suffered soft primer hits resulting in failure to fire. In addition its crimped cases seemed a bit long, and the crimp expanded in the throat rather than just neck area resulting in overpressure and sticky cases. Now I do run tight custom chamber, so I'm not blaming them, however the same ammo in SP bullets did not do that. Could also have been the FMJ bullet touching the lands (no jam but they seem longer than the SP) spiking the pressure. So, again, not the ammo's fault necessarily. Did not have another 6.5 to try it on. To this day I'm not sure exactly what the cause was but one or both of the two reasons mentioned are a very good guess, I think. Don't care. Not using them anymore.

The .22 Mag blew up in my 455 with factory barrel. The primer ruptured, the blast set off another one or two rounds in the magazine, blowing up the magazine in my hand as I was holding the rifle right there. Magazine destroyed, luckily hand was OK. Bad headspace? Who knows, did not measure but other ammo worked flawlessly.

Immediately I was thinking of CBC and money pinching being at fault as they were the new owners of S&B at the time for few years by then. Now it is owned by CZ Colt group which is a Euro company, so same money pinching strategies are used I'm sure, so I'm no longer surprised at inconsistencies. What a way to destroy nearly 200yr old reputation and legacy. S&B ammo may not have been the best, but it was always consistently accurate and mainly safe and reliable. Kind of all I ask of ammo. Now one never knows.

 

[Milan]

In countries where reloading is legally allowed, and components available.

True. It is stupid and it sucks that there are places where ammo amounts are limited and reloading is not an option. Anti-gun idiots at work.

 

[Milan]

One can always buy the ammo, pound out the bullets, and reload the brass with a recipe you know works. I am contemplating this very scenario for my 404J. Hornady apparently just did a run of loaded ammo and I'm suddenly seeing quite a lot available. I think their bullets are okay but Hornady gasses up their ammo way too much for my liking. Hornady brass is excellent.

Are you seeing high pressures. I like Hornady as their ammo seems consistent, brass seems good and it is usually faster, without pressure signs, than other ammo dure to their powder blend. So, I like their fast ammo.

 

[Milan]

Sounds good as an option for practice that one and medium game / thin skinned . Hope the importer here will bother import it . And price be ok for trying it .

But here SB is seen by many as practice and small game hunt/ novice ammo .

I would regulated a double with ammo that is concistent and equal components.

If the big game ammo is lacking in parts due to a lot is either not coming due to trade stuff or distributed to millitary purposes . That means one must find a dependable source of ammo from a source that have it , or will bother import it in quanta’s enough for it to be worthwhile.

I think the ammo has been good, but I do think other companies' bullets have improved and S&B kind of stuck with old-school cup and core bullets for too long. Nothing wrong with those for soft skinned medium game, but there were no other choices in that ammo for the longest time. And now they use other manufacturer's bullets. Hopefully they will make a variety of their own.

 

[Milan]

I think S&B has also been supplying primers to US ammo makers in midst of the recent primer shortage, upsetting some Americans. With my .22mag and 6.5x55 experience, I was thinking: "What a way to ruin company's reputation. Reputation originally based on percussion cap and then primer business." Ouch! And being original Czech, I'm biased. Double ouch!

 

[PerH]

I think the ammo has been good, but I do think other companies' bullets have improved and S&B kind of stuck with old-school cup and core bullets for too long. Nothing wrong with those for soft skinned medium game, but there were no other choices in that ammo for the longest time. And now they use other manufacturer's bullets. Hopefully they will make a variety of their own.

Looks like just the SP of their own make for now that is .

Rifle ammunition – Sellier & Bellot

www.sellier-bellot.cz

 

[Fabnosh]

I’ve found S&B to be largely good ammo and generally pretty consistent which, given the price point, is a credit to them. However, despite that consistency, their bullet choice and associated construction would not make it an ideal bed fellow when facing DG…..which is a shame as they really do group rather well in my .375H&H Chapuis double.

FN