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> 375h&h as a long range rifle
375h&h as a long range rifle
@ 07:26 pm (GMT) |
mark whiteleyI have recently bought a 375h&h zkk 602 brno I wanted to re barrel to 300wm so I could seat bullets out as the 300wm is usualy built on a long action and you can have a lot a jump to the lands,my long distance project on a brno as I am a brnophile! anyway I bought a packet of factory ammo to test the rifle out, the result was I set the barrel sights at 300 and with very little hold over from off the shoulder standing I was whacking a 500 meter plate of about 600mm without any difficulty, quite impressed when I got home I striped the rifle bedded the action, floated the barrel, polished the feed rails and trigger bits, a few other adjustments and returned to the range with some reloads using the last of my IMR 4350 (to get rid of it) and 300gr sierra gk's while sighting in, the bullets walked around a bit till the bedding settled and it started to shoot one hole, in fact I shot 7 shots to make a figure 8 at 100m, so not only do I have no more IMR 4350 (dam it) but I have a shooter that I don't want to butcher, my question is has anyone else used a 375 for long distance? and how did it go? best regards mark |
Replies
@ 09:49 pm (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: 375h&h as a long range rifleHi Mark, you must have been overly cautious as you put this in the General rifles thread rather than the long range thread. Perhaps you are subconsciously thinking that your rifle is not really the best for long range?Well,I have been using the same bullet of late. I did a gun rag article on this bullet a while back, I wrote about it in my last book- I can't see anything wrong with thoroughly enjoying a .375 H&H. My only concern is that the SMK bullet is very tough. Even if the tip is opened up, it needs a good 9" penetration before it expands (if used on light to medium game). A big Cor-bond tip would be the fix I think- I haven't tried this yet. You could also try the Rocky Mountain .375 ULD bullets. I have been trying to save .308 and 7mm bullets lately so I am shooting some of my oddball stuff. Been using the .375 for dog tucker goats, 6.5-20 x 50 Sightron and drop charts. 3 shots, 5 goats, dogs fed. Not the best for meat retrieval on small animals though.... Entry 
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@ 01:41 am (GMT) |
Drew PigottRe: 375h&h as a long range rifleNo need to field dress that guy! Just pick him up and give it a little shake an he's ready!I'd be interested to see what a head on shot with that combo would do.. |
@ 02:20 am (GMT) |
jason brownRe: 375h&h as a long range rifleNathan, three shots = five goats? does it take out the animal behind it as well?a big cannon like that would be pretty cool. the question is probabley like how long is a piece of string, but in a rifle with a straight stock of reasonable weight and medium weight projectiles whats the recoil like? compairable to anything? |
@ 10:05 am (GMT) |
GREGG FOSSERe: 375h&h as a long range rifleWow what a terrific rifle. Congratulations on your choice, your good luck on finding such a shooter, and the fine tuning you did to get it there. As I am sure you know, the rifling twist rate on your barrel will determine the weight of the bullets you can stabilize and therefore to some extent the BC and downrange trajectory/energy you can attain at extended ranges, although this cartridge is no slouch in standard loads, with comparable ballistics to 30-06 180 grain in the 270 grain spitzer standard loadings......If there is a more historic and effective all-around cartridge than the 375 H&H I am unaware of it. I wish you luck if you choose to keep this rifle as is, and I am sure Nathan will have some good suggestions as to bullets for long range. |
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@ 10:21 am (GMT) |
GREGG FOSSERe: 375h&h as a long range rifleNathan - I have read that solids in the 375 will not damage nearly as much meat on smaller game and wonder if you have had a chance to try this? |
@ 11:24 am (GMT) |
faulknerRe: 375h&h as a long range rifleMark, great find you have there! I have a 376 Steyr in a Mauser action thats very light, I am loading a bonded 270 gran bullet now for point blank to 200 yards for bear and elk in close. Next load up will be some Rock Mountain Bullets 325 grain ULD, I am really not sure if my twist rate can accommodate and if so my muzzle velocity is not going to impress anyone, LOL. Really I have no plans to use this rifle as a long range rig but thats not going to stop me testing it and I might just get pleasantly surprised.Great caliber your trying out, keep us posted! Aj |
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@ 04:00 pm (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: 375h&h as a long range rifleYes, bad business really but the SMK produced very clean killing on paired goats. The onside goats ran a bit due to lack of energy transfer, the second goats went down instantaneously. I should never have mentioned this really, bad business because it could easily go wrong.Yes, I have run solids on light animals. The trouble is, as ranges are extended and velocity wanes, bullet expansion is critical. The .375 is pretty good at effecting a relatively fast kill without expansion as velocities drop but if any shot placement error or wind drift occurs, all bets are off. It is for this reason that efforts need to be made towards opening up the tips of the SMK. There is one more way to optimize such bullet designs which I did not put in the book (maybe I did somewhere?) because I felt readers may find it a bit rustic and also too time consuming. After opening the meplat to a very wide diameter on a batch of loaded bullets, mix up some autobody filler and put a blob of filler on each tip. Allow it to set. Following this, set the cartridge in a Lee case trim tool on a cordless drill and sand the tips to shape. Those with a good eye will find it relatively easy to make the batch uniform. For some it will be a near impossible task. I have used this method in the past to radically alter various blunt nosed bullet designs. It works- but it is rough, hence my not mentioning it in the KB or books. Corbin tips are vastly superior to the above rustic method. That said, fitting the tips is no easy matter for the DIY hand loader. The simplest method is to just open the tips up and not lose sleep over lost BC. The wider the tip, the better it will work on lean or light framed animals at extended ranges. The DIY hand loader has complete control in this regard. Below is a home made polymer tip using body filler, in this case altering the BC of a blunt nose prototype bullet design. The BC was lifted by 1.2 during field tests. 
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@ 04:19 pm (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: 375h&h as a long range rifleSorry Jason- I neglected your second question. Recoil is fine (H&H), heavy but rolling recoil with slow moving bullets. Not so nice with the RUM. |
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@ 09:00 pm (GMT) |
jason brownRe: 375h&h as a long range riflethanks for the reply. it sure sounds like a power house round. |
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@ 11:50 pm (GMT) |
mark whiteleyRe: 375h&h as a long range rifleSorry its taken so long to get back to my question,I've been a bit busy checking out fallow stags before the rut, thanks for all the replies and advise, this rifle is definitely a keeper as is now, Nathan your going to go into making bullets next aren't you, what sort of body filler is that in the tips you have used? as I was going to butcher this brno to make a 300wm I haven't yet looked at anything 375 but after shooting this one its opened my eye's up, I got a few comments about having a 12 power scope on it as it seems opinion is you only want a 4 power for a 375, wait till they see what I have on next LOL. would anyone know a good powder for it? I was thinking maybe ADI 2209. my opinion of the recoil is the same as Nathan its a roll not a sharp jab, this one is IMO probaly easier to shoot than my 300wm with 200 gainers, it looks like I'm going to be a busy boy doing some testing in the future :) well someone has to do it :) thanks again best regards mark |
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