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S.B.
07-28-2012, 06:09 PM
with the old saying "You will destroy less deer meat with a .375 H&H than with a Wincester .270". Who has seen this first hand and with what bullet? Take into account, this was said in a day when reloading wasn't as popular as it is today.
Steve

versifier
07-29-2012, 02:11 PM
It may have been said in a day when handloading was less popular than it is today, but it is still true.

It's not so much to do with specific bullets as it is in the nature of the cartridges themselves. The amount of meat destroyed is in direct proportion to the velocity of the bullet. The higher the velocity, the greater the hydrostatic shock around the bullet's path, and the more meat is destroyed by the shockwave (the cells are burst).

Generally, the bullets from a .375H&H are much slower than those fired from a .270, and there is much less meat damage from the slower bullets. Though as a handloader you could certainly reduce the charge in a 270 to reduce velocity significantly, and I suppose you could also switch to a lighter .375 bullet and push it out faster but there are real limits as the working pressures are lower in the .375. Anyone who hunts with a muzzle loader or cast bullets in a rifle will tell you that you can eat right up to the hole.

Slower (and usually heavier) bullets do less damage, one reason why so many deer hunters use 180gr bullets in their -06's. As a handloader, it's easy enough to reduce the velocity of a 150gr bullet, but few bother as they would rather have the flatter trajectory of the faster bullet, but everything comes with a price. For those of us who hunt in areas where thick cover limits most shots to considerably less than 100yds it makes a really big difference. If you are hunting with factory ammo, it's your only viable option.

Paul B
07-29-2012, 03:52 PM
I pretty much agree with versifier. However, with handloads, there can be sosme serious meat damage if the wrong .375" bullet is used. I don't see this bullet in the latest Speer manual so it may be discontinued. I still have a few of their 235 gr. .375" bullets and I can come might close to 3000 FPS from my Ruger #1H. That bullet will ruin a heck of a lot of meat if the shoulder is hit. Just ask me how I know. It's also close to 3000 FPS from a .375 Taylor (A wild cat based on the .338 Win. mag. necked up to take .375" bullets.) As "V" mentioned, I as well as others use a 180 gr. bullet for deer and when I use my .270, I use either the 150 gr. Sierra Game King or the 150 gr. Nosler Partition. The 130 gr. bullets ruined way too much good eating meat. Lately I've been using a .35 Whelen with the 225 gr. Barnes TSX for elk. Great killing power with not a lot of meat damage. My antelope in 2009 was shot with the 150 gr. Sierra Game King and meat damage was minimal on that somewhat fragile animal. Entrance hole was about one inch and the exit maybe an inch and a half. The speed goat made a short 30 foot half circle staggering and falling.
You have to take into account that the .375 H&H or in the case of my .375 Taylor which has the exact same ballistics as the H&H, the 270 and 300 gr. bullets are designed for heavy game animals in Africa or for say the great bears of North America. Even a relatively close range shot at near muzzle velocity will allow those rather stout bullets to just punch on through without too much expansion unless one of the heavier bones is hit. My Taylor is a joy to carry at 7.5 pounds although recoil is rather stout. It's nice when in the high country after elk and I know that regardless of what angle of a shot I may have, that 300 gr. Sierra Game King will punch on through to the vitals of any bull elk I might come across.
If you're shooting a .270, try the 150 gr. bullets. I've mentioned the two I use.I you want to stay with a 130 gr. gr., go with the Barnes TSX bullet. They don't mangle as much meat as the cup and core bullets and you will get an entrance and exit wound. When I shot my elk in 2010, the 225 gr. TSX hit just behind the short ribs and exited between the neck and right shoulder as the elk ran off quartering slightly to my left. At impact, the elk dropped like a rock and didn't even kick once.
My wife and I will be hunting big Mule Deer in the Kaibab National Forest come October. That's one of the best places in Arizona for a B&C class buck. She'll be using my .257 Robt. with the 100 gr. TSX bullet and I'll be using my 7x57 Mauser with either the 120 or 140 gr. TSX bullet depending on which one my rifle likes best. Our back up rifle will probably be my .270 with my pet 150 gr. game King load.
Paul B.