375 H&H as Elk Hunting rifle

[kschatzle]

Greetings,

I am taking my 2 sons on our first Elk hunt next fall in Colorado and the rifle cabinet of optimum rifles leaves me only my 45-70 Guide, 308 SXAR semi-auto or Model 70 Safari in 375 H&H. I have picked the 375 for the obvious reasons of the possibility of 300 yard shots in the mountains. (The boys will be using my 7Mag A-bolt amd 300 WSM Sako- both fine elk rifles). I eliminated the 308 due to weight and the 45-70 due to trajectory.

Question: Federal has a 375 260g nosler accubond that only has 8.9" bullet drop at 300 yds - is this the best out there and an appropriate bullet? Hornady also has a similiar load. Any opinions on this matter would be appreciated.

Kevin

 

[snakeman]

Should be fine just practice and go drop an elk

 

[BrocLuno]

That should do it

 

[Robert]

That should work fine. My present Elk rifle is a Marlin 1895G. I love the short barrel in the thick oak brush. But I plan on buying a M70 in 375H&H as soon as funds allow. If you handload you can really ring some great things out of the little old 375...

Where are you planning to hunt? Start planning now, as the season will be here before you know it.

 

[Gordon]

Perect choice for the job. BTW accubonds are usually extremely accurate. I have seen them work on African Plains game very well!

 

[ricebasher302]

More than enough, but not at all ridiculous. Elk can be very tough. A little extra horsepower never hurts.

 

[kschatzle]

We are planning for the 3rd week in Octobor in the Flattops here in CO. Contacted the outfitter today and just finished hunter safety with the boys.

I debated my Marlin 1895 for the hunt as I love shooting it. The best loads I could find are a Woodleigh Core from Garret Ammo, but nowhere near the range. I am waiting for Hornady to release their ballistics on their new small 45-70 they have announced.

 

[Robert]

I load my 45-70 with a hard cast 405 gr lead bullet and push it at around 2000 fps. I put a Weaver K4 on it to make the longer shots a little easier and the stock sights are nothing to write home about. Anything 200y and in is mine. Assuming I can actually get one I have a tag for into that range. Dang bulls like to walk right up to me when all I have is a cow tag...

 

[natman]

If you don't mind the weight, it should certainly do the job.

Overkill is underrated.

 

[Dr T]

For the Flattops, in factory ammo, I would keep it simple and go with the Hornady Interlock 270 gr. factory load. (see http://www.hornady.com/store/375-H-and-H-270-gr-SP-RP/).

The bullet is built for thin skinned game and has a B.C. of .380. The MV is 2700 fps.

I would sight it in for 3 inches high at 100 yards. This will allow you a zero at about 230 yards and put it about 6 inches low at 300 yards (use the ballistic calculator at the Hornady website).

This is how I have my 375 sighted in for this particular application (but I am using some old Winchester 270 gr. Silvertips that give me 3-shot center to center groups of 1.25"). The Hornady factory loads are my backup for when the Silvertips run out.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Take what you like but remember what Natman said,

If you don't mind the weight, it should certainly do the job

Elk hunting is work, hard work. You'll be climbing ridges as steep as a barn roof at 11,000 feet or so. Every ounce counts.

 

[Dr T]

Note that while my 375 H&H is set up for this pursuit, my 30-06 Ruger No. 1 RSI and 308 Ruger M 77 Frontier are higher on my list of guns to take.

 

[Kachok]

OVERKILL!! Thats OK though, a healthy dose of overkill is a good thing as long as you can shoot it accuratly, and you enjoy shooting it.

 

[sugarmaker]

From my fiddlings with a .375 A-bolt stalker it should be good to 300 with any reasonably slippery 250 to 300 grain bullet. Sierra makes a nice 250 and a nice 300 (my favorite) SBT. The 300 over a hat full of 4350 runs about 2650 from my 26" 8 lb 8 oz gun with a 1-4 scope. It does about 2.5MOA, which isn't stellar but good enough to get to 300. Hold over about 4 inches if the target looks over 200 and it'll be in the kill zone even if you misjudge by 50 yards. I find the gun more sensitive to hold than lighter calibers, it moves more under recoil. I find it more demanding of good technique which is hard to maintain beyond about 20 rounds of practice per session (I usually quit at 15 when my pec muscles start involuntarily twitching). Sounds like a fun hunt.