375 H&H Reload Questions

[GrassLakeRon]

Hi all,

I need some advice on some loads for the 375 H&H.  I would like some a bit hotter the factory.  I would like to use the 360 and 300 grain Nosler Part. for it.  Thanks


Ron

[Redhawk1]

I would be more concerned with accuracy over hotter factory rounds.  But if you want loads that are in the Nosler reloading manual I would be glad to give you some as long as you let me know what powder you are going to use.

[Lone Star]

If by "hotter" you mean higher pressure, the first question is why?  The .375 is already a high pressure cartridge (62,000 psi), and loading it much above factory levels is not only unsafe - it may compromise reliability.  A sticky case in a dangerous game rifle can mean the difference between getting a quick second shot............and not getting one.       

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[Ratltrap]

I need some advice on some loads for the 375 H&H.  I would like some a bit hotter the factory.  I would like to use the 360 and 300 grain Nosler Part. for it.  Thanks!

+1 on Lone Star's advice.

Assuming you meant 260 Partition instead of 360 - I like Reloader 15 for the 260 bullets and IMR 4350 or Reloader 19 for 300s. I don't load up to published max pressure loads as I don't necessarily trust the action I have (Zastava - currently known as the Remington 798) at the SAAMI pressure max. I can still get 50-100 fps better velocity than the Federal Premium specs using those powders. My gun isn't real finicky about loads or bullets, so I can't improve much on factory accuracy

There are a couple of good loads listed on the Alliant powder website http://alliantpowder.com/

[GrassLakeRon]

Well first off let me make my intensions clearer,  "Hotter" to me is not a question of going over pressure or pushing the envelope on unproven material.  I am not a risk taker when I always ask for advice.  "Hotter" to me simply means ....Has anyone found an accuracte or in general better load then factory using the 260 and 300 Noslers in the 375.  I am glad to see you guys are here to proof my logic and help me get to the heart of my true questions....No Joke : )

Thanks for the Advice.

Ron

[Redhawk1]

I could not give you any loads using Nosler bullets in a 375 H&H. I only use Barnes 300 gr. bullets in my 375 H&H.

But one thing I have learned is, even if someone gives you a load, that does not guarantee it will perform well in your gun. Every gun will shoot differently.

[GEMSBUCK]

Ratltrap that Zastava is a Mauser 98 action same thing made by the same company  and is well known for it's strenght. with that said I never advise anyone to push the envelope on any reloads.
 Too many shooters just don't realize the power of a caliber. I know guys that swear you need a 30-06 min to shoot 140# deer,I know guys that hunt black bears with 338 win mag as amin. in truth a 30-06 with a quality 220 gr bullet is enough to handle even the largest Na game ands all but the elephant in Afri if it were legal. gone are th days when poor powders and poor bullets meant there was a true need for .45 cals and up

[Ratltrap]

Gemsbuck - I'm no gunsmith so I can only go by what gunsmiths have told me and my own judgement. As you say, the Zastava is a Mauser action, but it is not a magnum Mauser action so it must be lengthened to accomodate 2.85" cartridges like the H&H. As I understand it that can be done either by taking metal from the rear of the action or from the front and the Zastava action is relieved at the front. If you have one of these you can easily look into the chamber and see what I'm talking about. I'm told by gunsmiths who have a good deal of experience with these guns that taking out metal at the front of the action weakens the lower locking lug abuttment area to the point where lug setback can occur even at SAAMI pressures. I've been shown the difference between the 2.5" and 2.85" Zastava actions and shown examples of lug setback in 2.85" action that resulted from handloads apparently built with published data.

I like my rifle and it shoots great, but I'm taking a conservative approach with the pressures I subject it to. You and anyone else, of course, can choose to do otherwise.

[drdougrx]

Just my 2 cents.  I load a 300gr Nosler Partition with 72.5gr RL-15 in my Rem 700.  I get 2460fps at the muzzle.  I also get 1.5" groups at 100yrds.  Unless I can find some data that gives me more velocity, I'm going to stay with it.

[WildeJager]

Hi Ratltrap,

Could you tell me more about Lug setback.

I have a Whitworth 375 H&H.  Just bought it in Nov from a friend.  It was customized when he bought it 8 years ago.He shot 20 rounds to zero the scope and then he stored it in his basement gun cabinet with no humidity controls for eight years.

I shot it in Nov. 2006 and it grouped an inch or less over the course of forty rounds.  I cleaned it over Christmas and took it out two weeks ago and had a shift of impact 9 inches right and 6 inches low, at 25 Yards!!! 

The strange things about this are 1) I didn't take the gun apart, only used a Bore guide with a nylon brush and Barnes Bore cleaner,  2) The gun still groups as tight as it did back in November. 

The real problem is that my friend doesn't recall the Customizer, nor does he have the paper work, so I don't know if the barrel was originally free floated.  I didn't check this when I bought the gun. All I know is, that now it is not free floated.  There is contact about 1 inch from the front of the stock, and seems to have contact on the right side to about 2/3's of the way around the barrel.

I would have thought that if humidity change would have caused the stock to shrink in my safe with desicant, that any new barrel pressure would not only cause a shift in impact but would stand a good chance at increasung group size as well.  I didn't want to take the gun apart until I have a chance to shoot it some more and see if I get any more changes.

It is the continuing good groups that causes me to question something internal to the scope? Again I would think that any looseness in mounts or screws would degrade the group size as well as impact.  Any one ever have a scope have such a shift? 

Thanks for any thoughts, insights, or experiences. Specifically the lug set back and what that would do from an impact vs. grouping stand point.

[GaryCrow]

My understanding is that the lug setback problem with mausers opened in the front has been pretty much confined to older military actions.  I've never heard of a problem out of a commercial mauser like the FN or Zastava (interarms markX, charles daly, rem 798) that came from the factory that way.  A lot of older mauser actions were made with some pretty suspect steel, cut away some of the support for the lower locking lug and you can have problems with them.  I could be wrong, but I don't believe there's been any problems reported out of the zastava actions chambered in .375 H&H.

My favorite load for the 260 gr partition is 73.4 gr RL15 and a 215 primer in remington brass.  It shoots very well out of my M70 stainless.  It's the max load listed on alliant's website, and it gives me right at 2700 fps.

[Ratltrap]

You might try H380 for the lighter bullet as well. It's made me good loads with 270 Hornadys.

Hi Ratltrap,

Could you tell me more about Lug setback.

Thanks for any thoughts, insights, or experiences. Specifically the lug set back and what that would do from an impact vs. grouping stand point.

I'll guess you are on the right track in tying the point of impact shift to how the rifle is bedded.  Mine has never had that kind of shift, but the original Turkish walnut stock I got it in was damaged from recoil in the area behind the magazine box, so I bedded it in a fiberglass stock before I ever shot it. The barrel is freefloated from an inch ahead of the recoil lug forward and I installed crossbolts behind both the magazine box and the recoil lug, but as you probably know yours may shoot better with a pressure poiont somewhere in the barrel channel. Main thing is to get it bedded so variables like humidity or how the rifle is rested don't affect the shot.

I don't know that lug setback would affect POI, but as I say I'm no gunsmith. I wouldn't be too concerned about lug setback unless you plan on putting hot loads through it or know that it has had hot loads through it. I'm still going to use mine (conservatively) and after all, there are thousands of these rifles out there already and Remington is putting more of them out there in their 798s. 'Course Remington still hasn't done away with the controversial Walker trigger either.

My understanding is that the lug setback problem with mausers opened in the front has been pretty much confined to older military actions.  I've never heard of a problem out of a commercial mauser like the FN or Zastava (interarms markX, charles daly, rem 798) that came from the factory that way.

GC- I'm told lug setback is a very serious problem in older military Mausers with lengthened actions too, but the 2 examples I saw in person were on Mark X (Zastava) actions imported by Interarms. Those rifles were manufactured between 1969 and the mid 1990s.
 
This subject is certainly not without controversy. Apparently I'm not allowed by the editors here to post the thread link , but if you can believe anything you read on the internet, there is a legthy but interesting thread on this topic over on the AR forum if you search under Charles Daly Mausers. Along with the usual "expert" banter, that thread includes references to several published reports by Master Gunsmiths relating skepticism over the strength of the lug recesses in H&H length Zastava actions. As I said, y'all can do whatever you want, but I've decided that a conservative approach with pressures is prudent in those actions.

[jro45]

I use IMR4350 powder in all my 375H&H loads. I have no pressure signs from my loads. I have my 375 sighted in to 150 yds and it drops 2.34" to 2.44" at 200 yds