Author Topic: 375JDJ Question (Read 1362 times)

Tony · « **on:** February 24, 2003, 10:36:14 PM »

This last Christmas my wife bought me a 375JDJ based off the 444 Marlin case. I was wondering if anyone had any sugestions on the different brands of bullets that will expand properly with the velocities this round produces. Eventually I will be hunting the different game animals here in Alaska only after I settle on a good bullet and practice until I am extremely confident in my abilities and find out what my personal limitations will be. :-)

Mike C · « **Reply #1 on:** February 25, 2003, 01:46:40 AM »

For expansion use bullets suitable for .375 winchester velocity. For deer sized animals the 220 Hornady is a good choice. I have not tried them yet but there is a 260 balistic tip Nosler that might be good and I suspect very accurate at longer range. I have come to see that expansion is somewhat over rated, shoot for the point of the shoulder or even the hip joint if that is what you can see. If you hit them there you got him, no tracking. Mike C :-)

MS Hitman · « **Reply #2 on:** February 25, 2003, 02:37:12 AM »

The 220 Hornady is good bullet for thin skinned game in the .375JDJ. Although I have not personally shot any, the guys I know who have been testing the 260 Nosler Ballistic Tip indicate to me it is too hard to provide much, if any expansion. So it should just penetrate like crazy. You should look at the 270 grain Hornady spire point. This bullet is, in my opinion, about the best it gets. Plenty of weight for penetration on any game you point it on, some expansion has been noted (from examining exit wounds), and it is very accurate out past 300 yards in everyone's barrel with whom I have spoken to regarding this round. I also use 300 grain FMJs, but they do not carry quite as far as the 270s will. I have found that the three bullet weights, 220, 270, and 300 shoot to the same point of impact out to about 150 yards for my barrel.

As far as powders go, I use more AA2520 than any other powder.

Hope this helps.

JJHACK · « **Reply #3 on:** February 25, 2003, 03:19:06 AM »

I owned one of the first ones made. It was one of my all time favorite cartridges. There is something odd about the .375 diameter. It can kill game well beyond its size when compared to other cartridges. The same can be said of the 375HH rifle.

OK with that out of the way, I have used nearly every .375 bullet possible in this gun. The only one that provided the kind of power, penetration and long range accuracy was the 260 nosler partition. The 270 hornady is very flat shooting but way to hard. I recovered some that had only bent the tip. Most just whistled right through. I'm sure if you shot something at 50 yards or less it would work better but I can use a revlover for that work! It's the 150-200 or more yard aniamls I need the 375JDJ for.

I cannot count the amount of near perfect mushrooms I have recovered from the 260 Nosler Partition. I actually wrote an article in Hangunner years ago about using this bullet in the 375JDJ. I have photo's and many comparisons of performance. Remember the 375 win bullets are going to be flat nose and have awfull trajectory. By the same token the standard 375 bullets for the "HH" are going to be designed for much higher velocity. So you have a problem right from the start.

The Partition has the soft front for explosive expansion in a rifle which makes it just perfect in the contender. I doubt you will find a better option! The new Ballistic tip's might work well also, there too new for me to have tested with this gun.

Tony · « **Reply #4 on:** February 25, 2003, 06:14:12 AM »

First I want to thank evryone that replied and all the helpful information that each of you provided. I have some of the Hornady 270 grain and the 260 grain partions to load up. I am also going to check into the Woodleigh bullets to see how they might perform. I figure a person can never go wrong testing as many bullets as possible in order to find what works best in the paticular firearm that person owns. :-)

HBL · « **Reply #5 on:** February 27, 2003, 05:11:33 AM »

The Speer 235gr. works great in this cartridge for deer.

JD HHI 6092® · « **Reply #6 on:** March 01, 2003, 01:05:36 PM »

Quote from: HBL

The Speer 235gr. works great in this cartridge for deer.

I've tried this bullet in my 375 JDJ and can't get it to shoot. Please let me know what powder/primer your using. I contacted SSK and JD Jones told me that 375 barrels might be picky shooting this bullet. Said it was this bullet was designed to be shot at 375 H&H velocites.

TopGun · « **Reply #7 on:** March 01, 2003, 02:25:18 PM »

Tony, I've had great luck with thr Hornady 270 on deer and the 285gr Speer Grand Slam. I toook my last Elk with that one. I can't speak of bullet expansion because I didn't retrieve any of the three shots. He was quartering to me and I hit 3 times at 175yds. all could be covered with my hand. 1st two staggered him hard. The third was unnecessary and it was just a finishing shot. I was actually trying to get a recovered bullet. Damage to left front shoulder and lungs and was tremendous. It is the only load I use for Elk. I'm sure they're may be better ones. I imagine it will make a bad day for anythng. The Sierrra 250 and 300 are extremely accurate. JD Jones says they're way to hard for the JDJ. The 250 is very flat shooting. Good luck.