At the loading bench....

Andy the Aussie

Andy the Aussie

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... so last year I figured out the load I was going to use in my .375H&H when I toddle off to Africa in August but time has been against me since. Also had to solve a crimp issue to get the big pills nice and tight in the case. So after some experimentation and a couple of buggered cases today I finally got it all sorted out and started dumping some powder into cases and stuffing projectiles in on top.... :D

Just a few today, another 50 or so before I head bush next month to play.... :) :)



 
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Dang, them be some large rounds! My apologies to your shooting shoulder in advance.
 
Are those the Woodleigh Hydrostatic? Never seen the green domes on them before, is that just to improve feeding?
 
Yep 300gn Woodleighs. The caps are purely for feeding, I have to pop them off to seat each pill as they are a bit spongy.

Safetyman the .375 is actually pretty sweet (all things considered) offhand. If I had to choose between my .300Win and the .375 off the bench, I would take the .375 each and every time !!! It is a big long shove, not the sharp smack I get from the .300.

I have a mate in SA that trains guides and is telling me those Woodleighs are making a good name for themselves on dangerous large critters !!!
 
I shoot a 375 H&H too, it gives me a great deal of peace of mind when hunting in Grizzly country, and I don't find the recoil to be too bad at all when you consider how much energy is leaving that barrel. The hydrostatics are not necessary for NA game I would guess, but they sure look cool and I wondered how well they worked as they are a unique design.


edit: After watching the video shunsui posted it appears I was wrong to assume that these bullets are only intended for the heavy game found in Africa/Asia/Australia. There is a dealer in Canada that carries the full Woodleigh line so perhaps I will have to try these projectiles on a future hunt.
 
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Always fun to learn something new.
Jump in at ~ 4 min for the Hydrostatically Stabilised Bullets.
[video=youtube;ZN9y6YvTUYk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN9y6YvTUYk[/video]
 
Yes, they are getting used on all manner of critters here as well now. That said with the exception of Buffalo/Bantang/Scrub Bulls I probably don't think there is much here in Australia that would "justify" them, perhaps Sambar but I would be just as happy throwing either 180gn Noslers (.300Win) or .270gn Sierra/Noslers (.375) at them.

In .375 a bag of 20 costs me $58 right off Woodleigh's table at the gun show. So they are not what I am going to throw at hogs (well post this African adventure anyway, I will bust hogs/rabbits/goats/deer with them between now and August to get comfy hitting things quick again with this rifle).

Andy
 
Yes, at that price I guess most shooters won't be going through a couple boxes every weekend, but from my experience premium bullets that appear to be so expensive at first glance actually end up being a very small portion of my budget for an excursion. When you spend a good chunk of change on a hunt the last thing I want to fail is the bullet when I get that one shot.

Have fun practicing Andy and I look forward to pics of your safari.
 
Yeah, compared to what even a weekend away hunting can cost (time, food, fuel etc etc) some quality ammunition is really only a small part of the equation. Even less so as you get further away from home..!
 
I have 2 375s. One of them loves 260 AccuBonds and the other 350 TSX. I have had an AccuBond fail at close range on a deer, though, sort of. I could tell by the sound of the impact something was off, and I found whole organs along the blood trail. My go-to powder is RL-15 with IMR4064 in second. What do you like?
 
Andy the Aussie said:
...I will bust hogs/rabbits/goats/deer with them between now and August to get comfy hitting things quick again with this rifle...
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That's the ticket--sounds like you'll be enjoying this hunt for many moons just in anticipation. Every time you send a Woodleigh to greet a hog you'll be imagining that old mossy-horned mbogo sneering back at you. Great stuff! :thumbup:
 
I agree on the recoil. The .300 is just sharp in comparison.

358 said:
I have 2 375s. One of them loves 260 AccuBonds and the other 350 TSX.
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Knowing how 80 gr and 130 gr TTSX perform, I can only imagine hitting a critter with 350 grains. Through and through for sure.
 
Oh yeah, and the 350 takes it into another recoil class. I figure if I can get 2000 fps from them, and I can, there shouldn't be anything more needed for anything in the world. The 458WM didn't make that velocity and was issued to African PHs for elephant culling operations for years, if not still, and I'm pretty sure that a 500gr .458 has less sectional density than this.
 
Those Woodleighs are compressing 77gns of Win 760. This is the same load I used with Sierra 300gn'ers in the 80s on Asiatic Buffalo with fine results ;) . I loaded a small batch of Woodleighs, on this, seated deep enough that they will load in the magazine. Shot a couple for pressure (primers flattening but not significantly) and then put three into 1.1 inches. I could play around more but I am not going to. Putting rounds out of the rifle is now more important than marginally smaller groups at this point.
 
Will York said:
That's the ticket--sounds like you'll be enjoying this hunt for many moons just in anticipation. Every time you send a Woodleigh to greet a hog you'll be imagining that old mossy-horned mbogo sneering back at you. Great stuff! :thumbup:
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...... exactly mate, tough as next month I will be hunting Fallow in the rut but I will pack the .375 as well as my .308. There is always a hog that needs busting and I am sure the .375 can deal with a horney Fallow Buck... ;)

Zemapeli said:
If you would be willing, It would be so cool to see some pictures. :cool:
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.... I suspect there will be some... :D
 
Andy the Aussie said:
Those Woodleighs are compressing 77gns of Win 760. This is the same load I used with Sierra 300gn'ers in the 80s on Asiatic Buffalo with fine results ;) . I loaded a small batch of Woodleighs, on this, seated deep enough that they will load in the magazine. Shot a couple for pressure (primers flattening but not significantly) and then put three into 1.1 inches. I could play around more but I am not going to. Putting rounds out of the rifle is now more important than marginally smaller groups at this point.
Click to expand...

Completely agree on the group size, but is there a significant increased temperature difference between where you are now and there, when you'll be hunting? I don't want you to have to boil the barreled action or beat the braizing off the bolt handle to get it open. Generally I've found the 375 does best with medium-burn rate powders. 760 is pretty slow, and the Sierra (Game Kings?) I'd certainly think are waaaaaaay shorter, giving the Woodleighs more bearing surface and more chance to build pressure. It appears to have bearing surface relief grooves which would counteract the length difference hopefully. And you may have forgotten more than I know about it. Just trying to avoid a horror story.
 
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