Is there a .375" bullet that works like an ELD or TMK?

[JBradley500]

I feel like at some point I'll want to buy a 375 Ruger Alaskan, which have a 1 in 12" twist. This would be for no good reason just to be honest. Launching something like a 275-300 grain match bullet into a large animal or metal target would be awesome, but if I'd be stuck with mono, bonded, or round nose bullets I don't really see a point in North America.

I would reload for it, but I don't know if there are any bullets that would have similar external and terminal ballistics as a TMK, ELD, etc. Are there options that I just haven't seen? Closest I've found was Accubonds, which isn't exactly what I'm looking for.

 

[WKR]

Doesn't berger make a hybrid target in .375? You could try those. Just open up the tip a bit.
Edit: with a 1 in 12 i think your options are really limited

 

[Bluefish]

With the new regs in Iowa allowing 35 cal and up bottleneck cartridges, I had asked a similar question for 35 cal. My conclusion was that it probably won’t happen, by the time weight is high enough for good bc, they are heavy and recoil is stout. Twist is too slow as it’s designed around 200-250g.

I would like to see a better BC in a 200g. I have thought Hornady might take some of the tech for their new varmit it bullets and use it to make 35 and 375 cal that are longer, yet still around 200g.

 

[Nomosendero]

The minimum twist for the 410 Hybrid is 1:11.5

 

[pbroski]

Sierra 300 gr. Gameking.

 

[AkMtnRunner]

Even a lowly monometal 375 kills quickly. Instead of a Nalgene bottle of wound, you’ll have a 5 gal bucket of blood shot. Wanton waste is a crime.

But seriously, it wouldn’t kill any quicker and you’d lose more meat

 

[Wrench]

I shoot partitions, tsx and accubonds in my 375h&h. Ballistics are very similar to the 30-06 which is very underrated. You'll be holding more wind, but when you slap a plate at 600 with a 300gr 375 you will know it.

 

[The Fish Box]

Bringing this one back to the top. I received a .375 raptor (the big cased one not the baby one) a little while back and am looking for the best hunting bullet to sling out of it.

I know any bullet will probably work just fine but this is built for shooting a long ways and I want to use the best performing bullet possible in that situation.

 

[cal30_sniper]

Neck it down to 9.3mm and shoot the 250gr Accubond at .494 G1 BC.

That’s the wildcat that’s been living rent free in my head. Base it on the .33 Nosler case and not only is good brass available, but it will also fit in a 3.25” medium length mag with the bullet seated to the cannelure.

 

[Nomosendero]

Bringing this one back to the top. I received a .375 raptor (the big cased one not the baby one) a little while back and am looking for the best hunting bullet to sling out of it.

I know any bullet will probably work just fine but this is built for shooting a long ways and I want to use the best performing bullet possible in that situation.

Yes, I would like to know about long range .375 cal bullets as well.

 

[Flymost]

That 410 Berger has an amazing BC and I’d love to build a rifle for it, but have absolutely no reason to tho.

 

[S-3 ranch]

Speer hot core and Speer 270gr BT are pretty explosive, yet still accurate enough for elk and deer in my 23’ barrel ruger
Hot core is 3000 fps , 270gr = 2800fps

 

[Luke S]

I'd like a 235 grain load at 2400 fps, basically a heavy 30-06. I wish we had a high bc bullet in that weight class that acted like an eldm/eldx on impact.

 

[cal30_sniper]

I'd like a 235 grain load at 2400 fps, basically a heavy 30-06. I wish we had a high bc bullet in that weight class that acted like an eldm/eldx on impact.

BC scales inversely with caliber for the same weight bullet. For .375 caliber, you’re going to be way up in the 300gr range for a high BC bullet.

 

[Luke S]

Yeah I know you can only go so far with those parameters. I just mean higher bc that what is currently available.

 

[cal30_sniper]

Yeah I know you can only go so far with those parameters. I just mean higher bc that what is currently available.

If you’re familiar with the calculations for form factor (bullet sectional density / bullet BC), look at some bullets in the calibers and weight range you’re interested in and look for the lowest form factor. Thatcan be a better indicator for what bullets are going to perform better out of a fixed case volume.

Often a relatively light bullet with an okay BC will outperform a heavy high BC out to what most folks would consider a feasible hunting range. This is especially true when you’re considering cartridge designs where heavier bullets have to be seated deeper due to mag length restrictions and start intruding into the powder volume.

These two factors combined are why bigger volume cartridges often carry a reputation of being “better” with heavier bullets.

 

[cal30_sniper]

Just to continue the discussion, because I'm enjoying it, here's the thought process that's leading me down the 9.3 road (other than the fact that I've been loading and shooting the 9.3x62 for a while). I think it's still relevant to the discussion here because of the .375 bullet data included in my tabulations.

Two attached tables show the common hunting bullets in .358, .366, and .375 caliber. I focused on those for two reasons: 1) some states like Iowa with a .35 caliber rifle restriction I'd like to take advantage of (sorry .348 Win in the safe), and 2) by a rule they're shorter overall than the .30 or .33 caliber 200+ gr bullets, so they'll fit with a longer case in the medium action I'm building on (which unfortunately means they have less overall B.C., but that's what 7mms are for). Note that there are a lot of other options I didn't tabulate because they had relatively low BCs for weight and are bullet constructions that I'm just not really interested in hunting with.

The first attachment is a table of these bullets sorted by G1 BC. As you can see, the .366 250gr Accubond comes out on top. The only ones that best it are the high-300+ gr match bullets for .375 (.375 390gr A-tip, 379gr/407gr/410gr Berger), which I did not include in the table because personally that's not something I would hunt with at the velocities you can drive them in a lighter rifle while still maintaining manageable recoil. That's obviously subject to personal preference and interpretation and hand-waving. My takeaway from list #1 is that the .366 250gr Accubond slightly edges out everything else for BC in the hunting bullets I'd want to use. In .375, the best viable lead option on this list (purely focused on BC) looks like the 300gr Accubond. I have no experience with copper bullets, but obviously the 260gr .375 Expansion Tip is pretty far up the list also if that's your thing.

The story changes a little when you sort by G1 Form Factor (second list). This sorting is a good way to capture the relative bullet weights and what muzzle velocities they can be driven to by the same cartridge, which I believe is particularly relevant to these "medium bore" hunting cartridges, where your maximum reliable hunting range is going to be strongly driven by the range of minimum expansion velocity that can be obtained with a relatively "heavy" bullet in a cartridge of manageable recoil. In this list, the .366 250gr AB is still essentially at the top of the list, bested only by the copper 260gr .375. However, the .375 ordering changes significantly when you sort by G1 FF. In this case, the 260gr AB, 250gr TTSX, and 270gr LRX all best the 300gr Accubond that has a higher BC. The 225gr .358 bullets also jump up in the list significantly relative to what their G1 BC numbers would have you believe.

Now, onto more of my decision process. My favorite sort in this is bullet type followed by G1 FF (3rd attachment). In that sorting, the .366 comes out best or second best for the bullet construction I'm interested in loading. It has the best Accubond, the second best A-frame (behind the 270gr .375 A-frame, which has a notably lower G1 BC), and is second best to the 225gr and 250gr .358 for Partition bullets (and again, the .358s have a noticeably lower G1 BC). Interesting to note, for anyone that would ever consider shooting solids at range, the .366 also has the best Nosler Solid by both G1 BC and G1 FF. So, add all that cherry-picked data up, along with some handwaving and sprinkle a bit of "I just need an excuse to do this" on top, and I'm going to chase the 9.3mm bug for a "longer-range" "medium-bore" hunting cartridge.

I'm pretty much settled on a 33 Nosler necked up to .366. Preferred Barrel Blanks thinks they can accomplish this with reamers they have in stock, and I'm working with Redding to see what the best route is for dies. The cartridge seems to be quite similar to a .30-06 in case volume vs bore area and bullet weight, and GRT data indicates it responds well to a lot of the same powders the -06 and regular belted mag cartridge families like. Several powders show promise of besting 2800fps muzzle velocity out of a 22" barrel, and COAL with the 250gr AB will still fit inside a 3.25" Medium Length magazine, which is what I'm after. Those muzzle velocities will push that 250gr AB out beyond 700yds at the altitudes I shoot while still maintaining effective expansion velocity of 2000fps or greater (final attachment). Note that 36 Nosler, 9.3-300PRC and 9.3-375 Ruger all give higher performance, but none of them are going to be a good fit in a 3.25" magazine. The 33 Nosler case is a bit shorter, but still has good brass available, so that's what I'm leaning towards.

And yes, I know, a 300WSM with heavy bullets offers all-around better ballistics out of a medium action than anything discussed here, but what's the fun in that?

 

[rickyw]

Speer boat tail soft point 270 grain is probably as close as it gets. It’s a short fat bullet compared to the slender .308 200 grain eldx I load

 

[Luke S]

I never went that far down the rabbit hole but I did notice the lower bc of 375 and 358 bullets when I reloaded for those calibers.

Practically speaking I decided bigger calibers weren't worth it once I realized I might want to shoot past 300 yards. You can do it. But a high bc bullet driven fast enough adds up to a lot more recoil which doesn't help me shoot better.

Now of course if you live in a state where you need a certain caliber that changes things.

If I had it to do over again I'd skip everything over 30 caliber but I'm not in the Midwest or Africa.