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.375 Magnum Rifles (good stuff to mull over)
Posted by Brian Richardson on Mar 14 2006
If you had the .378 WBY... I'd say use a 300 yard zero on bear. The reason is that it will also be dead nuts on at 25 yards using the factory 270 grain w/ a BC of .38! You'll also be within about 5 up under 300 yards and 5 down at 350 or so. the trade offs are good on Bear sized or bigger game if you are thinking in terms of 10" PBR.
I'd advise not over thinking the shot by any holdover & hold under – this is generally bad form and bad luck on big game... yes!!! - Point the rifle dead nuts on and fire as said by Murphy - let the rifle do the work.
When I was about 16-18 years old I made two errors on the same hunt that taught me a few first-hand lessons early on about Spring Coastal Bear (Black and Brown) Hunting.
All the growth experiences up to that point were based on good target marksmanship, lots small game all over the county, used all sorts of guns/calibers, and had taking a few big game animals like 50 yard away Blacktails and one memorable shot sniping at extended range ridge to ridge near 400 yards w/ Dads ‘ol ’56 model 70 in .30-06 taking to this day is my nicest Billy Goat to date by far.
This Bear hunt started w/ Brownies. We saw several but not the King of beasts yet so held out for a little heading seaward elsewhere to find Coastal Blackies. I was hauling a .458 WIN MAG in a Remington Custom Safari 700 topped with a Leupold 1.5-5. The gun and scope combo was ideal for my endeavor. I had fired box after box in the past few years to be familiar w/ the gun and knew full well it drove both WIN soft point 510 grainers and Federal 500s into 1” at 100 of the bench.
After passing on the last Brownie of the day, the forend sling swivel fell out while I was carrying the rifle and it swung back behind me like a top heavy lever in turn thwacking a good sized boulder on the beach. I had tried to make the no-win situation but only caught the buttstock all too little too late. I wondered if the gun was still zeroed at 100??? &&& I should have checked right then and there neverthless did not for reasons like not a ton of ammo on the trip, no good targets, and the chance of seeing another Bruin close by… etc. I will also say that tho’ my best efforts to keep the gun from rusting like crazy almost immediately from the sea… it was an ongoing struggle and concern as well.
The next morning in a fog cloaked bay we skiffed out onto the cold dead calm, glassy sea. Not too long into it we spy glassed a Black Bear that was a gigantic monster foraging a band of new shoot sea grass on a narrow shred of beachhead. On landing the skiff it appeared about an 80 at most 120 yarder. We put in a limited stalk with no more land to go, and I rested the boomer over a glove and part of the cliff face. Upon more detailed and closer examination this bear was larger by a good margin than any Brown bear the guide and I had seen so far that spring season. I took careful rested aim as the Bear was a little more than quartered while walking leisurely away. BOOOOM!!! By the time the rifle came back down on target the Bear was full sprint --- now no shot as he bowled into the boreal canopy and thick undergrowth with a decisive lengthy part in his spring coat obviously absent.
We surveyed to verify the area again and again after skiffing over and landing only to find no blood yet a long 2-3 inch wide path of fur. Once it was fully established that I had left my part in the bears hairs we departed.
I will always wonder about that shot and why I missed more than likely the greatest Black bear I will ever see. That’s a hard statistic to swallow knowing full well I see over 100s of bear a year. I sometimes daydream that maybe he is still out there.
It’s easy to think that equipment had something to do with it, and it is human nature to often blame this on a blunder. So what went wrong? & lessons learned:
If I play the scenario back in my mind – I’d have to say that I should have waited just a bit longer until the Big Blackie revealed his rump rather than taking that less of a quartering presentation. It is a much more successful shot than attempting to take an article worthy, picture perfect & dignified (what I perceived at that time) front shoulder shot in this setting. Some might not agree here, but this would have presented a higher percentage, larger/easier aiming spot and longer lasting target zone while the Bear was wandering at a snail's pace away.
Today, I am very acquainted with that the .458 WIN MAG w/ 500 grainers being capable of penetrating effectively into vitals or immobilizing structure by a shot straight though the rear end even as un-dignifying as it sounds. Lastly the big .458 WIN MAGs have an atrocious narrow window for PBR or poor trajectory. One of the reasons I converted this gun to .458 Lott. Though they are fitting for dangerous and/or heavy game like Brown Bear they are not all that versatile like the .338 & .375 magnums particularly when the range is starting to get out there a bit and you are attempting to slip the shot into a narrowing window of PBR opportunity.
In my experiences - I have routinely fired .375 magnums with 300 grain bullets. Mostly .375 H&H. In the .375 WBY I’ve only fired it on paper w/ factory 300 grain & have no experience or would bother with 260 grain loads. I’d just go and shoot my .340 WBY any day if it was no prohibitively costly!!! lol. If you zero that load in at 300 yards it is also dead nuts on at 19 yards (so ok 4 sure here), BUT if the 10” window you are looking for on BBR steps out at 115 to 210 yards –-- you’ll also be parting a bears thick spring hairs aiming dead nuts on using the 300 yard mark as a zero… that’s why I related my story above. I think a 100 or 200 yard Zero makes better sense on the .375 WBY. In addition this is why I related awhile back in my postings that the .378 WBY and the .375 magnums are not in the same ballparks. Take along the .378 WBY and you are well within that window of 115 – 210 10” with no holds bar.
If you can tell me the muzzle velocity and BC of your .375 WBY loading w/ the 260 Accubond --- I might be able to find the ideal ranges for sight ins and corresponding Zeroes for you to go out and verify.
Brian Richardson
http://www.northernrim.com
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