OT 1/2-- Amazing 375 H&H and 45-70--PENETRATION!

[getitdone1]

Did some more penetration tests with plastic gallon milk jugs filled with water--and capped tight.

The 375 H&H REALLY impressed me today. It penetrated 24 of these jugs that measure 6" front to back. That's 12 feet !!!!
And you have to add 48 plastic jug wall thinknesses to that. That should add-up to a pretty tough kind of animal skin. Holy shamolly, this 300 gr Hornady FMJ would shoot through a big elephant, end-end---I think. The typical soft point centerfire bullet will penetrate 4-6 of these jugs. Fast varmint bullets go through only 1-2, sometimes into 3.

My first try with 375 went through 10 jugs. Next time I lined-up 15 and today I was going to go with 20 but added 4 more for good measure and still not enough! All of those jugs were checked twice and the bullet went through the thickest part of all jugs. It was a job lining-up the gun with that long of a row of jugs to be sure to hit each in the right spot. Upon impact the 2x6"x14' white oak board lifted over 1 foot into the air above the front horse. Oddly, 2 jugs remained on the board, one being the last jug. Have this recorded on video.

I had previously tested the Remington 45-70 factory 405 gr load on the jugs and the test was kinda "iffy" so I tested it again today. Really amazed here too. I lined-up 10 jugs and expected about 7 to get penetrated like before but it went through all 10! Bullet hole through back side of jugs appeared like the bullet did not expand at all. I don't think it had much more steam left but that is really impressive for a bullet going only about 1330 fps. Like some of the guys here have said, a slow long bullet can penetrate because you don't get excessive expansion. Man, this load is about all you need for anything! The old-timers were well-armed with their black powder load at about the same speed.

I also tried my reload with Remington 400 grain bulk bullet loaded to about the same speed as the factory load. I only had 8 jugs lined-up and it penetrated all of them.

Then I shot the 45-70, 400 gr Barnes bullet through jugs and it penetrated 5 and dented BACK side of #6. At an earlier date the Hornady 350 gr XTP performed exactly the same. Pretty good. These loads much hotter than the above 400 gr loads. Some recoil here and especially with the steel butt plate of my Browning 1886 SRC and off the bench. Bullets "mushroomed" very well, and that helps to explain why they didn't penetrate more. Whatever gets hit with them will definitely know it. By the way, the 300 gr Remington HP loaded hot proved wicked for self-defense or smaller big game when shot into these jugs.

My heart wasn't in this project today at the start but once the 375 went through 24 jugs--that changed! The slow 45-70 loads were icing on the cake!

Don

[Old Savage]

Interesting Don, thanks.

[JerryB]

That is some shooting, I have never used that many jugs. To have that many lined up perfect is great . I need to try my 45-70 loads with 5744 and 405 cast.

[Bob Winchester]

Man, your suppose to fill those jugs up with water ....BEFORE you shoot them!!!!!
BTW, were are you at in IN? I'm near Shelbyville.

[Grizz]

That's awesome on the .375! What product number is that bullet? Can you post a picture of it? What velocity?

I love jug tests and that one is one of the best! I wonder how many jugs you'd need to capture the bullet. Sure would be interesting to see one that went the distance. Even a .50 BMG doesn't go that far! At least in a swimming pool, or thru 20 gal jugs.

Kudos and thanks for the info

Grizz

[getitdone1]

Grizz,

The product # is 3727 for this FMJ Hornady .375 bullet. Box says FMJ RN but it's really a flat nose, well..90% of it.

No doubt when the boys in Africa said we don't want that bullet expanding no matter what--Steve Hornady was listening.

By the way, I had a Limbsaver recoil pad installed on this Browning A-Bolt and it is tops! Barrel of this gun is 26". Really only an 8 lb gun even with this large and long barrel. Don't know of another 375 H&H this light in weight. It surprises you when you pick it up.

Don

[86er]

Good report, Thanks!

[Grizz]

mis-taken foto

[getitdone1]

Grizz,

No, your picture looks like a handgun bullet. Way too short. My product # is correct.

Correction: When I said the nose of this bullet was 90% flat I should have said 100%. I don't know why they call it a round nose (RN).

Don

[Grizz]

Thanks Don

That picture is what came up when I put the product number in the search engine. I probably switched some digits, famous for that.

I was just curious about what that bullet looks like.