Q: I acquired a Ruger M77 rifle chambered in .375 Ruger which I intend taking to Namibia to shoot a Cape buffalo, lion and plains game. Could you suggest a load with a good 300gn bullet?
The rifle has a Hogue stock, like the one you tested back in the early 2000s, and is quite comfortable to shoot.
James Andrews
A: A joint development between Ruger and Hornady, the .375 Ruger is a good cartridge that equals and even outdoes the old .375 H&H. Better still, with an overall cartridge length of 3.340 inches (84.8mm), it fits in a .30-06 length action.
The load I’d use on plains game up to the size of eland is the Hornady 300gn DGX Bonded and 79gn of AR2209 ignited with a CCI 250 primer, which churns up 762m/s (2500fps). This is a maximum load so work up from 77gn.
You could also use this bullet for buffalo, but a better choice for big, nasty bovines would be the Hornady DGS solid. The DGS bullets have a copper-clad steel jacket for maximum penetration on thick-skinned, heavy-boned animals such as buffalo, elephant, rhino and hippos.
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