Monthly Archives: July 2020

The .375 Ruger Makes Me Smile; Talking with Larry Weishuhn…

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In 2018, my readers knew I was hunting Texas at Wildlife Systems, Rocky Creek with Larry Weishuhn (Mr. Whitetail). Larry invariably had a friendly smile and soft Texas drawl. Photo below Larry’s buck antlers for rattling made my NH antlers look small!

I mentioned to Larry that I left my Ruger M77 Hawkeye Africa rifle in .375 Ruger home. Larry pipes right up, “shot a number of deer with my .375 Ruger, you should have brought it”!  Love that cartridge! Me too, “I’m thinkin” Now (November 2020)  I am taking the .375 Ruger back for a Trophy Deer Hunt to Texas — lots of land to self distance!

I recently sent an email to Larry:

Hi Larry,

You and I have championed the 375 Ruger for years certainly for me since 2012/2013. I have written dozens of articles on the .375 Ruger as part of my Ruger M77 Hawkeye African Rifle.

Here are just a few of my articles. I shot hand loaded 260g Nosler AB’s at 600 yards prone “High Power Practice” full power and my groups were 3 ½ inches at 600 yds and 3/8th inch 3 shot at 100 yards. As a handloader “the .375 Ruger makes me smile”. Sounds like the title of a new article!!

https://www.nhrifleman.com/hand-loading-the-375-ruger-for-deer-bear-moose-and-cape-buffalo/

https://www.nhrifleman.com/the-375-ruger-cartridge-a-handloaders-dream-cartridge/

https://www.nhrifleman.com/reloading-the-375-ruger-changed-me-by-ed-hale/

https://www.nhrifleman.com/best-deer-bear-moose-bison-cartridge-for-handloaders-with-375-ruger-in-a-ruger-m77-hawkeye/

https://www.nhrifleman.com/the-375-ruger-enough-cartridge-and-accurate/

https://www.nhrifleman.com/ruger-375-buffs-cant-get-enough/

 

Robert Ruark always said; USE ENOUGH GUN and the .375 Ruger does that splendidly.  I am taking my .375 Ruger to Rocky Creek in November.

AND LARRY E-MAILS BACK

Ed,
THANK YOU SIR… Great articles!
Perfect choice for Rocky Creek! In my opinion!

I’ve taken elephant, hippo, several African and Australian buffalo, African lion, and plains game on down to blue duiker; in Europe
roe deer, fallow, red stag, mouflon, ibex; in North America a near 11 foot brown bear down to whitetails.. Still my one most favorite round with which to hunt the world. Have shot it out to 700 yards.

I do like your new title!

All the BEST,
Larry

*********

 Larry notes that he uses factory Hornady Ammo for all his hunts.

I on the other hand have almost never hunted game with a factory load of  any caliber and derive great satisfaction from hand-loading my own rounds customized to each rifle. 

Each to his own, right. Larry is a good friend and a world class sportsman!

You can find Larry on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/larryweishuhnoutdoors/

Happy Birthday Larry!

Perhaps I got that reloading bug from Jim Carmichael of “Outdoor Life” Fame. I recall that Jim had a 458 slug taken from a bull elephant that he harvested and said that it was in such great shape that he could hand-load it again. Jim was a great shot and at the time reloaded for his bench rest competition, as I recall. Being of an engineering mindset hand loading is a great hobby!

Just yesterday I loaded up some more .375 Ruger rounds with SR 4759 (now out of manufacture) with an additional grain of powder with Speer’s 235 grain Hot Core Bullet made famous by Vernon Speer. Molten lead poured hot with the copper jacket is near enough to bonded in my book. I achieved around 2200 fps, my secret deer load goal and shot a 3 shot one inch group at 100 yards. Why 2200 fps? Because, I believed that out to 150 yards I would still get decent mushrooming and delivered energy with this reduced load in a semi-spitzer and still have hit that big buck with the .375 diameter “Hammer of Thor”!  Yet the recoil was just a bit less than a full power 30-06 shooting 180 grain ammo. 

It is interesting to note for the technical folks out there that in 2005 Chuck Hawkes, the owner/managing editor of Guns & Shooting Online  first published his formula called Killing Power Score or KPS where the frontal bullet area (.1104 for the .375 vs .0745 for a .308) was instrumental in the calculation along with BC and bullet speed. The .375 has more frontal area and thus if you can control speed and BC you can customize your so called “Hammer”. 

Below is a big bull moose with a smaller rack that I whacked with a 300 grain Nosler AB with a load of RL-15, the bull dropped in 2 steps at the shot. The wind was blowing up to 30 mph and the thermometer was in the teens. With Wind Chill being well below zero I was happy to have this bull in my Leupold VX-6 crosshairs.

800 pound Newfoundland Moose October 2019

First reduced load harvest was fat Red Deer with Hornady’s now defunct 220 grain FP traveling around 1500 fps. At 30 yards I got full penetration and the deer fell dead with a heart shot.

Below is my New Hampshire bull taken with the .375 Ruger and 260 grain heads. My partner followed up with his .308 Winchester. 

Below is an 800 pound Bison, a one shot kill with the .375 Ruger and 260 g Nosler AB. The bull was moving fast at 100 yards but felt confident at the shot. He fell dead as a door-nail entering a rear rib and up thru the heart and lungs, broke the far shoulder and kept going. We were lucky as all get-out to have a skidder nearby to load in the truck.

The .375 Ruger, Larry and I agree is one cartridge for the World!

Good Hunting!

© 2020

 

Second Time to Texas- I need a Cowboy Hat made in the USA

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I had a nice wool felt cowboy felt hat. It is a Red Head Brand from Bass Pro/Cabela’s. I bought it maybe 5 years ago. I checked the tag inside. Sure enough Made in China. I  nearly vomited! I have stopped wearing it and will soon destroy it.

I have purchase a felt Stetson made in the USA below. At this juncture I need to know where a product is made! I hope you do too!!

Quality felt hats are often crush-able and can be reformed if needed with the use of steam and if you desire more of a western cowboy look, you can roll the edges upward with some steam applied and let it cool and dry to shape. Next is a bandanna to make the western cowboy look.

STETSON Men's Bozeman Felt Hat

Good Looking Hunter! Look the part!!

 

 

More 375 Ruger Reduced Load data for Deer and Black Bear – Updated

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These websites below offer experienced hand loaders more research options for powders that provide reduced loads in the .375 Ruger for deer and black bear. I use magnum rifle primers in load development to ensure complete ignition. Carefully work up new loads inspecting each case after firing. I do not advocate the data in these websites but provide them for your information and fun to read articles.

https://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase/.375+Ruger.html

I do read that A 5744 works well in the .375 Ruger for reduced loads though I have not loaded or shot it.

375 Ruger Reduced Loads from Chuck Hawkes with A5744 Powder below and grain weight loads.

https://www.chuckhawks.com/reduced_big_bore_loads.htm

IMR 4227 used in Handloader Magazine for 375 Ruger

https://www.handloadermagazine.com/reduced-rifle-loads

Hodgdon Reduced Rifle loads below using the 60% rule with H4895 powder below.

https://hodgdon.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/h4895-reduced-rifle-loads.pdf?_ga=2.52837998.715241781.1595099969-1370190430.1595099968

I am lucky to have purchased one of the last cans of SR 4759 powder and am successfully using that for my deer hunting load development for .375 Ruger.

Good Shooting!

 

Campfire Peach Cobbler in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven

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Camp Dinner was over.  Y’all want some dessert? The Texas hunt camp cook said; “I have some Peach Cobbler cooking in the fire yonder”. “Where?”  We asked as we looked into the fire? We could barely see some metalic pot covered in coals. The cook reached into the fire with a metal hook and pulled the cast iron dutch oven from the fire as if pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

Lodge Cast Iron 6 Qt Dutch Oven product image

Peach Cobbler is a sweet moist cake like mixture with sliced canned peaches and syrup suspended within the cake like mixture. It was so delicious, piping hot from the fire. I was fascinated. I am going back to Texas this year but I can’t wait for my peach cobbler.  I have purchased  a “Camp” dutch oven so coals can be placed both over and under the oven. Today most folks use store bought charcoal to cook with these dutch ovens. Out on the range, chuck wagons used flour, some sugar and canned peaches mixed together. It works fine!

Today some folks use white or yellow cake mix to add instead of flour and sugar but either works fine.

Betty Crocker Super Moist White Cake Mix, 6 Pack, 16.25 ozGold Medal, All Purpose Flour, 2 lb

Every cook has his or her recipe for Peach Cobbler. Many use butter or crisco to grease the oven. Today you can buy aluminum trays to line the oven for easy care. The peaches are added first. A 10 or 12 inch 4 to 6 quart oven can use 2 cans of peaches, followed by flour or cake mix. Next is to fold-in the cake mix with the peaches taking care to be gentle. Some folks add other fruits too such as chunk pineapple. Next is to put dash of cinnamon a few pads of butter on top if you like and close the lid.

LIGHT THE CHARCOAL

Use a chimney starter like the one below to get your coals glowing hot. How many? Say 10 coals for the bottom of the oven and 12 coals for the top.

 

Kingsford Grilling BB0466 Deluxe Charcoal BBQ Chimney Starter, Grill, Silver

It takes about 45 minutes at around 350 degrees to cook a peach cobbler but it is recommended to rotate the oven a quarter turn every 15 minutes so there are less hot spots. I like to see the top of the cake caramelized a bit. Your the chef so you make the call. Serve with  a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. Wow!

Check out the web for tricks and techniques!

 

Good Eating Y’all!

 

 

375 Ruger Deer Hunt Prep In The Lone Star State – Update

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I booked another Texas Trophy Whitetail Hunt with Wildlife Systems and Greg Simons out of San Angelo, Texas.  I hunted there 2 years ago with great success. It’s a 3.5 day hunt! Its a great hunt for young and old and see lots of beautiful whitetails.

I am returning there for several reasons but most of all the chance to hunt large racked 4.5 and older Whitetail deer on 25000 (25 thousand) acres on a low fence cattle ranch. I have a 30-06, a 6.5 Creedmoor and my 375 Ruger to choose from in my gun vault. All of these are great but the hand loaded Ruger M77 Safari Rifle is my choice in .375 Ruger. But will bring the Weatherby Vanguard Weatherguard in 6.5 Creedmoor and 140 g Factory loaded Nosler AB as back up rifle.  Hand-loading this .375 Ruger cartridge is easy. I still have some SR 4759, now out of manufacture, in my safe for reduced loads but you can use “Accurate 5744” powder if you look it up. I will be shooting 235 Grain Speer Hot Core bullets in Semi-Spitzer with a muzzle velocity of 2200 fps. At 100 yards the energy delivered is just over 1900 ft-lbs. Plenty of power! Given this is a big bullet with a .375 surface area I expect deer to fall to the shot instantly if I do my part. Accuracy is about an inch at 100 yards and recoil is easy on the shoulder.  My readers know that I took this rifle to Canada for Moose last year and took a bull with 300g full power Nosler AccuBond loads. A one shot kill! Lots of meat put a smile on my face.

In addition to the Trophy deer, I am allowed 2 does for management purposes.

We get up to a hearty breakfast and take 4×4 Off Road Side x Sides to one of  many stands somewhere in the 25,000 acres. Texas hunts deer from from remote feeder stations throughout the 25000 acres. Without these feeders, the hunter would be met with thorns, prickly pear cactus and the occasional rattle snake thus making the risk level for hunters higher than necessary.  Back for lunch and then back to a different stand for the afternoon. The number of deer seen each day numbers in the 20’s and bucks that are eight pointers seen are often over 10 per day. Mature bucks did not get old by being stupid but in those 3.5 days, you will see them. Last year some nice wide and high racked bucks were taken so this year looks great too. Chances to harvest one is real!

Above is my 2018 Trophy Whitetail which scored 144 3/8 B&C points. I did harvest 2 does as well. I had the boned meat shipped back. The meat was tender as all get out!

I hope to do something similar if it all works out and I have a measure of luck and skill. I will have an opportunity to rattle too since I will be hunting in the rut in mid November.

More later.

Good Hunting!

© Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved.

 

 

Best Loading Powders With Nosler Big Game Hunting AccuBond or E-Tip Bullets for 6.5 Creedmoor

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The 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge provides extremely fine accuracy in today’s big game hunting rifles and is easy on recoil. As a big game cartridge it provides ample energy and penetration in the 120 grain, 129 grain and 142 grain Nosler AccuBond and solid gilding copper E-Tip for deer, bear, and elk and has taken moose as well as numerous African Plains Game species.  I love Nosler’s!

The Nosler AccuBond™ is a world class polymer tipped bonded core boat-tail bullet which mushrooms extremely well from 1800 FPS to 3200 FPS. I took a bull moose last fall with the 300 grain AccuBond out of my Ruger African in .375 Ruger resulting in a one shot kill at 100 yards. See the  Moose Hunt here using the search tool. The moose stood as my friend says, transfixed, for just a few seconds and collapsed right there. The bullet mushroomed to nearly 3/4  inch and piled up under the hide on the far side.  Ok, back to the Creedmoor.

https://www.nosler.com/accubond-bullet

The AccuBond is already a short or long range bullet but for those who want to reach out beyond say 400 or 500 yards, Nosler has the AccuBond LR with extremely high ballistic coefficients to maintain killing energy at ranges of 700 to 800 yards in many cases. Of course you would need to practice at those ranges to ethically hunt.

Hand loading this cartridge is identical to most bottle neck cartridges such as the .270 Winchester or .308 Winchester.

Powders that work extremely well for Nosler bullets are Reloader 15 (RL-15) and IMR 4895. My go-to Hunting Powders! I will say that H4350 is a fine powder for long range target at say 600 yards.

In fact for the 129/130 grain bullet,  RL-15 powder is the most accurate providing 2810 fps out of a 24 inch barrel and is the most accurate of the several powders Nosler tested. I have burned more RL-15 powder that most.

The E-Tip is lead free but only offered in 120 grain bullets for the 6.5 Creedmoor. It is sports a solid gilding (alloy) copper body with a polymer tip. For those who prefer lead free, this is a fantastic bullet that maintains virtually 95% of its weight as it mushrooms. Reloaders are advised to work up loads for this as a starting load and work up your load. IMR- 4895 is perhaps the best powder for energy and accuracy for the 120 grain head. Most of todays all copper bullets are pure copper and can leave copper deposits in the barrel at  high velocities making cleaning sometimes more difficult. Not so with the E-Tip as it is a harder copper alloy coined as gilding copper.

 

Load some today and see what I am talkin’ about.

Good Shooting!