It was my day off and went on a scouting drive and a trip to the Rifle Range. I brought two of my Rifles along to get some cobwebs out. For those that follow my articles I own the Ruger American .243 Winchester, what a rifle! I tested it then I bought it! I hand load most all of my ammo ‘cept shotgun.

Laying beside that rifle below, was my Ruger African M77 in .375 Ruger. My deer load is a Speer 235 grain just loping along at a modest 2100 fps like a hot muzzle loader. Grouped about the same just a bit over 2 inches at 150 yards. With 270 grain full power loads they tend to shoot into one hole…well, almost, at 100 yards.

I went for a 150 yard shot with the Ruger American .243 on a bench rest with 55 grain Nosler Varmint heads coming out of the barrel at 3500 fps. They grouped in the 2 1/4″ range. Great for coyotes at out to 600 yards. I proved this gun a real shooter with submoa groups with 90 grain heads. Very little recoil! On deer it can kill with sufficient energy out to 300 yards with a 90 to 100 grain head.

Here in the Northeast just don’t hit a branch before your deer as the bullet will likely be deflected.

Which is why I love the .375 Ruger for deer, when hand loaded. What branch? Great mass and momentum to plow through a small sapling and still deliver tremendous energy.

The .375 Ruger with a 270 grain spitzer AccuBond exits the barrel at around 2600 fps and can deliver almost 1500 foot pounds at 600 yards. A great Big Game rifle for any game on the planet except perhaps a bull elephant with a bad attitude at short range. When hand loaded down you can shoot small game with minimal damage to the meat. Yes really! When loaded down it acts a lot like an accurate muzzle loader. No crack sound, just a boom. What a day! Nice weather too.