Is this load adequate for white tail deer?

[groovy mike]

A tack driving load in my rifle - 375 H&H cartridge with 15 grains of Red Dot powder and a cotton ball as a wad between powder and plain base 255 grain bullet. It chronographs right at 1450 fps.

It is so accurate I'm considering taking it out for white tail this fall. But it has little recoil, which makes me wonder if it would have enough penetration at +/- 100 yards?

If not, no big deal - God willing, I'll just keep killing them with jacketed bullets.

Any thoughts?

[ammohead]

It is close to the velocity and weight of a 54 cal muzzleloader with round ball. Your set up will have a much better ballistic coefficient and sectional density. Should work just fine up close and if you have a nice soft alloy even better.

[DougGuy]

That would kill Bambi deader n a doornail, and likely won't recover any of those either. As with any caliber, shot placement is KEY. The .375 is no exception!

[groovy mike]

Thanks guys. I started using the 375 H&H almost exclusively when I started thinking seriously about an African hunt over a decade ago. She works wonderfully on white tail and mule deer with my jacketed bullet loads, but I would love to do it with a cast boolit too.

[Wolfer]

Ballisticly you have a 38-55 which has been killing deer a long time.

[quilbilly]

Ballisticly you have a 38-55 which has been killing deer a long time.
No kidding! You will be good on any whitetail out to wherever the terminal velocity of that boolit still is 850 FPS and you can still hit the heart/lung.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Better than anything you could do with a 357 revolver and they have taken plenty of deer...

[groovy mike]

Sweet! Thanks guys!
Prompted by the comparison above I looked up 38-55 data (below) and you are dead on.


Bullet weight/type
Velocity
Energy


255 gr (17 g)
1,321 ft/s (403 m/s)
988 ft·lbf (1,340 J)


255 gr (17 g)
1,593 ft/s (486 m/s)
1,437 ft·lbf (1,948 J)

[MT Chambers]

The only downside that I can see is the trajectory out past a hunnert yards.

[44man]

I see meat in the freezer. Go for it. Accuracy and placement still counts and you have both. Recoil never killed a thing! Neither did ME.

[1Shirt]

Good advice from all. My deer load for my #1 Ruger is 270GC-HP over 27.5 gr. of 2400. Goes about 1750-1800, and is a bang flop killer to 200. AND: Like 44Man says. Good luck!
1Shirt!

[groovy mike]

Thanks guys!