Hornady 375 H&H 300gr DGS Solid – Proven Dangerous Game Ammo

Description

There is no substitute for a solid on thick skinned game, and the Hornady 375 H&H 300gr DGS Solid is Hornady’s answer in the cartridge that has defined African hunting for more than a century. This is a non expanding projectile with a copper clad steel jacket, built to hold its shape and drive straight through bone and hide that would stop an expanding bullet cold.

• What a solid does that a soft point cannot
• Full specifications
• Where the 375 H&H still sets the standard
• Honest notes before you buy
• Practice before the trip, seriously
• The bottom line

What a solid does that a soft point cannot

An expanding bullet trades penetration for tissue damage. That is the right trade on deer and elk and entirely the wrong one on an elephant, where the bullet may need to pass through several feet of muscle and bone before it reaches anything vital. The Hornady 375 H&H 300gr DGS Solid does not expand at all. It keeps its original diameter and keeps moving in a straight line.

Straight is the operative word. A soft point that begins to deform can deflect off heavy bone and wander off course. The Hornady 375 H&H 300gr DGS Solid is engineered to resist that, which is why solids remain the standard for elephant, hippo and rhino and why professional hunters carry them rather than something more modern sounding.

Full specifications

• Caliber: 375 H&H Magnum
• Bullet weight: 300 grain
• Bullet: DGS non expanding solid with a copper clad steel jacket
• Muzzle velocity: 2530 from a 24 inch barrel fps
• Muzzle energy: 4263 ft-lbs
• Ballistic coefficient (G1): not published by Hornady for this load
• Case: reloadable boxer primed brass
• Quantity: 20 rounds per box
• Part number: 82322

The numbers are dangerous game numbers. The Hornady 375 H&H 300gr DGS Solid leaves a 24 inch barrel at 2530 feet per second with 4263 foot pounds, and it is still carrying 3292 foot pounds at a hundred yards and 2503 at two hundred. Shots on this kind of game are usually close, so the muzzle figure is the one that matters most.

Where the 375 H&H still sets the standard

The 375 H&H Magnum is the legal minimum for dangerous game across most of Africa, and it has held that position since 1912 because it works. It is powerful enough for the largest animals and mild enough that a competent shooter can place the bullet. The Hornady 375 H&H 300gr DGS Solid is the solid half of a classic two load setup, carried alongside an expanding round for softer game.

The traditional practice is to load solids first in the magazine for a follow up on something already hit, or to load solids entirely when hunting elephant. Whatever your professional hunter recommends, having a box of the Hornady 375 H&H 300gr DGS Solid in the kit is standard practice on a safari and most outfitters will expect it.

Honest notes before you buy

This is expensive ammunition and there is no way around it. Dangerous game solids are a specialty product made in small quantities. Budget for a box of the Hornady 375 H&H 300gr DGS Solid to practice with and a box to hunt with, and treat the practice box as part of the cost of the trip rather than an optional extra.

Do not use this load on plains game or North American animals. A non expanding solid will pass straight through a kudu or an elk leaving a small wound channel and a long tracking job. That is the opposite of what you want on anything without thick hide and heavy bone. The Hornady 375 H&H 300gr DGS Solid has one job and it does it very well, but it is not a general purpose hunting round.

Practice before the trip, seriously

A safari is an expensive way to discover you cannot shoot your rifle. The 375 H&H recoils hard, and a hunter who has fired twenty rounds through it in five years will flinch when it matters. Shoot the Hornady 375 H&H 300gr DGS Solid from field positions, off sticks, standing, at realistic distances, until putting the first round where you want it is automatic.

Also confirm that solids and softs print to the same place in your rifle. They often do not. Shoot a group with the Hornady 375 H&H 300gr DGS Solid and a group with whatever expanding load you plan to carry, note the difference, and know it before you are standing in front of something large. Some hunters adjust their loading order around exactly this.

The bottom line

For elephant, hippo, rhino and buffalo follow ups, the Hornady 375 H&H 300gr DGS Solid is a proven and widely trusted choice in the cartridge that set the standard. You can read more about the bullet design at swiftbullets.com, or browse the rest of our stock on the MAG5 Firearms ammunition page.

MAG5 Firearms keeps the Hornady 375 H&H 300gr DGS Solid in stock and moving, and we are glad to talk through bullet choice before you order. If you are working up a load for a new rifle, a single box of the Hornady 375 H&H 300gr DGS Solid is a sensible place to start.