I took this sites advice and ordered some of the Lehigh bullets. They are 250grain hollow points. Does anyone have load data for these bullets in the 375 JDJ. Best I can tell 48 grains of IMR 4064 would be safe to start. I base this own the load data for the Hornady manual shows a max of 49.4 for a 270 grain bullet. I also requested some information from SSK on this.

another question is how do you know when a load is too compressed? 48 grains of IMR 4064 is compressed with this bullet. There is conflicting data on the overall length for the 375 JDJ. the hornady books says 2.975" another book says 3.133".

I only load one compressed load and it is a 7 TCU. I tap the case to settle the powder then seat .If you really have to crank on the handle to seat the bullet it is too compressed and the O.a.l. may change over a couple of days as the powder presses the bullet back up. The o.a.l. will have to be set for your barrel as the books are guide lines, as shown by the two different numbers and give an o.a.l. that should work in most barrels, yours [may, will] be different. WV Hitman should be able to help you with data.

JD Jones recommended 52-54 gr. AA2520 in the JDJ. I didn't want to push it in my gun, so I went with 51.5 gr. AA2520. Worked fine, killed fine. See .375 JDJ disappointment post for performance. The round is loaded to 3.110".
Wicked bullet. You'll love it.
I sighted mine in 2" high at 100. Killed the deer in the photo at 132. Hit a little above where I aimed. Should be good to 2-250 with a high hold.
This bullet really comes in to being in a .376 Steyr Encore and .375/.284 XP. Damage factor increased by 2-3>

OAL is usually dictated on the 270 and under as whatever it is to make the base of the bullet go to the bottom of the neck. Looks like a neat bullet.

I am shooting the 250 grain swift a frames with 51 grains of varget. Should be close with this powder and with these bullets but build up to be certain as always. I was not getting pressure past where I settled but velocity was where I wanted it so I left it alone.

Be careful with SWifts. I ruined an Encore with A Frames. JD recommends not using them in Contenders and Encores. They are so hard that they increase pressures more than other bullets. Shooting them a little may not matter, but I shot mine a lot in preparation for a hunt. Stretched the frame on the hunt and had to use a backup. My loads for the A Frames were the same for bullet weight from other companies bullets. Learned my lesson the hard way.

In my experience, loading for the .375 JDJ as well as a dozen or so other calibers FOR USE IN THE T/C ENCORE OR CONTENDERS ONLY: the OAL is not critical as long as you seat the bullet a minimum of .125" off of the lands, and there is still enough neck tension to hold the bullet firmly. And then use that load for that one gun only.

Thanks for that info i appreciate it and had no idea.

WVHitman when you say a lot what do you mean? That a-frame isn't cheap and i would like to burn the 100 i have... But i obviously don't want to destroy an encore in the process. So if i have to ill pull the bullets and go a different route, Any thoughts appreciated.

One frame I stretched was with a 45-70 barrel using 400 gr. lead and jacketed bullets. I put around 1200 full power loads through it. Got to where it wouldn't go bang, just click. Jd said I wasn't loading right. After a short while it still happened about 50% of the time. Sent him the frame. He sent it to T/C. They replaced it (the good ol' days).
The second frame I stretched was an Encore with .416 Taylor barrel. I shot a lot of Swifts in it. Used normal load data. It went click half way through a safari. Stretched. He blamed it on the Swifts which build up more pressure according to him as compared to Hornadys. I only use Hornadys and TSXs in my .416 now. No problems so far.
Here's the damage you can expect from the Lehigh in .375 JDJ

and from it in .375/.284( or .376 Steyr)

or on a groundhog

The Lehigh is not a meat saving bullet.
Don't know what your powder will do for pressures. Keep the bullet off the lands. Maybe pull them and load a few grains less to be safe. Won't tell the difference in game.

wvhitman
What do you consider full power loads in the Contender 45-70 with a 400 gr bullet? I load trapdoor loads for my 12 in Contender with a 300 gr jacketed bullet because of worry over frame stretch. So far they have killed very well and the frame is still tight.

Thanks wv much appreciated and good to know.

WVhitman sorry for bombarding you with all the questions but do you have a preference between the hornady and the TSX in the 375 JDJ? Want to order some now and switch from the a frame in the contender and just use what left in my bolt guns.

No problem, DJRT. I normally like Xs a lot, but in the .375 JDJ you just don't get enough velocity to get them to perform like in the .376 Steyr or .375/.284.
The Hornady 270 gr. SP has been the gold standard in the JDJ for years, but 2 other Hornady bullets are better for deer size animals- the 220 FP and 225 SP. These two bullets really give the JDJ more horsepower. Their performance is awesome-more damage, bigger exits. They extend the range of the JDJ another 100 yards. A friend of mine did a blue wildebeest with the 225. They are tough, hard to get down animals. One shot, ran 20 yards.
So, my pick for the Contender .375 would be all the Hornadys. A sleeper bullet you should consider is the Sierra 250 gr. SPBT.
Shoots flatter than the 270, with excellent damage. A friend did an entire safari with these in his Contender with excellent results and one shot kills up to eland.

Junebug, My .45-70 loads for 20+ years has been: 400 gr. Speer or cast-48.0 gr. H322: 300 gr. Horn. HP and Horn. FlexTip-52.0 gr. H322.
It's not that these are overloads, but the time I stretched the frame I shot hundreds over one spring/summer getting ready for a hunt, plus I added some 500 gr. Horn. SP and casts, and 600 gr. casts. Want some pain-shoot the 600s in a 12" Contender. I still have some, but don't shoot them. Too much juice for the frame.
Intermittant use of 3-400 gr. bullets for hunting should not be a problem. Don't be a dummy like me and use them for lots of target practice.

Thanks again WV

Thanks for the info Doc. My standard load uses a 300 gr hp bullet Sierra,Hornady both work well for deer. I am going to have to pass on the 500 and 600 gr bullets though. When you pass 60 pain is an old friend but I don't invite him in. Shooting 600 gr bullets in my 12 in 45-70 would be like holding the door open for him!

10-4, Junebug. The Contender is just not built to make very powerful loads comfortable to shoot. Encores are maybe a little better. XPs the best.

WVHITMAN - what is your opinion of using Nosler Partitions in the JDJ's? In particular the 338JDJ #2, and the 309JDJ. I have a decent quantity of these and would like to use them, but don't want to damage my frames.

Thanks,
Brett

Brett, Bottom line on Partitions in Contenders: .30 cal. and less do very well. .338s suck. Can't get enough speed to get them to perform well in .338JDJ #2. Pressure problems would probably come from shooting nothing but them for extended times(several hundred).
My go to .338JDJ #2 bullets are 200 gr. Hornady SP, 225 gr. Speer SPBT, and 185 gr. TSX.

Thanks for the info Hitman. I haven't been able to locate any of the 338 Hornady 200gr SP's but I did get a couple of boxes of their 200gr SST's. I haven't had the opportunity to try them yet.

DJTJR I would not recommend the TSX bullets in the 375 jdj. I just tested some with 48 grains of imr 4064. Very little expansion in my water trap. I am sticking with the Lehigh bullets and Horandy 220 grain bullets if they are available again.

DeerDad, what speed are you pushing those 220 grain Hornady bullets at?

Right, DeerDad, Xs are crappy in .375 JDJ, but do really good in .338 JDJ (185s only).
Don't forget 225 gr. Hornady .375s, really good at longer ranges.

Hitman, since we've covered almost every other .375 caliber bullet...

what has been your experience with the 270 grain Speer BTSP in the 375 JDJ?

thanks in advance!

Darrell H

I have shot the 225 hornady sp-rp quite well but hornady is not making them either. I posted my results with the TSX on 48 grains of imr 4064 on the bragging board. I can't figure out how to post to my post. I am going to try find the 200 grain bulets made by Sierra.

Darrell, the 270 Speer is one of the very few bullets I've never used in any .375 handgun. Lie the 270 Hornady, it should do OK, but I'd reserve it for game larger than deer. For deer and smaller, 250 grains or less is all you need, I.e., the smaller Hornadys, 250 Lehigh.
I did use Speer 235 gr. SPs years ago, but wasn't satisfied with accuracy or limited damage it caused in deer. Appeared to be a little on the hard side.
DeerDad, the 200 Sierras should do good on deer, but I bet you'll have to resight your gun and use only them. I've made sure over the years that all the bullets I use in one handgun print very close to each other so I don't have to keep changing the scope.
I'd really like to try some 250 gr. Hornady GMXs in all my .375s. Can't find any. If anyone does, I'd appreciate a heads up. They may be a new player.