I came across this new caliber recently, (not new, but new to me), the 375 Raptor. I read a few articles, and saw some pretty incredible claims about it. So I dug in and found some load and bullet data and plugged them into Hornady's ballistic calculator. The results are too good to be believed, and honestly, I don't believe them.
Here is the claim that sent me on a mission:
"from barrels between 10 and 18 inches in length, 375 Raptor will fire a 260 grain bullet at the same velocity that 308 Win will fire a 180 grain bullet "
How can you launch a projectile than is 80 grains heavier at the same speed with the same casing (necked up and trimmed down), i.e. 44% bigger bullet with the same or less powder at the same speed? When comparing the relationship between 300 BLK vs 223 Rem, this makes no sense. Here you see a clear trade off. More bullet weight = slower projectile but at about the same energy profile at range. The laws of conservation of energy seem to be maintained.
I found some load data at 375raptor.com and compared it to some available Lehigh Defense load data for a high B.C. .308 round.
375 Raptor
260 gr Nosler Accubond
B.C. = .473
Muzzle Vel = 2525 ft/s
22" barrel
47 grains of Alliant 1200R
308 Winchester
175 gr Lehigh Controlled Chaos
B.C. = .467
Muzzle Vel = 2655 ft/s
24" barrel
41.7 grains of Accurate 2520
After running the ballistics calculator a big red flag showed up (honestly it was there staring me in the face the whole time). The 375 Raptor wallops at 3,173 ft-lb @ 100 yds, while the 308 Winchester hits at 2,365 ft-lb. That's over 800 ft-lb of difference from a 48% bigger bullet using the same parent casing (only smaller), about the same powder, and a 2" barrel length disadvantage. How????
If anybody has answers I'm all ears. I want to believe you can get this kind of power out of a short action / AR10 platform. But reality is hard to ignore. Where did all that extra energy come from? Raptor chamber pressures are not supposed to be any higher than 308 Winchester, so it ain't that.
Original Article:
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/meet-the-375-raptor-a-heavy-hitting-short-action-cartridge/
375 Raptor Load and Bullet Data:
https://www.375raptor.com/load-data/
https://www.nosler.com/375-caliber-260gr-accubond-50ct.html
308 Win Load and Bullet Data:
https://lehighdefense.com/ld-load-data
https://lehighdefense.com/308-diameter-175-grain-controlled-chaos-bullets-50-count.html
Here is the claim that sent me on a mission:
"from barrels between 10 and 18 inches in length, 375 Raptor will fire a 260 grain bullet at the same velocity that 308 Win will fire a 180 grain bullet "
How can you launch a projectile than is 80 grains heavier at the same speed with the same casing (necked up and trimmed down), i.e. 44% bigger bullet with the same or less powder at the same speed? When comparing the relationship between 300 BLK vs 223 Rem, this makes no sense. Here you see a clear trade off. More bullet weight = slower projectile but at about the same energy profile at range. The laws of conservation of energy seem to be maintained.
I found some load data at 375raptor.com and compared it to some available Lehigh Defense load data for a high B.C. .308 round.
375 Raptor
260 gr Nosler Accubond
B.C. = .473
Muzzle Vel = 2525 ft/s
22" barrel
47 grains of Alliant 1200R
308 Winchester
175 gr Lehigh Controlled Chaos
B.C. = .467
Muzzle Vel = 2655 ft/s
24" barrel
41.7 grains of Accurate 2520
After running the ballistics calculator a big red flag showed up (honestly it was there staring me in the face the whole time). The 375 Raptor wallops at 3,173 ft-lb @ 100 yds, while the 308 Winchester hits at 2,365 ft-lb. That's over 800 ft-lb of difference from a 48% bigger bullet using the same parent casing (only smaller), about the same powder, and a 2" barrel length disadvantage. How????
If anybody has answers I'm all ears. I want to believe you can get this kind of power out of a short action / AR10 platform. But reality is hard to ignore. Where did all that extra energy come from? Raptor chamber pressures are not supposed to be any higher than 308 Winchester, so it ain't that.
Original Article:
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/meet-the-375-raptor-a-heavy-hitting-short-action-cartridge/
375 Raptor Load and Bullet Data:
https://www.375raptor.com/load-data/
https://www.nosler.com/375-caliber-260gr-accubond-50ct.html
308 Win Load and Bullet Data:
https://lehighdefense.com/ld-load-data
https://lehighdefense.com/308-diameter-175-grain-controlled-chaos-bullets-50-count.html