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View Full Version : 375 Ruger to ???



Any Cal.
08-08-2013, 10:16 PM
I have a Savage in .375 Ruger, but hate buying powder for it. I would like to change the cartridge to something else that either 1) uses less powder or 2) works well with faster(cheaper) powders.

I don't mind fireforming brass, wildcats, whatever. I don't want to spend much on the conversion. My initial thoughts were chamber adapters, possibly building a permanent one, or a barrel liner, or shortening the barrel and having a .375 WSM. I would love to end up with a .375-06 or a 50 Hushpuppy if there was a low cost way to open the barrel up. Not sure about a 38-55 feeding from the mag, but would have plenty of room for it. Maybe a stubbed barrel?

I have a small lathe that I don't know much about using, as well as a few other tools. Any thoughts or ideas? If I could get a really cheap blank I would try profiling and threading it, also have a .50 octagon green mountain barrel floating around, but not sure of its pressure limits or twist(slow).

NVScouter
08-09-2013, 10:37 AM
The .50 call barrel would be fun in a .50 special or .50AE but not sure if it would handle more than that.

What powders are you using in the 375 Ruger? I ask because my 375 HH loves 34g R7 and 270 cast, the old Ken Waters load. Now if I move to IMR 4350 or Win 760 I'm in the 61-66g of powder range.

375RUGER
08-09-2013, 10:48 AM
Why not load it with Unique, 5744, RL7? I'm having decent results with WC872 with a booster of unique. It's less than $.10 per load for the powder and in the neighbor hood of 2200fps.
I shot a little 5744 in mine with GC'd boolits, but I'm going to stick to paper patching.

Any Cal.
08-09-2013, 01:34 PM
I had been paper patching, but I think my boolit wasn't a good fit for the throat, as most everything shot poorly. Was using 2400, 4895, 4064. The 2400 was the least expensive, at 25-30 gr. The others were in the 50gr+ range. Not too much experimenting because powders were hard to get and expensive.

I felt like there may be more advantage to changing the cartridge than buying more molds and powders. I like the .375 Ruger, but don't ever shoot it full hot anyway.

nicholst55
08-09-2013, 05:13 PM
Being as it's a Savage (110?), it should be a simple matter to rebarrel it and exchange the bolt head (magazine, etc), if required, and turn it into most any other cartridge. Not inexpensive maybe, but pretty simple.

If it were mine and I had the cash, I'd rebarrel it to what I wanted it to be, rather than what was possible using the existing bolt head and barrel. Then I'd sell the current barrel and bolt head to recoup some of my expenses.

If it's not based on the 110 action, then disregard everything I just said!

DCM
08-09-2013, 08:30 PM
375-338, 300 WSM, 325WSM, some other WSM?
The WSMs "should" be a barrel swap and maybe a magazine block.

Any Cal.
08-09-2013, 09:58 PM
A barrel change adds up to quite a few dollars once you buy a barrel, bolt face, new dies, molds, etc.

I am thinking that something made on the same barrel would save a lot, especially if I could grind down my dies and continue using them.

If a new caliber was $3-500, I would probably be money ahead selling the rifle and starting over. I am just looking for a diy/ po-boy caliber conversion, especially since I have some tools that could help make it happen.

It looks like I can get Green Mountain gunsmith blanks for $50, but tapering them on my lathe seems problematic... of course a bolt action .50 Ae would be piceless...:-)

Cosmiceyes
08-09-2013, 10:06 PM
You can't shrink the chamber size unless you want to go wildcat cut the barrel back to a .375 Ruger 1 1/2 or 2 inch.Even your dies could be cut down to size then. :)'s

Any Cal.
08-09-2013, 11:04 PM
That is what I am thinking. Add a longer neck, shorter body, etc. If I got a reamer, I could change the throat dimensions to better suit cast as well. Should be able to build the barrel nut and/or action wrench.

It is a large shank 116, so barrels aren't plentiful or inexpensive, but is a desirable action nonetheless. Also, I want to keep it a big-bore, even if the case ends up short. I can get a .308 barrel already threaded, but it does not hold much appeal to me at this point.

I sunk far too much money into another toy, and am now allergic to the process. Would much rather be creative and have something interesting.

Idahojoe
09-13-2013, 10:34 AM
I have changed bbls on Savage rifles several times. Check on Savage shooters for take off,s and bolt faces. Some are very reasonable and some will trade. Make it into anything you desire.

DCM
09-18-2013, 07:23 PM
You can't shrink the chamber size unless you want to go wildcat cut the barrel back to a .375 Ruger 1 1/2 or 2 inch.Even your dies could be cut down to size then. :)'s

Like that idea a 375 RSM. Set back the barrel and dies.
A friend has a 375 JDJ I am quite fond of and I have an H&H, his may be a little slower but it can do almost as much with less pain in both the pocket book and shoulder.

Whiterabbit
10-08-2013, 07:23 PM
why not go with a bigger case? something you can use 50BMG powder on and pay $75 per 8 lb delivered (including shipping and hazmat, even cheaper when ordering several jugs)?

can you use 50BMG surplus powder on 375 ruger?

Willbird
10-16-2013, 12:33 PM
I was sort of looking at 375 JDJ and if I recall right the 6.8 spc brass might work out to make a sort of rimless 375 jdj (close but not exactly the same)

The 6.5 spc is based on the 30 remington....blown out fairly straight you would end up with a .421 base dia, and 1.7 inches long. Or even simpler just open up 35 Remington to 375 if your dead set on a 375. Might be that running a 308 case into a 35 rem die, then blowing out to 375 would give you a longer neck that might be better for cast bullets.

I was kind of poking around what was avail to make a rimless fairly straight walled case that would be legal in Ohio if they allow "pistol caliber carbines" like they have been talking about. For your uses a shoulder would be an ADvantage, for the use I was researching it would be a dis qualifier.

Rimmed cases and most rotating extractor (as opposed to non rotating like mauser)bolt action rifles do not work out the best.

Bill

Whiterabbit
10-16-2013, 12:54 PM
im wondering about 458 socom. The base of the cartridge is almost the same. You could send the existing barrel to get opened up to .458 (that's what, $250?) then cut the chamber back and rent a socom reamer.

Use cut down 375 ruger brass to make it, even make a LONG throat version for shooting ultra heavy 458 cal cast boolits, or replace the bolthead and shoot socom brass.

Still a big bore, shoots heavy bullets, sips powder, and I think you can get away with a cheap barrel if you have it rebored. I think.

also, talk to JTknives about his 50 alterego. If you can source a cheap .510 barrel, that is very likely worth considering. Would fit a large shank savage with ease.

williamwaco
10-16-2013, 01:35 PM
The .38-55 works great with 9 to 11 grains of Unique at 1200 to 1400 fps.

Same with 2400 at 1600 +

I would be VERY surprised if your Ruger 375 didn't also shoot those loads very well at a cost almost equal to the .22LR.

Try it before you spend a bunch of money.

Any Cal.
11-09-2013, 01:00 AM
Well, I had put this on the back burner, but am sort of at it again. I tried to sell the rifle, thinking it would be less expensive than spending money on it, but I think everyone maxed out their credit on overpriced 5.56 and junk AR lowers...

I just built a gascheck maker, and now have some checks to try out some pistol powder on. Didn't get very good results paper patching, or shooting bare boolits w/out checks, will now try w/ checks. I have also come to the conclusion that it may cast me less just to buy jacketed bullets and a bit more powder than go to great lengths to build a cartridge that is a bit more efficient/thrifty...

So, hopefully will have some good results in the next couple weeks. Still like the idea of a wildcat, but would rather do one on a short action. Well, unless I end up not being able to sleep and build a chamber adapter in the middle of the night...

High Desert Hunter
11-12-2013, 10:43 PM
I have some PP bullets that 375 Ruger sent to me, trying to figure out how I can flare the case mouth so I don't damage the patch. I had excellent results with a 335gr RNGC bullet and Unique, and almost as good with a 350gr FNGC bullet and Ramshot Big Game. I am going to try some IMR4198 next. 50 yards off a rest, 335s in the left group, 350s to the right, 5 shots each.

87331

leftiye
11-13-2013, 08:24 AM
Good results, not to be sniffed at! Maybe a couple of clicks of up.

High Desert Hunter
11-13-2013, 12:44 PM
Yeah, I'm going to play around with these bullets, going to try IMR4198 next, I had tried RL 17, but the bullets patterned, not grouped. If the bases didn't stick so far into the powder chamber, I wouldn't hesitate to really up the velocities. The gentleman I bought them from was getting over 2500fps with the 350s and 4831.

DCM
11-13-2013, 09:12 PM
I still need to find time or some real accuracy testing, but I was able to push some 269g LFNGCs at 2600FPS out of a 375H&H with no signs of leading. My initial test was just to see i they could take it, accuracy seemed fair but I wasn't really testing or that.

EDIT: Also see http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?219784-Rifle-accuracy-with-PC 2100 without a gas check.

Any Cal.
11-21-2013, 01:46 AM
Those groups look promising.

I think my 'current issue is that the mold does not fit the throat of the rifle, so it hampers my efforts considerably. Mostly, I hope to minimize the effects of poor fit, and see if I end up with a load accurate enough to plink with. A custom mold may help, but I hate to dump more money in the gun.

Getting 2000+ with decent accuracy sounds great. Would love to get a 300g going 2200 with less than 3" groups @ 100, anything more than that would be gravy.