Help me decide on big bore

[nekshot]

I felt the time came this summer to pass on my win 94,timber rifle-444 with the dies and molds to the next generation. I was happy and sad but we gotta cut loose sometime! So I am feeling very depressed with out a smokeless big bore. I was thinking of rebarreling my onepiece enfield to a 444, turning my 700 rem,65-06 into a rimless 444, and then today I see 303guy has a picture of a 375-303 and that is neat. Looks like a 300 h&h on steroids. I have always had a deep secret love for the 375 winny but I had the 444. Now I am free of the 444 what should I do. The action will be either a rem 700 or a brit enfield. I am not afraid of rim vs no rim. I always felt the 375 looked like the best boolit for distance with its bc numbers and for impact it has great sd numbers. But I remember well how the 444 knocked every thing flat I pointed it towards and then the ole 45-70 of which I have brass for just waiting for a gun. I need professional help from you all on this decision. Tell me why I should go or not go with a 375 something!

[nicholst55]

You're asking for advice on your addiction here? Seriously??? :veryconfu

I've always wanted a Lee Enfield in .45-70, even if it was only a 2-shooter, personally. I suppose a .375-45-70 (or something) would be okay too, but I really like the .45-70 as-issued. Something else that you shouldn't overlook is a .35 Whelen. It would run perfectly in that Remington 700, and it kills stuff DRT! Mine is on a commercial Mauser, but I love it!

[6.5 mike]

I would vote for the Whelen also. Mine is built on a 1909 argy action. A 1 in 12 twist gives a lot of room to work with.

[nekshot]

hold the load, are 375 whelen dies really 150 bucks!? If that is the case I will stay with a 35 whelen or 444. I simply cannot find any love for the 45-70 but neither do I have 150 bucks for reloading dies!

[kens]

I have a Enfield P14 action I am thinking of barreling to .444Marlin.
Anyone have experience or guidance on this?

[LAGS]

@ Kens
For the P-14, look into rebarreling it in 7.62x54R
Years ago , I did have a LE in 444 Marlin.
It worked good, but I always wanted one in 45/70.
Hmm. a MN in 45/70, But I would have to totally redesign the magazine.
But I know I can do it.

But for a more standard Big Bore, Look into the 35 Whelen and the .358 Winchester for a standard bolt action rifle.
The .375 Whelen is not really that reliable because the case has a Very Narrow shoulder and it is hard to headspace it consistantly.

[Whiterabbit]

With the guns I have here, if I had the ENFIELD, I would have a hard time not going for 375 H&H. with the 700, I would have a hard time not going for 375 Ruger. Which I hear is quite the popular round these days in Africa.

I can think of a ton of wonderful olde-tyme cartridges that beg for loving. You like 44 cal? why not build a 404 Jeffery? knock down and history and pedigree all rolled into one.

[RobS]

35 Whelen or 375 Ruger 1:12 twist if you are going to use jacketed or moderate velocity cast boolit loads. 1:14 twist if the plan is to shoot high velocity cast boolits although this twist rate would serve you well for most loads too.

[sthwestvictoria]

If you are starting with the Enfield, what about the 35-303, in Australia sometimes called the 35 Territorian, from the Northen Territory where they have the large buffalo and previously hunted crocodile.
Have you seen this meandering thread:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?175823-40-303-versus-357-303-wildcat-for-hunting
The 375-444 (375JDJ) is also supposed to work well in the Enfield, just from my internet reading. There is also a 358JDJ.

Andym79 has been having some difficulty getting his 375Win to shoot with cast, although that may be something to do with the Win big bore twist and throat:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?263710-Help-I-cant-get-my-375-BIg-bore-to-shoot

This quote is from a discussion on an Australian forum so I don't know about veracity but it seems like a cheap way to make dies:

why not do a 35 Territorian Improved ?? 35 Whelen Reamer run in 303 length, Dies are formed by shortening Whelen dies from the base, gives a bit more case capacity than the standard Territorian http://www.australianhunting.net/Smileys/ahn/xyxthumbs.gif

There is a 303 confederate sabre with a 30-06 reamer run into the 303 chamber to get 30-06 angles. A 35 whelen reamer run into a re-bored enfield barrel to .358 would be a 35 confederate sabre?


The 35 whelen is always a great option - I have one, had two up until recently. Plenty of data, dies available even from Lee, plenty of moulds, easy resale. You can even get correct headstamp brass.

[StrawHat]

(I might be mistaken, but I believe nekshot has a Lee Enfield of some flavor. If it is a different action, I would have different recommendations.)

Would the Enfield handle the 405 WCF? Not sure if the cartridge would be too long for the action. Or if you like British cartridges, how about the 400/375 H&H, the forerunner of the 375 Belted H&H?

For the Remington action, there are plenty of wildcats available, check out the Hawk line of cartridges.

Kevin

[StrawHat]

I have a Enfield P14 action I am thinking of barreling to .444Marlin.
Anyone have experience or guidance on this?

This is a longer and stronger action then the Lee Enfield, The 444 would be a short cartridge in a long action. You could build something like a 45-90 on that action. Or one of the H&H length magnums.

Kevin

[Blackwater]

Neckshot, I feel your pain, brother! These decisions are always difficult because there are so many choices, but FWIW, if it was me (which it ain't), I'd go with the ol' .45/70. As a friend of mine once said, "you can load it with jacketed bullets, cast, or with ash trays or feather pillows, and it'll STILL kill whatever needs killin'." And then too, ya' never know when you might suddenly have an infestation of lions, tigers or bears in your neck of the woods, and ya' really need to be prepared for such an eventuality. Makes the whole family more secure so they can fully relax. That's my vote anyway, and since you already have the stuff to load with it, it's the logical choice anyway ..... not that this makes a whole lot of difference in these matters, though, but you already know that, of course. In addition, those Marlin Guide Guns, if you can find one, are short, handy and make supremely good and efficient hunting guns. Not a bad combination, when you think about it.

[nekshot]

I don't need any more guns, I am now trying to make some that are getting stale a little more useful. The only way I get jacked up for the 45-70 is if I do another double gun I will do it in 45-70. Is there a way to make dies on the cheap for a 375-06? I need to get hold of jes on this issue.

[Wayne Smith]

Humm, nobody has mentioned recoil management. Lot of load down data for the 45-70 if that is an issue. I don't know the data availability for the other cartridges.

[Whiterabbit]

traillboss is out there. Also for my big bore I learned that blue dot makes an excellent alternative for downloading. Just takes a couple dozen grains in a massive case with heavy boolit and the results are deep gutteral sound and all the fun of chucking a pumpkin without the recoil factor being above 50.