375 or 38-55?

[andym79]

Hi guys,

Which would be better a cast bullet rifle a Winchester 94 in 375 or 38-55?

I plan on shooting from 25-150 yards and from 1200-1800 fps!

It would be used predominately as a competition rifle but also on pigs!

[Nobade]

Win 94, "Big Bore 94" is beefed up a lot around the locking lug compared to a normal 94. They also have barrels closer to .375" in the grooves so it is easier to find boolits to fit. Most 38-55 Winchesters run closer to .380" and up. You can make 375 brass out of 30-30, but it will not be as strong as real 375 brass. 30-30 is quite a bit too short to make 38-55 brass. 375 is designed to run that fast (on the top end), 38-55 is not though it's no problem to get it to do so. If you are a boolit caster and better yet into paper patching, either will work. Any more a lot of it comes down to what is available to you where you live.

-Nobade

[Kraschenbirn]

Personally, I'd go with the .38-55...but, then, the .38-55 is one of my all-time favorite cartridges :). At one time, I had a Win 94BB in .375 - acquired in a trade - and I believe it was one of the most uncomfortable rifles to shoot I've ever had in my hands. I received 40 rounds of factory ammo - along with some once-fired brass - along with the gun and, as I recall, still had about 12-15 factory loads left when I traded it off. I suppose, loaded down with cast, it would've been more of a 'fun gun' but for a hunting rifle with full-bore loads (you mentioned pigs), I'd rather tote my ol' Marlin 336 in .35 Rem any time.

Bill

[Doc Highwall]

I lean towards the 375 as Nobade mentioned about bore size.

[Trinidad Bill]

Nobade had a great summary!

I am with Kraschenbirn I prefer the 38-55. Just a great old cartridge with a lot of history that is easy to handle, fun to shoot, accurate, easy to reload, and easy to cast for. 10gr of Unique gets you 1300+fps with a 250gr boolit and goes a long way.

I have a .375 but... has sat in the safe for over a year. I prefer the 38-55.

[beagle]

So much to be said for the .375 Big Bore. Had one and had no complaints. Fired .38-55s in it all the time. For cast, I blew out .30/30s and they worked fine. When I made my Number 1 in .38/55, I used a Douglas .375" barrel. I can still shoot .375 Wins in it if I desire. The availability of .376" moulds makes it all worth while over the oversized Marlin barrels./beagle

[6pt-sika]

I had two for each cartridge and I preferred the 375 WIN . OBTW all the ones I had were Marlin's .

The 375 WIN with the Ranch Dog 379-210GC or 379-235GC was an excellent deer killer .

[andym79]

Well there are around 3 375 WINs and 4 38-55 for me to buy at the moment! The cost of the 38-55 is a bit rich for me! On the other hand I can get 38-55 but not 375 brass! Should I just buy the 375 and run 38-55 brass through a 375 die and trim it? From what I can see the difference is neck diameter and length!

Surely 38-55 brass sized and trimmed should be fine so long as you keep the loads at 38-55 levels, until 375 brass can be found!

[bikerbeans]

A friend of mine resizes 38-55 brass and uses it in his 375 Win. His 375W is a JES rebore on a single shot break action and IIRC he said he didn't need to trim the brass to length to fit his chamber.

BB

[TXGunNut]

Have the BB 375 and recently brought it out of retirement to shoot boolits. Loves the 375449 Lyman and I have plenty of brass from days gone by. Been wanting a 38-55 since I first read about it years ago, maybe someday.

[yeahbub]

I shoot the short .38-55 brass in my Marlin .375 and they're loaded with .375 data. It's a touch longer than .375 brass, but the chamber in my rifle is a good bit longer than .375 cases and they fit just fine. The longer .38-55 cases (+.125") are too long for it and would cause boolit release problems if they were forced in.

[missionary5155]

Good morninOR.. find a Win 94 caliber 30-30 with a bad bore and send it to JES to get rebored and chambered to 38-55. Cost no more than buying a 375 Win. and you can use less expensive, more plentiful 38-55 brass . JES will rebore it to a groove .377 and the barrel finish will be superb.
So hunt for a cheap ($150.00 rusty bore) and for another $250 end up with the best of all.
Mike in Peru

[JFE]

I prefer the 375 for all the reasons Nobade mentioned. The Winchesters are lighter than Marlins and have deep rifling. 375's have faster twists than 38/55 rifles. The top eject 94BB's are light and well made rifles - probably one of the better made post 64 Winchester leverguns.

You can use 38/55 brass as is in 375's but the brass is thinner and can't handle as hot a load. If you can't find 375 brass simply neck up 30/30 brass and never have to trim brass. Buy a Lee FCD and you can maintain the correct OAL.

Most factory moulds are better suited to 375 groove barrels and is another reason in favour of the 375.

If you cast its a very inexpensive calibre to run.

[BAGTIC]

Starline makes 38-55 in two different case lengths depending on the length of the neck ikn indivual chambers.

[alamogunr]

I'm very lucky that I don't have to worry about .375 Win brass. Sometime in my dim past, I ran across some .375 brass on Midway's site. I checked it out and somehow, 500 pcs was listed at a lower price than 250 pcs. I immediately ordered and the order was honored but the price changed almost immediately. I seem to remember(I "seem" to remember a lot of things) offering half of the order to someone here but don't remember who. I may have the quantity wrong too.

I don't load heavy so shooting isn't too uncomfortable. I have two molds, a SAECO and a Lee GB mold. I haven't used the SAECO so I can't comment on the relative worth of the two.

[yeahbub]

The .375 and the .38-55 are also excellent candidates for paper patching, particularly those with generously dimensioned bores. The Marlins I examined are generally around .380. The Marlin I worked with was indifferent with cast, but a whole 'nuther story with paper patched. A Lyman 375248 cast of ACWW, patched and sized to .381 and backed by 28gr of AA1680 spoke with authority and got 2" at 100. The complete absence of metal fouling was a welcome benefit as well.

[JFE]

You can use 38/55 brass as is in 375's but the brass is thinner and can't handle as hot a load.

Just to clarify my earlier post, I haven't used the longer Starline 38/55 brass in my 375, only regular length Win 38/55 brass and it works fine. Best to check this in your rifle before loading though and if in doubt trim back to 375 length.

Another point is that Win 94BB's wear 20" carbine barrels, ie more suited to hunting use, whereas rifles in 38/55 tend to have longer barrels, which would be better suited to competition use.

[LIMPINGJ]

I have an early Win BB375, when they still top eject and use Win brand 38-55 brass. Like others said most molds fit it.

[BCRider]

Unless one of those .38-55's is something really special I'd say go with one of the .375's. The beauty of the .375 is that you're not as limited. But since you'll be reloading you have the option of sticking with the softer .38-55 power levels or ramping up to full .375 Win pressures.

Of course you'll be limited by the boolits you use. But with the .375 pressure limit you can play with regular cast and lube boolits or you can use gas checks or you can even look at lighter cast boolits and paper patching. All in the one rifle.

On the other hand within the pressure limits of .38-55 you might find a personal limit.

I know that fire forming .30-30 out to a straight wall is no good for .38-55 because it's a little short. But .375Win is a little shorter as well. So I'm pretty sure that .30-30 cases could be pressed into service with a reasonable chance of success until some gen-you-wine .375Win brass becomes available.

Um.... just a parting thought. You might want to check the twist rates of the rifles in those two chamberings. If they are radically different it'll push you towards using different boolit options to match the boolit weight to the twist rate.

[dogmower]

never played with the 38-55, but I recently picked up a Winchester bb in 375 - LOVE IT. doesn't kick like some else here mentioned, and it doesn't seem too picky about loads. shoots 250 grain saeco gas checked loads (hot) and lee 250 grain plain based (moderate) to about the same point of aim at 200 meters (12x9 steel plate). ONLY complaint is the factory sights, but I picked up a lyman peep for it and problem solved. I will eventually get a 38-55 (thinking of the h&r buffalo classic), but I do like the 375. like someone else mentioned, blowing out plentiful 30-30 cases is easy and I even shoot 38-55 brass (trimmed for the chamber). have a bunch of 375 brass, but saving it for the really hot, hunting loads. hope that helps, john

[shdwlkr]

Well I have a 20 inch winchester BB in .375 and one with a 26 inch octagon barrel and love them both. Bullets can be from 235-350 grain
It all depends on what you want the rifle to be.
Haven't shot either in a very long time just haven't been where I could work up loads.
I like the bb bore because of knowing I can cast a .377-.379 bullet and it will work. In the 38-55 you have to find what works many times as has been said I have read where they can be from .378-.383 and I just don't want to mess around and find what works.

As to brass haven't tried the 38-55 in either length yet but one day will as I am curious what length I can go to in brass.

[bdoyle]

I have an early Win 375 BB. Have not used it in years but I remember to bore to be .377. I used the 'modern' 38-55 brass that was in between the old 38-55 and the 375 lenghts. I did a chamber cast and it seemed to be real close the the old 38-55 lengths.
Brian