375 Win

[dakota]

I just bought a 94 Winchester in 375 Win.
I see there’s a few appropriate j-word bullets.
But I’m interested in getting a mold.
Before I buy another mold however, I’d like to buy different styles from a pro.

Please let me know who you’d recommend and if you have a favorite mold for the 375 let me know that too. Thanks.

[rking22]

The Lee 255 gr is a really nice bullet that casts and shoots well in my BB94, a real bargain! They are so inexpensive you should just grab one! My NOE ia a clone of the Lyman 375449 is a gc hp that shoots very well and can easily do anything in the 375. I treat mine more like a +p 38-55 because that’s plenty enough for anything in Tennessee. The Lee on 10 gr of 2028, or unique, is cloverleaf accurate in both BB94s we have shot it in and runs about 1250, no filler needed. I don’t remember my load for the NOE but it runs around 1700 and goes thru our deer end to end, much less sideways! Groups were typical for me with open sights nowadays, 3 ish for 5 at 100 in good light. Uses RL7 powder, memory says 26 grains.

[skeettx]

375449 is a great bullet
I shot my Win 94 Big Bore in 375 this morning
LOTS of power !!

Mike

[MOA]

I've been using a RCBS mold 37-250-FN
It's a gas check mold. Works well in my Marlin.

https://i.postimg.cc/Y90MWx1s/20140607_082953.jpg (https://postimg.cc/LqccdLQt)

[cp1969]

Where are you getting your brass? I passed on a .375 because I couldn't find a source of brass. I've communicated with Starline about making .375 and .405 Winchester brass with no luck. They make some seriously non-mainstream caliber brass but not these two.

Edit: Never mind. Starline does make .375 brass now. But no .405.

[rking22]

I use the short 38-55 brass, my chamber measures 2.10 deep, it fits better than the 375 Winchester. I don’t load to the full pressure of the 375 so have zero interest in whether or not it is a strong. It’s plenty strong for my loads, and top end 375 in a 6 lb rifle is not fun!

[MOA]

I've found brass lots of places over the years. Grafs, midway, Bass Pro, Cabela's. The secret to 375 brass is when you find it always buy it, each and every time. Even if you don't think you need it. Of course that's only if you shoot it often.

[richhodg66]

Not a .375, but that Lee bullet works real well in my .38-55. Then again, it seems to like just about every style of cast bullet I've shot in it.

[rking22]

That lee bullet has the record for water penetration for me. On 8 gr of Unique, it penetrated over 5 feet of water, and the pool liner! Nothing else has ever made it to the bottom! Glad it was warm enough to go for a swim and put a patch on, bullet is still under there!

[indian joe]

I just bought a 94 Winchester in 375 Win.
I see there’s a few appropriate j-word bullets.
But I’m interested in getting a mold.
Before I buy another mold however, I’d like to buy different styles from a pro.

Please let me know who you’d recommend and if you have a favorite mold for the 375 let me know that too. Thanks.

Get a gascheck mold - then you can run this one full throttle anytime you want -

[Randy Bohannon]

I had Tom at Accurate cut me a two cavity mould, one hole 250 gr GC and a 300 gr. PB both at .380” for all intents and purpose the .375 Win. barrels are 38-55 barrels dimensionally . 380” bullets fill the throat and excellent accuracy , 20 grs of IMR 4759 is perfect . I use .38-55 load data for cast bullets . I wouldn’t do another two different bullets in the same mould, I had to try it and their a pain in the butt.

[MrWolf]

I've been using a RCBS mold 37-250-FN
It's a gas check mold. Works well in my Marlin.

https://i.postimg.cc/Y90MWx1s/20140607_082953.jpg (https://postimg.cc/LqccdLQt)

Thanks. Timely as I am picking up my Marlin 375 from LGS today.

[MOA]

Thanks. Timely as I am picking up my Marlin 375 from LGS today.

https://i.postimg.cc/c4JLnTwk/2018-12-26_02_39_27-(1)_Facebook.png (https://postimages.org/)

[TomAM]

I've gotten best performance from 38-55 brass. The 94s and Marlins are chambered for it, and the shorter 375 brass leaves a very long jump for the bullet (through a .4"+ diameter hole) before reaching the rifled bore. At that point tho bullet has tipped significantly.
Test your chamber first for appropriate brass. That will effect your bullet design choice.

[nhithaca]

As far as j-word bullets for the 375, the best was the 220 grain Hornady FN which has been discontinued. Sierra makes a 200 gr FN but I found in my Marlin that it did not shoot as well as the Hornady. The Speer load books I have show using their 235 gr semi-spritzer in the 375 loaded to the correct COL but I would be careful putting more than two rounds in the gun; one in the chamber and one in the mag. Also, this bullet is designed for faster speeds than the 375 can attain so expansion may not occur. Barnes makes/made 200 and 250 gr FN bullets at one time but I am unsure if they still do. Lastly, there is a small bullet maker, Vollmer Precision, that makes 375 bullets who lists them for the 375.

As far as cast bullets for the 375, you have to remember the nose shape of the round was modified from the parent cartridge, the 38-55. The nose is somewhat longer, approaching 0.50" measured from the flat point tip to the crimp groove. If using cast bullets designed for the 38-55 this will increase the jump distance to the rifling and greatly impact the available powder capacity (which is not a problem with light loads but it is a big problem for full pressure loads especially with 250 grain bullets). Check Accurate Molds for bullet designs that have longer nose profiles for the 375.

[Drm50]

If you are going to shoot cast you can blow out 30/30 brass very easy. 5-7gr bullseye and filler will do it. I had Marlin 375 and shot a 200gr Ideal 38/55 cast, still have the mold but don’t memorize mold numbers, got to many. Sized .377” gun shot between 1.5” & 2.25” average 5 shot groups at 100yds. IMR-3031 powder.
Since, traded off Marlin and got a couple Ruger #3s in 375W. Haven’t had time to work with them yet this year. Last year left off with 235gr Speer Semi-Spitzer. The pointed bullet closes up groups.
Under 100yds probably doesn’t matter. 375w is legal in Ohio for deer. A lot of the cartridges that are legal are no real advantage over slugs, for range. Most shots are under 100yds but I want to be able to take that occasional long shot. Straight case, 38cal minimum I think 375w is close to best with the exception of .405Win, which I have no experience with.

[dakota]

I’m getting 100 cases and sizing dies with the rifle I appreciate the recommendations!

[rking22]

Is yours a top eject or the later angle eject? Mine is a top eject, and has become my favorite lever gun, by a far margin! Light, accurate, plenty of power to spare and loves cast bullets!

[Jedman]

I bought a Win 94 BB AE barrel from Numrich that was pre chambered in 375 Win. I turned it to fit a 20 ga. shotgun barrel as a liner in a H&R Topper and made a lightweight carbine rifle with it.
Like rking22 I use the thinner 38-55 brass and load the Lee boolit over I 4198 and it shoots good.
If I use 375 Win brass I need to use a .375 jacketed bullet for it to chamber but it shoots them good also. The Lee plain base boolit casts about .378-.379 and shoots well as cast using 2.080” 38-55 brass, the Win chamber seems to be a little longer than 375 Win. length.

Jedman

[pull the trigger]

I use the Lee boolit in my 38-50, 38-55s and a JES rebored 336 .375 win. It works very well. Does anyone have a load for it with H322? Mostly use 8.5gr of unique as suggested by Marlinman93.

[enfield]

I have 3 375 take off barrels ( Win BB ) and they all accept 38-55 Starline , similar to Jedman ,I adapted 2 of the barrels to 20 gauge rollingblocks to make BP 38-55 shooters. nice shiney new bores , easy to clean.

[MOA]

I've gotten best performance from 38-55 brass. The 94s and Marlins are chambered for it, and the shorter 375 brass leaves a very long jump for the bullet (through a .4"+ diameter hole) before reaching the rifled bore. At that point tho bullet has tipped significantly.
Test your chamber first for appropriate brass. That will effect your bullet design choice.

TomAM, are you using Starline brass?? If so, Starline does produce two different lengths of 38-55 brass. If your saying that the longer length brass fits the chamber of Marlins than I need to get me some to try out. I've got one of the earliest models from Marlin that was chambered in the 375 Winchester. My barrel is stamped Model 375, chamber 375 Win.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Starline is making 375 Win brass. Got some for may Savage 99 in 375 Win

[TomAM]

My 94 and my Marlin 375 both have chambers long enough to easily accept the longer Starline 2.125" cases.
My nephew's 94 is a bit shorter, using the shorter (2.08"?) 38-55 cases.
Both 94 chambers have .145" distance from the case mouth to rifling leade, and my design #38-200AG is shooting very well for both of us.
I designed #38-230G for use with 375 Win cases, filling the massive .255" jump to the rifling. But the longer cases are producing better accuracy.

[TomAM]

I think that manufacturers' intent with their 375 Win chambers was very much like that of the Colt SAA 45.
Colt has openly stated that their grossly oversized chambers and throats are needed to keep pressures down.
Marlin and Winchester used 38-55 dimensions, including .379+ groove diameter, to create a great deal of gas leakage with .375" bullets.
I have an MGM barrel and a custom Dave Clements 375 Marlin which both have true SAAMI spec 375 Winchester dimensions. There is a world of difference.

[stubshaft]

The .375 Winchester had a thicker web than the standard 30/30 and 38/55 brass and would hold higher pressures. I have used it to form 7mm International Rimmed back in my sillywett days.

[dakota]

I bought another 100 cases. It's buy em when ya find em

[alamogunr]

This thread has me thinking about my Winchester BB .375 Win. I don't hunt now so my enthusiasm kind of cooled off. Back when I got it I got two of the Lee group buy molds for it. All I recorded for the molds was 381268 on one and 375 Win on the other. I would have to look at the molds to see their configuration. I assume they have a flat point if intended for the Winchester Big Bore. Any one have any further information.

I happened on a Midway sale that had a ridiculous price for brass. Someone had put a seriously low price on it so I ordered something like 1000 pcs. Midway honored the on line price but changed it almost as soon as I placed my order. As I recall, I sold about 500 pcs for what I had in them. I had no reason the profit from good luck. This had to be 10-15 years ago.

[Drm50]

I had a early Marlin 375, traded up for Ohio deer when we first got rifle season. My first brass was blown out 30/30s and cast 38/55 bullets. Sized at .377. I only loaded 38/55 level in these cases.
I didn’t like the way the rifle handled so I traded it for a #3 Ruger in 375, since I picked up another one. I was working up loads and got put on back burner. I’m shooting Speer 235gr semi Spitzers and sacrificing velocity for accuracy.

[JFE]

A lot of moulds in this calibre have a crimp groove location designed for the 38/55. You can always crimp into one of the lube grooves but a Lee FCD would allow you to crimp anywhere on the bullet to achieve the correct OAL.

If you are looking for some heavyweight moulds, CBE in Australia make a few that work well. I have their 376300 and it is very accurate. They have another with a wider meplat and similar weight. If I was doing it all over again I’d probably opt for that one.

I picked up a Mihec mould designed for several 375 cal cartridges. It’s about 250gr and has his version of the Cramer HP pin arrangement. It is a very useful hunting bullet.

Another to look out for is the Ranchdog designed moulds. He did a lot of work with the 375 Win cartridge. His moulds are available through NOE I believe.

[1006]

If you want to try a bullet that looks similar to the RCBS, this one is available at Midway. It may be the RCBS mold. I use the .376 diameter version in my 375 BigBore. I add a gas check, but they are rated to 1600fps without one.They seem to fit my bore, as no leading has occurred. I load them from 1000 to 1600 FPS.

Hunters Supply Hard Cast Bullets 38-55 WCF (376 Diameter) 260 Grain Lead Flat Nose

[farmbif]

ive found with cast bullets in the 375 basically a full case of powder either 1680, 4198 or reloder7 works great the cast bullets either the 375449 or the lee offering, ive shot both with success in an original pre safety big bore win 94, both cast bullets seat so much deeper than the jacketed 200 grain bullets it seriously limits case capacity.
what really surprised me when I first got the 375 is the recoil. I remember bracing myself thinking it would kick like a 375 h&h but it is much closer recoil to a 30-30.
every boolit I load in the 375 is cast of clip on wheel weights with a bit of tin added, lube sized at .376 with carnauba red.
only problem I ever had was with a cartridge getting stuck in the action because the length was off a bit.

[Drm50]

I have had the Win Big Bore, Marlin and now #3 Rugers. My Bro has the TC carbine. I don’t think any of my loads recoiled enough to be unpleasant in any of the above. This includes 270gr and 300gr jacketed with stiff loads behind them. My #3 in 47/70 is unpleasant with hot loads.

[hornady308]

15 or so years ago, Ranch Dog designed the SC379-235-RF specifically for the Marlin in 375 Winchester. NOE continues to sell that mold and it works great in my Marlin as well as a Wesson & Harrington 38-55 with full throttle loads. For general shooting, it is really hard to beat the Lee boolit. Most of the 375's and 38-55's I have worked with like cast bullets sized to either .377 or .379.

[cowboy4evr]

I believe I had a small brown bag full of cases for the 375 Winchester that I never used . I believe they might be " once fired " but don't remember for sure as it has been years since I looked at them . I will be glad to sell if anyone interested . Probably 50 pcs , or so . I use the LEE mold for my 38-55 , works fine . Regards Paul

[Rrusse111]

Paul,
PM'ed about the brass.
Cheers!
Richard