375Win 94 XTR Big Bores

[Four Fingers of Death]

I was in a country town in the southern part of the state theother day and visited both gunshops. Believe it or not, they both had one of these on the shelves. This town is where I bought my one two years ago.

Both were top ejects (I have never seen an anlge eject Big Bore in Aust) in excellent condition. One was 500AUD and had a reciever sight. The other one was700 AUD and came with heaps of ammo, brass and dies, etc. I forgot to check what sort of sight it had. It never rains, but it pours.

[Buckshot]

....................I wouldn't mind having one. Next time I'm in Oz I'll have to drop in 8)

................Buckshot

[Frank46]

Mick youse are on the road to ruination. I have one and I'd say that its a beauty. Just got the lyman gc 375 mold for it and hopefully will be casting for it. $700 AUD, how does that compare to U.S. dollars??. I paid $500 for mine. Pricey but have wanted one for quite some time. Most of the ones that I've seen here in loosiana had issues. Rust in the barrel, rust on the frame, stocks beat up and the list could go on. But the prices were up there believe me. Frank

[Four Fingers of Death]

Frank and Aussie dollar is worth about 75cents last time I looked. I just used a currency converter and AUD500 is worth $US 357 and 700AUD is $US514.

The dearer one had lots of amo, etc.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I have a 250Gn mould and a thousand gas checks and 200 new brass I bought the other day. I'm itching to get going with it.

[Frank46]

Mick, kinda followed you home didn't it. Thats what happened to me but in a roundabout way. Saw it at a local gun show but was pressed for time. So the following monday went by the dealers shop. He still had it but was ready to put it on one of the online auction sites. Darn thing just followed me home. Has a great trigger and locks up tight, for once I got an un bubba'd rifle. Have fun, Frank

[Four Fingers of Death]

Mine's great, tight and accurate and looks and balances good. I bought the 375 mould and gas checks years ago, I knew I'd end up with a 375 one day, just thought it would be a H&H.

I'm glad the rifles in the shop were not a 356, I'd have to take that one home.

[txpete]

I bought one when they came out and while the specs might not look so hot on paper "everything" I have shot has dropped.never a runner.
you did good and now with win closing up the prices will only go up.
I have a magma mould for mine.240 gr lfp.I loaned out my lyman to a "friend" and he hauled a** with it. :-? .
pete

[The Nyack Kid]

one of the biggest mistake i ever made was passing up a Marlin 375 , that a local pawnshop had for $350 . it was in 50% condition , and i thought hmmmm maybe later .

[Jumptrap]

I've had 3 of them, kept the last because I bought it new in the box. I should have kept #2 as it was like new and shot great.....seems like I sold it to one of the old shooters gang. I just happened to stumble on to this one still unfired and bought it. #2 was actually a prettier gun. Number 1 had been buggered a bit...used. But, it shot well, was just a bit down on the aesthetics list.

I added a Lyman peep and a firesite up front, just a super rifle in all respects. I did have on run after being plugged with a 375449. Can't say the same for the marlin 45-70....it just hammers the life out of whatever it hits.

[Bullshop]

I have one in a Marlin I got in trade 10 or so years ago. It had been bubbaed a bit. Had a straight stock on the pistal grip receiver that was cut to about 12" pull. The metal was in good shape so I spliced in a peace of wood off an old discarded 8mm mauser stock.
I dont know if the chamber was messed with or if this is the way the early ones came from Marlin but it will accept the longer 38/55 cases. Also for reasons I can not fathom both Win and Marlin and Ruger and Savage went with a 1/12" twist same as the H&H.
Anybody crunching some numbers can see the factory heavy 220 dont need no 1/12" twist.
One of the most accurate boolits from my gun is from brother Veral in a 350gn WFN.
When I was in Montana and running the BPCR cercut for a bit I wanted to build a lever gun for long range. When I started shooting that Marlin I realised I already had one and all I needed was good sights.
I started shooting the same 320gn NEI that Jr. whuped me with with his 38/55 roller at Buffalo Gap. The roller has a 1/14" twist and keeps them point on to the 800 yard buffalo so theres no problem with the 1/12" in the Marlin.
Never did get to shoot a match with it as we headed back north. Still waitin for a chance to put Jr. and his roller in thier place with that Marlin but now the old eyes are fadin a bit so likely as not I could get another whupin.
If thats the way it shakes out it wont be the guns fault cause it does "JUST FINE ROY" in the accuracy department.
Have neven hunted with it as when I take a lever gun huntin its almost always a 45/70. The few times its not a 45/70 its the old 86 Win 50 cal.
BIC/BS

[Four Fingers of Death]

I bought one when they came out and while the specs might not look so hot on paper "everything" I have shot has dropped.never a runner.
you did good and now with win closing up the prices will only go up.
I have a magma mould for mine.240 gr lfp.I loaned out my lyman to a "friend" and he hauled a** with it. :-? .
pete

My first foray into casting was for a 45/70 Navy Arms Siamese conversion, real purty rifle. I bought a 405Gn mould, a set of handles, ladle (all RCBS so they cost me a pretty penny) and a Lyman Cast Bullet handbook, which was just hot off the press. Before I got to use them I loaned them to a 'friend' as he was having trouble getting adequate performance from his 500Gn mould in his Marlin. Last I ever saw of them. Ended up giving up and bought a new Handbook about five years later.

I can't figure out why I keep trusting people. I have lost so much gear and so many books. I have just managed to replace some of the excellent books that I lost through loans over the years:
'Das Boot'-story of a German U Boat in WW2,
'The Forgotten Soldier'-soldier from French Alsase-Lorraine area who enlisted in the army at the nearest town (across the river in Germany) and fought through the russian campaign, awesome read. I ended up knowing the yankee soldier who had just enlisted at 17 yrs and was given the task of driving him back to his hometown. He went on to become a Colonel in the US Army and retired in Australia after his daughter married an Aussie.
'Eastern Approaches' about Fitzroy McLean, a guy who traveled extensively through russia and mongolia before WW2 as a member of the UK diplomatic corps, joined up and fought in Africa with the long range desert patrol which was formed there and became the SAS, he ended up the was as Tito's advisor. Big read, just bought an original edition over the net for a tidy sum.
'War Bird' I think the title was, about a boy who was swept up in the was in Europe

I still have to find:

Cross Double Cross, which was a true story about espionage in euroupe and how the brits managed to infiltrate the Nazi spy network befor ethe war started.
and a few others.

Sorry about hijacking the thread, but I cannot believe how people you trust and think you know let you down sometimes.

Mick.
I'm still stupidy generous, but those books and my reloading and casting gear are going nowhere.

[The Nyack Kid]

"never lend anybody your gun or your chainsaw" . i forget who said those words , but he was a smart oldfart , i give him that .

[Four Fingers of Death]

I remember Anthony Quinn in the movie 'Innocent Savages' I think it was. He was an eskimo and as a sign of friendship wanted to lend his wife to the Mountie (Errol Flynn I think, knowing young Errol, he would have upended her as soon as you took your eyes off him anyway). He then explained 'well you wouldn't lend a man your knife or anything like that, because it would come back blunt.' (or words to that effect)

[The Nyack Kid]

it was the same wise old-fart who said " you will go to hell or kalifornian for shooting jacketed bullets in the 45-70 , only lead is kosher" .

[McLintock]

The January-February, 1978 issue of Handloader Magazine had a Pet Loads article by Ken Waters on the .375 Winchester in which he tested both cast and jacketed bullets. His best "full power" cast bullet load was 34.0 gr of 3031 with the Lyman 375449, at 1,892 fps. His most accurate load was 18 gr of IMR4227 with a Lyman 375248 bullet. I use 31.0 gr of 3031 with the 375449 bullet in my Browning Single Shot and it is superbly accurate, out to 500 yards if there isn't too much wind. I also use the 18 gr 4227 load with a 245 plain base bullet and it is very accurate and consistent in the Browning. He also did well with 32.0 gr of RL7 with the 375449 bullet. His test rifle was a Winchester 94 Big Bore with 20" barrel.
McLintock

[Four Fingers of Death]

Thanks for that, I'll give them a try. You can't buy 3031 in Australia, but I have ascrap left and our Ar2206 is close from memory.

[26Charlie]

I've got the M94 big bore, the Marlin M375, and the Ruger # 3 all in .375 Win. They all shoot very well with the Lyman 375449 GC and the Rcbs 37-250-FN GC and all the 3031 I can put in the case - those loads mentioned above are fine. The Lyman bullet casts about 275 gr. and the RCBS about 265 gr.
Bullshop - all three guns will accept and shoot with the 38-55 brass, no problem. I always thought the factories got something right this time. Or make brass by blowing out 30-30 cases - 6 gr. of Red Dot and a case full of cornmeal does it. A dab of lard to hold the cornmeal in helps. Shoot them up in the air - the blast of cornmeal coould be quite damaging at close range.
Haven't had much luck with plain-base bullets, but haven't really experimented much either - the GC loads work so well.

[Bullshop]

26charlie
Looks like they all just dusted off some old reamers and put new lables on them.
I do the same thing with 30/30 brass. Dont find any difference accept 30/30's are cheaper.
BIC/BS

[Four Fingers of Death]

I ended up picking up 200 375 cases. I might lay it away and convrt the 100 30-30 new cases I bought a bit earlier to convert. I have squillions of once fired 30-30s, but I thought that the new brass would work better. I have the RCBS mould, I can't wait to get home and get moulding. I also picked up a box of commercially moulded 38/55 Gn Teflon coated lead boolits. Can't remember he weight, no doubt these are around 250 Gn. These Teflon coated boolits have virtually taken over the target pistol bullet market here. I haven't tried them in a rifle yet.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I haven't seen lard mentioned for an age. Every body's terrified of fat in the diets nowadays. My wife and I eat an old fashioned diet with no processed food and both have good cholestorol.

[txpete]

ordered my lyman 375449 mould last night and a set of handles from midway.*ouch* 86.00 shipped.dug through the foot locked and I have a bunch of gas checks on hand so I will be up and running on boolits next week.
it will be a cold day in hell before I loan out another mould again.
pete

[Frank46]

Mick, I'd like to hear some more about those teflon coated bullets. Sound kind of interesting.
Any load limitations as to how fast you can push them due to the teflon coating?. Frank

[Four Fingers of Death]

They were bought out by Hawkesbury River Bullet Company, one of our premium cast bullet manafacturers. Because the original ones were coated with a black teflon, they were called Blackhawks. Now a days, they are produced by many companies, in different colours, but a lot of shooters call them blackhawks.

They work well and seem to be just standard cast bullets. The producers pretty much use the same moulds it seems and they are most likely produced on magna moulds or whatever the name of the company is that makes the casting machines.

Most started out shiney, but later examples are matte. I have used squillions of them at all speeds without a problem. The best part is that they haven't got lube and don't smoke, which can be a real pain on frosty foggy mornings.

I have driven them at warp speed in my 44 mags and 38 Super. The Colt 38 Super and my 92Fs Beretta ahve never had any other type of bullet through them and there is no fouling to speak of. Great stuff. I will take some photos as soon as I am able and will post them. The coating is mega tough. My mate got his rejects (not the bullets fault, dropped and loaded wrong, etc and threw them on top of the pot when he was moulding one day when I was there. The bullet melted and leaked out of the teflon coating which ultimately caught fire. The lead will give up long before the coating does.

[madcaster]

We(my son owns it-me,I just bought it for him) own a .375 Model 94.
Paid $380.00 for it and would not take $700.00 for it.
I like to shoot it pretty good,first levergun I had shot in years.

[45nut]

I've had 3 of them, kept the last because I bought it new in the box. I should have kept #2 as it was like new and shot great.....seems like I sold it to one of the old shooters gang. I just happened to stumble on to this one still unfired and bought it. #2 was actually a prettier gun. Number 1 had been buggered a bit...used. But, it shot well, was just a bit down on the aesthetics list.

I added a Lyman peep and a firesite up front, just a super rifle in all respects. I did have on run after being plugged with a 375449. Can't say the same for the marlin 45-70....it just hammers the life out of whatever it hits.
Yup,,Ole Jumptrap dun sold ME one of the finest lever action's in my meager collection. I think I have had it better than 4-5 years now,,and its in fine condition,I shoot it some,,thing does leave a mark though with factory ammo. I bought some just to compare and to get the brass of course. I since aquired two other lever mid-bores,a 1893 Marlin in 38-55 and my Win 1886 in 38-56 but the Jumptrap 375 was the first.
It's easy to spot if you have a good eye...
http://home.earthlink.net/~chevyken/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/weblevers.jpg

[Frank46]

Mick, thanks for the descriptions on those teflon boolits. Sounds like they would do very
well over here if someone would make then available here.
45nut, methinks you have a serious case of leveractionitus. But I gotta admit the 5 I have do provide a lot of fun. Frank

[Four Fingers of Death]

I think there are efforts in place to export them, but you guys have that Federal legislation that teflon is not to be used in bullets. This was designed to stop the Winchester Talons (buzzsaws). I haven't gone right into it as it doesn't effect me.

They are great for those steenking pistolas though. I have recently picked up some for my 385 (250Gn for 38/55), and for the 30/30 and the 303 Brit. I don't know how they will go yet.

[BAGTIC]

[QUOTE=The Nyack Kid]it was the same wise old-fart who said " you will go to hell or kalifornia..."

What's the difference?