Cast bullets for 375 Winchester

[Alaska Dave]

Either i'm not looking in the right places or their is a shortage of GC bullits in the 200- 250 gr. range. Any advice would be appreciated as I want to load up some cast in my Contender rifle. Thanks, Dave

[Bullshop]

You lookin for boolits or molds?

[725]

I cast the one and only Lee .375 and use it in my buddy's .375 H&H. It works. Did remove the bevel base feature (real easy), so now it's a flat base. You didn't mention what cartridge you use, but that's my experience.

Oh, I now see in the title what .375 you are after. Can't help, no experience with that one.

[Alaska Dave]

Looking for someone that makes cast bullets for the 375 Winchester. I'm looking to run a 200-250 grain bullet at about 1950 fps. Wanting to work up a load for moose, elk and blackbear. Thanks, Dave

[wonderwolf]

what is a good mold for 375 H&H? I recently got a bunch of brass for 375H&H and though I don't have a gun for it I would like to get a mold (a gun will come sooner or later)

[fishhawk]

well dave i have both the lyman moulds for the .375 the plain base and the GC one the GC one with WW makes a boolite of 264 gr could cast ya some PM me and we will talk details

[GabbyM]

I've been casting the Saeco plain base tapered 255gr bullet with good results. With 12 BHN alloy. Guys get good accuracy out to about 1450fps then it starts to wane. The 300 grain #571 could probably be pushed just as fast for more power. For more velocity with gas check bullets the Saeco 265 or RCBS 250gr look good. I'm a little fed up with Lyman quality right now so I'm not even going to mention their bullet.

[Bullshop]

OK Dave if yer lookin fer boolits we got um at the Bull Shop.
Blessings on ya
BIC/BS

[omgb]

DAve, the 375 win is a tough gun to cast for. Well, not really but....you must slug your gun if this is going to work. Chambers and freebore vary between runs of these guns. Some (i've got one of these) have very long chambers and throats and will not shoot well unless the bullet is sized .380-381. Others, are tack drivers with .376 but you won't know unless you slug the bore. I did, and bought a custom mould from LBT for $140 shipped. It works flawlessly.

To slug the bore follow this method from Veral at LBT. First, take an unsized case and fill it with a steel slug right to the case mouth. Now take a steel rod slightly smaller than bore diameter, standard cold rolled rod as found at Home Depot etc is fine. Give it a wrap of electrical tape to protect the crown and bore. The rod should be long enough that when the afore mentioned cartridge is shambered and the rod inserted in the bore, it should protrude from the muzzle about 4", a little less is good, longer is not.

Drill a hole in a block of hard wood that is just smaller than the bore of the gun and about 2" deep. Split the block at the center of the hole. You now have a slug mould. Pour pure lead into this and let it harden. In a clean but very lightly oiled bore, insert the cartridge, drop the slug down the muzzle insert the steel rod and gently push the slug down against the steel filled case. rest the gun butt on the ground on a padded surface.

Take a 3Lb hammer, really, weight is what you want here, and give the end of the rod a smart smack. Test the action to see if the cartridge comes out without drag. If it does, it's time for another whack. This will have driven the soft lead slug to expand to chamber and bore size. Remove the cartridge (it will stick a tad) and using the rod, push the slug out. You now know the exact dimentions of the chamber mouth, the leade and the bore. Now you are ready to choose a mould.

Unlike some of the other methods, this one will never change dimention over time and it's safe for your gun.

I have some photos of my chamber cast and my slugs. The link is at the end. BTW, RL7 is the perfect powder for this gun and these loads and do get a gas check mould, it will save you some real headaches later. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...freeboreIV.jpg You will also find that 38-55 cases, esp. Starline brass is a real boon here. It's longer and your chamber just might support that thus giving you more powder space and a much better fit to the bore.

[Bullshop]

Something else to take into consideration about the 375 Win is that for some realy strange reason factory rifles are rifled 1/12" This dont make much sence when you consider that factory ammo was with 220gn bullets.
A 1/12" teist is what is used in the 375H&H and handles 350gn bullets nicely. My most favorite boolit for the cartridge is a 350gn LFN from Veral.
Matter of fact a Marlin in 375 win is about the best out of the box rifle to shoot the lever class at long range shoots like the Quiggley.
Why they gave it such a quick twist as compaired to the 38/55 which was standard at about 1/18" I just cant figure but I am glad they did.
I gotta tell ya that little Marlin with a 350gn LFN at 1550 fps is a real moose thumper.
Blessings
BIC/BS

[onceabull]

I've shot these boolits from Bullshop in various 375 W's for a long time(since before He and the Mrs.took the family back to AK).They well for sure shoot right on through,and that 1:12 twist seems made to order for them...Nothing wrong wth the boolit for the 375 H&H,either,and when Dan starts taking orders again,It's time for another shipment,as I can't justify the cost of an LBT mould for this one,given the quantity I shoot and the time left to do it. I also shoot Saeco # 638 for fun/games,but it's plain base,so would need some form of protection to get close to factory load speeds.My memory is the OEM loads were 200 gr and 250 gr,with the 250 being long discontinued..The 220 hornaday is a superior choice in tube mag.leverguns,and I like the 235 Speer.in the Ruger #3 and Sav.99... Have fun, Onceabull

[missionary5155]

I have a 94 Winchester I rebarreled (30-30 to 375 recut threads) . I use the plain base .375 Lyman .. drops at .379 using wheelweights. I had a little "inacuracy" I thought and started filling the case with Cream of Wheat after the regular powder charge. Cut groups in half and now shoots 2 1/2 inches at 100. Had to use COW in my old win. 38-55 to get groups and the all purpose breackfast food shines again.

[Ranch Dog]

I'm definitely a fan of the Marlin's chambered in 375 Win and have spent quite a bit of time studying the rifle. I have owned up to three of these rifles at one time but are now down to my "Hunter", just the right amount of character in the wood and metal, and one that is NIB with all the tags and papers.

I'm getting ready to sit down to a meal of wild hog meatloaf, that my dear wife is preparing and that my Marlin made possible last week (Ranch Dog's TLC379-235-RF )

I think there is a lot to a 375 Win, or at least making one perform as it was intended to. I've got some images of chambers, etc. at http://www.ranchdogmolds.com/TLC379235RF/

[runfiverun]

i treat my 375 marlin like a 38-55.
and have looked at r/d's molds and drawings. if i hadn't developed my loads and such
before he had his done... i would definately have went that route, as he has already
done the work,,,as usual.

[Tomkitty]

My Model 94 Big Bore shoots well with the Lyman 375449 GC bullet lubed with alox using 22 - 23 grs of XMR-5744 plus Super Grex filler. This is not a heavy load, only about 1500-1600fps but it is all you need for deer and black bear as it will penetrate all the way through. Accuracy in my rifle is 2-3" at 100 yds with iron sights; that's as good as I can see.

[TCLouis]

How about the 375 Winny and cast out of the 14" TC barrel?
This is with loads worth hunting deer and bigger as well as fun 100 yard plus plinking loads.

Curious and nosey folks wanta know!

[castshooter-too]

Well Dave I dont have a contender but do own a 94 bigbore in 375 win.
The load that works for me is the plainbase lyman 375248.
weighs 250 gr. in acww's. loaded with 33gr. IMR4895 and used unsized at .379"
lubed with BAC and 38-55 ww cases.
shoots boyhowdy at 50yds. May be worth a try in your contender.

[cabezaverde]

I'm definitely a fan of the Marlin's chambered in 375 Win and have spent quite a bit of time studying the rifle. I have owned up to three of these rifles at one time but are now down to my "Hunter", just the right amount of character in the wood and metal, and one that is NIB with all the tags and papers.

That's funny you should mention that Michael, I think I sold you that rifle a few years ago.

[shdwlkr]

Now I am really wondering what size to use in my winchester model bb in .375 winchester. I read in Pet loads that you needed to size to .377 size but you are saying here that .379 will work. Did they really size that much diffferent? No I don't have an easy way to size the bores to find out. Any ideas would be great as I really like this caliber. I have a 26 inch barrel that just loves to be shot on one of my model 94 BB.
thanks

[garandsrus]

Shdwlkr,

I size to .379 in my Win 94 BB and get very good accuracy.

John