Any .375 Winchester users here?

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njc110381

Well-Known Member
Hi guys. I just put my name to a .375 Winchester '94AE lever gun. I'm wondering if anyone else on here has one?

From what I can gather they weren't made for long, and the cartridge isn't that popular? It's basically a .30-30 cartridge necked up to be straight walled, like a mini .45-70. It seemed interesting so I've reserved it. I've got a few factory rounds to go with it and some brass. Bullets are out there, along with moulds to cast them, but I can't find dies yet.

I'm keen to hear from anyone who may have one in the UK, although feedback on its performance from abroad would also be very much appreciated. I wonder if @Muir or @alberta boy may have stumbled across one? I'm hoping to get it set up as a woodland roe and muntjac rifle - the ballistics of the cartridge look to be well suited to that task.
 
Very nice choice sir. I never knew why it wasn't more popular and it has plenty of steam for larger deer too!
Iirc it is not a blown out 30/30, that would be akin to a 38/55.
The 375 will not chamber in a 38/55 but a 38/55 can in a 375.
I think the the 375 was built for the Winchester big bore with a beefed up reciever. It has thicker brass and is loaded to higher pressure than 38/55.
I am extremely happy to hear of another 94 destined for the field and a rare one at that. 👍🏻
 
I think the bullets designed for .375H&H are a bit tough. They'd probably only manage about 1800fps, if that, out of the Winchester so wouldn't expand much. The Sierra bullets are the ones I'm looking at, if I can't get cast bullets to both shoot well and expand.

I need to call Spud. I want to make sure what I'm ordering is in stock. I'm not the biggest fan of Lee dies because they don't lock, but they're ok.

I think brass can be made for it from .30-30, but not for full pressure loads. It's ok for plinking loads and can be formed to the right dimensions. It's just a bit thin. I have 100 .375 cases that I picked up recently to use for the deer loads, but will probably send cast down the range at a far greater rate. Unique, .30-30 brass and lead will be the order of the day for that!

I bought it because it was quite rare. I've not seen one before. Like you, Smellydog, I like seeing unusual stuff being used too. If everyone used a .243 life would be boring! I just hope I can get it past the FEO - it's smaller and less powerful than a .45-70 so I can't see why not, but these things rarely have any common sense applied. They will see .375 and have a wobble, initially at least.
 
Yes 30/30 brass will make cases for 38-55 pressure which is still very very capable!
You may not need to trim the brass being a 375 w. You might be able to squeeze a bit more from the thinner brass.
 
I’ve used the 38-55 and the 375 WIN . It’s basically the same case , while the 375 cases might be a tad stronger in the web . I’ve killed deer with both cartridges . In the 375 I’ve killed deer with jacketed bullets and with bullets I cast myself . In the 38-55 I only used home cast bullets and killed deer . To be honest the first deer I ever killed using a cast bullet was in a Marlin 336CB in 38-55 using a 264 grain GC bullet pushed at about 1400 FPS . Shot him behind the shoulder at 60 yards with a tang sight . Deer took about six steps forward and fell over . That was also the first deer I did in with a lever action . With the 375 WIN I had a pair of Marlin levers both were scoped but one was for cast bullets and the other for jacketed . And as you might expect both passed muster just fine , to be honest I think the cast bullets did a better job . But then my opinion might be biased .
 
njc110381 said:
I think the bullets designed for .375H&H are a bit tough. They'd probably only manage about 1800fps, if that, out of the Winchester so wouldn't expand much. The Sierra bullets are the ones I'm looking at, if I can't get cast bullets to both shoot well and expand.

I need to call Spud. I want to make sure what I'm ordering is in stock. I'm not the biggest fan of Lee dies because they don't lock, but they're ok.

I think brass can be made for it from .30-30, but not for full pressure loads. It's ok for plinking loads and can be formed to the right dimensions. It's just a bit thin. I have 100 .375 cases that I picked up recently to use for the deer loads, but will probably send cast down the range at a far greater rate. Unique, .30-30 brass and lead will be the order of the day for that!

I bought it because it was quite rare. I've not seen one before. Like you, Smellydog, I like seeing unusual stuff being used too. If everyone used a .243 life would be boring! I just hope I can get it past the FEO - it's smaller and less powerful than a .45-70 so I can't see why not, but these things rarely have any common sense applied. They will see .375 and have a wobble, initially at least.
Click to expand...
I've owned two 94 Big Bores chambered in 375 Winchester , it's a very capable cartridge . I have a friend with a Marlin 336 in 375 as well , definitely a rare bird . It still has a small , but faithful , following around here for big stuff in close . I used factory 250 gr bullets most of the time but had really good results with the Hornady 220 gr Interlocks , unfortunately , now discontinued . Fortunately , Hawk Bullets makes extremely good bullets for the 375 Win , check out their site , be warned , they have some really interesting products . It obviously isn't a long range round , but inside of 150 yards it hits with a lot of authority , it also doesn't kill with a lot of bloodshot meat . I'd rate it up with a 358 Win or 348 Win for big game within its usable range , which , to be honest , covers about 90 % of the shots I take . YMMV .

AB
 
After spending a great deal of time for 15 plus years messing with lever actions and cast bullets for hunting I got so I was pretty much intrested in three cartridges for deer/black bear . The 32 Special as my light caliber , the 375 WIN as medium and the 444 Marlin as the heavy .
 
To be fair, it only has to make deer legal energy and I'll be happy. With a 250gr cast bullet that's 1750fps, which should be well within the specs of .30-30 brass. It doesn't need to run at full power, it'll mainly be shooting roe. Look at the load 6pt-sika mentions, that's really mild but his first hand experience says it works. That's good enough for me!

I wouldn't expect it to do masses of damage. The bore is relatively large but the velocity low. Just what I like for deer. Light at light speed for pests, heavy but steady for food. I would like it to do the job with cast but time will tell. I've got some extremely hard alloy here in bulk, so could maybe try a double fill soft nose hard cast for the deer and just straight hard cast for the range. They'd probably shoot the same or close enough and I wouldn't need to make many softs.

The initial reaction from my FEO when I emailed was no. But that's nothing new. We'll see. They're generally a very reasonable bunch when presented with a fair and sensible argument. He's probably never heard of the cartridge and saw the numbers .375, which at first glance would be a no if they adhere to their guidelines. Interestingly, had I asked for a .444 Marlin, it would have been simple as it's listed as suitable for deer in their big book of rules!
 
njc110381 said:
To be fair, it only has to make deer legal energy and I'll be happy. With a 250gr cast bullet that's 1750fps, which should be well within the specs of .30-30 brass. It doesn't need to run at full power, it'll mainly be shooting roe. Look at the load 6pt-sika mentions, that's really mild but his first hand experience says it works. That's good enough for me!

I wouldn't expect it to do masses of damage. The bore is relatively large but the velocity low. Just what I like for deer. Light at light speed for pests, heavy but steady for food. I would like it to do the job with cast but time will tell. I've got some extremely hard alloy here in bulk, so could maybe try a double fill soft nose hard cast for the deer and just straight hard cast for the range. They'd probably shoot the same or close enough and I wouldn't need to make many softs.

The initial reaction from my FEO when I emailed was no. But that's nothing new. We'll see. They're generally a very reasonable bunch when presented with a fair and sensible argument. He's probably never heard of the cartridge and saw the numbers .375, which at first glance would be a no if they adhere to their guidelines. Interestingly, had I asked for a .444 Marlin, it would have been simple as it's listed as suitable for deer in their big book of rules!
Click to expand...
That my friend is a most refreshing posting! Absolutely agree 100%.
Excellent 👍🏻
 
njc110381 said:
To be fair, it only has to make deer legal energy and I'll be happy. With a 250gr cast bullet that's 1750fps, which should be well within the specs of .30-30 brass. It doesn't need to run at full power, it'll mainly be shooting roe. Look at the load 6pt-sika mentions, that's really mild but his first hand experience says it works. That's good enough for me!

I wouldn't expect it to do masses of damage. The bore is relatively large but the velocity low. Just what I like for deer. Light at light speed for pests, heavy but steady for food. I would like it to do the job with cast but time will tell. I've got some extremely hard alloy here in bulk, so could maybe try a double fill soft nose hard cast for the deer and just straight hard cast for the range. They'd probably shoot the same or close enough and I wouldn't need to make many softs.

The initial reaction from my FEO when I emailed was no. But that's nothing new. We'll see. They're generally a very reasonable bunch when presented with a fair and sensible argument. He's probably never heard of the cartridge and saw the numbers .375, which at first glance would be a no if they adhere to their guidelines. Interestingly, had I asked for a .444 Marlin, it would have been simple as it's listed as suitable for deer in their big book of rules!
Click to expand...
That is pretty much a higher end 38/55 load , a 255 hard cast at about 1800 fps . That combination has killed a lot of animals in the last 100 + years , and it still does . An aquaintance of mine built a beautiful 38/55 on a Winchester High Wall action and has used the above load to take a large number of animals , including a very large bull Elk , over the years . Given that jacketed bullet availability is somewhat limited where you are , I would go with the 250 hard cast in your 375 . Trust me , nothing will walk away after being hit with one . Cool rifle and a tip of the hat for going old school .

AB
 
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