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243kid Offline OP
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I was thinking of reboring a 30-30 to a 375. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this cartridge and how did it work on game?

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Puts a 'whomp' on 'em within 200 yards.

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I have a Winchester. The 375 kills our little deer and pigs quickly. I find deer are put on the ground quicker using the 200-grain Sierra bullet than with heavier bullets. The 200-grain Sierra bullet is tougher than you might imagine and retains its weight well with close shots and penetrates deepl and straight on both close and longer shots. I have not shot deer at distances much beyond 100-yards.

For light loads I like the Lee 255-grain cast bullet. This bullet was made for the Winchester as it fit�s the throat well and shoots accurately in the Winchester.


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My pet load is 39.5 grains of 1680 under a 220-grain Hornady. Very accurate in my Marlin.

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Originally Posted by 243kid
I was thinking of reboring a 30-30 to a 375. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this cartridge and how did it work on game?


If you rebore a standard Winchester 94, I would only shoot 38-55 level loads through it. A Marlin 336 might be ok, but the Winchester 375 (Big Bore) is built on a different receiver (reinforced)than the standard model 94 30-30.

To answer your question, the 375 is substantially more powerful (IMO) than the 30-30. I also shoot 38-55s through my 375. But, I have taken whitetails with 30-30, 38-55, and 375; seriously, I don't believe that any one of the three was any more deadly than the others.

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First The .375 winchester requires a much stronger action. So if you use a regular model 94 action and put a .375 winchester barrel on it don't be surprised when parts come flying back in your face way to much pressure for the action.
Second as to the difference between the 30 and 38-55, 375 there is not the same bullet weight, even the fps isn't the same. Now as to killing power nope other than a bigger hole for the larger bullets which means more blood loss.
But if you are going to look at it that way then we only need one caliber either a 30-06 or 30-30 would be all you would need. The old 30-30 was used even on the big brown bears so I guess we could say all you need is the old 30-30 for everything.
But then look at all the other choices we would not need, nope no fun there need options in everything.

Besides I have two .375 winchesters and also a lot more levers in other calibers and even a few bolt actions and even some muzzle loaders.

Last edited by shdwlkr; 02/09/12.

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While the Winchester Big Bore rifle does have a stronger action I would not underestimate the strength of the Winchester Model 94, especially the Model 94AE action.
I have experience loading Winchester Model 94AE and the Marlin 336 rifles reamed for the 30-30AI cartridge. While I have no way of determining the exact pressure I have loaded the 30-30AI to high velocity for several years. I am not alone in this and my rifles exhibit no sign of distress.
Searching the internet will allow you to see pictures of several Marlin 336 rifles with actions which failed in the barrel thread area. The only picture of a Winchester Model 94 I have seen which has failed in the barrel thread area been the rifle pictured in P. O. Ackley�s book Handbook for Shooters and Reloaders, Volume 1.
Several years ago there was a thread on the Leverguns forum discussing a Winchester Model 94 and a Marlin 336 barreled for the 454 cartridge. Both rifles yielded in the locking lug area after a short number 454 cartridges had been fired through them.
My experience with the 30-30AI cartridge indicated the Marlin 336 would not accept as high pressure as the Winchester Model 94AE. I am a fan of the 307 Winchester and after reading many internet reports of remarkable possibilities with the 30-30AI cartridge I decided to compare the two cartridges. While exploring the upper limits of the 30-30AI cartridge I loaded above my stop points looking for a margin of safety � If I was going to share loading information on an open forum I wanted to be confident I was not on the edge of disaster. The Winchester Model 94AE was able to equal and exceed the velocity of the factory loaded 307 Winchester cartridge � but not at a pressure level I felt comfortable with. The Marlin 336 was not able to reach this pressure level, the rifle exhibiting sticky extraction and alarming case growth (stretch) prior to reaching 307 Winchester velocities. If you experience sticky extraction with the 30-30AI cartridge you are well above prudent pressure levels.
When I posted these results on the Leverguns forum Myron Rockett was kind enough to post about his .308/444 wildcat and its standard Model 94 rifle. This rifle has been digesting 307 Winchester loads for many years with no distress.
I suppose my point is both the Marlin and the Winchester lever action rifles have adequate strength for the cartridges they were designed for with a good margin of safety. Christian Helbig wrote several articles of high pressure loading for the 38-55 in years past. While Helbig did not load to 375 pressure levels he did load the 38-55 cartridge to high pressure.
I would not suggest having an old rifle re-bored or re-barreled for a high pressure cartridge but I believe the Modern Model 94AE is as good a candidate for this conversion as Marlin 336.


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Take a look at this thread while you are in the thinking stage.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=143162


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I have a Marlin 375. I shoot cast 265 gr bullets and it is a great shooter. I do not load to the full potential of the 375 Win, but the cast bullets are fun to shoot, accurate and plenty of hole for a blacktail deer in these parts.

With a full load 220 FP. Would easily drop a black bear.

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When comparing the 30-30 to the 375 Win. what is the max pressure for each cartridge? In the Ramshot reloading pamphlet the 30-30 goes as high as 37,000 PSI. The cases are similar except for the diameter of the bullet and bullet weight so why couldn't a .375 Win. be put in a regular M94 Winchester.

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Works great on game. I've got both a Winchester and Marlin in the 375 Win. I intended these to be bear/boar guns. I've only used the 220gr Hornady on game and have only shot a coupld deer so far. That bullet seems much tougher than ideal for deer but I think will be great on bear and boar. From reports I've read I think the 200gr Sierra is the choice if using it for deer.
I love the rifle/cartridge but from my limited experience with it and the 220 gr Hornady, I'd have to say it doesn't do any better than my 30-30's on deer.

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Have to agree with a few of the previous posters. I've shot a few deer with the 375 and I dearly love it. One of my favorites. However, I haven't noticed any difference in kills compared to my 30/30's. There might be a noticeable difference on larger game but like I said, I've only used it on deer. Like a few have also stated, the 200 grainers might be better than they've been given credit for. I can say that the 220 grainers work fine. Hope to try them on a bear or hog in the next few years. Now if I can only get StiknString to sell me that Marlin he got for a song a few years back....

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38gr rel.7 & 220gr hornady from my marlin knocks the snot out of deer,if we had pigs around I think it would be perfect for them aswell.

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The original 250gr loading from Win was my favorite load in my Savage 99. I load 246gr cast bullets and 220 Hornadys.


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I've got 2 .375 Wins. - a Marlin and a Winchester bigbore. The only critter I've killed with a .375 Win. so far was a 120 lb. hog using the winchester factory load. I was shooting the Marlin with a scope. (My 94 sports a williams Peep). At the shot a bright red splash at point of impact was visible through my scope suggesting the bullet opened up immediately upon impact with nominal penetration. There was no exit so apparently the bullets are really soft. The pig was shot square on the shoulder so the bullet met with a lot of bone and gristle resistance. It was about a 40 yard shot and the pig didn't go far. I've since bought some 220 grain loads from Reed's Ammo and Wisconsin Cartridge Co. I look forward to trying them out on pigs.

Whitetail are not as dense as hogs. The Winchester load probably gives good performance on them.

Last edited by TexasShooter; 05/15/12.

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Lately I hunt with a 375 Winchester. 200gr flat at 2235 fps. So far all kills landed within 70 yards of where hit, with one additional head shot dropped. Shots were 20 yards, 60 yards, 45 yards and 50 yards. The 70yard less than ideal quartering away shot run was following blood in a thicket. Very unpleasant but doable deer recovered. The big boar 70 yard after shot was into a swamp bog not recovered. No misses, four out of five recovered with good blood trails. Two dropped in their tracks. Minimal MEAT LOSS! That is the reason I like the slow moving 375 round. I am moving it to a slower 264 gr lead at 1946 fps for next season. This is 8 inches down at 200 yards and 3 feet down at 300 yards, still with the MOMENTUM (screw the entergy calcs) to nail a softail Deer. The gun weighs 6 lbs with the scope and is about the handiest rifle there is, bar none. The only one I would consider instead would be a Browning 81 in 358. However, from experience, the Browning BLR have perfectly awful lawyer trigger.

On another note, none of my loads are over 42,000 cup, which is the max average pressure of a 3030. The 375 CAN do up to max average 52,000 cup, however you can get far above 38-55 performance with 42,000 cup!

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I've had quite a few .375's. Winchester, Marlin, and Savage. Stayed with the Savages. They work great on bears. One I recently modified for my use. Shortened the barrel, swapped the heavy stocks for lightweights, replaced the straight lever with curved.

[Linked Image]

Just for fun, I experimented with 3 lead balls loaded with fast burning powder. I found them to be effective on grouse sized targets to 20 yards. I'll be sure and carry a few for "incidentals".

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]



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brass is hard to come by Other than that!


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Wow, a 4-year-old thread. My input to the OP - I had a 1955-vintage M94 rebored from .30-30 to .38-55 by P. O. Ackley. I used both .38-55 and .30-30 brass, Hornady 220 and Speer 235 bullets, the Speers did not expand, the Hornadys worked great at 1900 fps. RCBS 255s worked best when hollow pointed on deer, a great cartridge for under 200 yards. It was a good decision, the .30-30 is so boring.


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Yes, old thread, I've got a modern steeled '94 in 38-55 WCF I near load to 375 Win levels, a 265 gr Cast Performance gas check bullet with RL-7 powder to a vel of 1855 fps, it is a real killer, I doubt much if the few deer and pigs I've shot with that load even slowed that projectile down much on it's way through them.


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