Home Forums Lever Action Central Big Bore Levers Bigbore 94 XTR .375 Win.

A deal came my way on a Winchester Bigbore 94 XTR (top eject) chambered in .375 Win. Since selling my .348, there's been a big bore lever needed for my vault so when this carbine became available, I decided it was time. Do many others here shoot this carbine or cartridge? A buddy's father owned one and shot many moose & deer with his with no complaints. Several years ago I met up with a local guide who packs one and considers it excellent for hammering troublesome bears. I always wanted to try a .38-55 but the loads seemed rather anemic at best so I stayed with my .30-30's. However, when Winchester introduced the .375 Win. in the late seventies, I couldn't wait to get one. Thirty years passed but I finally have my own. I couldn't find any ammo locally (no surprise) so I ordered the RCBS 3 die set, new W-W brass and Hornady 220gr FP bullets. A neighbor used to own a .375 chambered in a Marlin, so he set me up with some 250gr cast to try. I have some Re7 & IMR 3031 so I should find something that'll work in the 94 in cast and jacketed. Anyone have some .375 Win load advise?

Have a Win BB 375 like yours and a Marlin .375. My win likes the Hornady 220 grn flatnose with 36 grns rel 7 powder. I use 37 grns of Rel 7 with 200 grn sierra flatnose in the marlin. Work up to these loads. You will probably find that Reloader 7 is one of the best powder's for the .375 Winchester.
Karl

Well I have two win bb 375's one is the standard carbine and the other is a custom one I had rebuilt from one that needed some tlc. It has a 26 inch octagon barrel and has a dull brown finish I have shot this one a few times with lead bullets and I have a new bullet mold for it that 268 grain bullet. Both of mine are the early models with top eject. I am still looking for more and 45-70's also. can't remember the loads but if I can find it I will get back here

I've got both the Win BB and Marlin 375. Most people seem to get good loads with RL 7. For some reason I just couldn't get tight groups with it. I had very good luck with AA1680 and H4198 with the Hornady 220 gr bullet in the Win BB. So if the RL 7 doesn't work well for you then I'd try the others.
It's a great rifle and I love hunting with it. I will say that the Hornady 220 doesn't seem to open up much on deer. Not that it really matters... the deer I've shot fell over within sight. I've not shot anything larger with it yet but have taken on bear/boar hunts and look forward to getting a shot soon. I'd love to take it on an Elk hunt someday.

Thanks for the replies. I think I'll start with about 34.0 gr of Reloder 7 and see what the chrony says from there. With local moose & elk seasons open right now, I'm going to pack my BB94 along see how it does.

I have the marlin 375, and really love the cartidge, a great deer stomper for sure. You can get factory loads from Wisconsin Cartridge company, their own offering, pretty decent price, good shooting and reuse the brass. Those and the Winchester factory ammo work great in my Marlin. But I just don't see much of the Winchester ammo anymore.

�I will say that the Hornady 220 doesn't seem to open up much on deer. Not that it really matters...�

This has also been my experience. I switched to the 200-grain sierra. The Sierra bullet has proven to open quickly and hold its weight very well. I also prefer Hodgdon or IMR 4198.

I just picked up a 94 BB 375 as well. I think this would be a great bear stomper. I was thinking of going with the 220Hdy and wondered what velocities you guys were seeing. I was thinkin around 2100-2200fps.

Brett

Well, I went into the Boar's Nest (our old farm house with my reloading room) to settle down and load up some .375 "stompers" for my Big Bore 94. Had everything on the bench but couldn't locate my RCBS #2 shell holder. Looked high & low but I must have loaned it out(groan)OK, I'll just pick up another when I go to town next time. Well,the short answer to a long story...I can't find one locally or even in the next town! They tell me .30-30's are still very popular around here (northern BC, go figure) so I'll have to order one and hope it gets here soon. Once the shellholder materializes I'll get after it. On the bright side, I've exercised restraint and managed to pass up several fairly close shots on cow elk (waiting to try my BigBore 94) I've got until the end of October so patience is still an option! C'mon shell holder!

Hey BC, can you post some pics of that beast of yours????

Out of my Win 94BB .375, with 36 grn's of REL 7 and the Hornady 220 grn FP I get about 2050 FPS. I have never shot anything with the Hornady bullet. I use the 200 grn sierra in my marlin .375 and shot a buck last year behind shoulder complete penetration, deer dropped at shot. About 60 yards.
Karl

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I use 37 gr. Rx 7 and the 200 gr. Sierra in my Win 94BB. Works in my gun.

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I use 37.5 grains of Re-7 under the 220-gr. InterLock. It'll definitely wake you up in that little rifle. Thinking about loading down to loads more akin to top-end .38-55 velocities (1,700-1,800 fps). That's the beauty of these rifles: They're really 2-in-1.

Now, y'all have me wanting to try the 200-gr. Sierras for my deer use. Hmmmmm...

Good luck,
Scott

My Win and Marlin 375's much prefer the Hornady 220 grn flatnose with 36 grns rel 7 powder.
Couldn't get any kind of consistent grouping or accuracy with the 200-gr Sierra's.
Soon as I switched to the 220 Hornadys I had consistent accuracy and tight groups.

Cheers,

Carl

Great thread!
Keep these recipes coming!
I have both the Marlin and the Winchester and look forward to loading for both.

.

Tried some 3031 in my Marlin 375. Started at 32 gr with 200 Sierras and worked up to 35 gr of same with NO success. Best groups were just over 5 inches at 100 yards. So much for that, I'm going back to RL 7.

Factory .375 Win ammo was capable of around 2100fps for the 200gr. and around 1840fps for the 250gr., this according to two different chrony sessions with two different lots of ammo.
In my opinion, Sierra and Hornady make theirs 200 and 220 because they can achieve velocities over the 2,000fps mark. This is flashy, but leverguns have been putting down game with rather pedestrian velocities for over a century.
Has anyone here loaded the Hawk 250 gr? How about the Barnes 255?
H322, RL-7 both are capable of top velocities, but H4198 seems to capture best accuracy, while still eclipsing factory numbers by a comfortable margin.

It's been awhile since I loaded for my Marlin 375, but I've had great results with the 220 gr Hornady and 32.2 grains of IMR 4198 @ 2000 fps. Really thumps black bears and moose out to 100 ysrds.

I've also had good results on the same game at the same distances with the 200 gr factory load. Check Corlane's in Dawson Creek, I believe they had some ammo.

As for the 255 gr Barnes Original, I believe I tried both IMR 3031 and Win 748. Didn't care for the extra foot of drop at 100 yards compared to the factory load and the Hornady 220 grainer. Never tried loading them again. I also tried the 250 gr factory load that I had scrounged up a few boxes of over the years, and it performed about the same as the Barnes Original. A friend has the 94 BB with angle eject, and wanted them...so off they went.

I hate this post...I had a moment of weakness a year or so ago and sold my mint condition BB to a lucky guy in CO on Gunbroker, been kickin' myself in the butt ever since...(sigh)

Mark

Here's my .375 Angle Eject.
I'll be doing some load testing with cast bullets from Ranch Dog, Lyman and Lee moulds over the Christmas Holidays and I will post the final results here in late January or early February.

Snow.