Home Forums Lever Action Central Big Bore Levers 375 Winchester

Hi: Got one of these on a trade and my wife loves it but great caliber that it is Hornady has suspended production on they're 220 gr. Does anyone have any info on why this caliber was so unpopular? Dan

It is a great caliber, bought one when they first came out. Took many deer, 2 moose, 1 brown bear and a couple black bears. Winchester didn't market it very well, read more in the gun mag's about it after it was dropped than when it was in production. For me when they dropped the 250PP it killed the caliber. The 200 wasn't very accurate, the 220 hornady wasn't a whole lot better and every one I recovered had seperated jacket/lead. The 250PP was very accurate and performed excellant, recovered 1 that went in right front shoulder of brown bear, traveled thru stomach of wet grass then thru left hip recovered under the skin there, perfect mushroom! I believe Hawk and possibly Kodiak make 250gr bullets, wish I had my old 375 now. Keep looking at a new in the box original big bore 94, may pick it up!

the first rifles chambered for the 375 were top eject. people didn't like catching hot brass down their shirt front. there were other "sexier" cartridges developed for the winni bb that diluted the interest. bought one in late 1980 and it still sits I my case front and center.
recoil had some to do with its unpopularity along with a rainbow trajectory. those tat have or had them love them be them Marlin , Winchester, or savage 99. my bucket list includes a marlin, and a savage. today the ammo is hard to get and the price is crazy. reloading is the way to feed one now.
the 375 is poplar among Thompson contender lovers.

I love both of mine. One of my favorites for sure. My suspicion is though, that as good as it is, most people that bought them are deer hunters. Ive heard several people say it didn't kill deer any quicker than the 30/30.

Sounds crazy, but it hasn't produced any more spectacular results on deer for me than my 30/30's.

I do love the .375 though.

I have a Winchester (top eject)that I will be taking to camp next week. I am using the Hornady 220Gr. FP w/ 37gr RL#7 and it's been terminal on whitetails, black bear and pigs.

I bought this rifle from a hunter from Maine who purchased it new and had taken deer, black bear and several moose with it using factory ammunition. The rifle came with 2 boxes of the 250 gr. loads and a partial box of 200 gr.

I'm using the Hornady 220gr. FP and Barnes "Original" 255gr. FN, I have not tried the 200gr. Sierra but have read some positive reports.

For powders I have had good luck with RL# 7 and AA 1680 (of which I haven't seen any in ages).

As for it's lack of popularity (and these are just WAG's), introduced in the 70's when there was no demand for another rimmed lever gun cartridge and limited rifles chambered for it (Winchester, Savage & Marlin).

I enjoy walking the woods with mine and will never part with it, this time next week I will be in the UP sitting at the edge of a swamp with my 375 WCF in my hands hoping to catch a buck sneaking in to escape the activity in the woods and fields near by.

SC

I have two 99's in 375, one brush gun and one saddle gun, and am building a third, also in a 99, based on a 99F lightweight. I also have a NIB Big Bore Winchester, and have had a Marlin. Can you tell I love the cartridge and the guns? The guns are the easy part, the ammo is the hard part.
I shoot 200 gr. factory ammo, when I shoot them.

If Hornady spent 10 minutes in a board meeting thinking about it they could own the .375 ammunition market. All of a sudden .375's would jump in value as available ammo made them desirable to shooters again!

I just picked up a Marlin 375 and am having the dickens finding ammo for it. I've pretty much settled on Buffalo Bore's .38-55 Heavy load until I start reloading for this. But to reload I need .375 Win brass, and .....

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=159

Shameless plug for one I'm selling in the free classified, includes a box of ammo, too. Just in case any one needs a spare Big Bore 94 in .375 WW

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth..._Like_New_Winchester_375_Big#Post9380048

It's not "so unpopular". There is simply so much demand for other products that they've redirected production capacity to the things that people are buying more of.

Check your PMs.

Tom

They also suspended the 170 grain FP for the .30-30.

That bullet shoots really, really good in my M94.

I like bore diameter in a lever gun and wanted to pull the trigger on a .375 win and didn't do to brass/bullet shortage issues. Heck it's dare impossible to find bullets for a .35 Remington right now much less a .375 win.

This ammo, brass and bullet shortage of non-standard calibers will likely last another 2 years. I have decided the only calibers I will even consider buying will be in the top "10" of ammo and component production.

Doc

i would never let that discourage me. Bullet casting and case forming is not moving mountains. I can't imagine giving up my 218 Bee, 219 Zipper, 222 Rem, 250 & 300 Savage, 6.5 MS, 30-40, 300 H&H, 32 Win Spl, 35 Rem, 348 Win, 358 Win, 375 Win, 38-55, 405 Win, 50-110 WCF etc. for the mundane .223, .308, 30/06, 9mm, 40 S&W. It would take all the fun out of it

and that folks is the truth!

I just had the chance to shoot my 375 this weekend for the first time since I bought it. I had six spare rounds of Winchester Super-X .375 Winchester loads. Those long, straight, wide cases with a bullet that leaves a lug-nut sized hole makes you think the recoil will be ferocious. Not so. More like a shove than a spank. Way better than a 7mm Remington Magnum. Me likey!!!

I was going to work up some round ball loads just for the heck.
can't find the balls and can't find the mold. getting old sucks!

no snide remarks about the balls .

Good idea. I have always wanted a shot shell in this cartridge so I could opportunistically take grouse while deer or bear hunting. Haven't figured out how to do it yet. No components available that I can find, so it's a homemade proposition. I don't load for shotgun, so know nothing about it.

I had an angle eject when they first came out. I killed a few elk and deer with it, but it was ho hum and the recoil was more than I wanted for what it did

Fireball2, is pretty straight forward loading shot in the 375.
use 410 data as far as powder/shot ratio. drop powder cover with a cork wad 1/4 inch thick drop shot, cover with a 1/4 inch cork wad and roll crimp. deadly grouse load. have done the same in my 41 mag for years. dropped a grouse once and everybody thought I was a deadeye.lol

I have two firearms using the 375 wcf. A Marlin and a Thompson Center Contender with a 14" ported barrel.

I use the same load for both the rifle and handgun with AA 1680 powder and the 220 Hornady slug. The Marlin will print in a MOA and the Contender comes very close.

I've never gotten a deer with the Contender but the Marlin did a good job on a small buck. at 70+/- yards. I bought a bag of 200 375WW brass and 2 boxes of 20 each WW unprimed brass at a gun show, both were years ago in the early '90s. I've not needed any more since then as the brass seems to last forever with only a little trim needed after 4-5 loads. To find brass, I would try as many gun shows with the guys who have boxes of old ammo and brass... you never can tell.