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If Marlin had intended their rifles to shoot both the .38-55 and the .375 Win, they would be roll-stamped as such. They are NOT. A person can argue all day long about part numbers, barrel alloys, heat treatment and pressure levels, but those arguments prove absolutely nothing except the possession of a creative mentality or perhaps wishful thinking.
Doing so is poor judgment, period. It serves no useful purpose. If you want a .375 rifle, by all means buy one. The .38-55 is perfectly useful and usable as is � and that's how it should be used: AS IS.
If you go back and reread my posts you will see where I stated:
"I�m not recommending shooting a .375 in a .38-55, just pointing out that the pressure would be lower than in a properly sized .375 barrel. In fact I DON�T recommend it. "
That said, the receiver part numbers are indeed identical.
FWIW, my .375 chamber is overly long and I have used .38-55 brass to build longer .375 Win loads. Shooting .375 brass in the chamber is somewhat like shooting .38 Specials in a .357 Mag chamber. After some experimentation, however, I gave it up as I only had 50 .35-55 cases and 500 .375 cases and didn't feel the effort to keep them separate was worth any potential gains I might get from the .38-55 brass.
