Home Forums Lever Action Central Big Bore Levers 375 Win loads

I have a Winchester 94 in 375 Win

I have molds and several commercial cast loads on hand

I also have 200 grain Sierras and a couple boxes of 220 grain Hornady and I have some 255 grain Barnes.

I was a little surprised when I saw Ken Waters used 235 grain Speer bullets in his reloading column then it dawned on me that he was shooting them in a Savage 99.

The 220 grain Hornady bullets are getting more difficult to find, dang it. Ken Waters loaded quite a few loads with the Hornady bullet. (1/1983). The loads he used in his pet loads column in 1/79 - well I have found none of those.

Care to share your favorite loads for deer, bear, hogs or???

Thanks.

Mine is a Marlin 375 Win


WW Brass
Win LRP
33.0 IMR 4198
200gr Sierra


WW Brass
Win LRP
36.5 H4198
200gr Sierra


Mixed 30-30 brass
Win LRP
33.0 H4895
260gr Cast Performance .380”

8” lower than the above loads



I’m using the H4198 load right now. The 200gr Sierra has been accurate and performance on whitetails has been excellent.

Mine is a Contender carbine I got as a legal Iowa deer gun when straight wall rifle rounds became an option. I used 200 gr Sierra and R7. I would like to try 220 Horn but have not found any!

Im using the same load in my Marlin H4198 200gr Sierra with WW and Starline brass, Ive also used the 220gr fp from Les Vollmer with great results on deer

I'm going to give your loads a try buddy. Probably work up until I find accuracy. I have a bunch of Sierra's to practice with..

My 375s like Re7 and the Hornady 220 FP

35.0 grains, WW brass, WLR, LFC

It’s a comfortable and accurate load.

Both 4198 loads shot quite well from my Marlin even with the 1-4x20 Leupold with heavy duplex.


I think IMR4198 tops out around 34.5grs and h4198 tops out at 38grs in most manuals. Mine shot good enough I never worked up over the 33/IMR or 36.5/H with the 200 Sierra.



You’ll have no trouble finding accuracy I’m sure.

I loaded up 20 with IMR4198 & 200 gr Sierras - I have some H4198 powder I’ll try later.
I have some 255 Barnes loaded with RE7, even though I bought another box of these bullets, I’m not sure I’ll have much of a need for them - if the 200 work well on deer. The price on the Barnes I bought were about 2x of the Sierras. I might try them in my 375 Whelen AI though.
I’ve run out of RE7 but will be looking for some at gun shows coming up.
As always, I’ll be looking for more Hornady 220’s. I have none loaded as of now.
Maybe I’ll get back to them after the snow melts some.

I just found Sam Fadala’s article on the 375 using the 94
He used:
200 grain Winchester power point
220 grain Hornady
250 grain Winchester power point
He also sanded the 235 grain Speer’s point to make it a flat point
He mentioned a couple times not to use this bullet in the 94 because no cannelure and the bullet is heavily constructed and even with the flattened point he recommended not to put a loaded cartridge with this bullet in the magazine tube.
He doesn’t mention accuracy other than “all loads were accurate”. He whined about the iron sights being “too fat”.
The powders he used on the 200 grain bullet:
H-4895 39 to 41 grains 1,893 FPS to 2,044 FPS. (Old H-4895 I believe)
BL-C(2) 42 to 44 grains
H-335 41 to 43 grains
H-322 38 to 40 grains
H-4198 30 to 33 grains
The velocities of these loads slow to fast pretty much matched H-4895
H-4198 though topped out at 2,137 FPS
The 220 grain bullet he used IMR-4198, RE-7, IMR-3031, & H-322
The fastest load was with 38 grains of RE-7 @ 2,200 FPS
(220 was faster than 200 grain- hmm)
The 250 grain bullet he used H-4895, BL-C(2), H-335, H-322 & H-4198.
All these powders had similar top and bottom velocities of about 1,700 to 1,850 FPS.

33 grains of reloder 10x, standard primer and 255 grain barnes O.

170 yd, quartering towards shot. Bullet pulled the hide off the carcass, and was full of blood, but bullet stayed against hide. When i skinned the animal, the exit hole was impressive. Also impressive, was the low velocity expansion and the weight retention of the barnes O.

255 grain barnes 0 brings out the best of the 375 win. round here we tend to shoot animals first,before shooting off at the mouth about ballistic hypotheticals. Campfire is the opposite, gotta overthink everything.

That same load was used on a coastal brown bear by another fella:

And where does a guy, just starting with a 375, buy those? Or is asking shooting off at the mouth?

I found some old notes.

34 grains RE7 and 255 grain Barnes were the most accurate in my rifle of the loads I’ve tried.

My Marlin does well with a cci200, 38.0g or Re7 and the 200gr Sierra bullets. Only have used inside of 150 yards but they have pretty much been bang-flops. Shot one deer head on at about 60 yards and bullet blew through and exited a ham but did not get all the way through hide. The rapid drop was something to behold.

What brass? I've found a noticeable pressure difference if I use WW or Starline. The Starlines are heavier so less capacity, higher pressure.

I'm pretty sure this is where I'll end up too, with my Savage 99. And My B.i.L. suggested this load as very accurate in his Ruger 3


I also just got some Volmer .375 220g flat nose last season, which sure do look like the old Horns

I've killed a few deer with the Vollmer 220fp they work very well

Reloaded 7.

I am loading the Speer 235 with 35.3 grains of Re7 for my Big Bore 94. I cut and filed the meplats flat and tested with a dummy cartridge loaded into the magazine first to check for any indentations in the primer, and it seems to work well. There was no sign of incipient primer detonation.

I still haven't shot a pig with this load, but I think 2070 fps will probably work. I'm not likely to try any shots over 100 yards with open sights anyway, so velocity decay shouldn't be a factor. I won't try a really big hog until I find out whether it'll take out a smaller one with authority first.

I worked load up in WW brass. I have a few hundred of the starline but havnt loaded any yet in 375.

Try Accurate 1680----you will up your velocities quite a bit with the 200gr. Sierra and 220 gr. Hornady!

Hip

Following

Just snagged a marlin 375 Winchester so I’m starting from scratch, thanks for sharing the info!

AA 1680 seems to be the velocity boss in this round. I was getting 2375 fps under 220 vollmers from a 20" marlin. No pressure signs. It is boomy, though.

another good thread!
Bugger

I acquired a 94AE from a member here a couple months ago, and it ended up being real fond of N130.It's not a barnburner powder for speed, but the accuracy was better than any other powders I tried. IMR3031 wasn't bad, either, but it's on the slower side for velocity, too. I'm not going to be using it for long shots, anyway.

1500-1600fps was the sweet spot with .376 260gr cast for both powders. They were old commercial cast, and I did end up having to heavily sort the bullets, because they were very inconsistent. About 60% of them were .376/262gr, and the other 40% were all over the place between .375-.377 and 258-265gr.

Haven't worked up a good jacketed load yet. I think I'm going to give the 200gr Shock Hammers a whirl, since they are readily available, and I've had good luck with Hammers in a couple other cartridges.

My 375 has a steel Lyman aperture rear sight and a brass post up front. I’m not at my computer so going from memory the Barnes 255 bullet got about 2 MOA. I think 200 yards to be about maximum for me with this light rifle, iron sights, & blunt bullets. I’d be happy to get that with the Sierra’s since this rifle will mainly be used on White Tails. I’m going back out next week end and would be carrying this rifle if I could find the right load.
So far cast loads are shooting straighter than Sierras or Hornadys. They are a little less than 3 MOA too. Maybe I should try those.

2-2.5MOA (50 yard groups) is what I am getting with cast too, using a Skinner peep on the rear and a white bead front sight.

I have been looking at different manuals and write ups. It seemed like everyone likes Reloader 7. However, a Lyman manual shows better accuracy with H322 with the Barnes 255 grain bullets. Ken Waters said nice things about 4198 and 3031, but like others, praised the RE 7 as best all-around load and most accurate Jacketed load.
I will be trying H322 since I have a partial pound of it, albeit a little old.
Not today though gusts up to 50 MPH and blowing snow. My how I wish I had an underground 100-yard range sometimes.

RL-7 is my fav in the .358 Win.

DF

I see 375 brass is available several places now. I just ordered from Brownells.

Buffalo Arms usually has it in stock. I bought a couple hundred Starline from them when I bought the rifle. It's a bit heavier walled than the older Winchester brass I had from 15-20 years back.

Don't remember the charge off the top of my head but I use H4198 and a hard cast 200 gr bullet I cast myself. and powder coat.

We don’t have the range of powders you have in the US but from what’s available here the best is Reloader 7, followed closely by H4198. I prefer to use Reloader 7 for all full power loads from 200 - 300gr.

A fun load I use for plinking and small game hunting is 255gr FN PB cast (Lyman 375248) backed by 6.5 gr of Red Dot. It’s very accurate and economical.

I use Ramshot Terminator for my Winchester .375. Works well. I chanced upon it when it was all I could get about 18 months ago, see no reason to change even though other powders are now readily available.

A cast bullet natural. I have some jacketed and wonder why.

I have a Winchester big bore .375 with a Williams peep sight. Loading the sieera 200 gr bullets but also got some 200 gr and 235grain bullets from Hawk Bullets and they are accurate.

what load are you using for the hawk 200s just got some

I just finally shot a bunch of the 200gr Shock Hammer test groups yesterday. It liked them pretty slow. 1500-1550fps was the sweet spot. Everything beyond 1600 was pretty terrible regardless of powder/primer combination.

N130 was the hands down winner for accuracy. IMR 3031 was not quite as good, and R7 shot flat out lousy.

Best group was 27gr N130. Shooting was at 55yds with a Skinner sight. Recoil was mild with this load... mean velocity of 1502fps.

i have a new to me marlin .375 just made up 2 loads both starline brass first in 35gn R7 with hawk 200 the other is 37.8gr R7 with sierra 200 will check back after i shoot them.

Shot a new to me 99A in 375 loaded with 38 grains of H4198. They did really well

Found a decent 375 plinking load.

245gr Lightning RNFP
10.5gr Unique CCI-200 Starline brass
Mean velocity 1329fps

I loaded some test groups from 9.5-12.0 grains and 10.5 was the sweet spot. Below 10.0 and above 11.0 all shot like garbage out of the rifle.

Iron sight group from 75yds yesterday.

200 grain Sierra’s

Best for accuracy in my 375 Win so far (iron sights):
375 Win, Winchester 94 XTR, 255 grain Barnes, 34 grains RE 7, 1.25" at 50 meters or 2.21 MOA

Best cast load:
375 Win, Winchester 94 XTR, 235 grain Cast, 19.9 grains IMR4227, 1.67" at 50 meters or 2.95 MOA

I have some 220 grain Hornady's but Have not loaded them yet. I also bought some 225 grain Fury FP, which arrived recently. They are still in the package.

Those 245 RNFP also shot very well for me with 24gr N130, but the recoil was stiffer than I was looking for in a playtime steel dinging load.

Tag 4 reference

Love my 375 Win. It was a great development and should have taken off..it is lots of fun and very useful. Blows the doors off the 30-30 in the same weight platform and is all the cartridge you need with open sights. Too bad Hornady stopped the 220 FP and a 220 FTX would have been fun too. If it had been popular Winchester was planning a 40 caliber in the Big Bore 94. Instead they went with the 356 and 307 in a very accurate platform with a heavier barrel that to me reduced the balance and handiness of the 94. They also had enough range to tempt scope use and the 94 was "improved" right out of everything (handiness, speed of handling and compactness) that made it so excellent. Would have loved to see what the 40 would have been like but glad to have a 375. Light recoiling, powerful and super handy. Great 5-125 yard moose gun. In fact maybe nothing better!

200 Sierras.... AA1680 is your huckleberry... Mine hits an accuracy node at around 2300fps.... Bullet is short so doesn't take away much powder capacity. This allows for some pretty impressive foot pounds of energy as this bullet can be loaded to impressive speeds,Awe inspiring hydrostatic shock at 75 yards and under but penetration is low for anything bigger than deer.
the 200 Sierra mushrooms really well but can core separate at close range, but only after some awe inspiring damage. For deer this might be the way to go as it really hits hard. Keep it away from shoulders!
220 grain Hornady bullets RL 7 at 2200 fps get's decent groups but not as good as the 200 Sierras. This bullet hangs together well and penetrates pretty well. Wouldn't be scared to use on moose but would aim for a broad side shot.
255 Barnes Original at 1900 with RL 7 is the most accurate load in my rifle. Can core separate at 50 yards and under but opens up well at long range and hangs onto speed well. Might well be the best all-round choice.
270 Jet Hard Cast with Rl 7 at 1800fps is very accurate as well.

H4198 is second most accurate with most bullet weights, and I would use in a pinch as a substitute. In my rifle some lots of 200 Factory Winchester really shoot well, but other lots not...velocity is always low at about 2050 or so. The old 250 factory loads seemed more uniform but are discontinued. Both bullets were really well made for expansion while still hanging together well and penetrating within their sectional density.

One fly in the ointment is the difference in point of impact between the different bullet weights is extreme (over 1 foot at 100 yards) You are best sticking with one bullet weight. I found 300 of the old Hornady 220 grain and am sticking with them as I like the bullet action for caribou too moose. Loaded to 2200fps they hit the same POI as the 200 factory loads.

Oh..and yes be careful with brass capacity. Now that Winchester brass is often unobtanium..brass capacity is variable between brands and even between Lots of the same brand. Use a chronograph and don't try to chase the last FPS in the traditional levers... pressure signs are harder to read and the margin of safety reduced. I had to reduce my loads a full two grains using starline brass. Your results may vary... but as always be careful and let caution be your guide, these old rifles are irreplaceable as are your fingers and eyes.

Finally got back out and tested a few more groups with those 245 grainers.

21 and 21.5gr IMR4198 shot really well. Accuracy went to hell beyond 22 grains.

21.0 @50yds mean velocity 1358fps


21.5 @50yds mean velocity 1389fps

My bad, yes