Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 375 Whelen AI Loads

I decided to put a scope on my 375WAI. The following are the groups/loads were shot with a suppressor:

375W AI M98, 235 grain SPEER, 61 grains H335, 0.73" group with aperture sights at 54 yards = 1.29 MOA (no suppressor)
375W AI M98, 235 grain SPEER, 61 grains H335, 1.97" group with 4x M8 Leupold at 100 yards = 1.88 MOA
375W AI M98, 235 grain SPEER, 61 grains H335, 1.72" group with 4x M8 Leupold at 100 yards = 1.64 MOA
375W AI M98, 270 grain Horn SP RN, 57 grains H4895, 0.82" group with 4x M8 Leupold at 100 yards = 0.78 MOA
375W AI M98, 270 grain Horn SP BT, 57 grains H4895, 0.66" group with 4x M8 Leupold at 100 yards = 0.63 MOA
375W AI M98, 270 grain Horn SP BT, 57 grains H4895, 0.66" group with 4x M8 Leupold at 100 yards = 0.63 MOA (second group - I couldn't measure any difference)

The 57 grains load with 270 grain bullets are maximum - if you have such a rifle chambered for this cartridge, work up carefully. The good news is the above loads hit at close the same POI at 100 yards. The 61 grains H335 with 235 grain SPEER load centered at about 1/2" higher than the 270 grain loads.

235 grain SPEERS traveling at ~2,800 fps, 3" high at 100 yards, -1.5" at 250 yards, -6" at 300 yards.
270 grain Hornady traveling at ~ 2,600 fps, RN 3" high at 100, -3.9" at 250 yards, -11" at 300 yards.
270 grain Hornady traveling at ~ 2,600 fps, SPBT 3" high at 100, -2.3" at 250 yards, -8" at 300 yards.
The 270 grain Hornady SP BT should be good for anything I'll be shooting at. I have a few hundred of the RN 270's - seconds from MidwayUSA - they should be good for most anything I'll shoot at too. More work to be done with the 235.

I have some other 375 bullets on hand. I'm not sure if I'll be getting away from the two bullets tested much though, I am especially pleased with the 270 Horn loads.

hahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

^^^WTF^^

375 Whelen AI? That's friggin funny

Not quite sure why anybody would think it's funny, but then again, look who thinks it's funny.

BS cartridge that’s what!

How so?

It’s not needed. Why else? unless you can come up with a BS reason why it should ! Just like a 338 federal, or a 7mm 08, etc…. BS cartridges.

Was just asking.... which cartridges are not BS cartridges?

Ones that aren’t pushed out marginally, And the little bit doesn’t amount to much that some make a big deal over. You can have the last word.

It must suck to be so incredibly low life that it's necessary to hate on what another man chambers his rifle for, to glean some form of satisfaction. Nobody in the whole U.S. of A needs a reason beyond wanting it; and wildcatting is the reason for many standard cartridges on the books today.

35 Whelen AI, or anything like it, just oozes coolness.

OH BOY a 375 H&H ain't good enough..... OH BOY ain't much better but it's soooooo coooool ! And wait with the AI you get a teeny weeny bit more powder, and PO says the powder burns more efficiently... but PO you don't really get much more velocity, but we like it anyway ! It's sooooo coool looking !!



Bugger said that here too..... and Lee has a section to load rifle powder for cast loads, so any standard cartridge can be as effective as this 375 Whelan AI.... just my 1 cent.

Thanks for all the load work Bugger. That's a pile of great data. I have never had or fired a 375 Whelen Improved, but that is pretty serious horsepower from a 30-06 case. What rifle are you using?

actually it feels good not to be sucked in to the BS that most of you are in.

It's HIGHLY doubtful Bugger made this post yearning for YOUR approval.

You've made your typical asinine insult.

Since you can't appreciate the endeavors of others this thread isn't for you, you should probably just move along.

moving along !!

Fantastic

I'll be carrying a 9.3x57mm Mauser in pursuit of venison in a few days. Necessary for whitetails? No, but the local regs specify 35 cal plus bottle neck cartridges. 375 Whelen AI fits the bill nicely as well. Last year my standard 35 Whelen filled my tag. It does the job quite nicely. Good luck Bugger! Great rifle chambering.

This rifle was one I did as much of the work myself, at least what I could do without a lathe. I bought a 98 receiver from a Mauser guru. (I've had Mauser 98's all my life, but I am not an expert on Mausers!) It's a BRNO VZ 24 if that means something to one who would know.
I bought a semi-blank stock - mostly inletted but needing a lot of wood removal. I shaped the stock to fit me and put a Pachmayer recoil pad on it. I bought a blank 375 barrel from Shaw. I rented a reamer and cut the chamber by hand, that is without a lathe. The reamer was available right now and the dies were available right now. I had sold my lathe 30 years ago and while I've opened up chambers by hand, I never started from scratch - uff da - it's a lot of work. (I rust blued the barreled action myself also.)
I hired a gunsmith to mount a decent set of sights, which I had. Steel Lyman aperture rear sight and the front sight from Brownells. I found I could shoot it pretty well at 100 yards, but the first time out deer hunting with it I saw deer at 200 to 250 in the trees. Those sights and my eyes were not compatible with that scenario. I had a Leupold base for a 98 lying around and once again had to rely on a smith to install the base. While at it, the safety was converted to a 3-way safety that works with a scope. I put on a M8 4x Leupold scope, which I consider about right for the cartridge. The barrel is threaded for a suppressor and with that on the rifle, the recoil is mild.
As far as why a "375 Whelen AI", I wanted something different. I've owned center fire rifles since the late 50's and had many different common rifles chambered for common cartridges. I put a lot of work into this rife and it wasn't going to be a 30-06 or whatever some dude thinks it should have been. I figured the 375 Whelen Ai was about the most powerful cartridge based on the 06 case (I was likely wrong as the 400 Whelen might well be a more powerful round.) I also picked 375 because I owned a 375 H&H, a 375 H&H AI, and a 375 Win. I had plenty of molds in 375 and had a good selection of 375 bullets on the shelf. Plus, there is a plentiful supply of bullets on the market. I'm considering a 375-444 Ruger #1 since I have a #1 action that I'd like to modify.
I didn't pick a 35 Whelen AI as I had a 35 Whelen and a 35 Brown Whelen. and felt the 35 Whelen AI was more common than the 375 version.

I like that stock