armednfree
New member
Just a thought. With the straight wall states and all the development of new rounds, and the popularity of the 45-70, I would think the 375 Winchester would be prime for a resurgence. Maybe now that Ruger has Marlin it will.
375 Winchester resurgence.
- Thread starter armednfree
- Start date
[QUOTEMaybe now that Ruger has Marlin it will.][/QUOTE]
Marlin couldn't sell any when Marlin owned Marlin. But who knows. Sometimes cartridges don't catch on until later. The 45-70 was basically dead for almost 100 years before becoming popular. It took 20-30 years before the 270 was accepted.
Marlin couldn't sell any when Marlin owned Marlin. But who knows. Sometimes cartridges don't catch on until later. The 45-70 was basically dead for almost 100 years before becoming popular. It took 20-30 years before the 270 was accepted.
For the .375 Winchester to be viable these days it would need to work in more platforms than single shot rifles and lever actions. If you could get it to work with spitzer bullets and headspace off the case mouth so it could be rimless, and put it in an afforable bolt action or maybe AR platform you might have a shot.
I had a couple of .375 Winchesters...as well as two 38-55's. One of the .375's was a Ruger Number three, and I think I had one of those M94 with built-up bumps on the reciever in .375 Winchester...but not 100% sure these days.
I took a nice six-point here in Michigan with the Ruger #3 using a cast-lead bullet. I had intended on shooting a deer through the heart area to test the cast bullet for effectiveness, but at the last moment, shot him in the head to keep the carcass in prime condition so I never did get any indication as to the performance of that heavy cast bullet would do in a typical deer hunting situation.
Pathfinder45
New member
375 Winchester vs 38-55
It seems to me that the main advantage of the 375 over the 38-55 is not the obvious increase in power, but rather a shorter cartridge, increasing the magazine capacity in tube-fed rifles.
In guns of equal strength using ammo at the same pressure, there's probably little if any difference in performance.
I do think it was an error on Winchester's part to create a caliber that would be dangerous if it made it's way into the chamber of an old 38-55 rifle. If they had based it upon a necked-down 444 Marlin case, it would have precluded that possibility.
Here's a link to Buffalo Bore's very informative site on this subject: https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=543
It seems to me that the main advantage of the 375 over the 38-55 is not the obvious increase in power, but rather a shorter cartridge, increasing the magazine capacity in tube-fed rifles.
In guns of equal strength using ammo at the same pressure, there's probably little if any difference in performance.
I do think it was an error on Winchester's part to create a caliber that would be dangerous if it made it's way into the chamber of an old 38-55 rifle. If they had based it upon a necked-down 444 Marlin case, it would have precluded that possibility.
Here's a link to Buffalo Bore's very informative site on this subject: https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=543
stagpanther
New member
I think if I were interested in 375 win ballistics--I'd probably take a serious look at Tony Runmore's 375 socom.
.375 Winchester is more than just a warmed over 38-55, it gave a real performance increase in a light weight carbine. The .375's 220 gr bullet at 2,000 fps is quite a bit more than a 38-55's 235 gr at 1,300 fps in anyone's book. That's a 60% increase in velocity and a 120% increase in energy. But it's still a 150 yds cartridge, not because of its lack of ability but because of its flat nosed bullets and the carbine it was chambered in. People were excited until they shot them in a 6 lbs carbine. Recoil was not terrible, but the narrow stock and light weight made the recoil pretty sharp. To take it a step further, Winchester also made the Big Bore 94 in 444 Marlin. That one was brutal.
So between the recoil issue and the short range restrictions, it never really got most people excited. A lot of people were, though. Silhouette shooters, pig and bear hunters. I think it was a neat cartridge in a variation of the 94, but it doesn't do anything a 30-30 can't do at a lot lower price.
Rimless? Maybe, but long rimless cartridges that headpsace on the mouth have issues feeding and extracting. Maybe when the 6.8 SPC came out somebody should have grabbed a bunch of brass and wildcatted a .375. 6.8 SPC was based on 30 Remington, a rimless version of the 30-30. But 6.8 SPC brass has been hard to come by for quite a while. But, who knows?
So between the recoil issue and the short range restrictions, it never really got most people excited. A lot of people were, though. Silhouette shooters, pig and bear hunters. I think it was a neat cartridge in a variation of the 94, but it doesn't do anything a 30-30 can't do at a lot lower price.
Rimless? Maybe, but long rimless cartridges that headpsace on the mouth have issues feeding and extracting. Maybe when the 6.8 SPC came out somebody should have grabbed a bunch of brass and wildcatted a .375. 6.8 SPC was based on 30 Remington, a rimless version of the 30-30. But 6.8 SPC brass has been hard to come by for quite a while. But, who knows?
armednfree
New member
Some of the suggestions here, straight wall, no neck.
I don't seem to recall my buddy's Marlin kicking that bad, never shot the Winchester.
The 375 would show well in Ohio. It would be as good as, and better than, most of the other rounds commonly used.
From the Ohio Hunting regulation pamphlet:
All straight-walled cartridge calibers from a minimum of .357 to a maximum of .50
No length limit.
At one time they had a list of allowed rounds, that's gone now. Want to use a 458 mag, that's legal.
I don't seem to recall my buddy's Marlin kicking that bad, never shot the Winchester.
The 375 would show well in Ohio. It would be as good as, and better than, most of the other rounds commonly used.
From the Ohio Hunting regulation pamphlet:
All straight-walled cartridge calibers from a minimum of .357 to a maximum of .50
No length limit.
At one time they had a list of allowed rounds, that's gone now. Want to use a 458 mag, that's legal.
Last edited:
Have several of the 375's, two Marlins and a Winchester. With AA 1680 the factory velocity's are easily exceeded, and significantly more than a 38-55. It seems main trouble now a days is shortage of suitable bullets, and Hornady no longer makes the 220 gn? Have one older well used Marlin purchased with intent of cutting it to 16 in. Am no longer hunting, and likely the project won't be completed. If memory serves, the 375 would not appear to lose much in a 16 in barrel.
I love the 375 Winchester but have avoided it since ammo/components got scarce/stupid expensive. I scared up an old Marlin 35 Rem which scratched that itch.
If the urge for a 375 gets too bad I will find a modern, no-safety Marlin or Winchester and ship it off to this guy for reboring.
http://35caliber.com/2.html
If the urge for a 375 gets too bad I will find a modern, no-safety Marlin or Winchester and ship it off to this guy for reboring.
http://35caliber.com/2.html
Scorch said:
Yes, there would be a lot of issues with a rimless .375 Win case. I was just saying rimmed rounds aren't very popular anymore because the rifles they are used in don't have a large market anymore. The .375 Win will always be a niche cartridge in this day and age of bolt action and semi automatic rifles.
i would like to see a 375 JDJ(444 marlin necked down to .375) in a lever action, i think it would make a nice big game rifle. maybe in a new marlin 1895 or a reworked win big bore, my .375 JDJ is a tc custom 24" barrel for a G2 and 2300 fps is no problem with the hornady 220 gr flat nose bullets and 225 gr spitzer and a tc encore or a ruger #3 would also be fine.
My take on the .375 Win is extremely narrow application that was easily surpassed by existing cartridges. A factory load .45/70 Gov't cartridge will exceed anything the .375 Win was able to do. Hand load a max .45/70 Gov't round and fire it from an 1895, and nothing that walks Earth will survive it. The very, very steep downside is a max loaded .45/70 Gov't round fired from an 1895 rises pain to stratospheric levels. In fact, I'd rather be waterboarded than fire a max loaded .45/70 cartridge out of an 1895.
The 375 headspaces on the case mouth, just like my 450 Bushmaster. It would be a no-brainer in the AR15 and FAR superior to the 350 NOT-Legend. There are a few .375 250-260grain bullets, but a 235FTX and the established 270 Spitzer would be excellent. The 250FTX in my 450 shoots 5x into one hole. The thing I love about the 450 is it's housed in the AR15 and only requires a heavier recoil buffer.
Are you sure that a .375 Winchester headspaces on the case mouth...a round developed to be used in a tubular magazine lever action? When I had them, I seem to remember roll crimping the cartridges.
try shooting it out of a Ruger No.3.armednfree
New member
I just learned that several of these states have a case length maximum. 1.8". That works against the odds. What work for the odds is Lipsey's and Davidson's. It's probably going to be a year before Ruger rolls out Marlins, longer for specialty stuff.