# Home rolled 375 Win.



## Drm50 (Dec 26, 2014)

Because I'm to cheap to pay $50 box/20 for 375 Win I just whipped up a batch out of 30/30 cases, and poured up some 250gr
cast bullets from an old Ideal mould. Making casings is fairly simple, they are fire formed. 1st deprime cases, stand up in shallow
pan and fill with water to 1/4" below shoulder. Using propane torch heat from water up- when it glows tip over into water. Do not hold torch in one spot, play it around. Dry out cases with heat gun. Prime cases. Charge with 7gr. bullseye, fill rest of case with
Corn Meal ( I used Martha White brand, nice little corn bread aroma) with your muzzle pointed up fire the rifle. Eject a formed
375 win. Keep cartridges and rifle pointed up as not to spill the charge. Clean up casings, put mine in vibrating polisher, then
load as 375 Win. I have shot test cartridges 4 times with no cracks or head separations. These cast loads are in 1600 GPS range.
******* would not advise to use these cases for full house loads with jacketed bullets**********
Also, found that Winchester brass is best, Federal 2nd, Reminton 3 rd. when forming had no Win brass fail, 2 out of 60 on Feds.
Remington's had about 25% failure to form. Test fires all done with Win brass. I am not sizing bullet,Alloxed, shot as cast. Bullets
poured from lyno-type. Winchester is suppose to make a run of 375 this spring, that should bring prices back down.


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## ODNR3723 (Apr 12, 2007)

Nice! I'm having a rifle chambered right now for 243 ackley. I want to try using the same method to fire form to save barrel life.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Impressive, way above my level of expertise!


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## Drm50 (Dec 26, 2014)

The Ackley & Gibbs series of cartridges are basically just changes in shoulder angle. Not a real radical reform.
I have a lot more experience necking down cases, like the Ackley's, than blowing them out. Some like 30/06
to 35 Whelen are pretty simple fire forms. I had a 22 Ackley Jet that I just recently traded off. Simplest way
to make them was to fire form 22Jets, or neck down 256 Win, but both of these are scarce and expensive.
So I went the hard way, necked down from 357 Rem. this required annealing and 9 steps. I used dies from
7 other cartridges and modified a 222 rem die to form them. Seated bullets with a Vickerman 22 seating die.
I did this because RCBS wanted $360 for the form & loading dies for this cartridge. Once you have fire formed
only neck sizing is required if shooting in same rifle. Pic below shows 22 Ackley Jets with 357 in middle for
comparisons.


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## Dovans (Nov 15, 2011)

LOL!! Yea Right..


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## ODNR3723 (Apr 12, 2007)

9 steps is a lot. Did you have to buy the other dies or did you have them? This will be my second ackley. First was 22-250 with a 1/8 twist. I used standard loads on it. This one I want to save the barrel on. I have taken 243 brass and converted to 6.5 creedmoor. Made excellent brass. I did not have much luck with 308 to 6.5 creedmoor. Sounds like you have a tremendous amount of experience.


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## Drm50 (Dec 26, 2014)

I have several sets of dies and a lot of "orphans". Single dies that can be bought cheap at gun shows. These
can be cut down in lathe to do different operations than they were intended. You also need extended shell
holders to do some of the wild cats. When you have a large selection of die sets you can load a lot of cartridges 
using dies from different sets. Below is pic of a 455 Elley, a old British military cal. originally loaded with BP.
These can be bought, but are pricey. The 455 has a 456 dis. Slug. American 45s are 451/452" dia, so undersized for this gun. I cut down 45 colt and modified old 45/70 HP mould for weight I wanted. sized 45/70
to .457", .001 over dia. For cast. Now I'm able to shoot old Colt cheaper than 22. I would rather do this kind
of stuff than watch TV. Once you make up a batch you can reload them as regular cartridge. Load these with
Modified 45colt dies.


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## ddcollier (Feb 13, 2011)

Drm50 said:


> I have several sets of dies and a lot of "orphans". Single dies that can be bought cheap at gun shows. These
> can be cut down in lathe to do different operations than they were intended. You also need extended shell
> holders to do some of the wild cats. When you have a large selection of die sets you can load a lot of cartridges
> using dies from different sets. Below is pic of a 455 Elley, a old British military cal. originally loaded with BP.
> ...


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## ddcollier (Feb 13, 2011)

very interesting. i recently bought a big bore 94-75 in 375 win. with intent to deer hunt with this year.i coundnt find any ammo in time,would have paid 50 if could have found it.i have the box an paperwork,an was told it has never been fired! now with time to think about it,not sure i will shoot or keep as is. but i will be watching for ammo if becomes avil.


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## Drm50 (Dec 26, 2014)

Winchester is suppose to make a run of 375 this spring. That should bring price down some.


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## Dovans (Nov 15, 2011)

Drm50 said:


> Winchester is suppose to make a run of 375 this spring. That should bring price down some.


Went to an auction preview tonight in Newark. Tomorrow is the ammo part. Tons of regular ammo, but I recall seeing quite a few boxes of .375. I actually put in absentee bid in on some 32 Win Sp.


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## ddcollier (Feb 13, 2011)

Dovans said:


> Went to an auction preview tonight in Newark. Tomorrow is the ammo part. Tons of regular ammo, but I recall seeing quite a few boxes of .375. I actually put in absentee bid in on some 32 Win Sp.


prob. couldn't make this weekend any way but i couldnt find anything on ammo auction, will watch for some 375 at few gun shows. course if i decide to sell i wont need more. if you like the winchester lever guns ,its to pretty to hunt with anyway.


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## handloader (Jan 13, 2014)

I thought the 375 Win had a thicker web than the 30-30 (or the 38-55). I would be worried about separation with stronger loads, but it seems you are not pushing the brass really hard with your stated velocities. I do not have a 375 Win. but I have spent too many hours researching that cartridge. I use a 45/70, but I want to experiment with suppressing a 375 win. for hunting.


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## Drm50 (Dec 26, 2014)

375 win does have heavier web. If you read the whole post you will notice the 30/30s blown out to 375s were
mild 250gr cast bullet loads at approx 1600 fps. And these were fired 4 loadings after forming with no perforation
or separations. Also I noted not recommended for full house loads with jacketed bullets.
In regard to suppressing 375 Win, it will have to be loaded down to less than 1080 Fps which is only about
66% of my load in this brass. Your main problem is not going to be case separation. Your problem will be
finding a powder & bullet combination that will generate enough PSI to expand and seal case against chamber
walls. If you can't do this you will get blow back between case and chamber. Anyway this is going to give
you a 375 load that will be about equal in power to a 38special with 158gr lead bullet. I don't know your
purpose, but it is a exercise in deminishing returns. Pick up a good Applied Physics Text book and a
loading manual and you won't have to study hours on this problem.


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## handloader (Jan 13, 2014)

Drm50 said:


> 375 win does have heavier web. If you read the whole post you will notice the 30/30s blown out to 375s were
> mild 250gr cast bullet loads at approx 1600 fps. And these were fired 4 loadings after forming with no perforation
> or separations. Also I noted not recommended for full house loads with jacketed bullets.
> In regard to suppressing 375 Win, it will have to be loaded down to less than 1080 Fps which is only about
> ...


I've built my share of Form one suppressors. I'm not interested in avoiding a super or trans-sonic pressure wave from the bullet flight. The subsonic game is fun, but not ideal for hunting. My goal is to lessen the supersonic crack of the expanding gas to lessen the over pressure induced damage on my ears. As for applied physics, I hammered through multiple courses in undergrad, master's and my terminal doctoral degree (plus a course or two in fluid dynamics). However, I've only been hand loading for 20 years, so I am still learning. I do take issue with the statement that "it will have to be loaded down to less than 1080 Fps which is only about* 66%* of my load in this brass. *Your main problem is not going* to be case separation." If I were to load a case at those powder volumes, detonation of the case is a high probability, a potentially catastrophic event (including case separation).


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## Drm50 (Dec 26, 2014)

A, reducing from 1600 FPs to Subsonic velocities will not cause any catastrophic failures. To reduce FPS down
to roughly 66%, requires use of pistol powder. About 8.0 gr of Unique with 250gr will be close. To get accuracy
out of these reduced loads I have found it necessary to use a filler, like Dacron fiber, to keep powder in position
for uniform burn. The main problem with these reduced loads is the chambers in individual rifles. Load has
to have the PSI to expand and seal in the particular gun.
**********these loads are all done with Cast Lead Bullets- Not tested or Safe with Jacketed Bullets***


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## handloader (Jan 13, 2014)

Drm50 said:


> A, reducing from 1600 FPs to Subsonic velocities will not cause any catastrophic failures. To reduce FPS down
> to roughly 66%, requires use of pistol powder. About 8.0 gr of Unique with 250gr will be close. To get accuracy
> out of these reduced loads I have found it necessary to use a filler, like Dacron fiber, to keep powder in position
> for uniform burn. The main problem with these reduced loads is the chambers in individual rifles. Load has
> ...


How do you propose to keep the Dacron fiber out of the suppressor baffles? I'm not trying to get in a debate with you, and i'm glad that you suggest the use of a filler. The filler serves two purposes; one, it keeps the powder in place, and two, it fills the empty case volume-preventing detonation. "*Detonation is defined as a violent explosion caused by the powder igniting instantly or all at once, creating tremendous pressures. Remember all smokeless powders are designed to burn at a controlled rate." *Many a gun has been ruined by light loading a cartridge case in an attempt to achieve a subsonic load out of a supersonic cartridge. Hence the birth of the 300 Whisper (AKA 300 AAC). In the aforementioned cartridge, case volume is maximized with powder (to prevent detonation), with a heavy bullet (allows for expansion of case to chamber circumference with maximal terminal energy).
I glad your method is working for you. As I indicated in my first reply, with your stated velocities these cartridges should work fine. However, they are not 375 Winchester's, but a great alternative to something between a 38-55 and a 375 Win.


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## Drm50 (Dec 26, 2014)

I know exactly what you are talking about, reducing loads with Rifle powder to decrease velocity. That can well
cause trouble. Guys who do that are not very knowledgable or do it by accident when dropping charge. Beginners should stick to book. I been loading for 50+ years, load for over 100 calibres , have a whole shelf
full of books, I'm still learning myself. But in 50 yrs I have picked up a little smarts,even if it was by accident .


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