450-375

[eagles]

I have a 375 Winchester Big Bore . I was thinking of making it a 450 marlin- 375 .Anyone done this , ballistics ? Thanks

[6pt-sika]

Some clown that was writing for the American Rifleman back about 2002 or so rebarreled a Marlin 1895M to what he called the 400 Marlin . It was nothing more then the 450 Marlin necked down for .400 bullets . He used it to kill a couple caribou and deer not that either is that difficult .

[eagles]

uh ok , But I am not talking about a 40-375 . I have a Model 94 Timber carbine in 450 Marlin and a wide body big Bore model 94 in 375 Winchester. Regan Noneman who did some work for me in the past , said its an easy convert on the 375 , using the 450 carrier. Grizzly cartridges loads a 375 Winchester load for me , using hawk 300 grain flat nose slugs , that gets 1950 fps.Before I would do this I am looking for some ballistics on the 450-375 in a lever action.Should be some pretty good improvements I am guessing , if not ,no deal . My 405 is all the 40 cal I need Thanks

[Buck Elliott]

There's no reason why such a conversion would not work.. You'd need a different (or modified) extractor for the larger rim, to go along with the .450 carrier..

Work out the case dimensions, and get a reamer and loading dies, and you're set....

[eagles]

Thanks Buck . Regan would handle the job . I guess no one else here has heard of the results of such a wildcat then ? I know it will work as the 450 was put in the 94 , I have one , but how good the ballistics will be , I do not know SOMEONE must have tried this combo . no ? Case dimensions that worked would also be great . I wish someone made a flex point .375 bullet !

[6pt-sika]

uh ok , But I am not talking about a 40-375 . I have a Model 94 Timber carbine in 450 Marlin and a wide body big Bore model 94 in 375 Winchester. Regan Noneman who did some work for me in the past , said its an easy convert on the 375 , using the 450 carrier. Grizzly cartridges loads a 375 Winchester load for me , using hawk 300 grain flat nose slugs , that gets 1950 fps.Before I would do this I am looking for some ballistics on the 450-375 in a lever action.Should be some pretty good improvements I am guessing , if not ,no deal . My 405 is all the 40 cal I need Thanks

Dude I was not suggesting that you make a 400 Marlin just pointing out this other clown had done so.

[bgmkithaca]

I don't have that conversion but do have a 38-56 improved on a marlin 1895. It would be just about the same thing performance wise. It speeds things up substantially and is easy to get velocities that are too high for the bullets that are available. Neither the sierra or hornady flat points are rated for what it can do velocity wise.I don't know of anything else available besides custom bullets, there is always cast but you will hit the performance barrier there too. It will give you more fun than you can stand on your shoulder as well-LOL

[eagles]

Thanks,have you tried the Hawk Bullets ? They make three jacket thickness options and will make up to a 300 grain flat point in the .375. I used the thin jacket in my .375 Winchester in the 300 grain and it shot from just behind the last rib , all the way up into the esophagus of a 450 Pound Euro boar on a quartering shot , perfect mushroom . I'm thinking with the medium or heavy jacket it would be perfect. Out of the 20 inch barrel 94 carbine this could be a great bear-boar round .

[JFE]

Someone that posts here has done a 450 necked down to 375 but can't recall who that was. I converted a 375BB to 375/356 and that was a useful improvement. I went that way because most smiths will have a 308 reamer and dies are available off the shelf.

[earlmck]

Interestingly enough eagles, QuickLoad has a 444/375 in their cartridge base. Must have been on a single shot because they show a standard length somewhat too long, and they also don't have the Hawk 300 grain in their bullet base.

So I made a few guesses about shorter length, heavier bullet, and find that QL thinks you could get close to 2000 fps with the Hawk 300 grain out of your 20" barrel, using 45K psi as maximum. BLC-2, Win 748, 3031 are among the top powders for getting this with 4895 also being in there.

So there has to be some loading data out in the blogosphere -- you don't want to use QL suggestions the same as loading manual data because there are just too many ways to get in trouble that way. It is an idea generator, though.

Would that be enough increase to make it worthwhile?

[bgmkithaca]

In my 38-56 improved I have tried Hawk bullets and got excellent results with them but most of my shooting with it has been with heavy cast bullets-up to 350 grains, I have a 1-14 twist and it handles long heavy bullets. As far as the hawk bullets all my work was with the 250 grain flat point with the .035 thickness jacket, it holds up well on moose.

[AJMD429]

I know this round was developed for the 'AR' crowd, and to be deer-legal in Indiana, but it is another intriguing one. The 'Hoosier Deer Hunter' (AmmoGuide) throws a 200 gr at 2800 fps for 3483 ft-lbs


There's also the '375 Thundersnow' (AmmoGuide). It thows a 250 gr bullet at 2556 fps for 3628 ft-lbs.

Dunno if either would be a feasible re-chambering (AmmoGuide does have a 'tool' for that - http://ammoguide.com/cgi-bin/aichamber. ... fEecdBPWVR, but you have to be a $19/year member I think).

[eagles]

Thanks Earl and everyone . I need to check the case volume as well .Since my grizzly ammo loads, the 300 grain hawk are 1950 fps in my rifle , i MUST be able to get quite a bit more than 2000 fps on the 450 case which also has heavier brass , I would think , or NO its not worth it . I was thinking 2200 fps at least . I also have to check the pressure in the big bore .Im thinking the 375 winchester is factory loaded over 45,000 psi but I could be wrong.

[bgmkithaca]

In my 38-55 improved I can't get but just a little over 2000 fps with a 320 grain cast so ,it looks like what you are hoping for can not be reached with a 300 grain jacketed bullet. Good luck with your search.

[eagles]

The 375 winchester operates at 52,000 cup.So 45.000 is a little light . I am sure the 300 grain jacketed bullet can well exceed 2000 fps in the 375-450 since I am getting 1950 fps with the 300 grain in the stock 375 and there is no signs of pressure . But for now its a guess .