Do I need a 375 winchester?

[FLINT]

Hey guys,

help talk me into or out of a Winchester big bore in 375. There is a used one in town at what seems like a good price.

I had kind of been thinking a 38-55 would be neat for the last few years, and this kind of the same idea.

I already have: winchester 30-30, Marlin 30-30, Winchester 32-40, winchester 32 special, Marlin 35 rem, and I LOVE them all!! haha. So its not like I don't have some redundancy already. Would the 375 be more of a good thing, or totally pointless?

I also someday hope to go on a Moose hunt. Would the 375 be any better than what I currently have?

Thanks!

[Poohgyrr]

The word better can be a tricky one. Not to say anything bad about any other Lever, but I do wish I had bought the 375 I watched sit in a local rack back around '83ish. It was there for 2/3 years.

With good cast bullets, that round becomes really flexible. Another one of those Levers that could do it all for me, if I had only one rifle.

[ollogger]

sounds like you need one with a bit more power, I have one, brass is hard to find as is bullets
ammo is pricey at best but if you hand load & cast bullets you can have a lot of fun with the slickest
94 ever made



ollogger

[Daisyman]

Shoot, you already went by totally pointless about three guns ago. You might as well have another one!!!
In reality though, the ammo is kinda hard to find and pretty spendy. I can't even find reloading components, and they're pretty steep too when you do.
It's a good round though, and what's not to like about a BB 94 at good price?

[TedH]

Need? No, you don't need one based on the other guns you listed. But when has NEED ever factored into it really?

I have 3 currently, a Marlin, a Winchester, and a TC Contender. They are my favorite hunting guns without a doubt. Not just for their bullet diameter, or bullet weight, or velocity, but mostly for their uniqueness. Everybody hunts with a 30-30, or a 30-06. I don't know anyone that I hunt with that uses a 375 besides me, heck, outside of the internet I don't know anybody that owns one.

If you rely on factory ammo, you might want to pass on it. I been tracking ammo sales on Gunbroker for a while, and barring some smoking deal, you will pay upwards of $5.00 a round, at least until Winchester gets around to running a batch. I got a box of Winchester factory ammo with the Contender I recently bought, and since I have a decent supply of brass and bullets, I would rather have the cash I knew it would bring. I sold that one box on Gunbroker for $125.00.

If you're a handloader, that's another story. Brass and bullets are hard to come by, but can still be had at a decent price on occasion. If you sign up for reminders when products come in stock at Midway, you can luck out. I bought 4 boxes of Sierra 200 gr. bullets last week from Midway. But whatever stock they got in from Sierra, it was gone in a matter of minutes. Bullets can usually be found on Gunbroker, albeit at a higher than normal retail price.

Now if you handload, and you are a caster, then yes buy the 375. It's a wonderful cast bullet shooter, and it's very versatile. You will not be reliant on anyone but yourself for ammo, since brass can be formed from 30-30 brass. It's usually too thin in the neck to work with jacketed 375" bullets, but larger cast bullets of .378-.379 will usually have adequate neck tension. Some brands are better than others in this respect. Federal is usually the best for reforming 30-30 to 375. It will most likely end up a tad shorter than spec. but if you're handloading it's a non issue. The buck in my avatar was killed with my Marlin 375, and a 235 gr. cast bullet in reformed 30-30 brass.

Don't think about it too long, chances are someone will take advantage of a good price pretty quick. If it's in 95% condition or better, anything under $600 is probably a good deal.

[Griff]

Yes, absolutely. You DOn't need one, but... if you don't there's little else that can quite fill the niche that the .375Win fills... unless you happen to already have a 356! Even then, I'm not so sure that the .375 can't out kill the little .356!

I got mine for Bears and Elk if I ever get close enough and have the proper tag at the proper time. But... then again, I have a .45-70 for much the same thing. But... that big heavy 26" octagon barreled 1886 came along a little later, and while a breeze to carry in a saddle scabbard aboard a horse, it's entirely another matter to man-handle that thing up and down mountains. The .375 Winchester... not NEARLY the same. Mine's a Marlin 375, nice, light, handy and very quick handling. With a fixed four power scope, it has a built in carry handle that makes it easy to carry up, over and down mountains!

The only thing mine has killed is a coyote, because my son decided that the thing in our backyard was just the right size and distance to test the .375's power on. Interestingly enough, one of the last coyotes I killed was with a .30-30 Winchester at ~40 yards, and when hit with the 125 HP from Sierra clockin' in at 2500+fps, it did a full 540 and half gainer, reaching a max altitude of about 5 feet! The coyote my son shot with the 220 grain FP from Hornday @ 2200fps at ~60 yards wasn't quite so athletic in it's gymnastics... only doing a 450º, flip, but whether that was due to the distance or lack of height produced is pure speculation.

If you reload, no problem, just stock up on components when you find them! But, an abundance of loaded ammo is superfluous. Whereas you may comfortably shoot a box of 50 .30-30 in a sitting, about five .375 Win's will be sufficient to kill your shoulder!

NO... mine's not for sale!

[FLINT]

Thanks guys! Very helpful.

Well, its definitely less than $600 but its probably not 95%. It looks like it was hunted with for sure. Probably someone's bear gun. Black bears are the big thing in this area - more so than deer, though I don't hunt bear. I need to go back and look at it again and bring a bore light. The guy saw me oogling the lever guns and brought this out from the back. They had just got it in, and he hadn't cleaned it up yet.

Reloading is no problem. I reload for all my other guns, and have an abundance of 30-30 and especially 32WS brass.

Also I hear you on the rarity and expense of even the components, but the other caliber that I've been drooling over for the last year is the 348 winchester, which is beyond ridiculous in price for both the gun and also ammo or brass. Saw a guy on gunbroker last week with a buy it now of $200 for one box of factory ammo!!! That's almost half the asking price of this 375.

[TedH]

Be sure and post some pics of your new rifle tonight.

[daisygordoninc]

The 375 is a great caliber, I have one that is like new, plan to hunt something with it. I have made ammo for it
and have not had any trouble getting brass or bullets, you just have to shop around. They are beautiful guns and
of course can do what the 38-55 could not do because they had limited pressure. The 375 can be loaded up to
take just about anything you want to hunt. But of course the 38-55 has been around since the 1870's so that
would be expected. Don't let that 375 get away unless it is beat up too much.

[Blaine]

Yes.

[FLINT]

Ok, I'll definitely give it another good look.

I liked that it was top eject and no safety and had half cock, like all my other rifles. It was definitely not babied, I'll just need to make sure it wasn't abused. Had a sling on it.

A friend owes me money for some work I did for him. If I can get him to cough it up, I'll take it home for sure.

[Blaine]

Ok, I'll definitely give it another good look.

I liked that it was top eject and no safety and had half cock, like all my other rifles. It was definitely not babied, I'll just need to make sure it wasn't abused. Had a sling on it.

A friend owes me money for some work I did for him. If I can get him to cough it up, I'll take it home for sure.

Sorry for being nosey, but may I ask what your .375 is going for?

[FLINT]

when he handed it to me he said 495, If I wanted it I was going to try to hand him 450 cash, and see what happened.

he also has a Canadian centennial with octogon barrel that looks unfired with the hangtag still on it for 495, but I definitely don't need another 30-30

[Griff]

when he handed it to me he said 495, If I wanted it I was going to try to hand him 450 cash, and see what happened.
he also has a Canadian centennial with octogon barrel that looks unfired with the hangtag still on it for 495, but I definitely don't need another 30-30

That Canadian Centennial will very likely be a fine shooter. Most of Commemoratives I've seen have been, if their owner is a decent shot.

[TedH]

when he handed it to me he said 495, If I wanted it I was going to try to hand him 450 cash, and see what happened.
he also has a Canadian centennial with octogon barrel that looks unfired with the hangtag still on it for 495, but I definitely don't need another 30-30

That Canadian Centennial will very likely be a fine shooter. Most of Commemoratives I've seen have been, if their owner is a decent shot.

+1
I'd be more tempted to go back for that one. My '66 Centennial is a tack driver, and it's got the best trigger of any 94 I've ever seen.

[FLINT]

when he handed it to me he said 495, If I wanted it I was going to try to hand him 450 cash, and see what happened.
he also has a Canadian centennial with octogon barrel that looks unfired with the hangtag still on it for 495, but I definitely don't need another 30-30

That Canadian Centennial will very likely be a fine shooter. Most of Commemoratives I've seen have been, if their owner is a decent shot.

+1
I'd be more tempted to go back for that one. My '66 Centennial is a tack driver, and it's got the best trigger of any 94 I've ever seen.

If I got the centennial, I would have to put a 38-55 barrel on it

[tman]

.375 WCF Winchester, pre USRA, pre angle eject, pre lawyer safety, may be one of the finest Winchester 94's ever made. A plus, is that you can shoot 38-55 ammo in it. A minus is the ammo is expensive and hard to find. I love mine. Nice Get

[TedH]

.375 WCF Winchester, pre USRA, pre angle eject, pre lawyer safety, may be one of the finest Winchester 94's ever made.

+1

I'm wondering why FLINT hasn't shown us HIS new rifle yet???

[FLINT]

I'm going to wait until Monday to go back in. I don't want to seem to desperate for it, though I have decided that if I look it over very thoroughly and don't find anything egregious, that I'll probably bring it home.

Is there anything specific that I should look for with my inspection? I have a bore light that I'll bring.

[6pt-sika]

Personally I do not think ANY of us NEED any gun

But WANT is a totally different issue

[Homer]

I had a number of 30-30's, 3 or so 35 Remington, a 348 Winchester, and on lonely 375 Winchester (only talking about mid-bores). I sold everything but the a handful of 30-30s and my lonely 375 Winchester - now even more lonely. The 30-30s work and are cheap to shoot - period. The 35 Remington is a good cartridge but is now getting hungry for ammo and on it's best day it doesn't hit as hard as it's bigger brothers. The 348 Winchester is a fine cartridge, but I got tired of totting the rifle around the woods with a hand truck. Perhaps if I lived in grizzly country I would have kept it, but I don't and it's gone. My little Marlin M375 is handy, kicks like a puppy's nudge, and hits with real authority. It shoots nearly as flat as the 30-30, which is to say "flat enough," and can be carried all day without a whimper. Good inexpensive bullets from Hornady and Sierra are still available on occasional seasonal runs and brass starts to show up in the form of boutique ammo once the bullets arrive. The key is to buy them when they're available and don't be stingy with your cash. More expensive bullets like Barnes and Hawk are always available.

Yes, if you find a 375 Winchester, you need it. Passing it up would be nothing short of foolish - that kind of even goes for a Winchester.

[tman]

Both the .375WCF and the 348WCF will handle grizzly. The 348 will do it a bit further away.

[FLINT]

Ok, so I picked up the rifle today, and I actually really like it. I was really worried that I would buy it and then really regret it, but so far I don't at all. When new this must have been a very pretty rifle. Its definitely not cosmetically pristine. Plenty of scuffs on the stock, and little blemishes here and there, but honestly it will fit right in with my other working levers in my cabinet. I looked really really hard and can't find anything wrong with it functionally. The action cycles very smooth, the bore looks great. I don't see any wear on any of the mechanics. It just looks like it either was hunted with a bunch or was banged around in a closet or truck or maybe all of the above. If I can make it shoot even remotely good I'll be very happy. Its such a clean, trim rifle, and unlike some of the newer winchesters I've handled, its not rattly at all. Seems very smooth and tight. I'm happy. Another observation is that you barely notice the beefed out back sides of the receiver in person. Whenever I've looked at pictures of the big bores, those raised sides really seem to stick out - maybe its the camera flash or something. Anyways, thanks for the encouragement. I now have to slowly try to accumulate components so that I'll have something to shoot in it. poor quality phone picture attached. PS, anyone know how to date the serial numbers on these? This one is BB0277xx.

[7.62 Precision]

I noticed that the factory blue on those rifles is always really nice. They did a nicer job than on other 94s at that time. My wife found one for $300 or $400 or something like that once. It was in almost new condition. We needed money and sold it immediately for a good profit.

[TedH]

Good deal! Should be a great shooter too. I've never seen a 375 that wouldn't shoot excellent with 36.0 gr. of RL7 with the Hornady 220 gr. bullet.

[Mainehunter]

When I had my Savage 99A 375 the best load for me was shooting a 300 grain cast bullet around 1700 f.p.s. using IMR 3031. It was very accurate out to 100 yards. Don't have it anymore once my brother got a hold of it a while ago. He shot it and wanted it so badly he swapped his most coveted rifle, a mint Savage 99F 358 Win. I do miss that rifle especially right now since I drawn a moose tag this coming October.

Mainehunter

[t.r.]

In my opinion, the 375 has no significant advantage over your 35 Remington. But if you're a collector, this could be a nice addition to the vault.

TR

[Blaine]

In my opinion, the 375 has no significant advantage over your 35 Remington. But if you're a collector, this could be a nice addition to the vault.

TR

The .35 rem is not in a beautiful 94

[M. M. Wright]

Now that is pretty rifle/carbine. I wouldn't have been able to pass it up for that price. Enjoy!

[Griff]

In my opinion, the 375 has no significant advantage over your 35 Remington. But if you're a collector, this could be a nice addition to the vault.
TR

The .35 rem is not in a beautiful 94

[tman]

In my opinion, the 375 has no significant advantage over your 35 Remington. But if you're a collector, this could be a nice addition to the vault.

TR

Don't know. The factory ammo in a .375 will hit harder and bigger. If you reload, then it increases the margin. Not a big difference on deer, but, I'll take a .375 loaded with 250 or 300 grn. bullets on a big brown bear, over a hot loaded .35 any day of the week. Perhaps I'm splitting hairs here

[Blaine]

In my opinion, the 375 has no significant advantage over your 35 Remington. But if you're a collector, this could be a nice addition to the vault.

TR

I'd agree if you were talking the <220 grain loads.....with a solidly built 250 grain, the edge goes to the .375 for heavier targets.... This is, of course, just my opinion.

[6pt-sika]

Nothing wrong with a Winchester however I prefer a Marlin . Same as nothings wrong with the 35 REM but I prefer the 375 WIN of the two !

[piller]

In my opinion, the 375 has no significant advantage over your 35 Remington. But if you're a collector, this could be a nice addition to the vault.

TR

Don't know. The factory ammo in a .375 will hit harder and bigger. If you reload, then it increases the margin. Not a big difference on deer, but, I'll take a .375 loaded with 250 or 300 grn. bullets on a big brown bear, over a hot loaded .35 any day of the week. Perhaps I'm splitting hairs here

Yes, if you shot a hare with it, you will probably split it.

[FLINT]

yes, I can shoot 200-220 grain in the 35 Rem, so my plan is to shoot either 250/255 gr. jacketed or 265/280 grain lead loads with it. I haven't decided which yet.

[missionary5155]

In my opinion, the 375 has no significant advantage over your 35 Remington. But if you're a collector, this could be a nice addition to the vault.

TR

Greetings Bigger holes are always better. Plus the caliber 38's easily shoot 265-300 grainers... the 35 Rem is not going to launch those very far. I also think the 35 rem is a fine cartridge but there is no mystery why the caliber 38 rifles have survived and thrived for over 140 years.

#75 ammo can easily be made using 38-55 brass. Modern brass ( I use a lot of Starline) can be loaded to 375 pressure with no trouble. Old balloon head brass no. But some 38-55 brass and very probably you can use it straight out of the package. I have used 38-55 Starline brass in my two 375 Winchesters for years with no problems. Right now Starline 38-55 brass is available at the Starline site. Free Shipping as always. No I do not work for them or have stock.
Mike in Peru

[Dan 444]

Yes, you need one. Everybody needs one.
Dan

[264 Win Mag]

Yes, you absolutely need a 375 Winchester! I has turned into my favorite rifle and has been easy to load for. It will be in the South Alabama swamps and woods this fall.

Thomas

[dgr416]

If you can ever get aa1680 powder again and bullets that thing will shoot a 220 gr bullet 2400 fps I did it in my big bore .I have owned six of them down to two .They are awesome guns I shot from 200-300 gr bullets in mine.I would buy 38-55 brass abd a bullet mold and shoot the heck out of it !