375 win short?

[1$Chuck]

Have any of you shortened a 375 win to make it legal for indiana deer season? Would seam doable to me, but I just learned of the caliber.

 

[Broom_jm]

It's definitely doable, in much the same way the 45/70 can be shortened. I haven't heard of anyone doing it, though.

 

[djones]

I met a guy at a gun show with a marlin 35 Remington in his hand. He wanted to trade for a 375 win so he could deer hunt in Indiana with it. I had never heard of 375 win until that day. I tried buying the 35 rem but he was dead set on a trade. I told him he could hunt with a 1.8" 35 rem and he didn't seem interested.

 

[Broom_jm]

I met a guy at a gun show with a marlin 35 Remington in his hand. He wanted to trade for a 375 win so he could deer hunt in Indiana with it. I had never heard of 375 win until that day. I tried buying the 35 rem but he was dead set on a trade. I told him he could hunt with a 1.8" 35 rem and he didn't seem interested.

Did you scratch your head as you walked away? If only you could have shown him your avatar! Heck, if he was that confused, it might not have helped, either.

 

[1$Chuck]

I saw some lever action marlins in that caliber in gun broker and i googled to find the dimensions. Looks like it's a little hotter load than 35 rem, but way less popular. Brass and factory ammo is pretty pricey.

 

[Broom_jm]

Yeah, the 375 Winchester runs quite a bit hotter, in terms of pressures, and is usually fired from a beefed up lever-action, IIRC. There are probably more bullet options for the shortened 35 Remington, but a shortened 375 Win would give you a bit more powerful round. The trajectory may not be much different, but it would definitely deliver more energy due to the heavier bullets.

 

[6mm Shoot]

The 375 should be an easy one just cut the cases to 1.8" then load them with starting loads and see what you have. It is my understanding that it is a short range cartridge. I just don't see what you will gain over the 35 Rem. other than a little bit bigger bullet. You might be giving up some range. It is my understanding that the 35 Rem. is a 200 yard round. From what I am reading about the 375 you might not want to take it that far.

 

[Broom_jm]

Actually, the full-length 375 Winchester loads are suitable for 200 yard shots on big game. If you sight in 3" high at 100 yards, you are only 3" low at 200, with plenty of energy remaining. Now, whether or not you can achieve the same velocity with a shortened case is debatable, but if you had a purpose-built single-shot rifle made to shoot this cartridge, I'm very confident in saying 200 yards would be no trouble whatsoever. In fact, with a laser range-finder and drop chart, there's no reason 250 couldn't be done. Like I said earlier, it will have about the same trajectory as a 35 Remington, with a little more energy at the target.

 

[mac45]

Hmmm.....if a .375 Win works, .38-55 would be another candidate for shortening, (.38 Libertarian?)
Granted, the .375 is loaded quite a bit hotter than the .38-55, so the shortened .38-55 would be less potent than a shortened .375, but I'm not sure a deer would notice.
I don't think I would run out and buy a .38-55 just to try it, but if you already had one, it's an option.