Hey, does anyone else out there have experience with the 375 Whelen Improved? I've put THOUSANDS of rounds through mine, would like to hear from others. Only those who actually have one, though. No urban legends, no "I read somewhere or heard from a friend of a friend" type stuff.
375 Whelen Improved
- Thread starter sahara
- Start date
I built mine from scratch, using a McGowan 26 inch barrel on a 1908 Brazillian (DWM) Mauser action. Works GREAT with weights from 200 grain bullets for the 375 Winchester to 300 grainers for the H&H. Mine likes 270 grains the best but I mostly use 235 grain Speer HotCors. You can shoot them into the ground at 5 feet and they stay together.
The reason I asked for no "urban myths" is that guys who have never seen one of these complain about the small shoulder. There's plenty of shoulder for headspace.
Speed with most weights is only about 200fps slower then a H&H and nothing has ever stayed on it's feet after taking a hit to the torso. I've killed a big pile of deer and caribou with it and a friend of mine killed 4 moose and a bear with 5 shots.
It shoots amazingly flat; and again that's where the urban myth guys can bite me. The H&H is renowned for long range shooting; it stands to reason that the same bullets going only 200fps slower are still going pretty flat.
I can furnish specifics if anyone wants some chrono or load data. I'm happy to help.
The reason I asked for no "urban myths" is that guys who have never seen one of these complain about the small shoulder. There's plenty of shoulder for headspace.
Speed with most weights is only about 200fps slower then a H&H and nothing has ever stayed on it's feet after taking a hit to the torso. I've killed a big pile of deer and caribou with it and a friend of mine killed 4 moose and a bear with 5 shots.
It shoots amazingly flat; and again that's where the urban myth guys can bite me. The H&H is renowned for long range shooting; it stands to reason that the same bullets going only 200fps slower are still going pretty flat.
I can furnish specifics if anyone wants some chrono or load data. I'm happy to help.
Interested to hear more about your reloading setup for it. Do you fireform brass from .35 Whelen, or us a forming die and cylinder brass, or.... what brand of dies do you use?
And yeah, I'd love to see your load data for the 300 grain bullet.
And yeah, I'd love to see your load data for the 300 grain bullet.
For brass I reform 30/06. You have to fireform with a small blank load of Unique to blow the case out a bit and move the shoulder forward a bit. I got tired of guys looking at the case heads and asking (doubtfully) how this can be more powwerful then a 30/06 if it's made from one so I got a bunch of Military LC-69 brass. Now they think it's some exotic thing...
Works great and cases last forever. In the 20 or so years I've had this rifle I've made perhaps 200 brass for it. I probably have about 160 left due to loss etc. Cases made from factory 30/06 would crack in the case neck after several loadings, even after annealing. The Military cases have'nt cracked yet. Necks need to be trimmed after about 3 loadings.
My dies are Redding; I sent them a chamber cast and they made me a beautiful set of dies. Lee also made me a custom "factory crimp die" for a terrific price.
I'll dig my notes out and try to post loading data tonight.
Works great and cases last forever. In the 20 or so years I've had this rifle I've made perhaps 200 brass for it. I probably have about 160 left due to loss etc. Cases made from factory 30/06 would crack in the case neck after several loadings, even after annealing. The Military cases have'nt cracked yet. Necks need to be trimmed after about 3 loadings.
My dies are Redding; I sent them a chamber cast and they made me a beautiful set of dies. Lee also made me a custom "factory crimp die" for a terrific price.
I'll dig my notes out and try to post loading data tonight.
