375 Winchester and Questions on Casting

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greatwhite

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If you own a 375 Winchester you probably know that it's difficult to get the ammo and the projectiles.
I have a 375 Winchester Lever top ejection so first version.

I was reloading with 200gn FN using 375 Winchester Brass using H4198.
Since ammo can't be found and I cannot find anymore bullets (projectiles) I figure I better cast some so my son has them for the future.

Were using real used and new .375 Winchester brass. I blow out some 30/30 bras I have as well.
I have both pure lead from the ballast of a boat and lead wheel weights.

I was / am going to buy the Lee 379-250 Mold, which it says is for the 38/55 and the 375 Winchester.
It casts a bullet .379 but the .375 takes .375 (I think). So I am guessing I need to also buy a bullet sizer which I can only find a .376.
Do I need to run it through a resizer the mould says it fits both so I'm not sure.

When melting the lead do I need to add Antimony, tin, Aluminum or something? How much do I add? Where do I get it and don't these melt at a higher point?
Do I need a gas check?

This is all I can think of for now.
 
there is a few moulds out there
lee 2 cavity moulds are not the best

you need ( i had to look it up) a .377 dia bullet ... you could try the .376 and if too small you could lap it out with some emery paper

you could also try powder coating them

the ww would be the better choice

you only need a GC if the mould you buy need them , a non GC mould is the way to go

find some 2400 or imr 4227 powder unless you have a stash of the discontinued SR4759
 
To find out what size boolit you need, youre going to have to slug your bore. 375 Winchesters were a bit more
consistent in diameter than the 38-55's ever were. Still doesnt hurt to be certain what you have.

You'll need a gascheck design (more stuff to source:yay!) and at the minimum, a push through sizing die. I get mine from
Lee and all they are is a fairly precise push through pin and hollow tube that thread into your press. The gascheck is installed
during this step.

Powdercoating is something i havent tried yet. I still use Alox lube. Powdercoating can let you run higher velocities than the
old fashioned lubes. And, i believe you can get away without applying lube, which can be messy and sticky.

Wheelweights are fine. You dont want to run too soft of an alloy. There are testing kits that can cost you more money,
or, you can buy a set of artists pencils and check the hardness with a scratch test with the different hardnesses of
the different pencils.

No idea what you are using for a meltung pot, but i started out with a pawnshop hotplate and a discarded frying pan.
Lee makes entry-level melting pots, and unless all of your lead is clean, dont get a bottom pour. It will plug and/or
leak and dribble the pot dry. I had two pots, and thought i was going to be smart and sold the non bottom pour melting
pot to a friend. I had to buy another because i needed to clean some dirty lead on occasion and it made a mess of the bottom pour.
 
greatwhite: Lyman #2 alloy, is a good, all purpose bullet alloy which works well in a variety of calibers. Including your .375. You can easily make your own Lyman #2 alloy, using wheel weights.

The mix: 9 lbs wheel weights / 1 lb 50/50 plumber's solder** (Solder often comes in 1 1b coils, available at any hardware). If you don't already own an ingot mold, Lee makes one that throws both 1 lb/ 1/2 lb ingots. Comes in handy for this use.

Alloy is dead simple to make: Melt the wheel weight lead and solder together...mix thoroughly. That's it.

As already suggested, be sure to slug your rifle's bore. Cast bullets generally deliver good mechanical fit and accuracy when sized to about .001"-.002" over bore diameter.

A .376" diameter bullet should work okay(If your bore measures .375"). If you can locate a sizer in .377", also good. The Lee .379" bullet is geared more toward vintage .38-55 bore diameter... which generally likes a lead bullet sized to around .378"-.380".(Modern Winchester .38-55 bores measure .375".) The .379" bullets as dropped from the Lee mold will work, but won't likely deliver optimal accuracy, as is. You can size the .379" bullets down to .376"-.377" though. These should perform just fine.

You won't really need to gas check your bullets(but never hurts), unless you wish to drive them at fairly high velocity. In which case, a fairly hard alloy bullet is required. But not necessary....as powder coating is a better and more efficient alternative. Pure lead bullets can be powder coated too, and hold up very well at high velocity. Worth considering.

Hope this helps
Al

ps: Lee Liquid Alox works well as a bullet lube. Easy to apply. Coats the bullet bearing surface and fills lube grooves well. A good lube, when used with a Lee push-through sizer. Also delivers good results, when sizing bullets in a lubrisizer. You can also make your own bullet lube. But, that may be a discussion for another time.

** Plumber's solder contains tin, which acts as a hardener.
 
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HI. I had a Miroku 38/55 Winchester 94 rifle. The bore was cut tight , like for a 375 win. as small .376 and .377 bullets would shoot straight in the Winchester BUT the same bullets would flipping key-hole in Marlin and Hand R rifles. So often used .378 bullets in all the rifles. As 38/55 brass has thinner walls then .375 win brass all was good.
 
I would forget about lubing and go straight to powder coating.
The cost of a sizer/luber is through the roof these days, and powder coating cuts the need for specific alloys, except for hunting.
 
Just sold bullet lube sizer, lube sticks are double, trying to find proper lead already alloyed is best. It is just not worth the cost.
Look around find ready made bullets. Yes the price will be shocking with shipping. Unless you shoot over 1000 bullets a year and plan to do it for many years?
Try and do a cost per use, per bullet. The computer search and pricing and a piece of paper to write the numbers down with a calculator. many caster are selling out so if you really want to do it look around.
 
The OP mentioned that he already had a supply of .375 brass on hand. Still, this may be of interest: Beaks & Brass . website shows Bertram .375 Winchester brass on their site. Pricey, but apparently available.
 
Thank you. This place isn't that far from me. I'm actually going to order another 40 pieces of brass. I inherited the 375 from my Uncle and gave it to my son. I want to make sure he has more then enough ammo going forward. Which is why were going to cast 500 rounds of of 250 gn bullets.

Alex McKr said:
The OP mentioned that he already had a supply of .375 brass on hand. Still, this may be of interest: Beaks & Brass . website shows Bertram .375 Winchester brass on their site. Pricey, but apparently available.
Click to expand...
 
greatwhite: Rusty Wood Trading is another source for Starline .375 brass. Website shows it "on order"... so not available right now. Starline seems to be making some headway on catching up to back orders....so won't hurt to check the site occasionally for availability in the future.
Rusty Wood does show .38-55 brass available, though. This brass can be trimmed down and substituted for .375 Win., as long as you stick to .38-55 pressure levels. For your cast bullet loads, it should not be an issue. Something to consider.

By the way, if you're not familiar with Starline brass....it is excellent quality.

Al
 
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greatwhite: Go to the: Hodgdon Reloading Data Center. This is a good online resource for reloaders. The site contains .38-55 lead bullet load data for both H4198 and H4895. 250 grain lead bullet. This should give you exactly what you need.

As for powder charge, start at the minimum load and work up. Your optimal load will be dependent on the hardness of your bullet alloy. You'll likely find that mid-range loads or a bit higher, will deliver a good balance of accuracy and performance.

Note...Reforming .30-30 brass: One useful tool I use a fair bit, is the Lee Universal Case Expanding Die. Very handy for opening up case necks. Easy to use and fully adjustable. This should be a useful tool for your needs. Any minor wrinkles left over on the reformed .30-30 cases will be ironed out, after fire forming.

Hope this helps

Al

ps: Powder coated bullets can be driven to higher velocities, if desired.
 
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I use the Lee 379-250 Mold for 38-55, and with powder coating and H4895 I've achieved over 2200fps. Without PC you're stuck under 1700fps.
 
Yes, I have all their data. Do I need the Lee Universal Case Expanding Die. I watched on YouTube that people would use around 4 grains of of powder and some oatmeal topped with wax and fire them in the air, then trim if necessary. So I should run the Lee Universal Case Expanding Die first?

Alex McKr said:
greatwhite: Go to the: Hodgdon Reloading Data Center. This is a good online resource for reloaders. The site contains .38-55 lead bullet load data for both H4198 and H4895. 250 grain lead bullet. This should give you exactly what you need.

As for powder charge, start at the minimum load and work up. Your optimal load will be dependent on the hardness of your bullet alloy. You'll likely find that mid-range loads or a bit higher, will deliver a good balance of accuracy and performance.

Note...Reforming .30-30 brass: One useful tool I use a fair bit, is the Lee Universal Case Expanding Die. Very handy for opening up case necks. Easy to use and fully adjustable. This should be a useful tool for your needs. Any minor wrinkles left over on the reformed .30-30 cases will be ironed out, after fire forming.

Hope this helps

Al

ps: Powder coated bullets can be driven to higher velocities, if desired.
Click to expand...
 
Easiest way to expand 30-30 cases up is using a tapered expander. I made one up on my lathe which fits in a Lyman M die. Occasionally a case neck splits but does work. 30-30 cases will be slightly short. I usually trim just enough to even up the case mouths. One side is usually longer. I use IMR 4198 and 250 gr cast.
 
greatwhite: Sure...you can fireform them that way. Tried and true method for fireforming cases. Have done it many times with various cases, successfully. No need to buy or use the Lee expander, unless you want to. I like the Lee expander, because it saves me several steps in the reforming process. Bypasses the oatmeal/wax, etc., method. Quicker, easier and less time consuming. Something you'll appreciate, if prepping 50 or more cases, at a time. But in the end, do what works for you.

As Snider shooter suggests, if you have access to a lathe, you can easily make a tapered expander.(The Lee tool is a also a type of tapered expander).

Whichever method you use to expand the .30-30 cases, it's always a good idea to anneal the case necks, first. Especially previously fired cases. This will cut down a lot, on split case necks. You may still get the odd one, though. It happens.

If using an expander: Go slow. More cases are wrecked by trying to run them through the die too fast. Take several passes (usual method).

Al
 
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greatwhite said:
How many grains are you using?
Click to expand...

It was low 30-ish grains of H4895 but I was getting near pressure max for my old marlin. The rounds were going out no problem. I've even fired a few into a barrel of water to see that the PC was holding together, which it was.
 
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