.375H&H, .375H&H AI, & .375... What the heck is that?

Mumbles Marble Mouth

Mumbles Marble Mouth

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
81   0   0
Location
Lower Mainland
I have both a .375H&H and .375H&H Ackley Improved. Someone had, what he thought was, some loaded .375H&H Ackley Improved and gave them to me. What he gave me, however, is different than my Ackley Improved ammo.

37631589_10157174096242908_8997313545695657984_n.jpg


From left to right:

.375H&H, .375 H&H Ackley Improved, .375???????

Does anyone know what this .375 is? It doesn't even chamber in my .375H&H Ackley Improved gun. The first thing that came to mind is possibly a different Ackley Improved if there is such a thing? My loading dies say .375H&H Ackley Improved 40 Degree so that's what made me think its a different Ackley Improved.

37652057_10157174096267908_6957460223355256832_n.jpg


From a different angle.
 
Last edited:
Looks like it maybe a Gibbs chamber, they blow out the case and move the shoulder forward. This was usually done on a 30-06 case but maybe someone tried to be different
 
Interesting , from your pictures the shoulder is higher and a different radius . The head stamp is it the same as the others ? Hand load ( I would believe) ? It looks like it has been shot be fore so maybe fire formed . Someones atempt at 0ne uping the original loading . Is the extracter rim damaged or marked , bulged case or other signs of tampering . Did you get a lot like it , are they all the same ? At worse you got projectiles and powder .
 
It'll likely be difficult to put a name to it, as it could be anything, quite possibly someone's "Vanity Wildcat".

The "375 Me Do Me Do" allows one extra grain of powder over the 375 H&H Improved, gaining a full 20 fps, at the cost of neck length, and the significant cost of a one-use custom reamer and custom dies....
 
It looks like a 375 ICL Kodiak
Reference, P.O. Ackley Handbook for shooters & reloaders,volume 1 page 485 and volume 11 page 210.
 
37678283_10157174096192908_6052612125640097792_n.jpg


All the head stamps are the same on the three. I was given a full box of 20rds of those mystery .375 and all of them are exactly the same as the one shown. Box is marked 285gr GS but those don't look like the Grand Slams I've got and they're packed so full of powder you can't even hear anything when you go to shake it.
 
For what it’s worth, I found these dimension for the .375 ILC Kodiak on another site.

Everything back of the shoulder is a standard belted magnum, so starting at the shoulder...

Shoulder Dia. = 0.495"

Neck Dia. = 0.405"

Shoulder Length = 0.065"

Shoulder Angle = ~ 35 degrees (this is approximate)

Neck Length = 0.350"

Case Length = 2.830"

These are taken from J.J. Donnelly so be sure to draw this out and check the dimensions as he is known to have made more than one dimensional mistake...
Click to expand...
 
I wouldn't bother to find out. Just pull the bullets, dump and discard the powder, FL resize with your AI dies, and you should be good to load those cases again.
 
Mumbles Marble Mouth said:
From left to right:

.375H&H, .375 H&H Ackley Improved, .375???????
Click to expand...

Having been down that road numbers of times, I promise you sharp shouldered cases do not reform and setback more than a few thousandths very easily. The cases often fail in various ways, and are lost. The shoulders on your pictured ?????? cases need to be moved quite a bit.

The best method is to pull the bullets and powder, deprime, and anneal the brass before sizing.

First, resize one empty case a bit at a time while adjusting your standard 375 H&H sizing die until the bolt will just barely close on that case.

Then, lock the die at that setting and resize the other 19 pieces. The brass is now ready to be loaded for your rifle.

This will allow chambering with the least working of the brass when fired. The cases may look a bit odd, but will form perfectly with full power loads.

When I do this, I use my regular hunting loads, and do not waste any bullets fireforming.

Ted
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom