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.375-.284? Sounds like a great cartridge...info?

17K views 25 replies 13 participants last post by  NITRO  
#1 ·
I have a Thompson/Encore single shot rifle and use a barrel and stock system made by Bullberry.

They will make you a .375-.284 wildcat barrel and chamber and I can only imagine how incredible this wildcat would be.

As you know...the .284 features a 35 degree shoulder angle so the cartridge is relatively short and fat.

Firing a 270 grn bullet....2500 fps should be a reasonable expectation...but I have not seen any reloading data for this wildcat...no data is listed in the newest edition of Barnes Cartridges of the World.

Any thoughts about the possibility of this round?
 
#3 ·
I remember an article in a gun magazine years ago where
someone had built just such a thing and chambered it in a
Savage 99 as a Bear stopper. He claimed it was the finest thing since sex was invented. I doubt if the cartridge would
be much different (at either end of the gun) than a 350 Rem
magnum w/ 250 grain bullet.
 
#4 ·
when I lived in Alaska in the late 70's I built several on the Savage 99 with short barrels. Made a good guide gun. I don't believe it would deliver as much energy as the Rem 350 magum though. I put 20 inch barrels on them and they were quick and handy. Personally I like a regular 375 H&H as a bear stopper.
 
#5 ·
faucettb said:
when I lived in Alaska in the late 70's I built several on the Savage 99 with short barrels. Made a good guide gun. I don't believe it would deliver as much energy as the Rem 350 magum though. I put 20 inch barrels on them and they were quick and handy. Personally I like a regular 375 H&H as a bear stopper.
I have a 375 WSM. It's a good step up from my 350 Rem Mag and equal to the older loadings of the H&H. Just below the modern ballistics of an H&H but great in a lighter weight shorter barreled rifle. And also a short action to boot.
 
#6 ·
birddeerhunter

That sounds like a nice gun. What was the parent action you made it out of?

A friend of mine was just given one of the Winchester 300 WSM's aby the company he works for. It had the camo stock and was in stainless. It was scoped with one of the Leapold 4.5-14 scopes. A really nice looking package and it did group well with factory ammo.

When we chronographed Federal 180 grain loads as we were sighting it in they ran across my chron at around 2850. I gotta tell you after shooting a bunch of the old 30 calibre belted mags I was not impressed a bunch by this. Anyway he is in love with it and though he did not get his elk with it last fall he did whack a nice deer. Performance was excellent.

I guess I get that old horsepower syndrome once in a while. In reality if you run over a deer with a 100 horsepower datsun or a 500 horsepower hotrod the deer probably won't know the difference.
 
#7 ·
faucettb said:
birddeerhunter

That sounds like a nice gun. What was the parent action you made it out of?

A friend of mine was just given one of the Winchester 300 WSM's aby the company he works for. It had the camo stock and was in stainless. It was scoped with one of the Leapold 4.5-14 scopes. A really nice looking package and it did group well with factory ammo.

When we chronographed Federal 180 grain loads as we were sighting it in they ran across my chron at around 2850. I gotta tell you after shooting a bunch of the old 30 calibre belted mags I was not impressed a bunch by this. Anyway he is in love with it and though he did not get his elk with it last fall he did whack a nice deer. Performance was excellent.

I guess I get that old horsepower syndrome once in a while. In reality if you run over a deer with a 100 horsepower datsun or a 500 horsepower hotrod the deer probably won't know the difference.
It started as a win. Stainless Super Stalker in 270 Win Mag. I rebarreled it, shortened the barrel to keep the same weight with the slightly heavier barrel. As for performance I can out do that 180 gr load. It will push a 235 Barnes XLC out at 2790 fps. A 300 gr at over 2400.
 
#10 ·
I have to believe that the .375-.284 would have more power than the .350 Rem mag.

I don't have any idea where this wildcat compares with the .375 WSM as I didn't even know they had a .375 WSM.

In any case....the .284 case does not have the headspacing problems that large caliber rounds based on the 30-06.

Sure, sure....the .375-284 is similiar to the .375 Whelen but the Whelen has headpacing issues yet the .284 based cases will work in a medium length action.

For a reloader.....the .375-284 sounds pretty good.

Now....anyone know who has reloading data for it??????
 
#11 ·
I am sure your 375-284 will be a fun project. I built a 35-284 a couple of years back for Elk hunting. It pretty much equals a 350 Rem Mag, 35 Whelen etc. I have chronographed a 225 gr Sierra at 2700 fps out of my gun which actually exceeds some of the factory loads for the above cartridges. I had thought about a 375-284 or possibly a 40-284 but deceided on the 35 caliber. I sure would guess you will get about the same velocity as you would from the Whelen version, possibly more with some load development. Good Luck with the project.
 
#12 ·
periscope_depth said:
In any case....the .284 case does not have the headspacing problems that large caliber rounds based on the 30-06.

Sure, sure....the .375-284 is similiar to the .375 Whelen but the Whelen has headpacing issues yet the .284 based cases will work in a medium length action.
I don't think the 38 Whelen (the original 375 Whelen), 375 Brown-Whelen, 375 Scovill, or 375 Scovill-Hawk have experienced any headspace problems when the chambers have been cut correctly. The 400 Whelen as developed by Col Whelen never experienced headspace issues until a few chambers were cut without following the Colonel's specs. Griffin and Howe made several 400 Whelens that were fine, but when other gunhouses tried the wildcat, they neglected to expand the case to the Colonel's requirements of .454" at the shoulder and left it at the '06's standard dimensions.

If the chambers are cut correctly there should not be any headspace issues with the blown out '06 case.
 
#13 · (Edited)
periscope_depth said:
I have to believe that the .375-.284 would have more power than the .350 Rem mag.

I don't have any idea where this wildcat compares with the .375 WSM as I didn't even know they had a .375 WSM.

In any case....the .284 case does not have the headspacing problems that large caliber rounds based on the 30-06.

Sure, sure....the .375-284 is similiar to the .375 Whelen but the Whelen has headpacing issues yet the .284 based cases will work in a medium length action.

For a reloader.....the .375-284 sounds pretty good.

Now....anyone know who has reloading data for it??????
The 375 WSM is a wildcat also. A better name would be the 375-300 WSM I suppose. With the wider WSM case headspacing is not a problem. The case holds 81.2 gr.s of water so there is more capacity than the 375-284. The 375 Whelen holds about 75.1 gr.s of water. But the 375-284 is better suited to older short actions requiring less alterations. Felt recoil in a 6 3/4 lb. rifle is stout but better than an eight lb. H&H. More on par with a 300 Mag.
 
#15 ·
ironhead7544 said:
for the TC Encore the 375 JDJ would probably be the best route. The 375/284 was built short for the M88 rifle.
the 375 JDJ brass will be a whole lot easier to make.
I have read that Hornady is going to factory load ammo soon for the 375 JDJ with tha 220 gr flatpoint. It should be a great deer load. Alot of elephants have fallen to this round in the contender pistol loaded with 300 gr solids.
 
#16 ·
The 375/284 was built short for the M88 rifle.

Thats the ticket sir thats exactly why I choose the .375/.284 in the Win Model 88. The most powder capacity, strength and accuracy out of a lever gun. even 8mm, .338, .35 and maybe .400 bullets in a fast handling weapon on horseback in bear country.
This is a meat getter man. It's pretty cool also. Few modifactions(OAL)
 
#17 ·
.375-284

periscope_depth said:
I have a Thompson/Encore single shot rifle and use a barrel and stock system made by Bullberry.

They will make you a .375-.284 wildcat barrel and chamber and I can only imagine how incredible this wildcat would be.

As you know...the .284 features a 35 degree shoulder angle so the cartridge is relatively short and fat.

Firing a 270 grn bullet....2500 fps should be a reasonable expectation...but I have not seen any reloading data for this wildcat...no data is listed in the newest edition of Barnes Cartridges of the World.

Any thoughts about the possibility of this round?
.


I am working on a project that is identical except that I am reforming and trimming .376 Steyr brass. The .376 Steyr case is a little longer and has the same base diameter as the .284 (.500-.501") but does not have a rebated rim. Basically, my shortened .376 Steyr case is like the .375-284 with a rim diameter of .494". I am going to use this cartridge in a rechambered Marlin M375 which is chambered in .375 Winchester and has a rim diameter of .506". No modificaitons to the bolt will be required.

I have played with some loads using the computer program "LOADS FROM A DISK". The bullet that I will be using is the Hornady 220 grain jackcted flap point, the flat point being required for use in a lever gun. If you do not have a ballistics computer program, let me know and I will get you some mild starting loads you can use with the 270 grain JSP bullet that you mentioned.

If everything goes well, I will be rechambering the M375 using a .284 Winchester reamer and a .375" pilot.

I prepared a drawing of this wildcat that I call, for the lack of a better name, the .376 Steyr Short and posted it at http://ammoguide.com/?catid=328 . The .376 Steyr is at http://ammoguide.com/?catid=158 . I am going to change it to a .284-375 configuration which will have the neck length and shoulder angle and body taper of the .375-284 with the .376 Steyr rim diameter (.494").

JJ
 

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#20 ·
.375-.284periscope depth

periscope_depth said:
I have to believe that the .375-.284 would have more power than the .350 Rem mag.

I don't have any idea where this wildcat compares with the .375 WSM as I didn't even know they had a .375 WSM.

In any case....the .284 case does not have the headspacing problems that large caliber rounds based on the 30-06.

Sure, sure....the .375-284 is similiar to the .375 Whelen but the Whelen has headpacing issues yet the .284 based cases will work in a medium length action.

For a reloader.....the .375-284 sounds pretty good.

Now....anyone know who has reloading data for it??????
hi i have loaded for the .375-.284 and the best alaround load that i found was 3031 powder 53 gr.sierra 250 gr. bullet fed. 210 primer seated to 2.85 col.this combiation is just right for the velocity this cartridge is capable of.my rifle,a sako with a 22 inch barrel at 2500 fps.this is a very powerfull load and penitated all animals including moose bear etc. from tree.
 
#21 ·
Tree,

The rough reamer and the finish reamer are about $150 each and I may want to have a someone else perform the rechambering if they have these reamers or rent them.

Do you know of a gunsmith that has reamers for the .375-284?

Thanks
 
#23 ·
NITRO said:
Tree,

The rough reamer and the finish reamer are about $150 each and I may want to have a someone else perform the rechambering if they have these reamers or rent them.

Do you know of a gunsmith that has reamers for the .375-284?

Thanks
nitro,the gunsmith that did my .375-.284 used a .284 reamer then a.375 neck reamer and throated it for the dummie rounds i gave him. tree
 
#24 ·
Awesome discussions

I really enjoy this thread.

The .376 Steyr is very close in size to the .375-284.

I was just reading that "tree" was able to get 2500 fps with a 250 grn bullet out of his 22" rifle....very stout and plenty enough for any medium to medium large game out to 200-225 yards. I am a bit surprised that this load/combination can't be pushed to at least 2,650 fps as 2,500 fps is 35 Whelen territory and a .375-284 would be an attempt to BETTER the 35 Whelen without going all the way up to the 375 H&H Mag. Call it a "tweener" between the magnum and the 35 Whelen.
 
#25 ·
periscope_depth said:
I really enjoy this thread.

The .376 Steyr is very close in size to the .375-284.

I was just reading that "tree" was able to get 2500 fps with a 250 grn bullet out of his 22" rifle....very stout and plenty enough for any medium to medium large game out to 200-225 yards. I am a bit surprised that this load/combination can't be pushed to at least 2,650 fps as 2,500 fps is 35 Whelen territory and a .375-284 would be an attempt to BETTER the 35 Whelen without going all the way up to the 375 H&H Mag. Call it a "tweener" between the magnum and the 35 Whelen.
.

Periscope_depth,

It's been nine months since we posted to this thread but I just noticed your reply.

The 284 Winchester case actually has a little less capacity than the 35 Whelen. The former is 67.29 grains of water and the latter 70.89. The 350 Remington magnum is 72.25.

The 376 Steyr Short is at 65 grains of water. If I lengthened the case from 2.020 to the length of the 284 Winchester, which is 2.160, the case capacity will be 67 grains. I used 2.020 because that is the length of the 375 Winchester which is what the Marlin to be converted is chambered in.

Another posibility is the 375 JDJ, but the case length is 2.250 and may be to long. I will check that out. The case cap of it is 69.97. The 375 JDJ would be a better way to go because brass and loaded ammo is available. Thompson/Center loads a 220 grain Hornady flat point at 2300 fps. Sounds relatively slow but I think it is out of a 10" Contender barrel. I can get almost 2300 fps with that bullet in the 375 Winchester chambered Marlin.