Do I need a .35 Whelen and a .375 H&H?

[tvfinak]

.375 cast bullets

.375 cast bullets

I just thru casting up a bunch of .375 bullets tonight in a DC 270 gr Lyman mold. I've also got a .375 HP mold but it is slow going to cast those.

I'll use them initially in my .375-06 AI to form cases and develop some loads. I've got a number of .375 H&H rifles and a couple of .35 Whelens but I'm thinking the .375-06 AI may become my "go-to" gun. It is built on a FN Supreme action with a medium weight barrel in a synthetic stock and handles very well. It falls between the .35 Whelen and .375 H&H in power, so with jacketed bullets it should be good for anything I ever run into. With cast bullets it should be good for smaller game like deer.

With a smaller powder capacity the .375-06 AI should be even better than the .375 H&H with cast bullets but we'll see. The .375s are generally accurate rifles overall for some reason.

One thing will sure endear you to a 375. If you ever start casting your own bullets, it's almost as if the 375 was built for them. Whether a 270 grain or 300 grain version, it's likely to be a one-hole grouper at 100 yards when you launch them at 1500-1600 fps or so. And I'm here to tell you that those lead bullets are fer sure deer smackers out beyond 100 yards. You'll still know you pulled the trigger with those loads, but they're downright fun rather than painful.

If anything, I'll forecast that cast bullets out of your 375 will cut way down on your shooting with other rifles. Only rifle I'd say is even better suited for cast bullets is the 458 Win Mag. You just can't believe how accurate a 500 grain slug can be at those velocities, and there probably isn't an animal on the continent that can stand up to the impact, even as it's easy on the shooting end.

 

[Forager]

Reload some lower power loads for them... and could also carry full power loads just in case they need it.

True, although I could just loan them an -06 or 308...

 

[Smokey]

This discussion hurts my head - I never knew I had to have a reason for any gun I own ! Do not tell the wife please!
After shooting moose with my 358 and seeing the results I would have to say that would be my go to gun for about anything I would encounter. If I was strictly going after big bears then maybe I would tote a 375 for both killing power and the COOL factor!

 

[BrownBear]

...and the COOL factor!

There's always that!

On the very rare occasions I go to a public range, I always bring along my 7# 375h&H "carry" gun, and probably my 9.5# version. The light one is beat to pieces and looking like heck from so many years in the bush, but it's a joy to carry if also a serious pain to shoot. I plan on shooting both of them anyway to finish off the visit, no matter what else I'm shooting that day.

More than once I've had guys show up who are heavy into COOL and mostly spray and pray at the backstop. If they start annoying me, I'll usually pull out the light one to make some real noise and put big dents in the backstop. Sooner or later one of them wants to shoot it....

You talk about REALLY COOL to watch! :lol:

 

[Doc]

I think you may be asking for advice from the wrong bunch of guys...unless you want a majority of endorsements to keep both rifles. After all this is a shooting forum. I'm pretty much a buy and hold guy, so I can't think in terms of keep one and get rid of another. I suspect I'm mostly in good company here with that mindset.

I have carried my 375H&H for the past twenty years each fall up here for moose and grizzly...it has never let me down. Shooting it from the bench at the range is unpleasant (the polite version), but I do it. Shooting it in the field is outstanding because it does the job so very well. It also somehow turns magical in the field because it doesn't even recoil at all!!

I had an added bonus this fall when I recovered the first ever 270TSX from a moose I shot...all the others over the years opened and exited the other side killing the animal.

Keep it...

 

[Forager]

I think you may be asking for advice from the wrong bunch of guys...unless you want a majority of endorsements to keep both rifles. After all this is a shooting forum. I'm pretty much a buy and hold guy, so I can't think in terms of keep one and get rid of another. I suspect I'm mostly in good company here with that mindset.

Well jeez, why do you think I'm asking you guys? Sometimes a man needs a bit of enabling from his compatriots.

 

[akula682]

After shooting moose with my 358 and seeing the results I would have to say that would be my go to gun for about anything I would encounter.

which 358?

 

[elmerkeithclone]

which 358?

Ole Smokester don't live on these forums like lots of us do so he may be a day or three answering. He has a SS Ruger 77 Hawkeye in 358 Winchester. They made a short run on them a few years ago and we snatched up a couple. Smokey was smart enough to keep his but I let someone with a thick wallet walk away with mine thinking that I could replace it and have jingle left from what I sold it for.....but haven't yet.

 

[akula682]

Ole Smokester don't live on these forums like lots of us do so he may be a day or three answering. He has a SS Ruger 77 Hawkeye in 358 Winchester. They made a short run on them a few years ago and we snatched up a couple. Smokey was smart enough to keep his but I let someone with a thick wallet walk away with mine thinking that I could replace it and have jingle left from what I sold it for.....but haven't yet.

Thanks. I like hearing good things about the cartridges im planning on getting in the future.

If i cant get a new BLR redone to a 338 Federal i'll be getting a 358 Win in a BLR, i've already gotten the brass for it.

 

[Forager]

If i cant get a new BLR redone to a 338 Federal i'll be getting a 358 Win in a BLR, i've already gotten the brass for it.

JES in Oregon rebored my Whelen, did good work at quite a reasonable price, would recommend him if you're considering reboring a .308 BLR to .338 fed.

 

[akula682]

JES in Oregon rebored my Whelen, did good work at quite a reasonable price, would recommend him if you're considering reboring a .308 BLR to .338 fed.

i cant contact him until i get out of the sandbox. last i knew he didn't have email, had to make a phone call. But don't worry, i will be calling as soon as I'm out of the box.

 

[Forager]

i cant contact him until i get out of the sandbox. last i knew he didn't have email, had to make a phone call. But don't worry, i will be calling as soon as I'm out of the box.

Message me with your email and what info you need, I'll call him for ya.

 

[akula682]

Message me with your email and what info you need, I'll call him for ya.

PM sent.

Thanks

 

[Doc]

Well jeez, why do you think I'm asking you guys? Sometimes a man needs a bit of enabling from his compatriots.

Well said sir!!

(I thought so...)

 

[elmerkeithclone]

PM sent.

Thanks

JES has rebored 6 or 7 for me and it was always 1st rate work. I don't have a 358 Winchester of any flavor right now. A year ago I loaned the last of them to a good friend to take to Colorado elk hunting. He killed a nice bull so of course wanted to buy the rifle. it was a Weatherby Vanguard that started life as a 243. I bought that gun new from James Wayne Firearms for $350 and $225 later it was a nice 358 Winny. I let him have it for the $575 that I had I had in it. He wanted all of my brass, dies and components but I refrained knowing I would have to have one again....... now here you guys go dangling doughnuts in front of the fat guy!

Several of my reloading manuals have loads for the 358 Winchester being so close in horsepower to the Whelen that for all practical purposes they are equal with bullets that weigh 225 grains and less. The Whelen does out pony it's little brother with the 250 grainers.

Mainer did a lot of playing with the 358 Winchester with big bullets and had some pretty impressive loads worked up. Maybe he'll chime in here!

 

[akula682]

JES has rebored 6 or 7 for me and it was always 1st rate work. I don't have a 358 Winchester of any flavor right now. A year ago I loaned the last of them to a good friend to take to Colorado elk hunting. He killed a nice bull so of course wanted to buy the rifle. it was a Weatherby Vanguard that started life as a 243. I bought that gun new from James Wayne Firearms for $350 and $225 later it was a nice 358 Winny. I let him have it for the $575 that I had I had in it. He wanted all of my brass, dies and components but I refrained knowing I would have to have one again....... now here you guys go dangling doughnuts in front of the fat guy!

Several of my reloading manuals have loads for the 358 Winchester being so close in horsepower to the Whelen that for all practical purposes they are equal with bullets that weigh 225 grains and less. The Whelen does out pony it's little brother with the 250 grainers.

Mainer did a lot of playing with the 358 Winchester with big bullets and had some pretty impressive loads worked up. Maybe he'll chime in here!

I keep hearing that he does great work with the BLR's... but the old ones, with a screwed in barrel. The new ones are pressed into the receiver which makes removal kinda difficult.

 

[elmerkeithclone]

I keep hearing that he does great work with the BLR's... but the old ones, with a screwed in barrel. The new ones are pressed into the receiver which makes removal kinda difficult.

I don't think he has to take the barrels off of them. He has turned some Marlin 336s into 375 winchesters for me and there is no evidence that the barrel had to come off. I'd sure love to watch his process sometime.

I just can't think that for $225 he messes with taking the barrel off and then reindexes it. Somebody told me or I read somewhere.....maybe I ate something that didn't agree with me and I dreamt it but anyway I have it in my head that it is all done from the muzzle end on closed breech guns.

I spent some time on auction sights last night looking for a short action rifle to turn into a 358 Winchester. I need one like I need another hole in my head but I want one real bad. However I have a grand kid or five that want to follow me and the dog around bird hunting. I need to buy some short stocked scatter guns first.

As for your original question. I am a lot older than you and know all about lost treasure regrets. If you have any inkling that you might regret parting ways with the 375 then ya needs to keep it because one day you'll be like"dang I wished I had that one back". I know....boy do I know.

One thing I want to add. If you like to shoot lead bullets as I do then JES's standard 3 groove rifling will out perform any factory 358 rifling that I have ever shot cast bullets through. It shoots the jacket bullets great too. Also the same exact loads shot through a brand new Ruger 358 barrel were 125 fps slower than when shot through JES's rebore. Both grouped just over an inch. Tweaking the load would have surely got them to sub MOA.

 

[Smokey]

which 358?

Ruger Hawkeye SS in 358Win spanking a 250 gn NP at about 2350 if memory serves me today?

I have a batch of 250 gr RN bullets that perform amazingly well on targets for both accuracy and penetration, and they look like little elephant loads!

EKC, I lurk in the shadows more than you know my friend, I often just don't have anything interesting to say!

Plus its deer season here and that keeps me busy! Stuck these two bad boys with arrows so far! Right one dressed at 260 lbs...

 

[BrownBear]

I can validate that choice, after a fashion.

In over 40 years of dinking game with 358's, I've never needed a followup shot, and I've recovered exactly one bullet from game.

It was a Winchester factory load, the 200-grain Silver Tip. Jumped a very large buck and he took off straight away. I was horn hungry at the time, so I launched a Texas heart shot at around 80 yards. The Silver Tip landed just above the base of the tail and ran forward between the top of the ribs and the backstrap. Came to rest against the corner of the jaw after plowing full length of the spine and neck. No vital organs were hit, but the buck was deader than dead. Must have been waaay too much shock for its CNS. Interesting enough there was about 6" of blood shot right on top of the hips and there was hair dragged along about a third of the way on the backstrap, but with cleaning I lost about a cup of meat.

BTW- That Silver Tip folks love to hate so much was a perfect mushroom and tipped the scale at 137 grains. Good luck on recovering a 250-grain Nosler Partition from game shot at any angle!

 

[Daved]

Since you don't reload then decision is made. Keep em both. If you were REALLY stingy, then you would let the Whelen go, but that would be silly. If ammo ever gets scarce again then it will be even harder to find Whelen ammo. The 375 HH ammo can be hard enough but way more popular than the Whelen. You are right though. They both fill about the same role. I have both a 35 Whelen and a 375 Ruger. I sold one of my 35's only to buy another. It is a great AK cartridge.