Beware of a good deal on a .375 super mag

[matt56]

I've seen some good condition .375 Dan Wesson Super Mags selling from $900-$1200 so naturally when one pops up for less than $800 I'm thinking I'll snag it for a shooter.  I've been on a DW kick lately and that didn't help.  

www.gunbroker.com/item/779379734

I read a little bit about the caliber in Gun Digest's Metallic Silhouette Shooting but I didn't look into it too much before I bid.  I knew you had to make brass but I had no idea that .375 win was basically sold out everywhere.  I also didn't realize that no one but Sierra made a bullet for it anymore.  Best yet custom dies are needed which pushed the cost of shooting this thing way up.  Whoops, seems to me the guys paying top dollar for these things don't intend on shooting them.  I'm not a collector so there's no chance this thing is going to sit in a safe.

Okay so I am getting some 375 win brass from reeds ammo while the dies and bullets are coming from midway.  I started looking around for a bullet mold and I'm striking out again.  Does anyone have any recommendations on a good mold for this?  I'm not really sure what the typical bullet weights are for a .375 SM.  I read that Hornady once made a 220gr bullet just for the caliber so I think I'd like to stay around that weight.  

[coldtriggerfinger]

I would try the Speer 235 gr bullet . Hornady made a 220 gr bullet also iirc. I've heard of guys shooting the 235 gr X and TSX bullet from the 375 Max. Need to seat it deeper tho.

[matt56]

Would no cannelure cause an issue though?

[450ak]

NEI made a 220 grain gas check mold your six-gun. I love that bullet in my 38/55

[Ken O'Neill]

As far as I know, Hornady still makes a .220 gr. .375 bullet. Many of us use or have used it in the .375 JDJ. The cannelure is in the wrong place for the Super Mag, though. Sometime in the '80's they made at least one run of .375 220's that were properly cannelured for the .375 Super Mag, but I'm sure those bullets are long gone.

[bradshaw]

The Dan Wesson Arms .375 Super Mag prospers with cast bullets. Reason: a common groove diameter runs .377-inch, resulting in poor accuracy with the Hornady 220 grain .375 rifle bullet. Excellent accuracy has been achieved with bullets cast for the .377 groove. (IHMSA champion and All-American Eric King did well----in 500 meter handgun silhouette----with his Seville 10-1/2" .375 Super Mag, trimming 7-grains from the Nosler 260 Partition----until his gun broke in two. I doubt the DWA would suffer that fate, but the .377 groove can't play silhouette.)
David Bradshaw

[wheelguns]

So with a .377 groove diameter, what diameter bullet would you need? .378?

[bradshaw]

Jul 23, 2018 8:41:44 GMT -5 wheelguns said:

So with a .377 groove diameter, what diameter bullet would you need? .378?

*****

Perhaps John will throw in with his cast bullet experience with the .375 Super Mag. Along with other old school silhouetters. For those who weren’t around for all of his experimenting, John Taffin shot sharp on the firing line.

First, I would slug the bore, a routine task, seemingly now forgotten. If groove mikes .375, size .376. If it’s .377, size .378 or at least .377. Chamber exit hole diameter is more critical to accuracy with cast, than with jacketed.

For the boys and girls who try their hand on rams @ 500 meters (547 yards), downrange clout counts big time. The .375 is one of the more effective sixgun bores for holding momentum. Two things, among all all considerations, govern power from a sixgun @ 500 meters. 1) Accuracy must be good enough to fit within the back-to-belly of a ram, which measures 12-inches. 2) The 12-inch measurement is actually false, as trajectory of any and all revolver bullets striking five and a half football fields downrange do so at an angle. Thus the bullets sees a target more like 9 or 10-inches in height. To topple the 55-pound ram, bullet must possess considerably more momentum than for a perpendicular hit.
David Bradshaw

[wheelguns]

Thanks for the great information Mr. Bradshaw! I am not sure I could even see the rams at 500 meters.

[matt56]

I should have the gun by Wednesday and the dies, brass and bullets by the weekend. I also found out Redding still makes a trim die for 375 win to super mag. It's on order too.

Has anyone used Mountain Molds where you can design your own bullet? I may go this route.  I will definitely slug the bore first.  

[matt56]

Got the gun, dies and bullets today. I paid a hefty price on the dies through Midway but they were the only ones who had any. It was supposed to be a 2 die set and it actually came with 3. I was happy about that.  The die set went on backorder after mine shipped.  


So as noted in the auction the grips are cracked, they don't look like the correct grips for the gun so I switched them out for some Hogue's for now. Also when I went to change out the front sight I found the rear pin that holds it in was broken. Someone must have cranked the screw down too tight and it fatigued the pin over time. Believe it or not I had a rear sight pin from a Blackhawk that was the right diameter. I just had to cut it down to fit flush. Put the pin in with the patridge front sight and all is well.


This gun has some minor finish wear but the flame cutting on the top strap isn't even through the bluing. It wasn't shot much for sure.

[taffin]

Jul 23, 2018 10:38:18 GMT -5 bradshaw said:

Jul 23, 2018 8:41:44 GMT -5 wheelguns said:

So with a .377 groove diameter, what diameter bullet would you need? .378?

*****

Perhaps John will throw in with his cast bullet experience with the .375 Super Mag. Along with other old school silhouetters. For those who weren’t around for all of his experimenting, John Taffin shot sharp on the firing line.

First, I would slug the bore, a routine task, seemingly now forgotten. If groove mikes .375, size .376. If it’s .377, size .378 or at least .377. Chamber exit hole diameter is more critical to accuracy with cast, than with jacketed.

For the boys and girls who try their hand on rams @ 500 meters (547 yards), downrange clout counts big time. The .375 is one of the more effective sixgun bores for holding momentum. Two things, among all all considerations, govern power from a sixgun @ 500 meters. 1) Accuracy must be good enough to fit within the back-to-belly of a ram, which measures 12-inches. 2) The 12-inch measurement is actually false, as trajectory of any and all revolver bullets striking five and a half football fields downrange do so at an angle. Thus the bullets sees a target more like 9 or 10-inches in height. To topple the 55-pound ram, bullet must possess considerably more momentum than for a perpendicular hit.
David Bradshaw

MY CAST BULLETS WAY BACK THEN WERE THE NEI #210.375, A LIGHTWEIGHT SEMI-WADCUTTER; SAECO/REDDING #375 IN 200, 220, AND 240 GRAINS( I USED A THREE CAVITY MOLD WHICH THREW ONE OF EACH AND LYMAN #375449GC (WEIGHED 274 GRAINS) LYMAN STILL LISTS THIS MOLD AS WELL AS A 250 GRAIN PLAIN-BASED 375248. 250-275 GRAIN CAST BULLETS MADE FOR THE .38/55 AND/OR .375 H&H WILL PROBABLY WORK.

[nicholst55]

I'd look at Accurate Molds and see what they list; maybe contact them for a specific recommendation. They seem to have by far the largest variety of bullet designs available.

[matt56]

I got the trim die today. If anyone wants to know the die part numbers here they are.





I cut 20 brass down so far and it definitely is more tedious than what I'm used to. Is the 375 SM considered a wildcat? If so it's my first one.

[taffin]

Jul 31, 2018 16:44:45 GMT -5 matt56 said:

I got the trim die today. If anyone wants to know the die part numbers here they are.





I cut 20 brass down so far and it definitely is more tedious than what I'm used to. Is the 375 SM considered a wildcat? If so it's my first one.

AT ONE TIME BRASS AS WELL AS AMMUNITION (RARELY) WAS OFFERED. THAT WAS ALONG TIME AGO.