Hi Folk's,

I'm the new proud owner of a Marlin 375 and also new at reloading. I'm looking for a starting point to work up a short range recipe for whitetails.

I hunt in the mtns. of Va. mostly hardwoods, Laurrel thickets and lots of scrubbrush, pretty thick in most places. Most of my deer are taken from 10 - 50 yds with 20-30 yds. being the average. Our deer are not overly large, a good mature Buck will average 150 - 175 lbs. on the hoof.

With that being the case, I was thinking that I might be better off going w/ the lighter Sierra 200 gr. FN vs. the Hornady 220 gr. FP. My assumption being that the 200 gr. will expand more quickly at these distances on deer of this size, than would the the 220 grain bullets.

I was going to try starting out w/ 36gr. of 1680 as I've heard several folks have had good results this powder & the 200 gr. Sierra. The only Manual I have at this time is Lee's 2nd. Ed. which came w/ my Turret Press Kit, 36 gr. (2211 fps) is their starting load recommendation w/ 1680 & a max of 40 gr. @ 2512 fps.

Do any of you .375 Guy's have any advice you could offer?

Have any of you had better performance w/ the heavier bullets on deer of this size at these distances.

Thanks in advance.

YB

Howdy YB,

Cograts on the rifle caliber combo, that sounds exactly like the perfect medicine for the VT hardwoods to me.

Excellent selection of powder as well, I think that 1680 is the powder that takes this cartiridge from being a well intentioned loveable bum into a legtimate contender for the title. This is the powder that will give you the most speed, and it turns the 375 WIN into what a feller would want from a 375/08, theorethically.

I actually would advise using more weight than the 200 grainers though, if your distances where short. I don't think you are going to have any expansion issues with any of the bullets that are commerically avialable, but I would worry about insufficent penetratoin when I use a bullet that is a little shorter than the norm. I think the 220 Horn is a fine choice, and I have heard yeomen reviews on its use. I think the Sierra + 1680 would give you an honest 200 yards, but I as you have indicated that this will likely not be an application for this rifle, the Horn shines in my opinion.

Good luck Yank, kill a great big one.

Steve

Hi whitehunter35,


Thanks for the compliment on the rifle and your suggestion for the heavier bullets. I'm brand spankin new to the .375 so I haven't done a whole lot of research on it yet.

I have a 336/.35 that is dear to my heart and I know this round is very similar. I'll look into some 220 gr. loads as well.

In ref. to killing "a great big one", last year I killed my best one to date in 30 yrs. of hunting. Shot a right nice 14 ptr. on Public Land w/ my 7mm-08. Wish I would have had one of my Lever Guns w/ me but the '08 was my newest toy at the time that I was trying out.

I've taken several good Buck's out of that area in the last few yrs., and it was late in the rut so I know that deer had plenty of time to "keep the gene pool" going in the area. Hopefully this year I'll have the .375 in hand when his GrandDaddy comes by :-)

Thanks again for the info.

Best Wishes,

YB

Have a T/C Contender carbine in .375 Win.

The best load combo for it is: 235 Gr Speer SP, 39.5 Gr H322 with a WLR primer and in W-W cases. Average around 2200 fps and get a 1.550 MOA 10 shot group.

I have a Winchester 1894 XTR Big Bore in .375. I like the Barnes Original 255 gr FP with RL-7, and I'm getting 1800 f/s plus. I prefer heavier bullets, especially when hunting close, as the angle at which I might have to shoot may not be optimum, i.e. rear raking as game is heading away. The Hornady 220 is also a good bullet, but IMO the 200 gr Sierra is too light.

Appreciate the input Fella's,

Seem's like a few folk's favor the 220's. Guess I'll start w/ them as well.

Thanks,
YB

I have a Marlin 375 and love it. It is just the ticket for the type of hunting you and I do for whitetail deer. I use the Hornady 220 over a mid-range charge of RL7. It is an accurate load with plenty of power to bring down a deer. Good luck with that new rifle, it should serve you well.

I have a Marlin 375. I tried 4227, Reloder 7, 322 and 1680 powders. 1680 was the clear winner for velocity, and accuracy was about the same with all powders tried.
As to bullets, I tried both the Sierra 200 and the Hornady 220- no accuracy difference that I could tell with a peep sighted carbine.
Personally, I suspect either bullet would work fine on average sized deer.