New Marlin in .375 Winchester?

[Old Stumpy]

It always seemed to me that this was too good of a cartridge to fade away for a number of reasons, and especially so in a Marlin.

Marlin chambered the existing 336 for .375 WCF in 1978 without any other changes and fitted it with a 20" barrel, half magazine, rubber butt plate and a nice factory sling.
Since the 336 action was stronger than the 1894 Winchester, and the same size as the previous 36 / 1936 action and the original 1893 action, and was designed around the .38-55 WCF anyway, it was simple. But sadly, it only lasted a couple of years.

Consider however that the 1895CBA short rifle version of the 1895 has the looks and handling of the 1894 Cowboy. With an 18 1/2" tapered octagon barrel, it handles and looks like the 1894 Cowboy short rifle. It's very appealing. And, while it uses the .45-70 round like all modern 1895s, it's still just a modified 336 action. So, it would be extremely easy to produce a .375 WCF version with an unmodified 336 action using Ballard cut rifling.

Why? Well, the cartridge itself is excellent, and more potent than the .30-30 WCF, even if not much of an advance over .35 Remington. More importantly however is that it also would offer shooters a version of the original .38-55 WCF in a very appealing Cowboy format.
With Ballard rifling and cast lead bullets, .38-55 loads could be loaded for CAS shooting or for those wanting to hunt with a period cartridge in a period-correct style rifle. For that matter Cowboy ammunition suppliers would probably sell .38-55 equivalent loads for it as well.

I would buy one. How about you?

 

[jmr40]

My brother had one, never shot it and made a nice profit on it years later. It is more potent than 30-30 and 35 Rem only on paper. In the real world it kills the same animals no deader than a 30-30. There is no animal that I'd hunt with a 375 that I'd not hunt with a 30-30. Other shooters figured that out and it died after a short life. There are a handful of guys who MIGHT buy another if they were reintroduced, but it would be hard for manufacturers to justify tooling up machinery to make a few. Ammo would still be pretty much a handload only proposition. Winchester made quite a few more of them than Marlin. Between the 2 there are probably more than enough rifles in circulation to meet demand.

 

[Old Stumpy]

My brother had one, never shot it and made a nice profit on it years later. It is more potent than 30-30 and 35 Rem only on paper. In the real world it kills the same animals no deader than a 30-30. There is no animal that I'd hunt with a 375 that I'd not hunt with a 30-30. Other shooters figured that out and it died after a short life. There are a handful of guys who MIGHT buy another if they were reintroduced, but it would be hard for manufacturers to justify tooling up machinery to make a few. Ammo would still be pretty much a handload only proposition. Winchester made quite a few more of them than Marlin. Between the 2 there are probably more than enough rifles in circulation to meet demand.

The truth is that the .375 Winchester factory loading launches a 200 grain .375" bullet at the same velocity that the .30-30 launches a 170 grain .308 bullet. A cartridge with a heavier bullet with a larger diameter certainly is a more efficient killer in fact, and not just on paper.
But, since a .30-30 will kill a whitetail very well, a .375 won't kill it any deader. On elk and black bear though, it would have an edge, just as the .35 Remington does.

I find it very amusing that in the current .30-30 thread running now that you bash the .30-30 as being "obsolete 5 years before it was introduced" and "one of the most over-rated cartridges ever" and " a huge step backward in rifle and cartridge development". Yet here you are defending it as a great hunting cartridge.
Very strange, don't you think. ??

And, ammunition manufacturers would produce ammunition based on the demand created by the sales of the rifle. Right now no Marlin Cowboy rifle in .375 Winchester exists in the 1895CBA configuration, so it's hard to say how it would sell. If it was popular then factory ammunition would be no problem. And again, the popularity of such a rifle would be as much because of the Cowboy short rifle configuration as much as the cartridge itself.
But, a .30-30 version of the 1895CBA would probably also do well, and that is something that I would also buy.

 

[SwampWolf]

I would buy one. How about you?

I would too-if I didn't already have a Savage Model 99 rifle, chambered in .358 Winchester. Adding a rifle chambered in .375 Winchester to my deer/black bear hunting rifle inventory would be sort of redundant for me.

 

[sabbfan]

It’s allowed in Iowa for deer, we are one of the straight wall cartridge states. I looked at them and wanted one before I bought a 44 mag Henry. The rifles are expensive and the ammo is hard to find, pretty much a handloader cartridge. However if new rifles were available and brass readily available too I’d be very interested.

 

[Elkins45]

I picked up a Winchester Big Bore for not too much cash because it had cosmetic problems but was mechanically great. I have yet to fire a single round of 375 Winchester ammo through it because brass was essentially nonexistent for the last several years until Starline started making it recently. I shot cast bullets from blown out 30-30 and later 38-55 brass. Honestly that little rifle would probably be brutal to shoot very much with full power ammo.

Loaded with 250 grain bulIets I would be much more comfortable with this gun in bear country than a 30-30. But I wouldn’t want to shoot it from the bench very much.

 

[Old Stumpy]

Honestly that little rifle would probably be brutal to shoot very much with full power ammo.

Actually, it isn't. It's been quite a few years but the Marlin that I owned wasn't bad with just a thin recoil pad just like the one that you have on your Big Bore. It's too bad that factory ammo has dried up. The .375 is a great cartridge.

 

[CraigC]

I don't know where he gets it but JMR40 thinks all big bore leverguns fall short of the .30-30 and that the only meaningful step up from the .30-06 is the .375&H. Somehow that doesn't apply here?

In truth, the .375 is a bigger hammer. I brought home a well worn 1894 .375 from Maine a couple years ago. It makes for a hell of a 6lb moose rifle and I've vowed to return to Maine for a moose.

 

[LRDGCO]

1) Buy a Glenfield or Western Field 336 half mag in 30-30.
2) Be happy.
3)Ship rifle to JES Rebore.
4)Wait about 5 days.
5)Open package from Jesse.
6) Grin extensively.
7) Enjoy your Marlin 336 in 375 Win!

 

[Old Stumpy]

1) Buy a Glenfield or Western Field 336 half mag in 30-30.
2) Be happy.
3)Ship rifle to JES Rebore.
4)Wait about 5 days.
5)Open package from Jesse.
6) Grin extensively.
7) Enjoy your Marlin 336 in 375 Win!

Probably a pretty good solution if you just want a .38-55 or a .375 to shoot.
But I wanted it in the 1895CBA configuration with the straight stock and tapered octagon barrel.

Looked it up for a rebore. Not a bad price for a .375 with a new bore.

 

[LRDGCO]

Probably a pretty good solution if you just want a .38-55 or a .375 to shoot.
But I wanted it in the 1895CBA configuration with the straight stock and tapered octagon barrel.
Out of curiousity, what does a rebore like that cost?

$225 for 3 groove: $250 for 4-5 groove.

A 336 Texan straight stock will get you part way there, though they run at a premium. I don't know if any of the Glenfields or Western Fields were ever made straight stock but the boffins at Marlin Owners will tell you toute de suite.

 

[troy fairweather]

it is very easy to convert a 336 from pistol grip to strate. just use a 1894 stock and grind the lower tang to fit.

 

[someguy2800]

Problem is 375 winchester brass has not been made for a long long time. It can be made from 30-30 brass but 30-30 brass does not have as strong of a case head. There are also not very many suitable bullets available, but I would probably load it with like a 225 grain hard cast gas checked bullet anyway. If brass were more available I would be interested in it. I have considered one in a contender.

 

[Old Stumpy]

it is very easy to convert a 336 from pistol grip to strate. just use a 1894 stock and grind the lower tang to fit.

I haven't seen a 336T for many years. I owned one and liked it though. And yes, as I recall that the lower tang is really just a straight tang with extra steel added to create a slight curve.

 

[Old Stumpy]

Problem is 375 winchester brass has not been made for a long long time. It can be made from 30-30 brass but 30-30 brass does not have as strong of a case head. There are also not very many suitable bullets available, but I would probably load it with like a 225 grain hard cast gas checked bullet anyway. If brass were more available I would be interested in it. I have considered one in a contender.

Starline brass makes both .38-55 and .375 Winchester brass, so no problem there.
Track of the Wolf lists what they call long and short .38-55 Starline brass, but the short case is very close to .375 Winchester length.
Sierra does make a RNFP .375 Winchester bullet which will work for full power hunting loads.
As you say though, just order a custom gas check bullet mold in a heavier bullet weight (225 or 250 grain) and load to a lower velocity.
Likewise a plain base 255 grain bullet mold for .38-55 class loads is what I would also be interested in.

 

[Old Stumpy]

Since Marlin will probably not ever get around to making an 1895CBA in .375 Winchester or .38-55 WCF (or maybe more properly called an 1893CBA) maybe I will have to find a rifle and get it bored out or re-barreled.
While some might disagree, mechanically this makes a more appropriate rifle with a straight-wall case in the 336 action than does the .45-70.
The .45-70 rim is too large for the bolt face and the extractor does not really function as it does with the other cartridges.
The original 1895 was a larger rifle than the 1893 ancestor of the 336.
I think that this is one of the reasons that Marlin developed the .450 Marlin as a rimless case.

 

[sabbfan]

I just read that Henry is introducing a side gate lever in 38-55, maybe this will lead to more ammo being produced, and just maybe a 375 version in the future. One can hope anyway!

 

[CraigC]

For $250, it makes a lot of sense to rebore an octagon .30-30. Half to a third the cost of a new barrel.

 

[someguy2800]

Starline brass makes both .38-55 and .375 Winchester brass, so no problem there.
Track of the Wolf lists what they call long and short .38-55 Starline brass, but the short case is very close to .375 Winchester length.
Sierra does make a RNFP .375 Winchester bullet which will work for full power hunting loads.
As you say though, just order a custom gas check bullet mold in a heavier bullet weight (225 or 250 grain) and load to a lower velocity.
Likewise a plain base 255 grain bullet mold for .38-55 class loads is what I would also be interested in.

Good to know, I wish they had been making it when I still had my 357 herrett

 

[Old Stumpy]

I just read that Henry is introducing a side gate lever in 38-55, maybe this will lead to more ammo being produced, and just maybe a 375 version in the future. One can hope anyway!

HRA making a side loading gate rifle ??
It had to happen eventually I guess.
First the all-steel Henry Big Boy because shooters weren't happy about the brass Big Boy weighing as much as a T-34 Russian tank.
Now an 1866 innovation.
Never let it be said that Henry doesn't move with the times.

 

[Old Stumpy]

For $250, it makes a lot of sense to rebore an octagon .30-30. Half to a third the cost of a new barrel.

If you could find an octagon barrel Marlin in .30-30 it would make sense.
Rebore it and shorten the barrel to 20" as long as it wasn't anything antique and collectible.
For me it might even make sense to just rebore a standard 336 to .375 Win.
Even a new one wouldn't make it that expensive.
And you would be sparing it from a lifetime of micro-groove mediocrity.

 

[KnightHawk]

A friend and I, when the 94 Winchester 375 BB first came out, we purchased 8 rifles. My personal rifle ended up with Lyman receiver site. They are/were surprisingly beautiful rifles. The other six rifles were gifts for sons, and brothers.
I could only get 2 to 3 inch groups on my 80 yard range with factory or hand-loads. I shifted to Lymans 375449 gas check mold packed with CWW lead plus some tin, weighing in at close to 280 grains. Groups shrank to about 1 1/2 inches pushed with Reloader #7.
I sold that rifle 10 or fifteen years ago to a friend and have had sellers remorse every since. My friend also won't sell it back even at a profit.
Yet, another bit of proof to never sell any guns. The only reason I sell any more is to make room for a purchase I want more. Also my wife won't let me buy another safe, so the buy sell cycle continues.
But to the question of a new Marlin 375. I would opt for reboreing a JM 30-30 first,and may still do that.

 

[CraigC]

A friend and I, when the 94 Winchester 375 BB first came out, we purchased 8 rifles. My personal rifle ended up with Lyman receiver site. They are/were surprisingly beautiful rifles. The other six rifles were gifts for sons, and brothers.
I could only get 2 to 3 inch groups on my 80 yard range with factory or hand-loads. I shifted to Lymans 375449 gas check mold packed with CWW lead plus some tin, weighing in at close to 280 grains. Groups shrank to about 1 1/2 inches pushed with Reloader #7.
I sold that rifle 10 or fifteen years ago to a friend and have had sellers remorse every since. My friend also won't sell it back even at a profit.
Yet, another bit of proof to never sell any guns. The only reason I sell any more is to make room for a purchase I want more. Also my wife won't let me buy another safe, so the buy sell cycle continues.
But to the question of a new Marlin 375. I would opt for reboreing a JM 30-30 first,and may still do that.

Did you slug the bore? What did you have to size them to?

 

[KnightHawk]

I did not slug the bore. My sizer die is .376. The combo work good, but this is not a gun that I fooled with all that much. When I sold it, it had been a safe queen for quite awhile. My interest at the time were more with 30-06, 358, 35 Whelen and larger.

 

[zeke]

Using loads from AA manual, got a Sierra 200 gn soft nose up to 2366 fps from 20 in 375 Marlin with 1680. This kicks the butt off a 170 gn 30-30 from same length barrel, factory or hand load. The Barnes 255 soft point can easily get 1850 fps from 20 inch barrel. The Sierra 200 is available occasionally, but believe the Hdy 220 has been discontinued and the Barnes 255 gn sp is available.