.375 Win, range report...nice!

[contenderfan]

 I decided to mount a Bushnell Red Dot ont the .375 Win Contender before I took it out to my buddy's range today, even though I had doubts about the Red Dot holding up. But, I got to thinking...the Red  Dot came off a 835 3 1/2" Ulti-Mag and performed well so, what the heck!


 After a few rounds getting it dialed in, this is what I came up with...5 shots @ 50 yards, I am very impressed! (For some reason I can only get a direct link to work?)


                          http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f139/mhill69/Guns007.jpg


 These were some reloads that came with the pistol. I need to get hold of the guy and see if he remembers what components he used. I have everything I need to reload except for powder and primers. Hopefully in a couple weeks I will gather the rest of the stuff I need.
 We decided to put up some beer cans full of water out @ 75 yards...they didnt stand a chance. It was a hoot! I think its safe to say I am now a diehard fan of the .375 Win round in the Contender. It may not look the best with the Red Dot mounted on it, but by gum shes a shooter! And it really is a joy to shoot, everything I've heard about the massive recoil is just overblown. I ran about 20 rounds through it today total, and could have ran 50 more through it. Very pleasant to shoot!

[Austin from NC]

congratulations and good huntin'

       Austin

[Westwindmike]

Good shooting!

[7-30 Waters]

Looks like the deer need to start being scared.

[Slowpoke Slim]

That is great shooting. Particularly with a dot over an optical scope with magnification.

My shooting buddy is running H4198 in his 375 Win barrel.

[Dezynco]

See there!  I told you that you needed to sell that barrel to me!  Now your head's gonna be all swollen up!  Way too much barrel for a Contender! LOL
 
I'll bet that money can't buy that barrel now!

[contenderfan]

 Thanks, it suprised me as well, it dont look very graceful but it gets the job done.


http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f139/mhill69/375WinContender001jpg.jpg

[contenderfan]

See there!  I told you that you needed to sell that barrel to me!  Now your head's gonna be all swollen up!  Way too much barrel for a Contender! LOL
 
I'll bet that money can't buy that barrel now!

   Your right Dez...I have officially joined the small but loyal .375 Win fan club, almost cant stand myself...almost.    You can have it when the frame is too stretched out to hold the hinge pin in. 

[Westwindmike]

[Blackhawker]

Out of curiosity, are you using jacketed bullets or cast? 
Any idea of the velocities from the pistol barrel?

I've got a 38-55 carbine barrel that shoots pretty well and I've always thought about loading the 38-55 or the .375 Win in a pistol if I could find one.  Now you've got me thinking.   

By the way, can the 38-55 be fired from that barrel or is the chamber too short in the .375 Win?

[contenderfan]

Out of curiosity, are you using jacketed bullets or cast? 
Any idea of the velocities from the pistol barrel?

I've got a 38-55 carbine barrel that shoots pretty well and I've always thought about loading the 38-55 or the .375 Win in a pistol if I could find one.  Now you've got me thinking.   

By the way, can the 38-55 be fired from that barrel or is the chamber too short in the .375 Win?

 So far I have only shot jacketed bullets through it, and I dont have a chrony so no clue on the velocities. Never worried about how fast my bullets are going, never had a deer outrun anything Ive shot at them so far.   
 I will let someone else answer your questions on the 38-55...I know very little about it and am very new to the .375 Chambering itself.  My answer would be to do a search on it if no one else has any info for you, but I bet someone here knows.

[Dezynco]

You're not supposed to use 375 Winchester in a 38-55 (in older guns anyway), and I don't think the 38-55 will chamber in a 375 Winchester (chamber's a bit short).  They're similar in appearance, but WAY different in performance!

[Blackhawker]

You're not supposed to use 375 Winchester in a 38-55 (in older guns anyway), and I don't think the 38-55 will chamber in a 375 Winchester (chamber's a bit short).  They're similar in appearance, but WAY different in performance!

I thought the 38-55 was slightly longer and wouldn't chamber in the 375.  Because we're referring to a Thompson Contender, I figured the strength factor shouldn't be an issue.  The loads I shoot through my 38-55 T/C are pretty much like a 375 Win anyway, I just wasn't sure how much "interchangability" there was between the two.

[Dezynco]

You're probably right that the Contender wouldn't matter if you shot 375's in your 38-55.  However the rifling twist is probably different too. Don't know how much difference it will make?

[contenderfan]

Well I got the primers and powder I needed today. Went with 35.5 gr. of Reloader-7 and CCI primers, I already had a box of 220 gr. Hornady FP's so I loaded up 10 this evening. Will take them out tomorrow and see how they do out of the Contender. Range report to follow.