How do the ballistics of today's acceptable handloaded 375-06 Ackley Improved compare with the original (circa 1912??) British factory 375 Magnum ammunition of the same bullet weights?

I've got one and I'm working on load development. I'm following this thread.

I think you'll find the 375 H&H Flanged magnum loads pretty tame, at least with the lighter bullets. I think they were loaded to the same speeds to help regulate all bullet weights in the same double rifles.

Off the top of my head I think the velocity was only about 2400fps, which I imagine would be possible in your Ackley improved, even with 300-grain slugs.

According to the 8th edition of Cartridges of the World, Sambarman is correct.

.375 Flanged did 2400 with 300gr, 2600 with 270 gr and 2750 with 235gr

The belted one did 2500 with 300gr, 2650 with 270gr and 2800 with 235gr, so only 50-100ft/s faster.

There was also an earlier .375 Flanged Nitro Express which is listed at 2000 ft/s with a 270-grainer.

I forgot that there were belted rimless AND flanged versions of 375 manufactured. My question was oriented to the belted version.

Having just read African Rifles and Cartridges by John Taylor, one of the interesting points that must have been much more important than it is today is that British centerfire ammunition used cordite propellant. Without going into details of that propellant (that I am incompetent to furnish) pressure peaks of British sporting ammunition was significantly below that of the same factory cartridge using modern smokeless propellants. Peter Cannon furnishes me with published information that seems to demonstrate modern non-maximum ()pressure peak) handloaded ammunition can be a distinct ballistic improvement. . . .

Which brings me back to the 375-06 Ackley Improved. I don't know anyone who handloads this cartridge. Matt Norman is the first person with whom I've communicated who owns one. I just picked up another Mauser 98k, circa 1937. I don't know how much trouble it is to alter Starline 30-06 brass to 375-06 Ackley Improved. And were this pretty easy, do bullets leaving the muzzle match the early British cartridges? If the early ammunition was satisfactory, an equivalent will be equally satisfactory?

quote:

I don't know how much trouble it is to alter Starline 30-06 brass to 375-06 Ackley Improved. And were this pretty easy, do bullets leaving the muzzle match the early British cartridges? If the early ammunition was satisfactory, an equivalent will be equally satisfactory?

When dealing with wildcats a chronograph is essential IMHO.

Asking others what and how it performs in their rifles is good conversation.

But the only way to know what your piacular rifle does is to test it yourself.

quote:

Originally posted by Naphtali:

I don't know how much trouble it is to alter Starline 30-06 brass to 375-06 Ackley Improved.

Why not neck up 35 Whelen brass?

Paul K

quote:

Originally posted by Naphtali:
I forgot that there were belted rimless AND flanged versions of 375 manufactured. . .

The flanged version is not belted, as far I know, just rimmed.

Though I can't find the reference today, I'm pretty sure Astrid Bergman Sucksdorff wrote in Tiger in Sight (Andre Deutsch 1970) that her 375-magnum cartridge box said the 240-grain bullets were only pushed at about 2400fps. Maybe it was a tropical load.

When I had my .30 Gibbs, I made a long taper expanding plug for my Lyman expander die that expanded the .30-06 case necks to .35 caliber in one stroke. I then down sized the case necks in my .30 Gibbs size die to make a false shoulder to headspace the cases to fireform the Gibbs shoulder.

More recently I made another long taper expanding plug to open the necks of 7mm RUM and .300 RUM cases to .375 RUM. With annealed cases, they easily open in one pass.

Why not fire form 06 or 35 Whelan brass. Id use a primer, 06 case, 'about' 30 grs of Unique ??, cornmeal, and wax cap, point the bore UP and pull the trigger, VIOLA A 375 Ackley..?????Annealed and not Annealed both, no need as far as I could tell. Neck size on first loads. FL resize as the gun suggest that usually about #4 or there abouts..