I was thinking of making a compact big bore for moose and bear and was thinking of making it a 376 Steyr. But that could be a hassle. A 375-06 or a 375-06 improved might be more feasible. Does the 376 Steyr offer any advantage in power over the necked-up '06? Does anyone have any useful ballistic data (PLEEEEEEEAAASE )?

Here's some .376 Steyr data from my handloads used in a Steyr Prohunter with a 20" barrel.

Hornady Brass (unfired)
Win WLRM primers
Varget powder
270 grn Hornady SP

Max load (per Hodgdon data) 65.5 grains Varget averaged 2495 fps. However my best load in terms of accuracy, extreme spread (12.96) and standard deviation (6.16),was 64 grains averaging 2463 fps.

This cartridge is not expensive to load for at all.
Brass is readily available for $20 for fifty cases
RCBS dies are about $25

Don't know doodly squat about the 376 Steyr, but I do reload for the 375 Whelen/375-06.
I had this rifle built using a Douglas barrel for shooting lead alloy bullets, only. I use the data for the 35 Whelen, as a starting point.
The rifle is powerful and accurate.
Jim

[ 06-04-2002, 16:18: Message edited by: arkypete ]

Adirondack Joe,

If by "compact" you mean a short action, then the best best will be a 375/300WSM as the 376 Steyr will be too long.

If on the other hand you mean to throw together a rifle with a short barrel but a standard action, then your best bet would be to do a 375/338. This is a common wildcat and as the name suggests is simplly the 338 Win necked up to 375. Rebarreling a Model 70, Rem 700 or Ruger 77 from 300 Win or 338 Win to 375/338 will be easy and feeding will be no problem. The 375/338 will basically duplicate the velocities of the 375 H&H.

The 375 Whelen is also an easy option as just rebarrel a 270 or 30/06. The only thing about the 375 Whelen is that 375 bullets are meant for higher velocities but then that also applies to the 338/06 and that seems to be very good.

Mike

I've not shot any critters with the 375 Whelen, nor have I shot a single jacketed bullet through this barrel. A 250 grain hard cast lead alloy bullet will put a hole in a cross tie at 100 meters, all the way through.
I would guess that this cartridge would put down most any animal in N. America, with a lead alloy bullet.
The brass is cheap, easy to find, easy to make!
Jim