A lot of sources recommend sizing belted cases so as to headspace off the shoulder. This advice usually accompanies reloading instructions for cases like the .300 WM that have a substantial shoulder.

Do you gain anything by (attempting to) size .375 H&H cases to headspace off the tiny 15 degree shoulder. Is it foolish to try? Can this get cases stuck or causes them to wear more quickly?

Thanks,

H.C.

I've only loaded for one 375H&H but, found there to be plenty of shoulder to head space on. If I were using it for a DGR I would bump the shoulder just a touch to insure easy chambering.

I use my stoney point comparator and set the resizing die to bump back the shoulder .002", there's plenty of shoulder to headspace the .375 on. The main reason I headspace off of the shoulder is for case life. Belted magnum rounds have a lot of slop in the shoulder area, full length resizing them every time will work the brass so much that you'll get case head separations after a few shots if the chamber is sloppy. The .375 seems particulary prone to this, I think the original design purpose of the belt wasn't so much because there wasn't enough shoulder to headspace off but rather to allow a somewhat oversized chamber with reliable headspacing in case dirt and other junk entered the chamber with the round. For dangerous game I would full length resize for maximum ease of chambering, or better yet just use new unfired brass.

Henry,

To answer your question, yes you can headspace off teh shoulder of a 375 H&H. If you are doing it this way, and plan to hunt with your rifle, it might be a good idea to cycle all your ammo through teh rifle just to make sure you do not have one that might be difficult to chamber.

We try to eliminate this problem in the rifles that we chamber here.

We cut the chambers so that the bolt will close on a new case, but not on the GO gage.

We thought we might encounter some problems with some brass, but so far no one has complained. We know that ammo from many makers have been used in these rifles, and so far no problems at all.

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saeed@ emirates.net.ae

www.accuratereloading.com

You've gotten good advice here, and there's not much that I can add. In my experience, the .375 works just like any other bottleneck cartridge, whether belted or not. It does have the advantage of the belt not letting headspace get too far out of reason (assuming the chambering job is within SAAMI specs).

As with all hunting rounds, set the FL sizer so that the finished round chambers readily, but with just enough resistance to feel as you turn down the bolt. This gives the best case life, and usually the best accuracy.