Rebarreling Winchester 375 HH to 416

23 January 2020, 19:14

Tex84

Has anyone rebarreled a Winchester 375 HH to a 416 Rem? It seems like it should be pretty straightforward as I believe the case size and overall length of each cartridge is the same.

23 January 2020, 19:24

bluefish

But the 416RM has a different case shape so a gunsmith ought to match up the rails to the case to ensure proper feed and function, etc. Lots of qualified people here.

23 January 2020, 23:33

airgun1

I did a pre 64 Win 70 and it went off without a hitch; fed like butter. I know of at least 4 others done (all pre 64's) and all were simply barrel changes. Post 64 should be even easier. Pre 64's have guides in the rails/ post 64 have guide lips on the magazine box. That said, there was no adjusting rails, followers, springs, etc. It is a simple swap.

23 January 2020, 23:42

dpcd

Yes; piece of cake.
Remember that post 64 Model 70s do not use the receiver for feeding; they use the sheet metal lips on the mag box.
Now I see that air already said that.
Also, do not get hung up on using a 375 as a donor; you can use any long action model 70; they are all the same. Cut off the bolt stop and remove the magazine block. I did one yesterday that was a 308; now is a 338-06. Super easy. Push feed; they feed smoother than a claw extractor. Yes I have many of both.

24 January 2020, 00:46

PWS

Try running some dummies through your action. Obviously, they won’t chamber but it will give you a better idea if the conversion will work.

24 January 2020, 03:11

crbutler

I had one done by Jim Kobe. Stainless .375 converted to .416 rem mag.

It works great.

Price wasn’t at all high.

How to do it? If you’re like me, you pay someone else...

24 January 2020, 05:55

Johnly

I think I have a M70 CRF 416 takeoff barrel somewhere.

24 January 2020, 17:38

jeffeosso

the barreling isn't going to be an issue -- irrc, the 416 and 375 used the same mag , but, if not, here's the part
https://www.brownells.com/rifl...e-box-prod73398.aspx

my only concerned would be bedding, cross bolts, and a wrist pin - the 416 kicks WAY more than the 375, and my first real big bore, a 416 m70, had terrible fitment from the factory

24 January 2020, 23:49

setters5

What about a follower?

Greg

23 March 2020, 21:05

Tex84

Well, I snagged a brand new left hand Winchester 375. Now to decide if I rebarrel to a 416 Rem or 458 Lott. This gun will be used primarily for buffalo but maybe something larger one day. Any recommendations on caliber?

23 March 2020, 21:54

tanks

quote:
Originally posted by Tex84:
Well, I snagged a brand new left hand Winchester 375. Now to decide if I rebarrel to a 416 Rem or 458 Lott. This gun will be used primarily for buffalo but maybe something larger one day. Any recommendations on caliber?

I'd go with the larger diameter bullet.

23 March 2020, 22:11

skl1

I had the same choice 15 years ago and chose the Lott. I emailed Terry Wieland for advice at the time, and he suggested the Lott was way more versatile; there are tons of bullets and you can shoot 350's at 2700 for moderately flat trajectory, SR4759 loads at 1250 fps for lighter recoil, or you can shoot 500's at 2300 to kill anything.

Made a lot of sense to me. I have been happy with the choice.

23 March 2020, 23:54

Tex84

Makes sense. How bad is the recoil on the 458 Lott?

24 March 2020, 01:49

Atkinson

There is nothing on this earth that the 416 Rem won't kill deader than a doornail, and yes its a so called "stopper". whatever that means in the real world!! the 458 Lott is just proud flesh in cowboy terms...and the 458 Lott is a horrendous recoiling beast, I much prefer a .470 or its ilk on the recoil issue..Id go with the 416 Rem with Woodleigh 450 gr. bullets, soft and solids or a 404 Jefferys. I used both for many years and never a complaint on PG or DG an lots of both, and a 416 Rem can also be used with 300 and 350 gr. bullets for PG and it shoots flatter than my .375 H&H albeit with more recoil..I built a .458 Lott and hunted with it, but traded it to Wesley Richards for a 450-400-3" Jefferys and they sold it to Bill Baker, a well known African hunter and its pictured in Craig Boddingtons Safari rifles...I never cared for the Lott as recoil recovery was slow IMO, and it was hard on scopes of any kind...

24 March 2020, 21:56

skl1

The 458 Lott's recoil is pretty noticeable at the 500 grain/2300 fps full loads, but again you can easily download it to a 400 grain at 2400 fps level (like a 416) or even much lower.

Lots more bullets and many are softer suitable for speeds down to 1300 fps with 45-70 bullets. But if you want the increased power you have it.

24 March 2020, 22:47

Gunsmith Randy Selby re-chambered and re-rifled my Ruger RSM 375 H&H to 458 Lott. Performed beautifully and was not super expensive. Very accurate and used it on a one gun safari with Andy Hunter in Zim. Shot everything from buffalo to Nyala and other plains game. To be honest it didn’t seem to kick any more than my 416 Rigby.

25 March 2020, 05:20

Mike McGuire

quote:
Originally posted by skl1:
The 458 Lott's recoil is pretty noticeable at the 500 grain/2300 fps full loads, but again you can easily download it to a 400 grain at 2400 fps level (like a 416) or even much lower.

Lots more bullets and many are softer suitable for speeds down to 1300 fps with 45-70 bullets. But if you want the increased power you have it.

Unless you were getting a big bore just for the very big game then I would get a 45 "anything" over a 416 "anything"

So I agree with skl1 a 100%

What I am about to say is a bit out of date, maybe 10 years ….. but I have had lot to do with Weatherby and the custom shop. The bloke who ran it, from memory his name was Dean at that time, told me you could see the huge difference between 378, 416 and 460 with the amount of new brass sold for the 378 and 460. The 416 Wby was factory ammo and fuck all new brass sold as compared to the 378 and 460.

Of course "50 calibre" has something about it so a 500 A2/500 Wby has a certain attraction that offsets the bullets in 375 and 458 but the 416 does not have that attraction.

25 March 2020, 20:50

ddsipe

quote:
Originally posted by Tex84:
Well, I snagged a brand new left hand Winchester 375. Now to decide if I rebarrel to a 416 Rem or 458 Lott. This gun will be used primarily for buffalo but maybe something larger one day. Any recommendations on caliber?

Have you thought about the 470 Capstick?

We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
--Winston Churchill

"Oh, nothing Mom, just pounding primers with a hammer ..."

Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.

25 March 2020, 22:57

RIP

The greatest re-barreling job I ever had done was of a spare .416 RemMag M70 Classic to .458 WIN.
Used a .458"-grooved McGowen barrel.

The greatest simple re-chambering job ever is to take a .375 H&H M70 and re-chamber it to .375 WbyMag.

Both of those jobs produced excellent feeders with minimal work.
Makes a great safari battery, a pair of M70 rifles in .375 WBY and .458 WIN, both with 3.6" magazine box length.

Rip ...

01 May 2020, 06:01

chuck375

quote:
Originally posted by Tex84:
Well, I snagged a brand new left hand Winchester 375. Now to decide if I rebarrel to a 416 Rem or 458 Lott. This gun will be used primarily for buffalo but maybe something larger one day. Any recommendations on caliber?

470 Capstick?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.470_Capstick

01 May 2020, 06:30

RIP

I re-barreled a .375 H&H M70 to .470 Capstick in my stupid days.
It has a 26", heavy barrel of 1:10" twist, to match the A-Square reloading manual.
If only I had sense enough to do a .458 WIN-V-3.6" back then !
I may do it yet, and sand off the finely engraved .470 Capstick marking, put it on a Ruger No. 1, and have it set back, re-chambered and stamped to .470 NE, with a 25" barrel.

Rip ...

07 May 2020, 20:15

AnotherAZWriter

quote:
Originally posted by Atkinson:
There is nothing on this earth that the 416 Rem won't kill deader than a doornail, and yes its a so called "stopper". whatever that means in the real world!! the 458 Lott is just proud flesh in cowboy terms...and the 458 Lott is a horrendous recoiling beast, I much prefer a .470 or its ilk on the recoil issue..Id go with the 416 Rem with Woodleigh 450 gr. bullets, soft and solids or a 404 Jefferys. I used both for many years and never a complaint on PG or DG an lots of both, and a 416 Rem can also be used with 300 and 350 gr. bullets for PG and it shoots flatter than my .375 H&H albeit with more recoil..I built a .458 Lott and hunted with it, but traded it to Wesley Richards for a 450-400-3" Jefferys and they sold it to Bill Baker, a well known African hunter and its pictured in Craig Boddingtons Safari rifles...I never cared for the Lott as recoil recovery was slow IMO, and it was hard on scopes of any kind...

I agree; I have a .416 Rem Mod 70. Shoots flat enough to wang things out to 300 yards, maybe a bit farther.

08 May 2020, 21:50

RIP

quote:
Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter: I have a .416 Rem Mod 70. Shoots flat enough to wang things out to 300 yards, maybe a bit farther.

Same can be said for the SAAMI .458 WIN.MAG. with the right bullet.
I trust factory loads in no rifle.
I handload all rifles, so having to handload a .458 WIN to beat a .416 Rem.Mag. is no thing.
Maybe that is why I rebarreled a .416 Rem.Mag. M70 to .458 WIN-V-3.6" ?

Rip ...