Happy New Years to all!

OK, I am just thinking at this point. I may proceed beyond the thinking stage.

If I was going to make a pre 64 Win 70 into a 375 Ruger, what would be the best parts to start with?

1. A bonafide Win mag action (264, 338, etc)?
a. Which follower and magazine box(Win Mag, Standard, 458)?
Standard mag box, magnum follower etc?

2. A standard non magnum receiver with magnum bolt face?
a. Open the rails or leave as factory?
b. Which magazine box and follower (Win Mag, Standard, 458)

I do not want to use any H&H Magnum components except for the bolt which is the same in all magnums.

If the 375 Ruger is a hard feeder that is going to need major tweaking by a good gunsmith familiar making it work is required or not? If so what components to acquire for the job. Or is a Classic going to be the way to fly and which magazine/follower combinations would be the way to go that way. I have zero interest in an FN made M70 period.

I have a perfectly good 375 H&H but would not mind having a beltless 375 in the standard length action for specific sight/scope base possibilities.

I am sure you have already done this homework and know that the 375 Ruger is just a standard length magnum cartridge, with the head and body diameter of the .532 belt OD of old mags.
So, use any standard length mag action, mag box, bolt face, etc. H&H components are not needed, by design. Tweak the box as required. Pre 64, I would start with a .458. .338 might require feed ramp tweaking; might not. Only one way to find out and I don't have a pre 64 to try it on. I have converted post 64 M70 mag actions to RUMs, with no mods. But the feed rails are different in pres. In the post, it is all in the box.
In any case, no major mods will be needed.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
I am sure you have already done this homework and know that the 375 Ruger is just a standard length magnum cartridge, with the head and body diameter of the .532 belt OD of old mags.
So, use any standard length mag action, mag box, bolt face, etc. H&H components are not needed, by design. Tweak the box as required. Pre 64, I would start with a .458. .338 might require feed ramp tweaking; might not. Only one way to find out and I don't have a pre 64 to try it on. I have converted post 64 M70 mag actions to RUMs, with no mods. But the feed rails are different in pres. In the post, it is all in the box.
In any case, no major mods will be needed.

well, other than stating the obvious, that its 3.34 OAL, you covered everything

Thanks; I am trying to actually answer questions with facts in this new year, rather than the random nonsense I usually produce.

I have been involved in converted 2 Pre-64's to 375 Ruger. Due to the minimal body taper quite a bit of rail and feed well modification was required. New magazine boxes were fabricated as were new followers. Just using a standard Magnum action will not allow a seamless cross over from my limited experience.

Thanks for the replies. It sounds like a Classic is the way to go, or just turn it over to the experts from the start if wanting a pre 64 conversion. I figured the fat straight cartridge would need a fair amount of tweaking. I hate working on rails; that is not for the amateur tinkerer in my opinion. Too expensive to practice on!

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Thanks; I am trying to actually answer questions with facts in this new year, rather than the random nonsense I usually produce.

Try that and you'll be flamed off this sight for sure.

I was trying to start off the new year with a joke. All of my answers are based on things I have actually done. Sorry I didn't make that more clear. I really do try to help others with their projects here on AR.. Your threat was not necessary at all; and I take it as a serious one.
It's site,, not sight, just to be clear on that too.
As for the feeding, as I stated above, if you use a post 64, then all you will have to do is tweak the mag box; I have actually done this for RUM conversions.

Wow, some thin skin here! I have done a pre-64, a 338 action, in 375 Ruger. Worked just fine with no modification whatsoever. An FN mauser, in 270, required a little alteration but no more than for any standard length magnum cartridge. Both probably worked better than a Ruger! Regards, Bill.

I am hoping both Too Many Tools and dpcd are joking with each other.

I took Too Many Tools comment as a joke that trying to be helpful would generate a wrath of threats, as you are supposed to be critical and confrontational on gun forums.

I also assumed (dangerous) that dpcd's response was tongue in cheek about site, sight, just to get back to the general nitpickiness (spelling) on gun forums.

I may pick up parts and slowly proceed one way or the other.

Oops; did I take that wrong? (wrongly)
If so, I apologize. I am trying to be nicer this year so I don't get so many "ignores" placed on my PMs.

quote:

I am trying to actually answer questions with facts in this new year, rather than the random nonsense

Crap then the rest of us will have too as well.

In reading D'Arcy's post, I think I may have been lucky. I did nothing more than the usual polishing of rails and ramp. To be perfectly honest, if I asked the question, I might be inclined to take his answer over mine. I have not heard anyone say his rifles don't feed well. Regards, Bill

Yes, (not so) clearly it was meant as humor. And I thought "sites" is what I install on customer guns? I don't fit well in the modern world.

Bill
It wouldn't surprise me if the Pre-64 you used for the Ruger did in fact work just fine as I have found the odd Pre-64 to vary so considerably that anything could happen and if this was the case those variances must have worked in your favor, I'm rarely that lucky. The Pre-64 I just converted to 375 Ruger was just shipped over to Gene Simillion for him to complete as it was a rifle he had built many years ago. This particular Pre-64 in question was in fact chambered for 338 Win Mag and fed just fine as a 338. When the owner of the rifle wanted to consider converting it from 338 to 375 Ruger he asked me If I felt it would need any serious feed work as he had read On-line that non was going to be required. I suggested before he leaped that he remove the bolt sleeve and firing pin assembly then run some Ruger rounds through the Magazine to see if all was going to be hunky dory. Being the skeptic I had my doubts. I tend not to believe anything I hear and only 27% of what I can actually see with my own eyes.

He did and the exercise was a cluster from the 1st try. On this action the shoulder area in the feed well was to narrow and the rounds kept slipping out from under the rails at the shoulder position. Of course the same thing happened on the 1st Pre-64 I converted and that actions feed well was widened in 3 different stages to see what I might get away with but I had fair idea of what the finished feed well would have to look like before I even turned on the mill. This 1st converted action left Winchester as a standard 270, was then widened with the Ruger case taper as a standard for the geometry. The magazine box I finally made and fit for the Ruger held 4 down,is much wider and matches the taper of the cartridge. Of course the new box requires a much wider follower, a wider feed well and has modified rails as well.

With a Mill and a hand file you could carefully remove most of the single rib from the inside of a standard Pre-64 standard magnum magazine box to match the taper of the case on the inside of the magazine box. Then alter the feed well with the mill to give you the same taper. I'd bet then the Pre-64 would function pretty well. But it's going to be a project and not one for the squeamish.

I do have a couple unaltered current G series, claw extractor, Model 70's in the shop at this time awaiting new lives so for grins this afternoon I removed the firing pin assemblies and tried to cycle three left over 375 Ruger rounds through a 7MM Rem with all the factory OEM parts. I could get the 1st round the feed but that was it. The next 2 wouldn't stay under the rails at the shoulder position. I then tried the same thing in a 7mm STW with it's longer magazine and with straight up feed lips on the box but ran into the very same issue. Could you get these to work reliably with the 375 Ruger with minor Gunsmithing? not a chance with these

Others may have completely different experiences than I or Bill have had.

The rifle D'Arcy is speaking of is mine and he is exactly right. I got some advice from a seamy character that told me all I would need to do is get a magnum box and possibly change the follower. I should have known something was awry when D'Arcy couldn't keep from laughing as he gave me the loaded rounds to test my hypothesis, but it went poorly from the start.

In addition to the problem of the rounds porpoising out of the magazine, the rifle would only hold two down.

Best,

Chet