You need to bear in mind those lever guns were subjected to pressures they were never designed to handle, so it’s little wonder they were destroyed. Your 94BB and the Marlin 336 are perfectly adequate, if they’re not abused.

The Atomic 29 pills are an expanding mono and behave similar to Barnes X bullets. In developing the 210gr pill for the 375Win, various iterations were trialled on game before finalising the design and weight.

A lot of the problems associated with Bertram brass is generally people complaining after buying cheap ‘seconds’. They are ‘seconds’ for a reason. I bought several lots of their brass over recent years and it’s worked really well. Having said that I’d anneal any brass if doing a lot of case forming. FWIW Starline brass is not annealed.

No matter how light an 1886 is made it will still be heavier than your 375 Win carbine. For what you’re thinking of I’d take a look at one of the Pedersoli models. You can order one with a factory bolt mounted peep sight, similar to the ones Winchester fitted to the M71. The bolt needs to be machined at the factory to fit the sight.

https://www.davide-pedersoli.c...t#specificheTecniche

https://shop.davide-pedersoli....-sight-mod-1886.html

Thanks Joe, some food for thought there. The Pedersoli is a nice-looking rifle and quite light. If I see one s/h I might try to grab it, though it might lack the snazzy peep sight. Getting a new one with peep attached in Italy sounds like big bikkies.

Meanwhile, I might get some of those Atomic 29 monos and use them even if we don't rechamber the 375. They are about 1/16th-inch shorter than the Woodleighs and might just allow enough powder to get somewhere. That, of course, is part of why I thought of using the 356 case, not to achieve 358 velocities but to at least reach those expected of the 375 Win.

Further to these matters, Joe, I wish Atomic 29 were a bit more incremental in the way they lift the prices for larger calibres. I could get 50-off 250-grain slugs for my 9.3 For $86 but 210-grain .375 bullets are $68 for 25 - something over 50% more per bullet. Meanwhile, 450-grain .458 bullets are still $68 for 25.

The thoughts of annealing don't inspire me, either. I once watched a mate discuss the process for half an hour with a normally busy gunshop owner, leaving me thinking the old idea of heating case-necks to cherry red and knocking them over into water didn't really cut the mustard. I suppose I could get a mechanised Ugly Annealer but that costs $300 and wastes cases every time you set it up. Perhaps Bertram should get one, though, as I can see an industrial application for them.

There does seem to be a disparity in pricing when compared to their 9.3 pills. I’ve only purchased some of their 308 pills which I’ve yet to use. As you are aware I tend to use cast pills for my larger cals.

If required, I anneal my cases when I’m casting bullets. It’s easy to do but there are a few things to keep in mind, otherwise you can end up with soldered necks.

Opening the case neck from 358 to 375 is not a huge stress on the brass. As long as the brass is not age or work hardened you won’t need to anneal case necks, as the necks will open up easily with a tapered expander. If your project becomes a reality I’m happy to anneal the cases for you if you wish.

If I were you though, I’d check to see if your rifle feeds rimless 308 cases. However, be prepared to dismantle your rifle to remove the trapped cases if they don’t. If they do feed and are retained by the lever link then you can use rimless 308 cases and there’s no need to buy 356 Win brass at all.

Thanks yet again, JFE.
I guess part of the differential in prices could be that calibres beneath .375 might be turned from 3/8-inch stock, while bigger ones need half-inch. Also, most of the big calibres are probably used in hard kickers that don't get out a lot, by people with plenty of money. The 375 Win, however, is a more humble one that might be fired a bit more and, with the 210-grain Atomic 29 being much shorter than all the other .375s, should require less of the bar stock.

I might try to contact the man and see if I can negotiate a price for a larger number.

Thanks for the offer to anneal - I might take you up on it.

My mate is back from O/S and we had a long yarn about this stuff yesterday. He has a 308W reamer but has steepened the shoulder for his own wildcat, lengthening the neck. Could we insert it farther, adding more capacity to a fire-formed case? This would result in a curve in the body line, something I don't suppose even Roy Weatherby thought of, and a challenge for the die maker. Rob makes his own dies, so that might be a possibility. He also has a reamer for an extra-short .30-cal belted magnum that might work but wonders if that might be too fat considering the '94's narrow action and barrel reinforce.

He mentioned making up a dummy .375 (magnum) round while necking down cases for his wildcat but, if you think even 308W cases can give trouble, feeding that might be a slim hope.

As to whether too much capacity risks over-high pressures, as dpcd mentioned, I wonder if analogy with the 9.3x74 and British 'No.2' cases could have any relevance. There, in order to cut pressures, large (but long) cases, lightly loaded, were used. Could the same effect be gained from a moderately loaded short-fat case?