Rio Grande 375 Winchester

Rossi's latest and past big game rifle based on the 336 frame!
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Rio Grande 375 Winchester

Post by Elmerkeithclone »

Hi Gang,
I am an old fella from smack dab in the middle of Iowa that just so happens to like Rossi Rifles. This is my first post on your forum as I just stumbled onto it today. I must say that I am glad to see that there are others that think highly of the Rossi line. I currently have a 92 in 44 mag, a Rio Grande in 45-70 and really like the both of them. However my favorite is a 92 that started out as one of the pre top swing safety models in 357 mag. I sent the gun to one Andy Fields way up yonder in Alaska and it came back as a 256 Winchester magnum. Milled into the barrel is a scout scope mount that looks like it belongs. I have yet to mount a scope as putting a scope on a lever gun just goes against the grain for me. If you like a scoped lever gun....I'm good with that, it's just not for me. How-some-ever I had Andy incorporate the scout base into the barrel because like it or not I am getting older and my eye sight is declining and I would rather shoot my Rossi with a scope as opposed to not shooting it at all. That may happen one day!

I have been entertaining the thought of getting a Rio Grande in 30-30 and sending it to JES Rifle Reboring out west and have him rebore it to 375 Winchester. Has anybody done that yet? I would like to here some feed back on your thoughts in regards to such an undertaking. I had Jes rebore an old Marlin 336 to 375 Win a few years back and it was a dandy. It is now the favorite pig gun of a nephew who lives in the south. Can it be done with a Rio Grande? Thoughts? Thanks in advance! Elmer
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Re: Rio Grande 375 Winchester

Post by akuser47 »

Welcome, as for rechambering the rg I dont have info to help on this but someone here should.
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Re: Rio Grande 375 Winchester

Post by Ranch Dog »

I had JES rechamber/bore a RG3030 to 38-55 Win. Having owned a number of Marlin 375s and having studied the chambers of both the 375 Win and 38-55 Win in detail for cast bullet design, my preference is for the 38-55 Win as they are essentially the same except for the freebore cut into the 375 Win chamber (I suspect to get the pressure off the action quicker). Also, I like shooting properly headstamped brass and 38-55 Win is still readily available where the 375 Win is dead.

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My "RG3855" is a very nice rifle, from the comments returned with it I take it that JES did not care much for the Rossi product but his work was without issue. I shoot a 250-grain cast bullet that I designed specifically for the SAAMI chamber cut that JES cut delivered and this is quite a big game rifle. I load the rifle to 35.0K 42.0K PSI with 33.0-grains of H4198 for 2000 FPS. Here is a couple of more pictures!

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Re: Rio Grande 375 Winchester

Post by Model 52 »

Winchester took what at first glance appears to be an odd approach to chambering the much hotter .375 Win. Normally, you make hotter rounds longer so they won't chamber in the shorter chambers of the lower pressure cartridge.

In contravention of this tradition, Winchester made the .375 shorter at 2.020" than the current Winchester produced .38-55 at 2.080" or the traditional .38-55 at 2.125".

Winchester also gave the .375 Win a long chamber and a large diameter throat (which in my early BB94 is long enough and large enough to fire .38-55 ammo with no issues) which was probably done to cover the contingency of .375 Win owners firing .38-55 ammo in their carbines, which was likely given the initial delay in ammo being available for the new BB94s when they were introduced.

Finally, Winchester also gave the .375 WIn and actual .375" diameter bullet, as opposed to the .3775" to .380" bullets used in the .38-55, which greatly reduced the pressure of the factory .375 Win ammo if it was fired in a .38-55 and helps prevent a .38-55 rifle or carbine from blowing up with Winchester .375 Win factory ammo.

All of the above make the .375 Win a bit of a challenge when you're shooting cast bullets. The ample throat dimensions require a large diameter bullet to avoid leading at .375 Win pressures, but you've got to be cognizant of the tighter bore and the pressure that creates when developing a load for it.

In mine, I'll do full power loads with .375" jacketed bullets, but I tend to hold my cast bullet loads to .38-55 pressures and velocities.

.375 Win brass has been very hard to find the last couple years, so I've been fire forming it from new .30-30 brass using 8.0 gr of unique and a case full of cream of wheat plugged with a pea sized ball of toilet paper and fired vertically. The resulting case, when trimmed to square up the mouth is about 2.018" long and works fine up to 43,000 psi .30-30 pressures.

Factory .375 Win ammo is even harder to find.

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Consequently, if I were going to have any rifle or carbine re-chambered or re-barreled, I get it done in .38-55, rather than .375 Win for both ammo availability considerations and for ease in adapting it to cast bullets. A chamber and barrel intended for .380" bullets would be ideal.
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Re: Rio Grande 375 Winchester

Post by Elmerkeithclone »

Thanks for the info! I am a cast bullet shooter and when I had my 336 in .375 I made all of my brass from 30-30 cases. I shot various lead bullets behind 10 grains of Blue Dot. I shot a few Sierra 200 grain bullets in some fairly stout loads but accuracy suffered(I used 375 brass for these). I am way beyond the need for speed mentality of my youth. 38-55 power would serve me well. I won't be shooting anything any meaner than the oinker in your pictures Ranch Dog(thanks for sharing that).

The quest for a 30-30 Rio Grande for the build has began!
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Re: Rio Grande 375 Winchester

Post by Ranch Dog »

When I got my rifle back from JES, I did need to do a little "adjusting" inside the receiver. I had to file the upper inside edge of the magazine port with a round file. I believe I used a ½" half round file inserted through the port, outside to inside, from the six o'clock position up to the 12 o'clock position. The half round removed metal from the upper inside of the port so that the long, flat nose bullets could swing clear of the port on their way up the carrier from the magazine tube to the chamber. The work was easy to do and I polished the area filed by hand with lapping compound on a rag.
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Re: Rio Grande 375 Winchester

Post by Ranch Dog »

A correction to my first post in this topic. I'm will to load this rifle to 42.0K PSI. The load noted in that post produces 38.6K PSI. I typed from memory, not a good thing anymore, but checked my records this morning.
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Re: Rio Grande 375 Winchester

Post by Elmerkeithclone »

42,000 PSI is nothing to sneeze at! I've killed a lot game with lever guns running a lot less pressure than 42k. It's good to know that the Rio Grande is worthy of warm loads though.

I bought a Remington/Marlin 1895G with the idea of hunting bison in N Dakota. That gun had some shoddy workmanship. There were grind marks on the receiver where the barrel screwed on. It weren't pretty and the reaction that I got from the folk at Remington lead me to the Rossi Rio Grande. The way the Rossi feels and the way it shoots and functions made me a believer. I already had my 44 mag 92 and new beyond any doubt that it was a better gun that a Marlin 1894 in 44. I should have just gone with the Rio Grande to start with but then this isn't the first lesson that I've learned the hard way.

I will shoot Titonka with the 45-70. The 38-55 will be for my 12 year old grandson who must accompany me to the Bad Lands. He's becoming quite the rifleman and for him to kill a buffalo with a lever gun in a vintage round like the 38-55 would make the hunt.
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Re: Rio Grande 375 Winchester

Post by Ranch Dog »

Good luck with the rifle work and hunt, please keep us posted!
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Re: Rio Grande 375 Winchester

Post by Maximumbob54 »

You guys have some exotic tastes!!! I've just wondered for a while if they would make a RG in .35 Rem at some point. I always wanted a Marlin 336 in .35 Rem but I won't buy a Remlin to get one. Actually I'm not even sure if Remlin is making that caliber yet.
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