338-375 Ruger Demon

[rigmaster10]

Wow your getting great numbers out of your lrm. Mine did not perform very well. Your parts list looks nice to.

 

[scottw2119]

I looked on gunwerks site and could not find any brass my reamer is just the 375 necked down would love to find some of there brass i found a company making 7mm-375 brass but they want $60 for 20 pieces its winter time i have the time to make my own for that kind on money

 

[rigmaster10]

I had to call them. They have it.

 

[scottw2119]

Thanks will give them a call would i be able to just fire form the brass or would i have to do anything else to move the shoulder out?

 

[rigmaster10]

Size the brass up to .30 cal with just a sizer ball. And then use your lrm sizer. Keep sizing the neck till it will fit in the chamber and the bolt closes with some pressure. This will create a false shoulder. If you don't do this the lrm brass will not fit tightly enough to fire firm. Also this is how I do it and an not a master gunsmith. I just do it as a hobby. Some people I know do this others disagree with it. So all liability is on you. Also when I do this I use a heavy bullet and a ridiculously light load.

 

[moombaskier]

My first 100 brass I bought from Gunwerks when they smithed my components has a RUGER 375 headstamp. The next 100 I just purchased has the Gunwerks 7LRM headstamp. I believe that Gunwerks was hydro forming the original 375 brass, but Hornady is now manufacturing it as 7LRM.

 

[scottw2119]

Thanks for the help i have 50 pieces of 375 brass but 50 in never enough brass but its a start im going to try to neck this down and see how it goes but once the rifle is complete the fire forming sounds like thats the way to go what does gunwerks charge for there brass?

 

[Olephriam 1]

Where can a get a Savage replacement barrel in the 338-375 Ruger Demon?

 

[rigmaster10]

The factory 375 case is to long unless you ordered from Gunwerks. Then it will be cut and hydroformed.

 

[Cold Trigger Finger]

Rigmaster ; I've been studying the 338/375 Ruger and you have some of the most comprehensive data I've read. I have all the parts to start except the reamer. Where did you get yours??My requirements are, available and affordable components and the ability to safely and reliably reach or exceed 2700 fps with 300 gr bullets from a 28" barrel. And a stainless Ruger M77 action.
Are your barrels 10" twist?? I have an H+H length mag box that I can fit to the action if needed to get the velocity but will start with the standard mag box and 24" factory barrel to get a big game rifle ready in time for late season caribou.
Any info any of yall can provide will be very much appreciated .

 

[Goss]

I took my 338/375 down to the range today with justa few loads. I am using 200 grain GS Custom projectiles in front of 86 grainsof ADI 2209. This was the last of 4 loads which produced an average of 3,318fpswith no signs of pressure. I can't weight to try the next loads.

Greetings,

I've gone through this thread looking for loading data, as along with therest of the world am also playing around with the 338/375Ruger.

What has me puzzled so far, is the repeated phrase "no signs ofpressure" without any reference to measurement.

When I build up a wildcat load it's with new brass and a micrometer. Areasonable powder / bullet / primer combination are selected with a very lowstarting point, then slowly I start working the load with new brass until headexpansion is detected. A load that expands the head by .0003 will not show upin a primer pocket for over a dozen reloads, but is still showing a measurablesign of too much pressure.

What exactly are you folks here measuring in order to determine a safeworking load?

Right now, one load I have used with only .0002 worth of head diametergrowth is 80gr. IMR 4831 / CCI Rifle Mag Primer / 200gr. Hornady. That loadclocks 3050.

Thanks for the thread. It's proving to be an interesting one.

 

[elkaholic]

I wildcatted this case about 3 years ago (30/375 S.I.) Most of the other designs I have seen end up with too short a neck. This can cause some potential accuracy loss and shorter barrel life. My design has a .320" neck and holds 96.4 grs. H20. A .338 version would be close to a .340" neck. I have pushed 230 Bergers at over 3100' in a 28" barrel. I have considered making a .338 in this design if there was enough interest, but have been concentrating on 6.5's lately........Rich

 

[Goss]

I wildcatted this case about 3 years ago (30/375 S.I.) Most of the other designs I have seen end up with too short a neck. This can cause some potential accuracy loss and shorter barrel life. My design has a .320" neck and holds 96.4 grs. H20. A .338 version would be close to a .340" neck. I have pushed 230 Bergers at over 3100' in a 28" barrel. I have considered making a .338 in this design if there was enough interest, but have been concentrating on 6.5's lately........Rich

Interesting, but it does not address the question.
How much expansion are you looking for on the case head to determine acceptable working pressures on the 375 Ruger based Wildcats?

 

[Pdvdh]

Of course I can't answer for the prior members who've posted in this Thread. I'm currently fireforming .375 Ruger cases for elkaholic's 300/375 S.I. Ruger wildcat. I've measured case head expansion as high as 0.001" per single firing thus far. As a rule of thumb, I consider anything more that 0.0005" per single shot fired to be pushing it. I'm just getting started and cannot yet comment on how many shots the Ruger .375 brass will remain useful for at 0.0005" expansion per shot fired. Probably less than 4 times before the primers are too loose.

I don't claim to be the all-knowing expert on this subject matter, but I'll share this: Long ago I read an article from a guns editor of one of the outdoor hunting magazines; Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, or Sports Afield. The article covered methods for identifying a safe maximum pressure load in one's personal rifles - for the hand loader. The author stated case head expansion just ahead of the rim on a beltless casing, and on the belt of a belted cartridge, should not exceed 0.0005" in a single firing. If it exceeded 0.0005" case head expansion with a single shot fired, then one should conclude that the maximum charge in that firearm is being exceeded. It seems this measurement is similar to another rule of thumb often mentioned. If the primer pockets remain tight for reuse for up to 5 firings, then the load is probably not excessive in that casing and firearm.

I've read a lot of additional material on this subject since that article. Some disputing the wisdom of using case head expansion to determine maximum safe pressure loads. Different case manufacturers provide casings with differing case head thicknesses and some are more prone or less prone to case head expansion at equal pressures. However I've been hand loading for 40 years and since I read that article and began monitoring case head expansion, I've found this 0.0005" case head expansion rule-of-thumb for identifying the danger zone of maximum loads to be a useful and reasonable guideline.

I read this Thread recently and reached a personal conclusion that the loads producing the velocities posted in the 338-375 Ruger Demon surely exceed the maximum pressures that would be condoned for a factory cartridge of similar case capacity in any reloading manual. There is no other explanation. Velocity is primarily the result of case capacity and pressure, within any specific bore diameter. I don't believe there's anything magical about any particular casing design that accounts for huge differences in MV compared to other cartridges of similar capacity (volume). Case capacity, case pressure, and barrel length explain MV. There are some additional factors that play a lesser role.

Some of the inordinately high velocities posted earlier on in this Thread will surely expand primer pockets beyond further use in short order, in my opinion. Perhaps in a single firing, but almost surely within three firings per casing.