375 2.5" NE

[Saul]

Does anyone have any experience with this cartridge? I have seen some people making a wildcat version by necking up the 303 British, but the case length is shorter than the real 2.5" NE. Either way, I think it would make a great boar cartridge.

 

[Major Khan]

Yes , Saul . I do . It used to have a following among some of my Continental clients . I have seen it chambered in double barreled side by side rifles ( Such as Dumoulin of Belgium ) . It is excellent for our 300 pound Bengal Bush Boar , Nilgai and Nilgiri Tahr . I have also seen it get used with great success , against our Bengal Sun Bear and Clouded panthers . It is how ever , not a dangerous game cartridge . No should it be treated as 1 .

 

[bruce moulds]

sounds like the wildcat would look a bit like a 38/55 ballard or 38/50 rem.
interesting to see what it will do with smokeless in a strong gun.
what bullets do you intend to use?
bruce.

 

[BeeMaa]

I hadn't heard of this particular .375 cartridge so I looked it up.
One of the first pages to pop up was from Chuck Hawks.
He suggest sourcing brass by reforming 405WIN or 38-55WIN.

https://www.chuckhawks.com/375_NE.html

It does look like a good boar cartridge.

 

[Red Leg]

Does anyone have any experience with this cartridge? I have seen some people making a wildcat version by necking up the 303 British, but the case length is shorter than the real 2.5" NE. Either way, I think it would make a great boar cartridge.

It would indeed. They are most often found in Lee Speed rifles (commercial Enfields) built before the first World War. So chambered, it would make a fine boar rifle (though in the .303 version, it would be just as effective and a whole lot easier to feed).

 

[bruce moulds]

it might be a ballistic twin to the 375 winchester.
bruce.

 

[yumastepside]

Roger

 

[Red Leg]

Roger

Nevertheless you will find 10, perhaps 20, Lee Speeds for every double in the .375 2.5”. And nowhere did anyone really find a niche for it. It did nothing a standard .30 - .40 bolt caliber wouldn’t do better, and an open-sighted medium bore antelope rifle has always been an oddity, particularly with the 9.3x74R sitting in the wings.

 

[yumastepside]

You have to remember, when it was originally designed it was pretty special, the 375 HH and 9.3x74r weren't invented yet...I think!

Roger

 

[Red Leg]

You have to remember, when it was originally designed it was pretty special, the 375 HH and 9.3x74r weren't invented yet...I think!

Roger

The .375 2 1/2 inch in 1899 and the 9.3x74R in 1900. The .375 H&H was a very different beat when it came along in 1912.

 

[Saul]

It would indeed. They are most often found in Lee Speed rifles (commercial Enfields) built before the first World War. So chambered, it would make a fine boar rifle (though in the .303 version, it would be just as effective and a whole lot easier to feed).

With modern powders, do you think that the .303 version would be able to get the same velocities as the 2.5" NE?

it might be a ballistic twin to the 375 winchester.
bruce.

I was thinking the same thing. The 375 win has always interested me.

 

[Red Leg]

With modern powders, do you think that the .303 version would be able to get the same velocities as the 2.5" NE?



I was thinking the same thing. The 375 win has always interested me.

I assume you mean the opposite? You would have to slow the .303 down considerably to get the same velocity as the .375 2.5”. The standard .375 2.5” nitro load was around 1950 FPS. That is a very anemic 270 gr load. Modern powders rarely make any meaningful difference with respect to velocity. Indeed, modern load recipes are often a bit slower than the original nitro loads due to modern liability concerns and lower safe pressure thresholds. I can’t think of any animal I would prefer to shoot with a sub- 2000 FPS load that I wouldn’t prefer to take on with a tough 180 gr bullet moving at 2500 FPS plus from a .303. And yes it would be similar to the .375 Winchester that had a mercifully short lifespan for similar reasons.

With respect to getting an old Lee Speed or rarer yet, double up and running again for the fun of it? Sure, why not. But with respect to capability, it is what it is.

 

[Saul]

I assume you mean the opposite? You would have to slow the .303 down considerably to get the same velocity as the .375 2.5”. The standard .375 2.5” nitro load was around 1950 FPS. That is a very anemic 270 gr load. Modern powders rarely make any meaningful difference with respect to velocity. Indeed, modern load recipes are often a bit slower than the original nitro loads due to modern liability concerns and lower safe pressure thresholds. I can’t think of any animal I would prefer to shoot with a sub- 2000 FPS load that I wouldn’t prefer to take on with a tough 180 gr bullet moving at 2500 FPS plus from a .303. And yes it would be similar to the .375 Winchester that had a mercifully short lifespan for similar reasons.

With respect to getting an old Lee Speed or rarer yet, double up and running again for the fun of it? Sure, why not. But with respect to capability, it is what it is.

Yes, the opposite! Thank you.