357 cartridge too long for lever

kjohn

kjohn

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It was a nice day, so I took my Rossi 38/357 lever and my Chiappa 44 lever out for a shoot today. Turns out a box of 50 home rollies were too long, cartridges wouldn't lift as the lead RN was catching. BLEEP!!!!

So, I dig out the 44, fire off about ten rounds of handloads. One of the young fellas that own the land comes along. We chat for a while. He fires one shot, then I load four more and tell him to shoot them off. One goes bang, second one a soft poof. No powder! Now that rifles is T U. BLEEP!!

Now I have to shorten the box of 357, and get the bullet out of the 44 barrel. Plus I skinned my hand a bit, so blood all over. I probably should have stayed at home!
 
Overall length of rounds for levers is a limiting factor for all my levers and is a little frustrating as a reloader for bullet options. Each brand and model of rifle will have a max length noted. Depending on bullet design, you will probably have a little leeway.
Always best to do up a few dummy rounds to a cycling test, prior to cranking out a bunch of rounds.
Learned this the hard way of course...
 
kjohn said:
It was a nice day, so I took my Rossi 38/357 lever and my Chiappa 44 lever out for a shoot today. Turns out a box of 50 home rollies were too long, cartridges wouldn't lift as the lead RN was catching. BLEEP!!!!

So, I dig out the 44, fire off about ten rounds of handloads. One of the young fellas that own the land comes along. We chat for a while. He fires one shot, then I load four more and tell him to shoot them off. One goes bang, second one a soft poof. No powder! Now that rifles is T U. BLEEP!!

Now I have to shorten the box of 357, and get the bullet out of the 44 barrel. Plus I skinned my hand a bit, so blood all over. I probably should have stayed at home!
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And this is why you never trust someone else’s reloaded ammo. Users have no idea if the reloader can keep all the highly demanding stages in order. (They are simple, sarcasm off)
OP just be thankful you didn’t double charge those rounds.
 
ZREXER said:
Overall length of rounds for levers is a limiting factor for all my levers and is a little frustrating as a reloader for bullet options. Each brand and model of rifle will have a max length noted. Depending on bullet design, you will probably have a little leeway.
Always best to do up a few dummy rounds to a cycling test, prior to cranking out a bunch of rounds.
Learned this the hard way of course...
Click to expand...
Same here.
I believe OP's issue is quite common with lever action types that are top eject - i.e. Rossi, Winchester 1873, etc. because the bullets are fed straight up where if the bullet head is too long, it just won't feed at all. Similarly, there may be situations where the type of bullet head might affect the feeding as well; i.e. flat nose, round nose, copper plated, no jacket / lead nose. I have also learned to keep a handful of 38 SPL and 357 MAG dummy rounds and try cycling them to see what works and what doesn't.
 
Good on you for stopping at the squib load I’ve done it too. Ya lever actions will need the rounds to be pretty much book oal or shorter. You can probably hammer the stuck bullet out yourself using a brass/plastic/wood rod. I hammered mine out to the breach end
 
Marlin reloading; step one ,EMPTY brass, load bullet, test in rifle. Try again with two test rounds.

NO SWC bullets. RNFP or truncated cone only. Test again. Over all cartage length as listed in manuals, or better a bit less.
 
I would have loaded those 357 rounds before I owned the Rossi lever. No thought for OAL. They were RN cast by me. Oh well, lesson learned.
 
VICIOUS said:
Marlin reloading; step one ,EMPTY brass, load bullet, test in rifle. Try again with two test rounds.

NO SWC bullets. RNFP or truncated cone only. Test again. Over all cartage length as listed in manuals, or better a bit less.
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I'm casting Hensley and Gibbs #12A bullets for my Marlin (Ruger) 1894 using both 357 and 38 cases with no issues. Maybe I'm just lucky!
 
With SWC in rifles they can shave a fingernail size piece off as the round cycles into chamber. A year later the lead builds up in the bottom of the action and the rifle jams for a strange reason!
 
Deathrawt said:
At least those will be an easy fix just push the bullets in a bit farther using your reloading press
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Not so lucky. I must have loaded them for a revolver, so they have a nice crimp. Have to pull them, bell the mouth a bit, then reseat the bullet. Should give them a bit of a crimp as well.
 
kjohn said:
Not so lucky. I must have loaded them for a revolver, so they have a nice crimp. Have to pull them, bell the mouth a bit, then reseat the bullet. Should give them a bit of a crimp as well.
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I only shoot so I have empty brass to reload...lol. Obviously enjoy shooting more than reloading, but I do really love casting bullets and every aspect of reloading very much. Never looked at it in regards to cost savings, just enjoy the process very much.
 
interesting post his sloppy unchecked reloading ability's on a public form
step by step info in loading manuals so this does not happen
lucky the young ladd didn't send another round down the spout
 
struff55 said:
interesting post his sloppy unchecked reloading ability's on a public form
step by step info in loading manuals so this does not happen
lucky the young ladd didn't send another round down the spout
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Umm everybody at least once made mistakes like this loading carreer.

Guess you are perfect? Never made a mistake?
 
struff55 said:
interesting post his sloppy unchecked reloading ability's on a public form
step by step info in loading manuals so this does not happen
lucky the young ladd didn't send another round down the spout
Click to expand...

It is such a blessing to be in the presence of your greatness.

Let's pray, that one day we will be as perfect and superior as you.
 
OkayShooter said:
Umm everybody at least once made mistakes like this loading carreer.

Guess you are perfect? Never made a mistake?
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I'll assume he also never read post #11, where the OP explains they were loaded previously, for a different firearm. Not every firearm holds to SAAMI specs. An easy example is a 357 Mag Handi rifle. Turns out you can load pretty much as long a col as you want (within reason), and also shoot 360DW loads through them no problem. Go the other way, you can feed all types of 9mm through all types of 9mm pistols, but how about the CZ-75/NZ-85? They seem to have a very short leade.
 
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