.380 rook

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Many years ago I bought a martini actioned small bore rifle. It was made by G.H. Daw&company. in England. Calibre was marked as .380 cf. After a long internet search I found that it should be .380 rook or ,380rook l/r.
After a long search found only one!! pic of my rifle in the net. Now here is the $100.00 question---------anyone know of ammo for this gun? According to my search it is a heeled bullet, .38 special cartridge fits the chamber well but the bullet falls thru the barrel. I have not slugged it but guesstimate that is .39 or ,40 diameter.
Neat part it was a presentation piece given to R Newth in 1883IP may 21 16 004.jpg
Would lik to know if anyone out there has seen a gun like this.
 

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A google for ".380 rook ammo" got me a link to this thread over at Cast Boolits where folks seem to know a lot about this stuff. Sizes and pictures are given in some of the replies.

Bottom like is that other than some examples of antique cartridges, which you won't want to pay for given the price, is that you'll need to buy a mold and cast your own heeled bullets. The good news is that you can cut down .38Spl brass to use with the outside lubed heeled bullets.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?34724-Info-on-380-Rook

The feeling I get from your test and picture is that this isn't a truly rare and expensive gun. But it's rare enough that there's only you and a few others with them. I'm also thinking that with a suitable barrel swap it would be a nice conversion to .38Spl. But then keep the stock barrel so it maintains what collector interest it might have for the future. The rifle has clearly seen better days from the amount of rust pitting in the pictures so that will hold down any really intense collector interest and I suspect that keeping the old barrel and fitting a new one in .38Spl would maintain or even increase the overall package value. The other option would be to buy one of the molds mentioned for making your own outside lubed heeled bullets and shoot it as a proper .380 "whatever" cartridge gun if the bore is in good condition.
 
I have a couple of rifles in that same OR similar calibre, oftens called 38 long. The common bullet diam is .375. I have found 1 round marked 38 short that has a .375 heeled bullet and the older .380 Revolver rounds have.375 bullets. While the 38 special and 38 S&W will usually chamber the bullets are much too small. My solution is a box of .375 round balls and just press them in tight with thumb pressure and go have some fun.
Cheers, wTc
 
thanks for the replies. I didn't meant to imply that it has much value, just want to shoot the old girl. Oddly enough I have 6 rounds of .38 short with the heeled bullet. Think will try the roundball idea.
 
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I got very good groups from a Hopkins and Allen falling block, using shortened 38 special blanks (38 Colt length) and breach seated .377" dia conicals. Works best if the brass length matches the base of the seated bullet. Full case of BP, topped with over powder card.
 
Get Volume 8 of Wal Winfer's series called "British Single Shot Rifles" and you will know all about Rook rifles and that cartridge.

That seems to be the big military style action, not the cadet version.
 
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bross said:
I got very good groups from a Hopkins and Allen falling block, using shortened 38 special blanks (38 Colt length) and breach seated .377" dia conicals. Works best if the brass length matches the base of the seated bullet. Full case of BP, topped with over powder card.
Click to expand...

You, Sir, just won today's Inter-Webz E-Star for fantastic ideas ! ! ! !

That would truly be a really sweet way of avoiding the need for casting heeled bullets and figuring out how to find dies for reloading the darn things correctly. And on a single shot gun of this sort it would be easy peasy to load in that way.
 
I think you would be wise to take a chamber cast and either slug the bore or take a chamber cast long enough to include the first inch or so of the bore. Paraffin wax should be good enough for your purposes and I would suggest including a piece of cotton string down the center of the cast in case the cast cracks or breaks during removal. I think there is a bit of variation in bore diameters and it would not surprise me if yours could be anywhere from .375 to .385. If you have access to Cartridges of the World, go through the tables at the back of the chapter on current rifle and pistol shells and see if you can something that comes close to your chamber dimensions. With low pressure loads you should be able to use shells up to .08 or .1 inches undersize. Obviously donèt full length resize them after they are fire formed

cheers mooncoon
 
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