I have a .381 groove barrel and my dies RCBS even with the seating stem removed shoves the bullet too far into the case. As well the rifles throat is too tight to allow chambering 3/4 of the way only.I am using win short brass and 265gr GC.That leaves me either/both options of having the throat opened on the chamber as well as the dies internally.Purchase cowboy dies? Thoughts?
cast problem in a Win 1894 38-55
- Thread starter mbogo3
- Start date
just having some fun
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
What bullet / mould are you using ?
the the seating die can be opened up using wet/dry Sandpaper
the easy thing to do is get a different mould / smaller nose with .382-.383 base
the lyman #44 list mould 375248 for the 38/55 with Unique or 2400 powder
the the seating die can be opened up using wet/dry Sandpaper
the easy thing to do is get a different mould / smaller nose with .382-.383 base
the lyman #44 list mould 375248 for the 38/55 with Unique or 2400 powder
fingers284
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta Cowboy Ranges
Cowboy dies wont help you make ammo that will fit in your gun. They will help you make ammo with oversized bullets but not to the .381 extreme you need. They come with two case mouth expander dies, one for .377 bullets and a slightly bigger one for .379 slugs. RCBS (or any local machinist for that matter) may be able to custom build an expander that you need but I'm not even sure if the seater die barrel will accept it. The coffee is still on here and we might just be able to make what you need from scratch.
For some reason 38-55 barrels seem to be the worst culprits for oversize bores. it is quite common in the older Marlins (1893,93's) but their chambers were usually oversized as well so you could "wildcat" your own ammo to suit. I owned a Win 94 Sask diamond jubilee in 38-55 that had a .378 bore but the chamber was so close to Saami specs that it wouldn't chamber anything larger than a .375 slug...with .375 slug it more or less "shotguned" a target at 50 yrds.
For some reason 38-55 barrels seem to be the worst culprits for oversize bores. it is quite common in the older Marlins (1893,93's) but their chambers were usually oversized as well so you could "wildcat" your own ammo to suit. I owned a Win 94 Sask diamond jubilee in 38-55 that had a .378 bore but the chamber was so close to Saami specs that it wouldn't chamber anything larger than a .375 slug...with .375 slug it more or less "shotguned" a target at 50 yrds.
I read somewhere Huntington Die has custom sized expander buttons for RCBS products.Thanx for the offer on the Starline brass and machining a expander button.You run into the same issues with 44-40 as brass thickness varies with Remington the thickest.I have old Lyman dies for the 44-40 and they luckily can swallow a .430 cast if you are gentle on the press handle.It might be less BS in regards to the 38-55 to have a Marlin 336 re-bored from 30-30 or .32 Special with a matching chamber and groove/bore.The Win 1894 in 38-55 were known for generous bores most running .380+ Another option could be a softer under sized bullet and hopefully it would expand on ignition and fill the groves.Not sure about leading? I carried this as a kid and shot deer with it, as it was my Grandpa's only BG rifle and at the time it was taller than me.One could polish a 10mm/.40 caliber expander button down to size perhaps? But he seating die may also be sizing the bullet enroute.
