Good .38 Rimfire Work around

Thanks for the heads up on the phosphorus wasnt aware that it was highly corrosive. I guess it wont be an issue anyway, I clean my guns religiously.

Hot water followed by WD-40 then a bath of ballistol should work fine.
 
762mm said:
Watch this video... kind of a cool concept for "last ditch" SHTF scenario primers! (it might give you a few ideas)

[youtube]u7nphPRG6JA[/youtube]

:D
Click to expand...

Yup I watched it a few hours ago, such a simple concept, really is nice to know how to make all your components if you "really" need to.
 
Tyockell18 said:
Yup I watched it a few hours ago, such a simple concept, really is nice to know how to make all your components if you "really" need to.
Click to expand...

An interesting comment posted by the guy who made the video:

I have only loaded a little over 100 rounds with these primers in .45 acp. 100% fired. it should be noted that all of them were fired within 24 hours of loading. Also the match head stuff tends to draw moisture, so if I was going to load ahead of time I would store the loaded rounds in a rice bag or something to keep them dry.
Click to expand...

So... you would basically have to let them dry in some kind of a dry & warm place to get rid of all moisture (since the match heads are said to retain it) and reload as soon as everything is bone dry. A good coat of lube on the bullet itself + a good crimp would also be recommended in order to prevent moisture from entering the cartridge later on. Interesting...
 
Now the mission is to find some good strike anywhere matches, I don't know if the redbirds will work very well but we'll see, I havent used them in ages and from what people say on the net the tips suck.

I guess it just means you have to use more of them.

Any other match brands I should look for. Anyone know if you can still get the Diamond brand up here?.
 
Last edited:
Tyockell18 said:
Now the mission is to find some good strike anywhere matches, I don't know if the redbirds will work very well but we'll see, I havent used them in ages and from what people say on the net the tips suck.

I guess it just means you have to use more of them.

Any other match brands I should look for. Anyone know if you can still get the Diamond brand up here?.
Click to expand...

I didn't know that the brand made a big difference. The red bird matches from CT seem to have pretty good ignition when struck on concrete, etc... so I would assume they should perform well as a primer too.

I am not aware of any other brands out there... but maybe if you check out places like Ikea (that import a lot of small everyday European/Asian household items), you might get lucky. Another good bet would be the dollar store, maybe? :confused:

Edit: Check this out:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Diamond-Strike-A...956?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41565fdf84
 
There's also a book on scribd.com with several recipes for making primers
It's called homemade ammo or homemade guns and ammo or something?

another good one is expedient handgun ammo it has some good ideas for making brass, bullets and simple homemade dies.
 
Good News Everyone!.

I contacted HC-Collections yesterday and this was the message I recieved this morning:

Hello,

38 rimfire will be available in a few days.

May be on the French pages only (in a first time).

Best regards.
Philippe


2011/2/22

So looks like they will be producing reloading kits for them.
 
Tyockell18 said:
Good News Everyone!.

I contacted HC-Collections yesterday and this was the message I recieved this morning (...) So looks like they will be producing reloading kits for them.
Click to expand...

Cool! I wonder how they figured making reloading primers for the RF cases. Their solution for a firing pin indentation removal tool will be something to look forward to as well. I'm just having a bad feeling about the price of all these items... I you base your assumption on their 320 bulldog kit as an example, 124 Euros + shipping + taxes/duties will be a mighty expensive venture for reloading 12 units of underpowered ammo at a time (since their kits seem to come with 12 pieces of brass).

Edit: I just went to their 'rimfire' section and noticed that their solution for RF cases is nothing fancy... it's basically the 'Dixie Gun Works' style RF brass which requires a .22 blank on one side of the rim to work. The b*tch with that kind of a setup is that you need to align all your cartridges in a certain way inside the cylinder prior to firing and hope that they don't move, otherwise the firing pin will not strike the primer at all. Fireforming and using the same case in the same cylinder of the same gun over and over might help (as the cartridge won't move much), but it's still not an optimal solution. The best thing to do would be to reload original fired cases... if it works, of course.


Bowie said:
Why not build a new hammer, or convert the original to centerfire?
Click to expand...

For authenticity. Plus modifying an antique destroys its' value.
 
Last edited:
Yeah Sadly they use the off center method but still nice to know they will be out there. I may Buy a kit off them. Cost about 25 euros for shipping they said to Canada.

I'm still banking on the homemade primer method though, it sounds more reliable/appealing to me.
 
Tyockell18 said:
Yeah Sadly they use the off center method but still nice to know they will be out there. I may Buy a kit off them. Cost about 25 euros for shipping they said to Canada.

I'm still banking on the homemade primer method though, it sounds more reliable/appealing to me.
Click to expand...

There are places in the States that can probably sell it cheaper (Dixie, Buffalo Arms, Track of the Wolf, etc). I've had a few reloadable .38RF brass by Dixie at one point, before I sold them as a part of a package deal along with a .38RF Remington No4, two boxes of genuine antique (boxed & unfired) ammo + a bunch of .22 blanks/primers. I sold it all in one shot, as things were tough for a bit and I needed $, lol. An important note, now that I think about it: I remember that my Remington took the .38RF short cartridges and refused to take the long ones... so be careful when buying any .38RF stuff and make sure it is ".38RF short" variety, which happens to be more expensive for some reason. The ".38RF long" cartridge was intended mostly for rifles.

If I remember correctly, the Dixie cases for my gun were around $4-5 USD a piece and very well made (thick brass). Loading them is simple and requires no tools, as you can just press in the .22 blank, fill them with BP and press in a round ball by hand (or with a piece of wood) into the case mouth.
 
This particular gun has the long cylinder. I'v got mostly longs comming right now.

DSCF3324.jpg
 
Tyockell18 said:
This particular gun has the long cylinder. I'v got mostly longs comming right now.

DSCF3324.jpg
Click to expand...

Ha! I've bought the same Iver-Johnson not long ago, what a coincidence... they're very nice and solid antiques with some very decent weight and size to them too. Mine feeds on .44 Webleys, however.

(Centerfire, baby!)

:p


Edit: On another thought, which kind of goes along something already suggested... why don't you just buy an extra hammer off a centerfire parts Iver-Johnson and replace the existing one? I'm sure the frame is probably already adapted for both, so no permanent mods affecting value would be required... That way you could use trimmed down .38 Special brass (which is like $5 for a 100 "once fired" cases) + .38 spl dies and save yourself a ton of headaches and cash. I'm sure parts should be regularly available on Gunbroker, since these little guns were extremely popular down south in the old days.

Be advised though: taking apart that little sucker is easy, just watch out for tiny parts (springs, sear, etc) falling out. Putting it back together is a b*tch though and not an experience I'd really care to repeat, lol! Precision screwdrivers or small steel rods (for properly aligning the mechanism parts prior to reassembly) and a good source of light will be a must. The problem is that it has no access plate (like the larger revolvers do), so all the mechanical parts alignment will have to be done from the trigger, grips or hammer holes. Not an easy task on a small gun with small parts in it... and here's the kicker: you won't know if everything is where it should be until you actually put it all back together and try it out. Took me several tries, as I couldn't get the sear to engage properly and the gun would only function in DA. I finally managed to fix the problem after like the 20th disassembly/reassembly plus a little creativity.

I can't even begin to imagine how frustrated the assembly workers must've been at Iver-Johnson back in those days. Maybe they employed midgets with extra-tiny fingers or something, lol!

:eek:
 
Last edited:
Buying a gun like that is just asking for trouble, you were bored and had to buy it, right?

I do that sometimes too, but overall stay with the 32 and 41 RF, I have ammo and HC reloading kits for both, HC is kind enough to take off the GST from their prices, so their listed prices are about shipped prices Canada, but then comes the tax and duty.

I don't think Buffalo and Dixie ship to Canada anymore.

I'd rather fit a different hammer to that gun and make it centerfire. Maybe a bit of a hassle but problem solved long term and probably increase in value.
 
Yeah I have some .32 rimfires with several hundered rounds and the .32 rimfire HC reload kit as well, just always wanted a .38 rimfire I guess as they interest me.

Plus Its just a nice looking gun and functions properly. I'll probably get a center fire hammer for it down the road but I'm going to try and reload my own rimfire for fun.

Lots say it cant be done, or don't bother which naturally makes me want to try it more.

As stated before anyway, HC is going to be selling Reload kits for the .38 rimfire so im not complaining.

This is all hobby for me, provided I can fire it now and then, and always have a box or so of ammo sitting around for a rainy day, I'm happy.

I'd like to get a Forehand and Wadsworth in .38RF to go along with my two in .32 as well.

After that, next step is a nice .41 rimfire.
 
Tyockell18 said:
This is all hobby for me, provided I can fire it now and then, and always have a box or so of ammo sitting around for a rainy day, I'm happy..
Click to expand...

I don't know if you mean a SHTF scenario by this, but if so, I strongly recommend that you migrate to something that's centerfire. Antique rimfires are fun to play with, but in a life & death scenario where you need to protect yourself against wildlife (or anything else), they would be too iffy to have. Personally, I'd rather use a large knife for close quarters self defense that rely on something like that (as a knife is always reliable).

First, you have the ignition dilemma: are your 100+ year old BP cartridges going to fire? Or, if you have the reload kit, is the pin 100% aligned with the primer? Remember that when you really need a firearm, it has to be 100% reliable, no questions asked. these little rimfires were reliable in the old days when proper ammo was widely available and fresh, but not anymore.

Then you also have a little matter of velocity. Whereas pretty much all centerfire guns have heavier bullets that travel a lot faster (in other words, more stopping power), an antique rimfire pea shooter is perhaps not the best choice when you have 1 second left to live and need to defend yourself if you're gonna make it. Sure, the .38RF is a step up from the smaller .32RF (which are said to travel so slow that you can actually see bullets flying when fired), but it still doesn't compare to a full size centerfire handgun.

So... Get yourself something like the French 1892 revolver... they're relatively cheap and extremely well made, I've bought 3 of them myself. You can probably buy one more or less for the price of 2 of them rimfires and probably a lot cheaper still if you buy in the States and have it shipped over. You'll be glad you did, trust me. ;)
 
I just sold my Mle 1892 with dies ect. actually. to scianna, It was a nice solid gun I just felt like getting something else. Besides I like snubbies and theres just something about the appearance of the M1892 lebel that I don't like.

My ultimate plan is to get a piece chambered in .44 russian or special sometime for the unlikely SHTF but I gotta cough up the dough for a nice one first.

I could have swore I saw an American Double Action bulldog chambered for .44 russian before "not .442 Webley", should have grabbed it when I had the chance.

Have to be careful with loads obviously as the American Bulldog design isnt as sturdy as some but it would of had a decent wack to it regardless and would be nice and compact.

Failing that I guess I'll have to find one in .44 web, preferably one with shouldered chambers.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom