38-55 cast bullet shooters

[JPH45]

I'm gonna send off for a 38-55 barrel this weekend. What molds are you guys running? Any loading hints that would be helpful to know when buying dies and such? How fast are you pushing your 38-55's?

Thanks,

John

[cheatermk3]

I'm sending my rifle back to NEF for a new barrel because of the problems I'm having.  .379/.376 groove/lands just ain't makin' it.  Also it doesn't lock up the way it should.

John at NEF customer service said the bore should be .379/.373; when I spoke with gordon a few weeks ago, HE said the max dimension for the groove dia. is .379 and the min. for the lands is .373.  Not quite the same thing, but I can't live with what I've got, so off it goes.  

Good luck with your 38/55 hope it works out for ya.

[riverjackal]

I recently bought an H&R 38 55 Target Model. I almost ordered a .379 Lee mold from midway so I could reload this round. I used Lee dies, also new. The paper in the die case and the sizer die says 38 55 but the expander and seater die says 375 win.  After today I don't know if I will go with .379 lead bullets or not, probably not. Here's why:
  Today I got the reloading bug and tried to reload some ammo for it. I bought some .379 Brass Plus lead bullets from Midway recently. I did not size the once fired Winchester brass since the brass was smaller than the bullet. I loaded 10 cases and seated them to the the crimp groove.I used a light crimp, just enough to reduce the flare. None of them would chamber in my gun.
   I can force the gun closed but the round is stuck. I did not fire any of these reloads. I have not slugged my barrel but a 3/8 drill bit that measures .375 will enter the chamber without any problem, it will also go in the end of the barrel. The once fired empty cases will go back in the gun with no problem. With a vernier caliper I cannot tell the difference in size when comparing them with factory ammo. The rim end measures .414 at the head on both reloads and factory, the only difference I find is at the bullet end of the case, factory is .394 and my reloads is .396. I can't believe that the chamber in my gun is cut that tight.  
  I am doing something wrong I guess but right now I don't know what it is.
 My advice is check it out good if you are going to reload, Barnes makes a .375 and .377 jacketed bullet but they are too expensive for general reloading in my opinion. I guess if you are going to hunt with it, a bullet is  a small expense in deer hunting. I just wanted a plinker load more or less, that don't cost a dollar a pop. I used 9.5 grains of Unique in this load, that I found in the 47th Lyman Manual, for a 249 grain bullet. My bullets from midway are 255 grains.
 I  hope this gives you some insight into reloading the 38 55. It looks like to me that this will be a challenge.
 Just my 2 cents, I'm trying to learn. Hope you get a lot of info off the board.

[riverjackal]

JPH45
 Just a bit of info after my other post. I think I have found at least part of my trouble. The factory 38 55 rounds measure about .397 or .398 near the middle of the case and my unsized rounds measure about .406 and .407. That probably is my problem. I was trying something that I read somewhere about  not sizing 38 55. The next ones that I reload willl be resized. :oops:

[JPH45]

I have read several threads about the peculiarities of reloading the 38-55, particularly in Marlin and NEF rilfes. Seems that there is a discrepancy between the chamber dimensions and the land/groove dimensions. Several people are taking loaded rounds and runnind them back into the full length die to a depth that makes the  the round chamber properly. They are saying they are getting good results with this process. Several are also reporting very good groups with the Lee 250 mold as it seems to be dropping bullets that are .381-.383. Most are shooting Unique. I don't hear anything going on here that can't be made right, and it seems that folks are getting good results "running what they brung".

I've wanted a 375/38-55 for a couple of years now. I've been tempted to hold out in the hopes of finding a 375 BB '94, but I've given up on that. (Any of you Alabama/Georgia readers know of a used 375 BB on the rack somewhere?)  I've decided to get the NEF barrel and work with it, I'm sure I'll learn something anyway.

I don't think I'll need a jacketed bullet to get to 1800-2000 fps (although it would make it easier) I guess I will find out if I am a glutton for punishment or a or a soft touch with tough cases.

[cheatermk3]

Guys, I've been struggling with this for a few weeks now.  I'm getting ready to send mine in, but I want to try one more time to get a straight answer from the customer service guys ar H&R.

The problem I'm having is that the chamber of my rifle is sized for factory loads, which measure .392" at the case mouth.  This is winchester ammo.  My handloads with .380 cast bullets measure .397.  They will not chamber, due to that .005 extra diameter.  

The bore is sized for shooting cast bullets; mine slugs .379/.376.  This is too loose for a .375" bullet, which is what's in the factory ammo.  They are keyholing at 50 yds out of my gun.  

Turning the cases down .005 overall along the lenght that a bullet is seated to yields shootable ammo but this process is tedious at best and has resulted in a loss rate of 30% for me.  

If the chamber were the only problem I'd find someone with a reamer and have the chamber opened up 5 thou and be satisfied.  The other problem is that the barrel does not lock up properly with the receiver.

Unfortunately, it seems that NEF has their head up where the sun don't shine in regards to the 38-55.  They are telling me that my 379/376 barrel is within spec for this cartridge.