Just recieved my lead casts. They mike out at .380 I just finished making a test shell. It is 2.50" as per Hodgdon spec. It is very hard to chamber and extract. What gives?? If i just take a bullet and drop it down the throat of the barrel, it just slides in nice. When that bullet is in a case and i go to chamber it, it takes some grunt to put it in and to extract from the gun. I am ready to give up on this .38-55 thing. I feel like Charlie Brown going to kick the football and lucy keeps pulling it away. My hornady 220's and sierra 200's keyhole and now the .380 diameter bullets barely chamber!! ...maybe my gun will shoot .375 fine and i just have to experiment with the powder charge more??

Is there also a way i could resize these bullets a little smaller like .377??

"It is very hard to chamber and extract. What gives??"

Sounds like your loaded neck dia is too large for that chamber-- which is dangerous if that's the case. Do you see any rub or friction marks on the necks after extraction? Good way is to blacken the neck with a magic marker type pen and chamber.

Did you slug your bore Mark? Being as the jacketed slugs are keyholing it of course indicates their too small [most likely]. Resizing those lead slugs to a dia allowing chambering is a plan--- if they'll be big enough for the rifling groove dia is another Q.

I've read various accounts of the 38/55 around and it sounds like the chambering is loaded to olden days specs, using pure lead bullets at bore dia [dia of the land tops] and relying on the pressure to bump that soft bullet to groove dia. Possibly this scenario doesn't account of thicker brass necks of modern times-- I dunno.

You need to find your groove dia, hopefully load a thou or so over that dia-- with at least a thou and preferrably two thou of neck clearance when the round is loaded. You might have to neck turn your brass to accomplish this-- removing some of the brass thichness.

What kind of 38/55 are you shooten?

Aladin, its a Winchester 94 made in 1979. The factory loads drive tacks. I have been told the factory loads mike at .376 or .377. I will probably just buy factory loads and a bullet puller and juice em up.

Mike,

I've had some experience with the .38-55. The first thing you have to accept is that the bores vary widely. I've seen bores from .375" to .382". The "standard" is .377". You MUST slug the bore and know the actual bore measurement.

The Winchester bores from 1979 are a little rough and probably are in the .377-.378" range. That does not excuse you from being responsible and slugging the bore! It is probably why you're not getting good accuracy from the bullets intended for the .375 Winchester and a .375" bore.

Another thing is that the specification on case length changed many years ago. While you might have some of the fine old Dominion CIL .38-55 express loads, the cases MIGHT be too long for this chamber. That would give you the same "feel" as when the bullet is too large. That doesn't mean that this IS the cause, just that it MIGHT be. Even though the case length changed, rifle manufacturers never seemed to change the chamber specs. Another case related thing is that it just might be a not so good chamber. You should do a chamber cast and compare the dimensions to what it should be and compare that to your cartridges. This is probably the problem. I don't have a good feeling for Winchester QC during the period and there may be a problem with the chamber.

Here in the US there are plenty of cast bullet suppliers. Most of these are at least acceptable and most produce bullets in the .377-.379" diameters. My current rifle has a .375 bore. It shoots the .375-.380" bullets pretty well. Like most .38-55s jacketed bullet groups open up when you start ratcheting up the velocity. This is not true with the GC cast bullets of .376-.377".

I suggest the following steps:

• Slug the bore.
• Do a chamber cast of your rifle.
• Compare chamber to standard specs and to your cartridge. Make a determination if you want to continue.
• If you want to continue, and the rifle does not need repair, select a bullet that is .001" or .002" over bore diameter.
• Properly trim and load your cases.

For a 265 grain cast gas-checked bullet (I prefer the LBT style) I use 28 grains of IMR 3031 with a standard rifle primer (I use CCI 200). Start 10% below and work up. For a 249 grain plain base, I use 18 grains H4227. The first is a good deer load the second a good plinking load.

Hobie, you state "if the gun is not in need of repair" The gun was unfired and still in its box when i aquired it two years ago. It is in immaculate condition. I recieved some of Bill Powell's bullets and i am now on track with these .378 jacketed bullets as they chamber and shoot great. My main reason for never slugging my bore is that in my small town, their is nowhere to purchase any soft lead to do this.

"My main reason for never slugging my bore is that in my small town, their is nowhere to purchase any soft lead to do this"

Two solutions. Use those egg shaped sinkers and tap on in each end. Or use a freshly cast ww alloy slug and shoot it thru very slowly. Latter is the best method of determining bore/groove size.

There are numerous reported rifles out there, usually Marlins, which have throats/bores that run about .380"/378" but with chamber necks which are too small to accept cartridges loaded with .380 bullets.

Marlin, at least, is reportedly enlarging chamber necks of their rifles free of charge to accept cases loaded with the .380 bullet, on request. (After sale...which means you have to buy the rifle, then send it back for the work.)

You should measure both chamber neck and throat, to see if that is the situation in your '94. If so, the cure is to get the neck area of the chamber slightly enlarged.

For best accuracy, cast bullets should be within about ,0001" or .0002" of the throat size. Sometimes .001" or .002" over groove size will work very well, but when that occurs it usually also just serendipitously happens to be almost exactly throat size.

If you measure the chamber neck and the throat, you won't have to guess how to cure the problem, or what size bullet to use.

If it turns out that you have a tight chamber and a loose bore, you can turn those case necks. That's a lot easier solution than having the chamber enlarged.

Thanks for the info fellas!!!

My Marlin has .3792 groove, I could chamber .380 in some Vintage brass I have, but not the new Winchester. It was a tough decision, but rather than wait on new original dimension brass I sent mine back to Marlin. I was nervous, but it shoots the .380 much better than the .379 I had to use before. I sold a Chief Crazy Horse Winchester 38-55, I just couldn't chase down the right cast bullet combo for it. I'm sure it was there, but I couldnt' quite find it.