I have the H&R 38/55 rifle too. I've been shooting cast bullets using the Lee 379-250-RF mold. It does drop bullets at .382 diameter. I was shooting them as is, the rifle shot them well even oversized. I noticed the seating die was shaving the bullets so I removed the seating stem and drove bullets through the die in effect sizing them to .380. I was surprised- it worked well!

I shoot seven grains of Unique or Red Dot. The rifle is a spectacular shooter!

Gents,
Just got my hands on the Lee 250RF-379 mould. My alloy drops at 380-381. Shoots very well in my Marlin 336CB. I do have a chambering problem however with a too tight neck.
Seems that the slugged bore is .379, but the chamber is set up for 375. Annoying, but I'm polishing it out slowly.
Running at 1700-1800fps with some development loads, I water drop and use a tumble lube variation.
One of the best Lee moulds I've ever had, was dropping lovely boolits within the first dozen. Open and out they drop. I'll have to get a Lee 'custom' sizer/checker die for it, and I'll stick with .380.
Cheers,
R*2

R2,

And here I thought I so smart!! Hope it works out for you.

Pat

Pat,
Wellllll, you win some, and some just don't work out.
1830fps is just a lil' too much for my Lee 250gr plain base boolit. Rx10 and Fed 210M primers are a good combination, but accuracy went to hell and gone as the barrel started to lead.
The reloading sequence is working great, rounds feed and chamber beautifully, definitely gonnna' have to get the Saeco GC mould, #373. 2200fps out of my 444Marlin is no problem with checks, but I've clearly reached a limit with the PB in the 38-55.
Cheers,
R*2

R2,

1830 is pretty fast for a PB bullet and I'm sure you're not surprised accuracy fell apart and the bore leaded. I use 10.5 grs of Unique in my Winchester and while I never ran it over a chronograph to see what it was doing it sure is nice to shoot. I'm a sissy when it comes to recoil. I tip the barrel up to settle the powder against the primer but since I'm just shooting off the bench at paper and don't want to mess around with a filler and it's no big deal, unless your range doesn't allow raising the muzzle then it's a BIG DEAL.

Speaking of leading. I've tried everything under the sun to get it out and up to this point have'nt found anything as good as a piece of that Lead/Carbon Wipe cloth that Outers and Birchwood Casey sells wrapped around an undersize brush until it's a fairly tight fit in the bore to remove it. I use a 6.5 brush for the .30 and a .22 brush for the 6.5. I've been using it for years in my bench guns and it doesn't do any damage to the bore as far as I can tell and no matter how black the wipe is as long as it isn't dried out it still works.

The way I do it is to push the Lead Wipe patch through the bore twice and then follow it up with two patches on Ed's Red and a couple of dry patches. You don't need to put anything on the Lead Wipe cloth and it might cut down on it's effectiveness if you did, don't know because I never did it.

It's been a while since I stopped by here but you've peaked my interest in how the Marlin is going to shoot so if you don't mind would you keep me informed.

Pat

Pat,
Haven't tried the Outer's product. I managed to pick up a freebie sample of Kroil yesterday, and that seems to be thin and penetrative enough to get under the lead. I wrap paper towel around a worn out brush and just keep on patching until I get it clean. In serious instances, I've been known to use OOOO steel wool, (I can feel the shudders now), it sure does polish up a bore. Iosso's bore paste is another product that I've used with good success.
My 'standard' cleaner is Marvel Mystery Oil, I think it's essentially a variation on the Ed's Red theme. Thin ATF, and it has a bit of spearmint oil apparently. I avoid silicone like the plague.
I'll cut back on the 250gr velocity, it was certainly shooting well at 1700fps. I'm really enjoying the cartridge, and the Marlin is lovely to shoot. Baby brother to the 444, and after that and the 45/70, the recoil seems negligble. I'll keep you posted. ().
Cheers,
R*2

I tend to run my NEF at 1100 fps due to the fantastic accuracy the rifle produces at that speed. (I also shoot a lot of full case loads of IMR7383 but I won't discuss it with all the panic mongering on 7383 going on around here.)

GMDR did extensive load work on several calibers at subsonic speeds, .375 38-55 among them

http://www.gmdr.com/lever/375w240_dat.htm

I've been using Laser Cast .380 in my H&R and Marlin with good results using 2400 also and even Unique for great shooting mild loads. My favorite was Mid Kansas but they are out of business, you might try Eldorado Bullets also.

Boy, my Lee mold is a fatty. Runs about .383 with wheelweights. Wondering if I should send it back.