MtnHunter
Tinhorn
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Posts: 66
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« on: November 18, 2009, 10:31:15 PM » |
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Please don't think badly of me for this post, I just had to ask....
I was cleaning out my gun room and found 4 boxes of Win 38-55 factory ammo. I no longer have a 38-55 but do have a Marlin 375. Prior to offering it for sale here, I slid a 38-55 fired case into the chamber of the Marlin 375. It slid down and seated completely in the chamber. Extraction and ejection were smooth and without a hitch. I was very surprised. Measuring the fired cases of each, 375 Win was 2.020" and the 38-55 was 2.080". I would have thought the 38-55 far too long to chamber in the 375. Next, I had to try a loaded round. Same result. Both appear to fully chamber without coming anywhere close to the lands. With each type of round, the action appears to lock up normally.
My surprise was surrounding the length of my 375's chamber, easily accepting a 38-55 case that is 0.060" inches longer. Have any of you experienced the same thing?
38-55 is loaded much milder. Has anyone fired a 38-55 in a 375 (and willing to admit it here)? Has anyone measured the distance to the lands in their Marlin 375?
Your thoughts?
Dan
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georgeky
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« Reply #1 on: November 18, 2009, 10:48:22 PM » |
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Yep. Newer 38-55 ammo will chamber and fire in the 375. Original spec 38-55 cases probably won't as they are a bit longer than the new factory 38-55 cases.
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papajohn
Site Contributor/High Priest of the Powder Hoarders
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Coastal Missouri
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« Reply #2 on: November 19, 2009, 12:16:43 AM » |
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I'd also be interested in seeing if anyone has problems chambering due to a 38/55 round being too large (bigger diameter bullet). And here I thought most 336's were chambered pretty short. This kinda blows that out of the water.  |
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"A Liberal is a person who will give away everything he doesn't own."
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georgeky
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« Reply #3 on: November 19, 2009, 12:36:25 AM » |
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PJ
I never tried it in a Marlin but have shot several factory 38-55 shells through dad's 94BB 375 and they worked like a charm in it.
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swany
Site Contributor/Esteemed 10th in Command Ruler for Life.
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Howard City, Michigan
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« Reply #4 on: November 21, 2009, 12:02:19 PM » |
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Just for the heck of it I will state what is.
WW factory ammo, bullet dia for 38-55 is .376 this ammo is anemic not much over the speed of sound and not worth the time to use it for any useful purpose in a .375 it will fire and you can kill a deer or other large game with it. The jacket is very thin to obturate in the varying groove dia of most 38-55 chambered guns.
I have torn a factory WW 38-55 down and measured and sectioned the bullet.
Winchester and Marlin rifles chambered for .375 Winchester the groove dia is .376 or larger, this I believe is a SAMMI spec because if it fits someone will shoot it aka it's safe. Older ammo is .100 longer and likely won't chamber easily.
Bottom line, sell em to a 38-55 owner and buy some .375
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Strider
Tinhorn
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« Reply #5 on: November 22, 2009, 10:52:05 PM » |
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If you really want to stir the purests pot...
When I bought my first Marlin .38-55, I had all these questions. I was having a hard time reloading winchester brass and getting the cartridge to chamber. Whereas, .375 reloaded and chambered easily. Reading forums didn't help much as you heard everything from "never fire one in the other; instant death will occur", to "Oh sure, I do it all the time".
My neighbor was a big fan of the cartridge and owned several of each, both in Win and Marlin. He was really into handloading and cast bullets, black powder sillouette, finding old levers and getting them to shoot with his handloads, etc. I was fortunate to learn a thing or two from him before he left this world.
One - You don't really understand the relationship between firearms and their cartridges until you begin handloading for them.
Two - You won't be any good at handloading until you understand that relationship. Experience = understanding.
Anyway, he slugged bores and cast chambers of pretty much all his firearms. He discovered more variation in one firearm to another of the same cartridge than he did between the two different cartridges (.38-55 vs. .375).
The lesson I learned is... When comparing .38-55 to .375 in modern production rifles, chamber dimensions depend more on the individual rifle than what is stamped on the barrel. Go figure.
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Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: first, a right to life; secondly, to liberty; thirdly to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can.
Samuel Adams
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Stone Fence
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« Reply #6 on: November 29, 2009, 07:13:25 AM » |
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As is stated, yes it is perfectly safe to fire modern .38-55 Win factory ammo in a Marlin .375. I've done it hundreds if not thousands of times.
-Stone
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"He that cannot see the hand of God in this is blind, sir- blind!" - Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson ------------------------------------------------ e-mail: david@custombullets.com |
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FredT
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« Reply #7 on: December 19, 2009, 12:23:26 PM » |
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I just wanted to throw this out. We are concerned with bullet diameter vs. groove diameter. I would like to think that most original M375s have MG barrels and cast shooters swear that you must use projectiles that are larger than .375 to make their rifle group well. I agree with that and get 1 inch groups at 100 yards using .379 diameter cast. I wanted to see if my .38-55 cast would shoot well in my M375. It did. I tried my .38-55 load. It chambered fine. Is there any difference if I seat my .375s out further to be just off of the lands or use the.38-55 brass which still keeps the projectile off of the lands? Most (whimpy)factory .38-55 ammo has a diameter of .377. Is that too much to fire in the mighty M375?
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