[nedclampet]

Congrats Brian on some pretty nice shooting there and the Marlin looks mighty fine also. eh

 

[Flyin Brian]

Greetings Brian
That is a good photo of a fine rifle. Looks like with a little tweeking that Trail boss load will be a keeper.
I would think that rifle's throat is not to much more than .382 by the way it is shooting. Hard to tell without a throat slug. But it is nice when a new to you barrel will print on paper.

Now a task... Using one of your fired cases but not resized yet.. how loose in the fired case neck is one of your cast bullets your are shooting ?
Would you call it a snug fit ? Does the bullet easily drop into the fired case ?
This will give you an idea how fat the chamber neck and throat is. Once again the closer we can match those diameters especially using smokeless the better the accuracy will be.
I have a 44WCF that demands a .434 diameter bullet with smokeless. With 3F BP and a soft cast bullet .432 works OK.

Mike, I got home kind of late last night but I found time to load up my 28 pieces of brass again in the hopes that I can get to the range today. I tried dropping a bullet in 3 of my fired cases and it will not go in at all. I can turn it around and poke the nose in, but it stops at the bands. I would imagine this indicates the chamber is fairly tight?

Brian

 

[Flyin Brian]

Looks like you are in the zone far as shooting is concerned and have a very fine looking Marlin.

Two things I will say on your loading.

1. First case looks like the crimp is heavy compared to the others. That might be because that case is longer. Make sure they are all the same length, you will appreciate that later.

2. This is your first loading and my old geezer eyes thinks I see a slight bullet bulge in the cases with seated bullets. Nothing wrong with it, but if you are full length re sizing and bottoming out the die you may be sizing it too much. If I am seeing that bulge from the bullet, back off your sizing die a little. No need to have the case a lot smaller than the bullet that low in the case.

The 38-55 is a tapered case.

Cowboy dies are a better set of dies than I acquired with my 38-55 I had Lee dies which are made for .375Winchester/38-55 my first loads looked like some one inserted a .40 cal bullet in the case.

Have a good day and enjoy that fine looking old timer.

Hi Swany,

I appreciate any advice I can get. I believe the appearance of too much crimp is an optical illusion, as those cases have not been crimped yet I did notice the bullet bulge though, and I was not sure if that was normal or not. I think one of the factors affecting that is I am using .380 sized boolits, so they are probably going to bulge the case no matter what I do. I did heed your advice and backed the sizing die out approximately one turn and sized my empty brass last night. I noticed as I was getting ready to load the cases that I could still see the bulge after they were sized and prior to seating bullets. I doubt it is a problem, just noted it as I thought it was interesting.

 

[Flyin Brian]

Flyin Brian,

I'm sure you are going to get all kinds of good advise on your loading. Set your loading routine and stick too it.

Just remember: SAFETY FIRST AND FORMOST.

My little piece of advise is based on 40 years of loading.

After you clean, size and prime the brass. Turn the brass upside down (Primer end up) in your brass holder. After you throw the powder then of course put the brass back in the holder primer down. Seat your bullet and crimp.


If you will make this a part of your loading routine you will never experience a double charge of powder.

I have seen guns after firing a double load of powder and believe me it's nasty.

Good luck and enjoy your new found hobby. Your going to love it.
djh

HI DJ,

Funny you should mention this, as this is something I normally do in all of my loading, but this new case tray that I bought is kind of odd in that the cases don't sit very well upside down, so I set them all neck up this time and it just didn't feel right to me

I do like to follow a regular procedure, and I prefer to do develop a series of steps and follow those steps the same way every time. I am currently charging all my cases with powder at one bench, and then when they are all charged, I use a flashlight to verify the powder and ensure the charges are all the same level in the case. After I check them twice, I move the tray over to the loading bench where my press is located and seat the bullets. It's worked pretty well for me so far.

 

[missionary5155]

Howdy Brian
If the bullets just spin in a fired case (but not loose) that is very good. I would continue loading that powder increasing it a few tenths, fire 10 and so forth. If you get a group with all shots touching I would smile a bunch and enjoy some shooting.
If I had that rifle it would become a life long keeper. People will offer the moon but hang on to it. You may never get another one with a tight chamber.
If you have not cleaned the barrel or muzzle see if there is evidence of lube at the muzzle. Some bullets do not carry enough for some particular barrels.

 

[djh]

HI DJ,

Funny you should mention this, as this is something I normally do in all of my loading, but this new case tray that I bought is kind of odd in that the cases don't sit very well upside down, so I set them all neck up this time and it just didn't feel right to me

I do like to follow a regular procedure, and I prefer to do develop a series of steps and follow those steps the same way every time. I am currently charging all my cases with powder at one bench, and then when they are all charged, I use a flashlight to verify the powder and ensure the charges are all the same level in the case. After I check them twice, I move the tray over to the loading bench where my press is located and seat the bullets. It's worked pretty well for me so far.

That's good too hear. You got it down, just don't very from your routine and SAFE YOU WILL BE. HAVE FUN.

djh

 

[SgtDog0311]

Flyin Brian, to continue down Missionary Mike's path of trying a bullet in your fired case, I have to bell mine a bit to get past the memory on that crimp (for lack of a better description). At first glance mine won't fit either. But once I take a plumb bob to the case mouth and apply a bit of pressure for a slight bell, then try again, my bullet, both gas checked and plain base slide in and will spin. There is not much discernable movement or slop otherwise but it turns easily. Might give it a try to see if that changes anything.

 

[Sparky civil]

I like the steps DJH laid out. It's the only way I feel comfortable loading those light loads. Flip it over pour in the powder and seat the bullet one at a time. If a shadow of doubt crosses my mind I pour it out, check it and do it again. I did get lucky with my 38-55 high wall. As mentioned above My projectiles push into the fired cases after a slight bell with just a little firm thumb pressure. After a slight crimp to eliminate the bell they shoot great. Sure saves on brass prep. Nice rifle you've got there and a shooter too. Good thread too.

 

[Strider]

Trail Boss is my go to powder in the .38-55 and a lot of other cartridges.

I can't imagine how you would double charge it. It was designed specifically to avoid that. It is true, it doesn't like to be compressed. Otherwise, you can fill the case to the base of the bullet without issue. I get best result in any cartridge about 1/10th of an inch below the seated bullet. The exact charge will vary depending on what length brass you are using in your .38-55.

Here is a pdf. from IMR outlining how to use it with any cartridge.

http://www.imrpowder.com/PDF/Trail-Boss-data.pdf

 

[Chris623]

OK, I know you guys are waiting for the big update... HERE IT IS!!!

I just got back from the test session at the range and I think it was a huge success!! I am smiling right now for sure.

My new favorite rifle is really a great shooter and everything worked perfect. I started on the 50 yard line, shoulder to shoulder with the AR-15 snipers
I shot the first round with a 6 o'clock hold and it hit the black maybe 2" low, so I fired 10 rounds in total:


Then I decided to move it out to 100 Yards and try it again. The first shot hit about 12" low, so it would appear this is a pretty slow moving projectile!!!
I raised the tang sight 2 full turns and tried again. I ran maybe 10 rounds through it and then lowered it 1/4 turn and shot this 5 shot group @ 100yds:


I finished off by shooting 3 rds of factory Winchester 38-55 JHP so I would end up with an even number of empty cases. Those 3 shots are at the top of the target.

Here is my final photo, one of this beauty sitting on the bench, resting between shooting sessions!!

Well, I have to say I'm envious! Darned impressive results...........and just imagine what you'll fine tune it to! Will make those "black rifle" guys squirm, for sure! :biggrin: My first results were very disappointing. I started out with Unique............which turned out uniquely crummy. (sorry about the pun) I'll have to try Trail Boss and see what I get.

 

[Flyin Brian]

Ok, here's my latest update. I've been playing around with unique between 8 & 10 grains, as well as the IMR3031 I finally located.
I've actually been to the range 3 times since I started this thread last week, and every trip has been a successful one.

Here is a video of my son shooting the 38-55 at 100 yds and nailing my steel target 5 out of 5 times! Unfortunately the guy next to us was shooting too, so it's hard to pick out which shot is what.

Marlin 1893 38-55 @ 100 yards:

 

[SgtDog0311]

Says "this video is private".

 

[Chris623]

Sorry, but "This video is private" is all I see.

 

[Flyin Brian]

Sorry, I fixed it.

 

[Big Al1]

A LOT more gratifying than punching holes in paper!! Always makes me giggle like a school girl!! I really enjoy hitting the gong at 200+ yards shooting my Trapdoor Springfields, that's music!!

 

[GaCop]

Lookin good! :congrats: