what 38-40 mold

[corvette8n]

Looking for mold recommendations for an 1892 Winchester carbine in 38-40
uses would be plinking and maybe deer at close range.

[6pt-sika]

I have one old Marlin 1894 in 38-40 and I also only have one mould for it !

I purchased the RCBS 180 grain plain base Cowboy Mould !

It's called a 40-180C in the Midway catalog ! The midway number is 513-967 !

They are about $60 plus shipping !

[Harry O]

The standard 40143 does not work well in a lever action unless you use black powder. It does not have a crimping groove. You have to crimp over the curve of the nose. That does not provide any resistance to the lever action spring pushing the bullet back into a case that is only partially filled with smokeless powder. The neck is thin and does not provide enough gripping power to stop that. I know because I have tried all of this.

I have a 401452 that has a crimping groove. It is a SWC style that works well with both smokeless and BP.

[405]

corvette8n,
I don't know the variety of your Win 92 but the bullet I've had outstanding success with is one sold by Desperado Bullets in Dayton WA. I don't cast for the 38-40 so buy from them. I use their 180gr .401 bullet soft cast from 20:1 alloy. I load that bullet in the 38-40 for- a Win 92, Win 73 and Colt Bisley. I load over a very mild charge of Trailboss so it may not be the best for added velocity for hunting but it is an excellent plinker and very accurate target shooter. I believe it is a traditional style 38-40 with a crimp groove but I don't know the # or manuf. of the mold they use.

Here's a pic of the bullet if it helps in deciding on mold.

[runfiverun]

that bullet is a magma engineering mold it is the one i use in my 92 73 and pistols
works very well with unique and starline brass winchester brass was weird with rcbs dies
it loads easy and runs through levers nicely, but dous have a bevel base [if that bothers you]


runfiverun

[KirkD]

I have one old Marlin 1894 in 38-40 and I also only have one mould for it !

I purchased the RCBS 180 grain plain base Cowboy Mould !

It's called a 40-180C in the Midway catalog ! The midway number is 513-967 !

They are about $60 plus shipping !

What diameter does the bullet drop from the RCBS mould at? I'd like a .402 bullet for my 38-40.

[hydraulic]

This old Ideal works well for my .38-40 SA Colt 1st generation with 2F.

[KirkD]

Men, I need to get my hands on a 2-cavity mould so that I can start feeding my Winchester Model 1892 38 WCF. I want a crimp groove, and I don't want a weight less than 180 grains with wheel weights. I don't like bevel base bullets, so am not too excited by the Magma bullet. I'm considering the following:

1. RCBS 401" 40-180 Grn 2-Cavity Cowboy mould

2. SAECO 190 grn RNFP 2-cavity mould w/crimp groove

Does anyone have experience with these moulds and feeding the finished bullet through a Model 1892?

[Le Loup Solitaire]

I've been using the Lyman 401043. Its true that the 38-40 is a blackpowder cartridge and unles you use BP, there is going to be a problem with this particular boolit. I am loading for an 1873 WIn and the first problem I ran into was that the boolit when crimped behind the front band....was too long to feed from the mag. Trying to seat it deeper made it prone to telescoping due to the tension of the mag spring. I got it to crimp on the very front edge of the front band by using the Lee factory crimp die. That worked...everything fed and nothing telescoped. But I noticed that the factory crimp being put on, was really working hard on the brass, i.e. the case mouth itself. 38-40 brass is known for being thin-walled and working it with what amounted to a multi spaced crimp directly on the mouth would surely shorten its life. I found an alternate solution that consisted of making the case a bit shorter by trimming enough of the length to allow the mouth to crimp just behind the front band. The loaded round as such feeds normally and does not telescope because of the mag spring pressure. I use the same rounds in a Ruger Blackhawk chambered for the 38-40. The case seats on the rim just as it does in the 73 and the crimp serves to prevent the boolit jumping forward due to recoil. I've been loading 19 grains of 4227 which from the Blackhawk..shows up on the Richter Scale, but the grouping is good from both guns. LLS

[KirkD]

LLS, thank you for that info. Sounds like you've solved the no-crimp groove problem. I'm already planning to get the Lee factory crimp, mostly because they say that seating and crimping in one operation can buckle the thin 38-40 brass. I use the Lee factory crimp for other cartridges and have been happy with it.

[softpoint]

I have an old Ideal mold I got in a trade that I have never used, I kind of want to try it in my 10mm, It is marked 40043. It has two grooves, looks a lot like the bullet pictured above, but the upper groove lookes like a lube groove, but I suppose it could be used for a crimp groove. It is not a bevel base. Someone here is probably familiar with this mold and could tell you if it would work for your purpose. I've seen a couple of these for sale sinceI aquired this one, you may be able to find one.

[Don McDowell]

Kirk I just got thru running a batch thru my new RCBS 180 mold , its dropping them at 179grs at .402 diameter cast from wheelweights.
I had no trouble crimping them into ww and wra cases just using the roll crimp in the seating die, hard enough to not be able to dislodge them without using the bullet puller .
They also shot pretty well from the Bisley clone, but more testing is warranted as the front sight is needing to meet mr file if different loads don't raise the point of impact a goodly amount.