.38-55 brass

[eka]

Anyone form .38-55 cases from another cartridge? If so, what steps worked best for you?

[McLintock]

I've done 3 to 400 cases from 30-30 and 32 Winchester Special cases and they've worked great with all kinds of loads, both hot and mild. I used a process written up in an old Handloader Magazine issue (May-June 1976) by Ken Waters who use to do the Pet Loads articles. For 38-55 cases he said to take either of the above cases and put about 15 gr of Bullseye in it (I also used Titegroup when I ran out of Bullseye), make paper wads out of cut up paper kitchen hand towels, and tightly pack one in the neck of the case, the tighter the better fill out you get when you set it off. I held the gun vertically to get the powder against the primer and set 'em off. Some cases will have a few wrinkles but they iron out with a couple of loadings. Size them after fire forming and then trim all to a standard length. I made the first ones about 4-5 years ago and are still using them, some after at least 15-20 loadings. The only ones I've lost are while loading and catching the edge of the neck with the neck expander die in my Dillon 550 and putting a big crunch in the case, no split necks or anything like that. They come out a little shorter than the old 38-55 standard of 2.126 or so, but are pretty close to the present day standard of 2.080". Good luck,
McLintock

[eka]

McLintock,

That's exactly what I was looking for. The way I figure it, thats less than $4.00 worth of Bullseye per 100 cases. .30-30 cases are almost half the cost of .38-55. Worth thinking about.

One more thought. Were the necks too thick? I thought you may have to turn them some.

Thanks

[45nut]

I have run a 357 expander from my 357 mag dies in the neck of 30-30 cases and then up to 375 cal without issue using imperial size wax to lube the inside of the case neck to help it along. That leaves a small area that is kinda wasp waisted that blows out on the first firing also. It helps to have multiple die sets on hand to work your way around issues. Of course I am a nut,I reload for everything I have excepting the rimfires. No issues with case neck thickness,ymmv.

[drinks]

I have expanded .220Swift cases to .30 in one easy step by annealing the neck and shoulder, using 4.5gr Universal, a tissue wad, fill case with corn meal , put another piece of tissue on top the cornmeal and fire.
Really does not take much powder with cornmeal or grits, if you are too far north to know what they, use cream of wheat.

[McLintock]

eka,
No the necks don't come out too thick, or at least I haven't had to do any turning and Ken Waters didn't mention it in his article. He also mentioned that expanding the brass by neck sizing up with expander dies tended to end up with shorter brass than by the fire forming method, but it also worked.
McLintock

[drinks]

Expanding the neck thins it, sizing down makes it thicker, that is when you may need to inside or outside ream the neck.

[beagle]

Here's a slightly different recipe for .30/30 to .38-55.

11.0 grains of Unique, 1/4 sheet of TP wadded up over the powder,fill case to mouth with corn meal, tamp slightly with a wooden dowel, add 1/4 sheet of wadded up TP to seal case. Use larger rifle primers.

I've had more consistent luck with the muzzle pointing straight up. I do get strange looks at the range as I'm sneaking the barrel out from under the roof pointed straight up and shooting. Keeps the cornmeal from coming down on you though.

Any old looking or discolored cases, aneal or they'll split.

Most will blow out pretty well. If they don't, you can expand the result with a .375 M die and load and they'll fireform right out on the next firing. I normally trim to 2.00" which is a little short for the .38-55. Most cases will have a slightly longer portion and this trimming is usually necessary.

FC cases seem to last forever made this way.

I'd expect about 5% failures during this process due to splits./beagle

[woody1]

Another........I make 375 Winchesters from 30-30. I use 6-7 grains Red Dot or similar, fill with cornmeal and cap with a plug of boolit lube or parafin and shoot.
Regards, Woody