Sizing 38wcf -- reducing 44wcf ?

[August]

I have read that "38-40 cases can readily (sic) be made from 44-40 cases."

If that's true, what do I have to do to my dies in order to accomplish this fete?

It looks like I'm going to have to shorten the sizing die in order to get the shoulder set back properly. Anybody have experience getting the sizing of 38wcf correct????

Thanks!

[Jon K]

August,

My buddy is making his 38-40 brass from 44 Mag brass.

Jon

[Don McDowell]

It's true 38wcf came about by necking down 44wcf.
All you need do is lube the 44-40's real well,and run into the 38-40 size die. Check for correct length , load and shoot.

[martinibelgian]

BUT you probably will have to shorten the sizing die to set back the shoulder to where it fits - I know I had to. I still routinely convert 44-40 brass to 38-40 - just remember to use a VERY small amount of lube, it is a quite delicate case and will develop lube dents quickly.

[Morgan Astorbilt]

They size down so easily, that when I get any .44-40 cases mixed in with my .38-40's, they go through my Hornady ProJector without me even being aware of it. We're talking about a .401 vs a .429. Not that much difference. This happens quite frequently, as they're both popular calibers in the Cowboy Action matches I attend.
Morgan

[barefooter175]

OK, why bother? The supply of .38-40 brass has increased to the point where it is readily available. Unless an eccentric aunt died and left you 1000's of .44-40 brass, it does not make sense to reform into .38 WCF. FWIW...

[August]

Well the reason I asked the question was because of an upcoming twelve stage, lost brass match.

It turned out to be not-so-easy to size the cases. I had to take a number of steps to be successful. First, I had to anneal the brass, then I had to resize the cases first to 44-40, and finally to 38-40. I was losing about half the brass before these steps and the loss rate went down to about 10% once I employed a three step process.

Wasn't worth the effort, and, ironically, ended up costing me the match when a load collapsed on the carrier with eight more in the tube. Giving up a minute to the opposition doesn't get ya' in the winner's circle. No sir.

Oh, well, that was my 44-40 to 38-40 adventure. Gettin' myself a load of starline for Christmas.

Cheers.

[martinibelgian]

Sounds like you used too much lube - and usually, annealing isn't needed - or even desireable...
FWIW, I managed to resize in a single step fired 44-40's to 38-40 in a shortened Lee 38-40 resizing die. Only problem was too much lube - I finally ended up lubing lightly only 1 case out of 3 for the reforming job...

[KCSO]

What gun are you shooting this in that factory dies arn't working? Don't size 38-40's from othewr brass Midway and Starline have tons of 38-40 cheap and it isn't worth the problems yo will have if you get a 38-40 in a 44-40 at a match or on the range.

[Don McDowell]

Its always advisable to buy the proper headstamped cases when possible.

Could you expand on the load collapsed on the carrier part a wee bit?

[barefooter175]

Sorry to hear about your problem. I went that route years ago when I had trouble locating .38 WCF brass. Now, it seems, the stuff is everywhere.