JES rebore question

[pahermit]

JES will rebore a winchester 94 30-30 to 38-55 or 375.What is the difference between the two ?

[Hickory]

Not a whole lot.
They are basically the same cartridge, but, the 375 operates at higher pressure and velocities and will kick more.
The 38-55 in modern rifle like the Marlins can be loaded at higher pressure and velocities, but, not as high as the 375.

My choice when I had my Marlin rebored, was the 38-55.
I'd consider the 38-55 a better choice in your 94.

[Shawlerbrook]

Also 38 55 brass seems to be a little more available.

[GhostHawk]

I think he would also do .35-30-30 which will be my choice once I get around to packing my WWII era Win 94 up for shipping.

Lets you use existing .30-30 brass, fire form, then reload.
Dies are however probably more expensive.

[Texas by God]

Winchester is silly sometimes. They produce a Very High pressure loading of the 38-55; reduce the bullet diameter to .375" build beefed up Win 94s to handle it. One problem- the .375 will fit and fire in the 38-55! Luckily; hopefully the old generous .379" 38-55 barrels will hold that pressure?
My JES rebore is .375" 3 groove 38-55 and I love it.

[1Hawkeye]

Yes he will just call Jesse and tell him what you want. He's a pleasure to work with all he needs is your barreled action and a bank money order for 250. Jesse does great work with a fast turnaround time my rolling block was gone 3 weeks from when I left it at the post office to when it was back home. I bet.38-55 is his most popular rebore.

[SvenLindquist]

JES has done 3 fore me and #4 just was logged in there. Ruger No. 1 from 30-06 to 35 Whelen.

Concur that 38-55 is the way to go.

Hint: if you don't want big "Xs" stamped over the old chamber designation, file it off, polish the area to match the existing finish, and all you'll see is the new 38-55 designation.

[pietro]

.

Yep, Jes will do the rebore, as it's a fairly common conversion, with no other work required.

I used to fire .38-55's in my 1978 .375 BigBore94 (with Kentucky elevation) as a mid-range loading for close work on Whitetails.

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[pahermit]

I understand the difference between the 38-55 and the 375.What I am asking is what does JES do differently when he rebores the rifle 375 verses 38-55.I had 3 38-55 rebores done by JES recently,but if I ask him to rebore my rifle to 375 how would that be different from my 38-55's?

[1Hawkeye]

The chamber dimensions are the only difference.

[725]

As I understand it, to get the benefit out of a .375 Win, you really have to crank up the cartridge. Although the chamber dimensions may be slight, they are important. Like most here, I'm a .38-55 fan.

[ReloaderFred]

If you get the .375 Winchester rebore like I did, you can download it to .38-55 specifications, but you can't upload the .38-55 to .375 Winchester specifications. I chose the .375 Winchester rebore for my Marlin 336C, simply because I wanted the option of being able to lot it hot, or not.

Starline is now making .375 Winchester brass, but I have a full factory case of original Winchester brass, so I haven't had the need to try the Starline.

https://www.starlinebrass.com/brass-cases/375-Win/

Hope this helps.

Fred

[cwtebay]

I think he would also do .35-30-30 which will be my choice once I get around to packing my WWII era Win 94 up for shipping.

Lets you use existing .30-30 brass, fire form, then reload.
Dies are however probably more expensive.I don't know if this is "proper" but I reload for my 35-30 with 35 Remington dies of the neck sizing variety. I took some time messing with it to get it right, but <$30 for the Lee set versus $175 +/- for the correct dies drove me to give it a try. Seems to function just fine once the cases are formed.

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[FergusonTO35]

Buffalo Bore had an article on their site awhile back explaining that their .38-55 +P load is safe to fire in any .375 WCF or smokeless powder proofed .38-55. Also, they could not find any problems using the brass from both cartridges (but not load data!) interchangeably other than the .38-55 brass was usually more accurate due to placing the boolit closer to the rifling.

I currently have a beater 94 in layaway jail. Has some rust in the bore, so it may be heading to JES after I try it out.

[Texas by God]

I don't know if this is "proper" but I reload for my 35-30 with 35 Remington dies of the neck sizing variety. I took some time messing with it to get it right, but <$30 for the Lee set versus $175 +/- for the correct dies drove me to give it a try. Seems to function just fine once the cases are formed.





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I have wondered how that WOULDN'T work before and I'm glad it works for you. Thanks for sharing.

[AnthonyB]

Very timely question for me. I recently (recently? That was 8 months ago!) bought a JES rebored 375 Win marked 336 Marlin from a gentleman here but have not yet got a roundtoit on ammo. I ordered the long 38-55 (2.125) brass from Starline and it chambers with no problem, so I think I am set for loading but have not slugged the barrel. What size does the group suggest for a 375 marked JES barrel?
Tony

[FergusonTO35]

Here's the article from Buffalo Bore on the topic:

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=175

[Texas by God]

Jessie sent a hand written note with load data and the suggestion to use .375" jacketed or .376-.377" cast in my 38-55. I tried as-cast .380" and they would not chamber. I made a .375" sizer from a .17 Remington fl die and a member here made a .377" die for me that works the best. The only boolit I use is the Lee379255F. Life is good. I'd be out shooting it now but grandson is napping and it's too cold out for this old reptile.

[pietro]

What I am asking is what does JES do differently when he rebores the rifle 375 verses 38-55.

I had 3 38-55 rebores done by JES recently,but if I ask him to rebore my rifle to 375 how would that be different from my 38-55's?




Since you're a good customer of his, why not ask him & report what you find out ? . :)


.

[FergusonTO35]

Does JES remove the barrel from the rifle to do the job, or does it remain attached? Reason I ask is, my beater 94 has the typical front sight pointing at 1 o'clock like most cheap 94's do. If he was removing the barrel anyway, it would be no special trick to index it correctly afterward.

[C-dubb]

Also 38 55 brass seems to be a little more available.

Starline now produces 375 Winchester brass

[kaiser]

Some good information, but I think what is so confusing about the .375 Winchester and the 38/55 is the 38/55 was a "Ballard" target rifle cartridge originally, as well as one chambered for the 1894. The bullets varied from .377 to .381 in the Ballard and cast bullet companies catered to just about all those sizes (and still do) with most jacketed bullets made for the 38/55 at .377 (most early factory and Barnes component bullets). I had a 1894 "Frontiersman" commemorative and it slugged .3785, but would shoot even .375 jacketed (if you loaded them behind enough pressure) and cast loads of .380 accurately, but not .381 or any less than .378 (I never tried Black Powder!). The .375 Winchester was originally designed for a .375 diameter bullet and had a "thicker" case, according to the factory, housed in a stronger '94 action called the "Big Bore" (same design as for the .356 and .307 Win.). Those last two cartridges were near "ballistic twins" to the .308 and .358 Winchester cartridges but had a "Rim" and loaded with "flat nose" bullets to accommodate the '94's magazine "tube". I also owned a .356Win at one time, and you could load it using a .358 die set just like the "Rimless" version. Starline brass company in Missouri actually sells two versions of the 38/55 - one "shorter" than the other ("Long"), which evidently is meant for the "Ballard shooter". The 38/55 was a "pain" (IMO) to find a good load because of all the variations offered in bullet size, but was fun to shoot with low "recoil" and capable of outstanding accuracy. Bottom line, I would pick the 38/55 with the .375 diameter barrel, just because it is at least standardized by JES (whom I do not know!) and use 38/55 brass that is readily available. You could easily get by with using cast RN bullets designed for the .375 H&H cartridge and Sierra's 200gr Jacketed bullet, which I found accurate even in my "bigger bore". I would, however, NOT use the data for the .375 Winchester round and heed the "Factories Warning (!) that they are designed to be used in their "Big Bore" model '94's that are made to contain the 50,000psi pressure they were capable of producing! Just my .02 and experience of dealing with some of the "unknowns" of the "Wildcat World". Sorry for the long post.

[dragon813gt]

I think he would also do .35-30-30 which will be my choice once I get around to packing my WWII era Win 94 up for shipping.

Lets you use existing .30-30 brass, fire form, then reload.
Dies are however probably more expensive.

I had a Marlin converted to 356 Winchester to avoid the die issue. Standard 358 Win dies work. Mine feeds converted LC brass, no semi-rim, w/ no issues. Case conversion is as simple as it gets. You’re necking up the brass like you would for the 35-30/30 conversion.

[AnthonyB]

356 Win is my favorite, but I haven't built a 20 inch 358 Win bolt gun yet. My BB 94 Winchester and Marlin 336 ER will both run 308 brass necked up but will not share necked size brass. Hats off to Beagle again for finding that Marlin for me.....
Tony

[Lethemgo]

This is 38/55 brass cut to 375 I got from a buddy. Was going to use it in my 38-55 but it's moving to another guys house....sold it. So guessing there's not much difference.


237903

[Texas by God]

My Redding dies are labeled with both cartridges on the box.

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[FergusonTO35]

Looks to me that, unless you are using actual .375 loads, there is no reason not to use .38-55 brass as long as it chambers in your rifle. According to Buffalo Bore, it is totally possible to achieve .375 performance in .38-55 brass while staying within the pressure spec of the latter.