What length Starline .38-55 brass in a Win Legendary Frontiersman?

[Gray Fox]

I'm trading for a Win .38-55 Legendary Frontiersman. Do any of you know which of the Starline brass should be used, the 2.08" or the 2.125"? Thanks for your input. GF

[FergusonTO35]

Depends on just how Legendary you are trying to be!

:killingpc

[Texas by God]

The shorter ones.

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[EDG]

Your rifle can answer that for you. Measure it and you will know. None of us know for sure.
An easy way to check would be to flare a 2.125 case so that the belled case mouth drags in the chamber.
Then chamber the empty case. Carefully pull it out and see if the belled end has been crimped by the end of the chamber.


I'm trading for a Win .38-55 Legendary Frontiersman. Do any of you know which of the Starline brass should be used, the 2.08" or the 2.125"? Thanks for your input. GF

[pworley1]

I use 30 30 brass in mine. They work just fine.

[indian joe]

I'm trading for a Win .38-55 Legendary Frontiersman. Do any of you know which of the Starline brass should be used, the 2.08" or the 2.125"? Thanks for your input. GF

I have a top eject Oliver F Winchester also brass and loaded rounds bought at the same time those cases are all 2.083 (or close) the loaded ammo - original Winchester stuff - is 2.502 OAL ina 2.083 case .

375 BB cases are 2.025
Lyman 3rd edition Cast Bullet Handbook gives the (38/55) case length as 2.1295.

Expanded 30/30 worked fine in my 375 BB cant remember the length but thinking they ended up a tad short

[Jedman]

I don't own Win 94 in 38-55 but I built a handi rifle barrel using a Win. 94 AE barrel chambered in 375 Win. The chamber will except fired Winchester brand 2.080 length 38-55 brass.
Starline 38-55 has thinner necks than Winchester brass.

Jedman

[Pioneer2]

Ask Winchester or try and chamber a long loaded round.The 1894's take the long brass don't know about the modern 94's ? The extinct Dominion,CIL and Imperial Canadian 38-55 ammo was all long .Win factory used the short.

[BFJ]

I use .208 in mine. No troubles.

[northmn]

Saami calls for the 2.08 case length and probably a newer rifle would use it. I see a lot agonize over brass length for the 38-55. There's a contributor on the Marlin site that owns several 38-55's and thinks the whole issue is a non issue. I have no complaints about the 2.08 in my Marlin Cowboy and as I shoot it with receiver sights it shoots better than I can hold. So for me its a non issue. The other individual uses a high power scope to develop his loads and is an accuracy buff and still feels that worrying about brass length is a non issue.

The whole thing started by an article written by Starline brass. Most think that he longer stuff is best used in antiques and single shots.

DEP

[Gray Fox]

I went to the source, Starline, and got a nice email from Mr. Hunter Pilant, their chief ballistician, and he recommended the short 2.08" case for lever action rifles. GF

[1Hawkeye]

Its my understanding any current production .38-55 (say post WW2) has the shorter chamber as well as the .375" bore and the lawman came out in the late 70's. So I would go for the 2.08" cases and expect the bore to slug .375"-.376".

[northmn]

The long Starline brass costs more. I tried the same load in Starline and Winchester cases and got almost identical results over the chronograph. I also had a few Winchester cases for my 38-55 and like to use them.

This will probably draw some comments but you have a 94 Winchester. In 38-55 with handloads it is a very good rifle for game on the heavy side over a 30-30. Black bear and elk as an example. It is not a bench rest rifle designed to fire super sub MOA 5 shot groups but a great hunting tool. Winchesters tend to give problems with 5 shot groups. Knew a gun smith that sighted in deer rifles for customers and would take the 94's out and shoot one or two shots out of them, let them cool and shoot again. While some are not so sensitive, others tend to walk. If you pay attention to bullet hardness, and good loading discipline the case length does not matter.

DEP

[Gray Fox]

I drove a 100 miles to meet the fine young man to pick the rifle up yesterday and it is a beauty. He told me the bore slugged at .379. It's had 5 rounds through it. I've got 100 pieces of the 2.08 Starline brass and and a Williams 5D aperture sight for it coming from Brownells. I also have 300 255 grain .380 diameter FP coated boolits coming from Bear Creek Supply in CA. I talked with the owner/maker and he said the alloy is somewhat soft, but that at a max of about 1,600 fps they flatten nicely and do the job on deer. Based on Ken Water's Pet Loads I think 30.0 of 3031 should just abut produce that, or close enough. I'm hoping it will also be a nice lightweight woods walking rifle and caliber for hogs, too. I'm considering making something like the Gun chaps they used to sell out of a tanned deer hide I have to protect the buttstock and forend. Any ideas along that line? I'll post some pics in a couple weeks when I've had time to assemble some loads and get to a range. The closest to me is 90 miles. I may also try some with KIK fffg powder to see how it shoots. I'm thinking a .36 Wonder wad under the boolit with a thin card wad over the powder. We'll have to see how it works. GF

[Prodigal Son]

To answer your question my Legendary Frontiersman can use the long brass! I have some old Imperial brass from Canada that works fine in it!