Harry O
01-06-2010, 02:46 PM
on loading the 38WCF for handguns. It was authored by Mr. Venturino. I agree with everything he said about it. I started out with 44-40's, but since every one of them had dimensional problems (sometimes using .44 Mag parts and sometimes not), I turned to the 38-40. They are made right. I have been using the 38-40 for CAS and rarely miss a shot (my speed -- or lack of it -- is an entirely different matter and is not the fault of the caliber).
I would like to add three things to what was in the article. Like his friend "Schrapnel", I took a little off the bottom of my 38-40 sizing die, in order to size enough of the neck so that it would chamber freely in all my guns. It does not take much. I had to take off double on my 44-40 dies to get them to work.
Because the 38-40 dies are steel, case lube is needed. It quickly builds up and causes dents in the case (like was said in the article). The dents iron out when shot, but there is a memory of the dent. The next time you size it, the dent will return in EXACTLY the same place. It only takes 2 or 3 reloads for it to crack there. The solution is to use a soft rag sprayed with WD-40 to wipe the case before resizing. And, no, I have never had a problem with the primers while doing that. You only need a little lube and that is enough. It does not build up enough to cause dents. In addition, it make is easy to see when a dent has cracked through. The WD-40 spreads through the crack and is visible as a darker spot inside the case.
Unfortunately, you can still get dents even if you only use WD-40 lube. However, I have found that they are usually caused by pushing the case into the die too fast. At a normal speed, I will get dents about half the time. I learned that by slowing down my speed, there are a lot fewer dents. I bring the case up to touch in the die, then SLOWLY press it in. By slowly I mean 4 or 5 seconds from first touch to bottoming out. My theory is that the brass has time to yield instead of taking the easy way out by buckling. The important thing is to keep the handle moving steadily, but slowly. Don't start and stop. Doing it this way I very rarely have dents anymore.
I would like to get one of the double action 38-40's like he pictured, but every one I have run across is considered a rare collectors item.
I would like to add three things to what was in the article. Like his friend "Schrapnel", I took a little off the bottom of my 38-40 sizing die, in order to size enough of the neck so that it would chamber freely in all my guns. It does not take much. I had to take off double on my 44-40 dies to get them to work.
Because the 38-40 dies are steel, case lube is needed. It quickly builds up and causes dents in the case (like was said in the article). The dents iron out when shot, but there is a memory of the dent. The next time you size it, the dent will return in EXACTLY the same place. It only takes 2 or 3 reloads for it to crack there. The solution is to use a soft rag sprayed with WD-40 to wipe the case before resizing. And, no, I have never had a problem with the primers while doing that. You only need a little lube and that is enough. It does not build up enough to cause dents. In addition, it make is easy to see when a dent has cracked through. The WD-40 spreads through the crack and is visible as a darker spot inside the case.
Unfortunately, you can still get dents even if you only use WD-40 lube. However, I have found that they are usually caused by pushing the case into the die too fast. At a normal speed, I will get dents about half the time. I learned that by slowing down my speed, there are a lot fewer dents. I bring the case up to touch in the die, then SLOWLY press it in. By slowly I mean 4 or 5 seconds from first touch to bottoming out. My theory is that the brass has time to yield instead of taking the easy way out by buckling. The important thing is to keep the handle moving steadily, but slowly. Don't start and stop. Doing it this way I very rarely have dents anymore.
I would like to get one of the double action 38-40's like he pictured, but every one I have run across is considered a rare collectors item.