Whit Spurzon
09-26-2010, 09:04 AM
Starline finally did a run on the 38-55 2.125" brass and it arrived yesterday. [smilie=p: My curiosity got the best of me and I ran down to the shop to check it out.
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/Pathfinder/starlinebrass.jpg
A friend and I split an order of 500 - tried to bump it up to 1,000 but they didn't have the inventory... :|
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/Pathfinder/brass.jpg
Starline 2.125 and Winchester 38-55 brass
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/Pathfinder/starline2.jpg
Starline brass right out of the box
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/Pathfinder/brasslength.jpg
Side by side comparison
The Lee 379-250 RF shoots very well in both my friend's and my Marlin 336 Cowboys. With the Winchester brass the Lee bullet must be sized to .379" in order to cycle into his and mine will cycle them as cast. His shoots the .379" sized bullets very well and mine has a definite preference for the larger as cast variety.
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/Pathfinder/lee379250.jpg
Lee bullet as cast
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/Pathfinder/starline395.jpg
The as cast Lee bullet in Starline Brass wide dimension is .395" Loaded with the (excellent) RCBS Cowboy dies, crimping die set ~5/8 of a turn past touching.
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/Pathfinder/winchester398.jpg
The Winchester brass loaded with an as cast Lee Bullet. This round will cycle easily through my CB but NOT my friend's CB.
The OAL for the Lee bullet in the Starline 38-55 2.125" case is 2.530" using all of the crimp groove. It cycles flawlessly through my CB. Comparatively the OAL I've been using with the Winchester/Lee combo is 2.500"
I'm very excited to see how they shoot. I suspect the bullet seated out closer to the lands may be more optimal for accuracy. It may allow my friend's to shoot fatter bullets in his which might improve the already impressive accuracy he's already getting.
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/Pathfinder/lee379250dingermedicine.jpg
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/Pathfinder/starlinebrass.jpg
A friend and I split an order of 500 - tried to bump it up to 1,000 but they didn't have the inventory... :|
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/Pathfinder/brass.jpg
Starline 2.125 and Winchester 38-55 brass
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/Pathfinder/starline2.jpg
Starline brass right out of the box
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/Pathfinder/brasslength.jpg
Side by side comparison
The Lee 379-250 RF shoots very well in both my friend's and my Marlin 336 Cowboys. With the Winchester brass the Lee bullet must be sized to .379" in order to cycle into his and mine will cycle them as cast. His shoots the .379" sized bullets very well and mine has a definite preference for the larger as cast variety.
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/Pathfinder/lee379250.jpg
Lee bullet as cast
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/Pathfinder/starline395.jpg
The as cast Lee bullet in Starline Brass wide dimension is .395" Loaded with the (excellent) RCBS Cowboy dies, crimping die set ~5/8 of a turn past touching.
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/Pathfinder/winchester398.jpg
The Winchester brass loaded with an as cast Lee Bullet. This round will cycle easily through my CB but NOT my friend's CB.
The OAL for the Lee bullet in the Starline 38-55 2.125" case is 2.530" using all of the crimp groove. It cycles flawlessly through my CB. Comparatively the OAL I've been using with the Winchester/Lee combo is 2.500"
I'm very excited to see how they shoot. I suspect the bullet seated out closer to the lands may be more optimal for accuracy. It may allow my friend's to shoot fatter bullets in his which might improve the already impressive accuracy he's already getting.
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/Pathfinder/lee379250dingermedicine.jpg