38-55 cases too short...........

[Red River Rick]

...........not any more.

I now have a conversion kit available for the Kal-Max case stretcher that will stretch 38-55 brass, Winchester or Starline brand by as much as 0.070". So, having to put up those short cases (under 2.125") is a thing of the past.

I have not tried stretching Remington brass (couldn't find any), but I did try some Jamison brass with limited success. The Jamison brass has the thinnest wall construction and requires a larger diameter punch. I'm working on it.

The picture below, shows three Starline cases. The left case is original, unstretched and measures 2.110 in length, the two other cases were the same OAL. The middle case was stretched the least amount (all shims in place) and gained 0.031" in length. The far right case was stretched with all the shims removed, giving the maximum allowable stretch. It gained 0.070" in length.



PM me if your interested.
:drinks:

RRR

[old turtle]

Starline now makes these 38-55 cases with the 2.125 length. I order some for my brother and myself. I needed them as 32-40 is also this length.

[old turtle]

Check Starline on line under new products.

[John Boy]

So, having to put up those short cases (under 2.125") is a thing of the past. What rifle(s) do you own that are chambered for the 2.125 brass?

[montana_charlie]

What rifle(s) do you own that are chambered for the 2.125 brass?
At some point Winchester started making 38-55 brass from the same raw cases used for 30-30. That's when the 'short' version showed up.

Rifles produced before that date should have the old 'long' chamber, and the Pedersoli Hiwall has the long chamber. Pedersoli talked Starline into producing that length in order to have suitable brass available for the new rifle.

Many are aware that having cases that fully fill the chamber is a 'good thing' in BPCR. But, even Starline cases may not fully fill the chamber in a given rifle...just like most 45/70 brass doesn't fully fill most 45/70 chambers.

Rifle and cases must be carefully checked before you can be assured they are truly matched.

CM

[felix]

Rifle and cases must be carefully checked before you can be assured they are truly matched. ... CM

No reason to stop there. Must include projectile hardness and the projectile's acceleration curve to assure complete obturation of the whole shootin' match to zero clearance and not a penny's worth more. The case should end up as a mirror image of the chamber after the round is fired, minus the case's natural contraction amount. ... felix

[Red River Rick]

Starline now makes these 38-55 cases with the 2.125 length. I order some for my brother and myself. I needed them as 32-40 is also this length.

Old Turtle:

Um...errr.........these are the new Starline cases.

RRR

[Gunlaker]

Old Turtle:

Um...errr.........these are the new Starline cases.

RRR

Rick, I think the confusion comes from the fact that Starline sells different versions of the .38-55 case (I believe that there are 2 different lengths you can order).

Nice to hear that you are making an adapter for the .38-55 though. It might come in handy as next year I think I'll be picking up a .38-55 for 200m off hand shooting.

Chris.

[Old Goat Keeper]

There are 3 lengths of brass you can shoot in a"normal" 38-55: starline long, starline short/winchester and winchester 375 brass. The only way all of them vary is in length. If you check out SAMI specs for the 38-88 you will see that the chamber spec is for the long starline at 2.125". But shooting the shorter brass wil not create a problem if COL is adhered to.

Tom who has a couple of 38-55s

[montana_charlie]

But shooting the shorter brass wil not create a problem if COL is adhered to.

Tom who has a couple of 38-55s
Does Tom shoot 'soft' lead bullets with black powder charges?
CM