38-55 dies any good???, I need help.

[JerryB]

I have been shooting the Winchester 94 30-30 that Jess Ocumpaugh rebored to 38-55 with a 245 grain light load, and fire formed 30-30 brass. Last week I ordered 50 rounds of Starline 38-55 short brass. I am using a set of Lee dies my son got off ebay. It came with a 38-55 full length sizer and decapper. The expander and bullet seater are marked as .375W. When I started loading the reformed 30-30 brass it took a little to get the dies adjusted. Now I can not get .375 expander die adjusted to load the new Starline brass. It just crushes the neck or if I back it out it won't expand the neck enough to seat a bullet. Any body use these Lee dies for 38-55???? I have ruined 5 cases so I quit trying for now.

[Chuck 100 yd]

I use an RCBS Cowboy set for my .38-55 along with
Star-Line long brass.
I bought my Marlin Cowboy 336 .38-55 used from a collection after the owner passed but I think the chamber has been opened up as I can load .381 bullets and they chamber and shoot like a dream. 1" five shot groups with peep sights is the norm at 50yd. That`s as good as I normally shoot iron sights with any rifle.

[ollogger]

my lee 38-55 dies are marked the same as yours, I found if you dont read the instructions
for the expander die & fiddle with it a bit you can make it work, hope that helps ya


ollogger

[JerryB]

I thank ya for your comments. I reckon that I'll keep fiddlin with expander die and see if I can get it set right without losing to much brass.

[Griff]

3 hints: Lube. Inside. Neck.

[pwl44m]

My Lee 38-55s work perfect, I do lube the inside of the neck. They put a nice bell that receives oversize bullets fine. I will have to look at Mine to see if they say 375 or 38-55. I also use the Lee FCD.
Perry

[fordwannabe]

YEAH what Griff said! Those are the dies I use on a 94 Jesse did for me.

[rbertalotto]

I have both Lee and RCBS Cowboy dies for the 38-55. There is no comparison with this cartridge. The RCBS dies simply load a much more consistant round. And this goes against my experience with Lee dies as I usually find Lee dies to load the best cartridges.

And it has to do with the expander die. The Cowboy dies come with two different diameters. And they expand in a nice straight fashion.

But that said, I still needed to make another expander plug at .381 to get my soft lead bullets to seat properly.

Hope this helps!

[ollogger]

Lee universal case expanding die is a good tool also, goes from 22 - 45 cal.

real cheap & real handy for a cast shooter



ollogger

[rando8586]

Sounds like you have 375 winchester dies.

[Hobie]

I use RCBS (OLD dies) for my .38-55 and have different seater dies for the short and long brass. I prefer the long brass for many reasons but mostly because they handle the bullets correctly. The short brass needs more "fiddling" to get right.

[JerryB]

Well boys I do thank you for all the help. I reckon that tomorrow I'll give it another try. I used qtips to lube the case necks but now I'll put more on them. If some of ya'll can load 38-55 ammo with Lee dies I reckon I can try. May have try the universal expander. Then again maybe something wrong with the dies and were sold on Ebay.

[JerryB]

Well boys, it's like they say when all else fails follow the directions. I called Lee Dies and talked to a rep that set me straight on using their dies. I can't believe that it was so easy to get them set up.I loaded ten rounds with a load Kirk uses,5744 and 255 grain Montana Bullet, real nice looking rounds.

[gundownunder]

375 and 38-55 are a few thou different.
If you want to reload any of the classic calibers like 38-55, 32-20, etc, go for the RCBS cowboy dies. Lee may be alright for the modern mainstream stuff but cowboy is cowboy and Lee ain't cowboy. Trust me, I spent the dollars to work that out.

[pwl44m]

Jerry !, You wouldn't be a Man ifn You read directions First. Glad You got it ironed out. I still haven't looked at Mine to see if they say 375, too busy with other Toys.
Perry

[BenT]

I use the same dies and had the same problem until I used plenty of lube inside the neck .

[Old Shatterhand]

I use the same dies and had the same problem until I used plenty of lube inside the neck .

Roll the bullets on the case lube pad before setting them. Then make a firm crimp.

The same problem with crushed cases did I have with my .375 Wcf, 255 grs Barnes Original and Hornady tools. When I used the expanding tool and rolled the bullets on the pad, the cases finally came out quite nice and pretty.

And - btw - a friend used the dies for his old Savage 99 .38-55 without problems.

Pete

[JerryB]

I asked the Lee man on the phone about the dies being marked .375W and he said not to worry about it they work fine. They did work fine after I got them set the way he told me. The rounds I loaded looked as good as the Black Hills factory rounds I have and these are alot cheaper.I'll shoot some the first of the week and let ya'll know how they do.

[KirkD]

Jerry, I have the same Lee dies you have, including the 375 marked ones. I've used them for several years and never had a problem, but I must admit I may have just gotten lucky in how I set them up ..... I never read the instructions.

[JerryB]

Kirk, good to hear from you. The 10 rounds I loaded are 18 grains of 5744 with the 255 grain cast Montana Bullet.

[pwl44m]

Yep, but only one of Mine says 375, the others 38-55.
Perry