38-55 brass and cast bullets,maybe dies

[Throckmorton]

Just acquired and old Winchester in 38-55 and need to reload for it.
Looking for brass in good shape,will be needing a set of dies also.
I'm in the Washougal area,travel to near Hazel Dell daily.
Thanks
Mike

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[justsaymo]

Last time I was in Dave's (Riverside, WA) they had Winchester 38-55 brass in the bins.

38-55 can be a bit fussy. I'd recommend getting the Starline LONG brass - 2.125" if you can find it. The Winchester brass is short but works well if your chamber is not too tight or bore too big. If your chamber is tight you may find it difficult to get a bullet bigger than .379" to chamber in your rifle using the Winchester brass.

The RCBS Cowboy Dies are worth every penny.

My 38-55 slugs out at .380"+ and much prefers .381" bullets.

 

[Throckmorton]

Thanks for that info,it echos what others have told me.,so I'm gonna get a real chamber cast done so I only buy supplies once.
gee,that would be a 1st...buying the right stuff the 1st time. lol
will order the cowboy dies too as I"ve heard they are the ones to get.
thanks again and merry christmas.

 

[motoman98]

More important: SLUG your barrel (its easy) and know what you need for a bullet diameter. You might not need to cast your chamber: if the older(longer) length brass fits, you're done.
Now, this all assumes you are gonna handload for this nice old caliber.
Factory rounds will work, but bullets tend to rattle down the barrell and the newer brass is kinda short, like a .38 in a .357.

 

[torpedoman]

MERRY CHRISTMAS mort. let me know if you find one i just picked up a 357 rifle. That won't work your 38 cal. is bigger than my 38 cal
Gene