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Reloading .38 spl OAL (Rossi)


Rube Burrows

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I know I have seen this somewhere but the search function did not turn anything up.

 

 

 

Im going to start letting my son shoot some and he will be using an older Rossi Interarms .357/.38 rifle.

 

I was wondering if anyone who uses these could tell me what they are loading their OAL too?

 

The book calls for 1.445" OAL with 158 gn RNFP bullets.

 

 

I load .45 colt for myself and use a Dillon 650 but for this I picked up a Redding T-7 and some RSBS dies. It did not come with a crimping die so I will just be doing some without a crimp for now.

 

Any suggestions are welcomed.

 

thanks,

Rube

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I have two and had one more and I shoot 125gr and AOL is 1.53 and never have ever had a hic-up

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The orginal 92's were designed to work with ammo in the 1.5" to 1.6" OAL. To get a 38 to that OAL with a round nose flat point lead bullet you don't have to crimp in the crimp groove. Just crimp right into the side of the bullet where you need it.

 

Something like this

 

 

Hey Steve.....My first adjustment pushed the bullet all the way to that line/rim that is just above the brass in your picture. It measures out at 1.404. I ran a few dummy rounds through my rifle and it seems to cycle them pretty well.

 

Is there potential problems with this OAL and seating depth? Am I getting this depth due to there being no powder in my dummy round? Should I run my seating die out a little and get closer to like yours in the pics?

 

 

Here is what mine are looking like at the moment.

 

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm30/wheeler331/c7add121.jpg

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Hey Steve.....My first adjustment pushed the bullet all the way to that line/rim that is just above the brass in your picture. It measures out at 1.404. I ran a few dummy rounds through my rifle and it seems to cycle them pretty well.

 

Is there potential problems with this OAL and seating depth? Am I getting this depth due to there being no powder in my dummy round? Should I run my seating die out a little and get closer to like yours in the pics?

 

 

Here is what mine are looking like at the moment.

 

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm30/wheeler331/c7add121.jpg

 

They may work just fine but the most common problem with the shorter 38's is the gun will throw out live rounds with the empty's. This is because the shorter 38 coming on to the carrier from the tube can bounce forward enough that the rim is too close to the rim slots in the guides and when you lever it fast the carrier just catapults them out with the empty.

 

Also, you may need to go with a more pointy style bullet. That one is kind wide up front and looks like it may have an exposed driving band to hang up on.

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HHere is what mine are looking like at the moment.

 

http://i292.photobuc...31/c7add121.jpg

One appears to have a minimal crimp and the other has no noticeable crimp a'tall. Be careful you don't get any bullet setback when you load and fire live rounds, especially a whole mag full.

 

Good luck, GJ

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I load .45 colt for myself and use a Dillon 650 but for this I picked up a Redding T-7 and some RSBS dies. It did not come with a crimping die so I will just be doing some without a crimp for now.

 

You need to crimp rounds used in a tube magazine, otherwise the bullets will be likely to be pushed back into the case and cause problems.

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Thanks for the info guys. I will rework my die and let the bullet come out a little further.

 

Also, I guess I will pick up a crimping die.

 

 

Im not entirely sure how to tell if my dies do the crimping or not.

 

Well looked on midway and looks like the crimping die has a different part number than mine.

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Whatever you do pick up a criming die. Lee Factory Crime Dies are relatively cheap, easy to set and they work great. They fit most presses.

 

 

Thanks Bart. I will def. pic one up.

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Rube,

 

I just went and measured some of the match ammo I loaded up for my wife & son shootin' CAS back in the '90s... 1.491". (Shameful that I still have any of that ammo left... huh?) The rifle was an Interarms Rossi 92 and it'd run as fast as anyone could. But... and here's the biggie, it'd been tuned in the late '80's to run THAT ammo.

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I have a Interarms Rossi carbine (presafety) and I load the same bullet crimped in the crimp grove OAL 1.445.

No feed problems since I found out that you have to operate the lever VIGOROUSLY.

I may have just gotten lucky with this one,YMMV.

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I shoot .38 Special using RNFP 158 grain bullets and set the OAL to 1.50 to 1.53; they w**k fine. Also check the diameter of the bullet to make sure it can be chambered in the revolvers.

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They may work just fine but the most common problem with the shorter 38's is the gun will throw out live rounds with the empty's. This is because the shorter 38 coming on to the carrier from the tube can bounce forward enough that the rim is too close to the rim slots in the guides and when you lever it fast the carrier just catapults them out with the empty.

 

Also, you may need to go with a more pointy style bullet. That one is kind wide up front and looks like it may have an exposed driving band to hang up on.

 

"...need to go with a more pointy style bullet..."

What specific slug are you willing to reccommend ? I have yet to spend on my reloading components, have a Rossi 92 SS 16" , and would like to load to share between the carbine and my old model Vaquero s .

I would like to source through Midway , but if you can give me some exact spec.s and part numbers for ready made slugs AND an available bullet mold , I will gladly follow your recommendations.

It would be appreciated if I could find myself buying the "right stuff" the first time around so that any savings could be used toward all the other stuff that will make the sport a wee bit more affordable.

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I'm hesitant to post on this subject AFTER Nate because I believe that he IS the authority (smartest guy I know) on this subject. He and I were just discussing this subject a couple of weeks ago when I dropped off/picked up my '92 (which is .38/.357) from him.

 

A couple of things....I'm fairly new, but I've been reloading for a while. I'm new to CAS, not guns and reloading. Second, everyone's opinion is just that...their opinion. I don't claim to have a corner on the market of smarts.

 

That said, let me say a couple of things I've learned while trying to make my '92 work in this caliber. First, the truncated cone style bullets feed better for me in my '92. If you don't know what they look like, then check this out: 125's or these 158's (check out the 158 gn TCCB). I've used both of these bullets (and some others) with success.

 

Next, I use the Lee crimp die. Some use other stuff, but I've never used them, so I can't say anything, pro or con, about any other die. But, my Lee crimp die works well. The comment earlier stating that you should crimp is correct. If you don't crimp (with something), then you're opening up the opportunity for the bullet to get pushed back into the case while sitting in the tube under the pressure of the spring. That's bad for a couple of reasons -- not the least of which is feeding (but could also cause some overpressure issues, but I digress).....

 

Next, I've posted before about fouling, and I'll briefly state my finding again here. When you don't seat the bullet "all" the way in, then there's the opportunity for less than complete combustion of your powder. In most cases it will look like "yellow sand" (that's what my daughter calls it). There's also a fair amount of black residue. The amount of this that will occur (more so than if you "fully" seated the bullet) depends upon your powder (and probably a few other factors). Therefore, choose a powder combination that burns as completely as you can get given the situation. I've also found that 158's will help this problem because you can seat more of the bullet back into the case than with a 125. Although it's only milliseconds, the longer the bullet stays in the case during the "bang," the more completely it can combust. In another similar thread, someone (and forgive me as I've forgotten who) posted that there's a fella selling bullets specifically designed (or at least it has turned out that way ;) ) to "fix" this problem. I've not yet used them, but I bookmarked the page: Mastercraft (check down to the "38 Special & .357 Mag Long RNFP" in 160 grain).

 

Ok, I've done my job to beat the dead horse. I hope this has helped someone else NOT have to go through the trial and error I have.

 

Good Luck.

 

Oh yeah Rube....love the pants I traded you for! :)

 

Chick

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Whatever you do pick up a criming die. Lee Factory Crime Dies are relatively cheap, easy to set and they work great. They fit most presses.

+ 1 to what Bart and Dirty Chris say.

 

Before you buy anything, double check that RCBS die. It may be an all-in-one die that seats and crimps in one step. If you see a flange toward the top end inside the die barrel, that's the crimping flange. It takes a bit of fiddling to get these adjusted properly, but once set, there's no need for a separate crimp die. Some dispense with this feature and use a Lee Factory Crimp die anyway, claiming it's easier to adjust. I've tried the FCD and prefer the all-in-one. To each his own.

 

Good Luck!

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I'm hesitant to post on this subject AFTER Nate because I believe that he IS the authority (smartest guy I know) on this subject. He and I were just discussing this subject a couple of weeks ago when I dropped off/picked up my '92 (which is .38/.357) from him.

 

A couple of things....I'm fairly new, but I've been reloading for a while. I'm new to CAS, not guns and reloading. Second, everyone's opinion is just that...their opinion. I don't claim to have a corner on the market of smarts.

 

That said, let me say a couple of things I've learned while trying to make my '92 work in this caliber. First, the truncated cone style bullets feed better for me in my '92. If you don't know what they look like, then check this out: 125's or these 158's (check out the 158 gn TCCB). I've used both of these bullets (and some others) with success.

 

Next, I use the Lee crimp die. Some use other stuff, but I've never used them, so I can't say anything, pro or con, about any other die. But, my Lee crimp die works well. The comment earlier stating that you should crimp is correct. If you don't crimp (with something), then you're opening up the opportunity for the bullet to get pushed back into the case while sitting in the tube under the pressure of the spring. That's bad for a couple of reasons -- not the least of which is feeding (but could also cause some overpressure issues, but I digress).....

 

Next, I've posted before about fouling, and I'll briefly state my finding again here. When you don't seat the bullet "all" the way in, then there's the opportunity for less than complete combustion of your powder. In most cases it will look like "yellow sand" (that's what my daughter calls it). There's also a fair amount of black residue. The amount of this that will occur (more so than if you "fully" seated the bullet) depends upon your powder (and probably a few other factors). Therefore, choose a powder combination that burns as completely as you can get given the situation. I've also found that 158's will help this problem because you can seat more of the bullet back into the case than with a 125. Although it's only milliseconds, the longer the bullet stays in the case during the "bang," the more completely it can combust. In another similar thread, someone (and forgive me as I've forgotten who) posted that there's a fella selling bullets specifically designed (or at least it has turned out that way ;) ) to "fix" this problem. I've not yet used them, but I bookmarked the page: Mastercraft (check down to the "38 Special & .357 Mag Long RNFP" in 160 grain).

 

Ok, I've done my job to beat the dead horse. I hope this has helped someone else NOT have to go through the trial and error I have.

 

Good Luck.

 

Oh yeah Rube....love the pants I traded you for! :)

 

Chick

 

Chick,

 

I Thank you VERY much for taking the time to impart all of that information. Exactly the sort that I was looking for.

It looks as if I will be taking Master Craft up on thier "best buy" of 5000 160gr .38 s . If there is a better bullet for the money I am STILL looking, but it seems as if they may have solved some of the niggling problems that I have been researching so hard to avoid.

If you have any other recommendations for reloading components that will help me along with the Rossi 92 ammunition PLEASE feel free to PM me. I am receptive to wisdom that should be labeled "hard won" , and hope that I can reciprocate in the future.

 

Chuck

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