Dusty Morningwood Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 Been offered a single shot rifle chambered in .357 mag. Not really my cartridge, although I have lots of .38 Spl. Looking at it, I wonder if there would be problems having it rechambered in .38-55, knowing I would have to slightly neck down cases by about .013 each time and use smaller bullets. Other option is .35-40 Maynard, but not sure who would have reamer for something like that. I am cheap and lazy! Any ideas or advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lefty Dude, SASS # 51223 Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 Why not chamber it for the 357 maximum ? Very close to the 35 Maynard. You cans shoot 180 gr. and 200 gr.. A 38-55 has a bore diameter of 378-380", far from a .357-358", 38 or 357. A very costly transition for sure. Punch out that chamber to, maximum then you can shoot all the 38 calibers from 38 short Colt to 357 Maxie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabez Cowboy,SASS # 50129 Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 Why Bother ? Jabez Cowboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Ron Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 Howdy, Why not just load up some .357s and see what they do? Are cases too cheap? Are bullets too easy to get? From your post I cant understand what the .357 wont do? Ive shot .38sp from a carbine at the 100 yard range and got very good accuracy. Good luck. Best CR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Morningwood Posted December 3, 2017 Author Share Posted December 3, 2017 I am well known for not leaving well enough alone! LOL. But seriously, it is as much an academic question as practical question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 Would help to know what make/model rifle this is. OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twelve mile REB Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 The short answer is no. The longer answer is with enough money you can do anything. The question really can't be answered without what OLG said particularly the action. Stevens Favorite, no I don't think I would, Ruger Number One, sure, go ahead. However, you are going to have a wildcat cartridge with either more of a taper or a small shoulder. That equals a custom reamer and custom dies and then some load development. So like Jabez said Why bother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Clark Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 12 hours ago, Dusty Morningwood said: Been offered a single shot rifle chambered in .357 mag. Not really my cartridge, although I have lots of .38 Spl. Looking at it, I wonder if there would be problems having it rechambered in .357-55, knowing I would have to slightly neck down cases by about .013 each time and use smaller bullets. Other option is .35-40 Maynard, but not sure who would have reamer for something like that. I am cheap and lazy! Any ideas or advice? Just cause the caliber designation {38} is similar in all the previous mentioned loadings, that doesn't translate to them all being the same diameter bore ! Good luck with your endeavor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex M Rugers #6621 Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 Re-chambering wouldn't work very well , as everybody else has pointed out. But you could have the barrel completely bored out and have a 38-55 liner installed. The 357 Maximum idea would work , provided the action is strong enough to handle the pressures that the Max top-end loads develop. Good luck , Rex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 What is the make / mod of the rifle you are talking about, Dusty? Perhaps selling it and buying what you want would be better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Morningwood Posted December 3, 2017 Author Share Posted December 3, 2017 35 minutes ago, Captain Clark said: Just cause the caliber designation {38} is similar in all the previous mentioned loadings, that doesn't translate to them all being the same diameter bore ! Good luck with your endeavor! I covered this in post: "knowing I would have to slightly neck down cases by about .013 each time and use smaller bullets." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Ron Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 Howdy, I have a few .357 max if that helps. Best CR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Morningwood Posted December 3, 2017 Author Share Posted December 3, 2017 19 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said: What is the make / mod of the rifle you are talking about, Dusty? Perhaps selling it and buying what you want would be better. Don't own it. Been offered in trade. It is a Martini Cadet. My question being, will necking down the .38-55 case slightly to take the .357 bullet create any unsafe conditions with Black Powder (that is all I shoot in single shots) or cause a loss of pressure, resulting in poor performance? Like I said, I like messing around with these and do not mind dropping a few extra bucks on exotics like the .35-40 Maynard, if I can find a smith or rent a reamer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 6 minutes ago, Dusty Morningwood said: Don't own it. Been offered in trade. It is a Martini Cadet. My question being, will necking down the .38-55 case slightly to take the .357 bullet create any unsafe conditions with Black Powder (that is all I shoot in single shots) or cause a loss of pressure, resulting in poor performance? Like I said, I like messing around with these and do not mind dropping a few extra bucks on exotics like the .35-40 Maynard, if I can find a smith or rent a reamer. I see. Thanks for clarifying. Actually, that is a very interesting idea. I wouldn't think necking a 38-55 case down .381 to .358 would be a pressure problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twelve mile REB Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 Ok, The cadet was a .310 so yours is either rebored or rebarreled to .357 and without major work a 38-55 would be too long for the action as a 357 max requires some work to the bolt for clearance. However the cadet in good condition is still reasonably valuable. So the answer at least for me is that the 357 max is about as far as you can go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twelve mile REB Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 A little more information if you are interested. If it was rebored it should be stamped .301 with that crossed out and .357 stamped beside it makes it a lot more valuable. They were often rechambered to 32/20 and didn't really shoot very well. The 32/20 is 1.592 max length with case length at 1.315 and a dia. of .408. The 357 max. has a max. length of 1.875 with case length at 1.605 and dia. of .440. The 357 max will just fit in some actions a little polish or material removal is required for others. If the extractor hasn't been redone that's required as well. The 38/55 is 2.550 max length with a 2.1295 case length and a .506 dia. I don't believe you could make it fit with out a lot of machining then my concern would be if it could hold the pressure with that much material removed. What did they want to trade for I would be interested if the trade made sense to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Morningwood Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share Posted December 4, 2017 8 hours ago, twelve mile REB said: Ok, The cadet was a .310 so yours is either rebored or rebarreled to .357 and without major work a 38-55 would be too long for the action as a 357 max requires some work to the bolt for clearance. However the cadet in good condition is still reasonably valuable. So the answer at least for me is that the 357 max is about as far as you can go Yep! I tumbled to the length restrictions today. I often start running down an idea, only to have it dashed by reality! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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