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October 4, 2011
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Hi, can anyone tell me which brass length of 38/55 for the Crazy Horse Commemorative rifle is? Thanks.
March 31, 2009
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I doubt this rifle has a special length brass. 38-55 Win brass is 2.129″.
October 4, 2011
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So, the longer version. Drat! All I have is the 2.080.
Actually, I have Winchester 38-55 ammo both standard production and limited edition going back to the early 1950s and they all measure 2.080. I have heard and read conflicting opinions on when the industry standard changed to the shorter standard. Does anyone have the true info on this?
November 7, 2015
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Awhile back someone decided 2.125” was better for the 38-55 and Starline, among others, produced it. My limited research has produced no conclusion other than the necessity to sort brass by length. The article I read was very long-winded.
Mike
I have some vintage 38-55 ammo from the twenties and they all measure 2.125. So 2.125 was actually the original nominal length for the early brass. Some time later the standard was shortened.
November 19, 2006
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TXGunNut said
Awhile back someone decided 2.125” was better for the 38-55 and Starline, among others, produced it. My limited research has produced no conclusion other than the necessity to sort brass by length. The article I read was very long-winded.
Mike
I seem to recall at least one lengthy magazine article devoted exclusively to the length of .38-55 brass.
March 20, 2010
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The brass length is going to be dependent on the length and shape of the bullet. With the bullets that I cast, having a wide meplat and steep ogive, the brass has to be trimmed to 2.010 for an OACL of 2.5″, otherwise they will not cycle. I can single load all day long but anything longer than 2.5, with the bullet Im using, wont work. Ive shot with the longer brass and shorter brass and cant tell much of any difference at 100 yards.
1892takedown @sbcglobal.net ......NRA Endowment Life Member.....WACA Member
"God is great.....beer is good.....and people are crazy"... Billy Currington
November 7, 2015
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steve004 said
TXGunNut said
Awhile back someone decided 2.125” was better for the 38-55 and Starline, among others, produced it. My limited research has produced no conclusion other than the necessity to sort brass by length. The article I read was very long-winded.
Mike
I seem to recall at least one lengthy magazine article devoted exclusively to the length of .38-55 brass.
At one time it was linked from the Starline site. Do not go to StarlineUSA, it’s a clone of their site.
Mike
November 7, 2015
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1892takedown said
The brass length is going to be dependent on the length and shape of the bullet. With the bullets that I cast, having a wide meplat and steep ogive, the brass has to be trimmed to 2.010 for an OACL of 2.5″, otherwise they will not cycle. I can single load all day long but anything longer than 2.5, with the bullet Im using, wont work. Ive shot with the longer brass and shorter brass and cant tell much of any difference at 100 yards.
Interesting, ran into that with a very early (sn 5310) 1894 and an Accurate 38255L mould. My default OAL was 2.535”.
Mike
March 20, 2010
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Mike,
The mould Im referring to is the 38-55SG with gas check. The difference between the two is shown in the pic below. The mould you have, 38-255L, is the one on the left, 38-55SG on the right.
I had a mould made with both and opted to go with the 38-55SG because of the wider meplat, was thinking it would give just a little more wollup when it hit a critter. Ive not tried loading any with the Accurate 38-255L bullet yet. The 38-255L is closer to the specs for the original period 38-55 mould – I think. I wish I had a cast 38-255L to show all three. Below is a period Winchester mold cast bullet in comparison with the 38-55SG bullet.
As I mentioned above, the bullet shape may dictate what will feed dependent on the OACL
Chris
1892takedown @sbcglobal.net ......NRA Endowment Life Member.....WACA Member
"God is great.....beer is good.....and people are crazy"... Billy Currington
March 31, 2009
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All my books show the OAL of the case to be 2.129″ but when I checked SAAMI it is now listed as 2.085″. I don’t have any idea when or whom changed the specs.
Sorry for the extra pictures. Had a hard time getting this to load.
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