I picked up .430 and .375 swaging dies, one teensy weensy problem

[DsGrouse]

I don't have a 44 mag or a .375 win rifle.

That's kinda like driving a truck with only 3 wheels.

I went gun hunting. I spoke with Jesse at JES reboring. He said I could pick up a marlin 336 and rebore it to 375 win.

So, I did some searching. Key to my needs is the ability to shoot suppressed, and second to that is the ability to bridge the super- and subsonic load gap.

I'll talk to JES about twists based on the likely weights of bullets that I'll swage.

I found a Ruger-Marlin 336 with a threaded barrel 19.1", which seems like it would make a handy 375 Winchester.

The second rifle I need is a 44 mag. I thought about another Marlin, but I opted to go with another Smith 1854. I'm very happy with my 1854 in 45 colt. I'm thinking of running a 3x prism on it.

I've got to go pick them up tomorrow. The marlin 336 will head to JES, and I'll prep 1854 for the shooting season. Muzzle device and prism sight.

[DsGrouse]

I was abused! They held me down and forced me...

This is why I should not go into gun stores.



You might be wondering what the problem is. Well, friends, I went to pick up two leverguns.
If you had better grades than I in school, you'll do the math in that picture.

There are 3 lever guns there, which is distinctly one more than the two I ordered.

Smith 1854 in 44 mag




Marlin 336 in 30-30, it will be heading out to be rebored in 375 Winchester.



Since we did the math, and 2=3 leverguns. Here is the henry 3030 bbx. Why buy two 3030s? Well, the 336 was destined to be rebored to 375 win. But I realized that I can also swage bullets for the 30-30, and I can shoot super and subsonic 30-30 loads. So, why not round out the pain of a depleting swaging budget with a third lever gun?



I also need to be kept off Facebook Marketplace after 8 pm. I've been looking for a decent front rest... and at 3 am, it appeared...

[Mags]

I was abused! They held me down and forced me...

This is why I should not go into gun stores.
....

Did you really have a choice of going there or not? I'd wager Castor forced and escorted you.

[DsGrouse]

I was abused! They held me down and forced me...

This is why I should not go into gun stores.
....

Did you really have a choice of going there or not? I'd wager Castor forced and escorted you.

Rapidly with vigor

[DsGrouse]

I took advantage of a Father's Day sale at Griffin. I'm looking to put one of these on the Smith and Wesson 44 mag, and one on my Henry BBX 45 Colt.

3x prism with accss style reticule.





I also picked up a FFP 1-8 for either the H009x or the Marlin 336 once it gets rebored.


Swag.... from Griffin


On the 1854 44 mag. On the pleasant side, the peep sight is still there. It is a little occluded, but it works.

[rickhem]

You sure don't do anything half way.
Looks like a lot of cool new stuff to play with now!

[DsGrouse]

My 30-30 brass, 44 mag brass, 38-55 and 375 brass all arrived. I've been priming all afternoon:
100 30-30
100 38-55
100 375 win
200 44 mag,

I also deprimed 400+ 45 colt, and then primed them.

My longer 1.75" bolts for my swaging presses arrived. I swapped them out. The presses are far more secure now. I've got a new set of rcbs 375 dies today, along with a new set of 30-30 dies from Lee. I've an old used set of RCBS 44 mag dies that will work for most things. I did pick up a new expander and a Hornady Cowboy seating die to use with cast, plated, and powder-coated bullets.

I have some berry's plane jane 240 grain plated bullets to try with the 44mag. I'm not paying .90 to a 2.75 per bullet for .375 bullets. I'll need to swage some. That'll be a fun prospect.

[5shot]

DsGrouse

Your bullet swaging adventure seems to be following the same pattern as my bullet casting. I started out years ago with honorable intentions of saving money. Here I sit with 50+ bullet molds, 3 melting pots, 5 lube sizers, a whole mess of sizing dies and other trinkets too numerous to mention.

The saving $$ should start soon......

Also, I can relate to your getting roughed up in a gun shop. It gets worse as you get older too. The healing process slows way down so rather than risk a brutal thrashing it's better to submit and buy.

[BigAl52]

Eating and sleeping for you guys must be a real pita

[DsGrouse]

Had the Henry 3030 and the Smith44 mag out shooting yesterday.

The 3030 seemed to shoot pretty well. But my load for subsonics needs a workup. The average was 840 fps over 50 shots. I need to adjust it for. Hodgdon's subsonic data. 9.8 grains of benchmark was their published data. That was not sufficient.

I'm betting the workup will end up around 10.6 to 10.8 grains for 1060/1080 fps at 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

The grouping was good; it's the FPS that needs development. The supers I loaded grouped extremely well. But I want to sight this rifle in for long-range subs for now. I'll probably sight in the 44 mag and the 375 Win for supers.

The Smith had a sight change. I dropped it down to a low mount. It took me 30 bullets to get it on paper. Sue me, it was 90 degrees and 95% humidity. I got it on and dialed in. After that, it grouped quite well with my Xtrmeme 240grn plated.

It really came into its own when shooting Armscor 240-grain jacket hollow point ammo. I was able to clear my pistol's know-your-limits target at 70 yards.


So far, both exceed my expectations

[DsGrouse]

40 sw brass drawn into .375 jackets. Seated with 186 grain cores and swaged into 250ish grain .375 bullets.

The issue is due to the variance in jacket weight, as it is mixed 40SW brass.

I've got other steps to incorporate. IE. Trimming all the drawn brass. Then, facing the finished bullets/ trim to length.

[GFK]

Looks like you are enjoying yourself! Happy shooting!!

[DsGrouse]

Soon, have to get the rifle back, and pick up new powder.

I started filling my powder hopper yesterday with benchmark. Picked up the hopper to move it and flung a pound of powder across my reloading room.

So, yeah. Thats why no updates on subsonic 3030 loads....

[DsGrouse]

I dropped the core weight down to 170 grains. With the drawn-down 40sw jacket, it brings them to about 240 grains. I've got a new collet and 4 blade cutter on the way. I'll use it to square up the tips. I tried a case trimmer cutter, but with the center hole it didn't leave a clean cut.

[Vaquero]

HaHa! I've done that before also.
I bought a Marlin 45 Colt Cowboy from a friend on a different gun forum years ago.
Had it shipped to my FFL friend, we've known each other since we were kids.
While I'm there filling out the paperwork, her ole man walks in and sees the Cowboy and says,
"you like lever actions you should look at that over on the wall".
It was a Win. 92 in 25-20 with an octagon barrel 24" long.
Yep, how much? Alright, add it in.

I cast and reload that's it, I'll pass on the swaggin.
Yes, Jes's rebore is more of a 375, what dia. bullet?
I shoot mostly .380, according to the previous owner who used it long range said his best LR bullet was a 260gr. .381 over 4198.
He shot it regularly out to 660 yds. at a friend of his, and did on one occasion ring the 900 yd dinger twice.

RP

[DsGrouse]

The rebore 375 win, are suppossedly .375. We'll see how it goes.

[Vaquero]

Depends on what your shooting, cast will need to be a bit larger, maybe .377.

RP

[DsGrouse]

Depends on what your shooting, cast will need to be a bit larger, maybe .377.

RP

Because I'll be shooting suppressed, most will be jacketed. I do have 3 different molds for cast. .375, .378, and .380 IIRC

Don't quote me on the. 380, It's wrapped up in VCI paper, but next time I am in the cabinet I'll look.

For the most part I plan on Swaging 255, 275, and 300 grain bullets using .40/10mm and 556 brass.

[DsGrouse]

I couldn't wait... I walked a target through the tick-infested field and set it up. I wanted to sight in the scoped rifle with the suppressor on it.

So, how did the 375 Win Rebore do with my swaged bullets?

(You'll have to take my word, I'm not walking through that field of ticks again to take a pic of the paper)

Velocities were a bit all over the place, as in these loads, I played with both the seating depth and crimp. The average was 1553 fps, with a STD of 18.4

After sight in, I had a 9 shot 3" group at 70 yds with my test batch of 240-grain swaged bullets. If I take out the two fliers that were me, the group falls to 1.75"

It's not earth-shattering good. But... there must always be a but...
1. These were the test sample 240-grain bullets that were rough at best.

1A. A bit of quality control on a few steps will greatly improve their consistency. IE sort by head stamp.
1B. Square up the drawn-down jacket.
1C. Make use of the core swage die (I did not have the proper lead wire thickness before).
1D. Use lead shot to even out the bullet and jacket weight to 240 grains. (Variance on these bullets was 236 to 244 grains.
1E. Make use of my new trim setup to square up all the bullet tips to the same meplat size.

2. I shot factory 38-55 255 grain LRNFP bullets. (20 of them) Factory group size on a 9-shot group? 9" when counted by squares on the paper. There was no discernable grouping point.

2A. Why? Well, 38-55 is often loaded with .380 or .382 bullets, The rifle is barreled for .375.
2B. The rifle has a fast twist 1:12 for these medium-weight lead bullets. Depending on the hardness, that may have caused some issues.
2C. The rifle was hot as get out, I'd just shot 50 rounds of my 240 grain bullets.
2D. Average FPS of these rounds was between 1490 and 1515.


All in all, a very successful sight-in with the rifle. I hit steel, got decent, predictable groups out of my swaged reloads. I can't really ask for more. I'm sure the groups will shrink as I improve at swaging, have more practice loading 38-55 and 375 Win, let alone more shoulder time with the rifle.

I'm looking forward to stretching the rifle's legs with sessions out to 150 and 175yds.

[Vaquero]

I know absolutely Nothing about the swagging process, so...
How long does it take to make one projectile?
I know that in an hours time I can cast quite a few.

RP