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August 19, 2008, 11:58 AM | #1 |
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Join Date: July 26, 2006
Location: Southern Minnesota
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just a toy... a serious toy ???
I've been looking at a custom Remington Rolling Block rifle ( currently in 225 Winchester )... you may have seem my other threads
if I buy the rifle I doubt I'll keep it in 225 Winchester, & have been looking at rechambering it in one of these cartridges... 32 Winchester Special 38-55 40-65 45-70 50-70 my goal here is as flat a shooting cartridge for targets shot at 100, 200, & 300 yards, with maybe the potential to shoot deer sized game someday ??? I already have a couple Martinis chambered in 45-70, & 50-70, so the 3 smaller cartridges interest me the most, as I'd expect them to be flatter shooting... I'd like the ability to buy factory ammo if needed, yet be a reletively easy cartridge to reload... & will be shooting off the bench most ( since the rifle currently has a big fat burl wood beaver tail forearm, that I'd like to retain with the gun ) your suggestions or any cartridges I've overlooked that fit my criteria ???
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August 19, 2008, 01:01 PM | #2 | |
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Location: Moses Lake WA
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http://www.reloadersnest.com/frontpage.asp?CaliberID=69
Quote:
Pops
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August 19, 2008, 03:12 PM | #3 |
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Reboring the barrel to .38-55 would interest me. Great old blackpowder cartridge that does well with smokeless. Cast bullets are plentiful and factory ammo is still available. Although .225 ammo is still available and brass is plentiful. Probably due in no small part to JD Jones and his .225-based Contender wildcats.
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August 19, 2008, 04:10 PM | #4 |
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+1 on .38-55
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August 23, 2008, 03:32 PM | #5 |
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I couldn't help myself... I went back & put it on layaway... not before borrowing the gun for a complete exam, from my local gun builder ( lets just say he's very familiar with the Remington rolling blocks...
in short... it's customized beyond returning to original, but is a very solid #1 Black powder action, with ( not terrerifically well fit ) but acceptable, very nice wood, probably done in the 40's as a bench rest gun... the trigger is incredible, very light crisp pull, with no over travel, the hammer, has a side spur welded on to it, & is stippled on top in the thumb area... the 225 Winchester barrel has better than 1/2 of it's life gone, & may be at the point that the accuracy is starting to go away... besides, my buddy thinks the 225 Winchester was unsafe in that action anyway, even though, the action is still tight & solid, even though the barrel is mostly gone... so... time to rebarrel... & heres where you can help me... in consulting with my buddy, my 1st choices are 32-40 38-55 40-65 45-70 I'm planning a rebarrel in a longer ( the old barrel was 23.5" long, & looks short on the gun ) heavy contour octogon barrel... I want to fit the current burled beaver tail fore end, & intend to use the gun as an informal 200-300 yard bench rest gun... I can buy factory loads of all of the above, & will likely buy 100-200 rounds as $$$ allows, to get correctly stamped brass, but will be reloading, & likely casting my own bullets... my buddy already has a 38-55 reamer in route for a Contender barrel he's building, & right ow I'm torn between the 32-40, 38-55, & 40-65 ( I already have a very nice 45-70 built on a Martini tropical action ) with I find myself leaning towards the 32-40 for economical reasons, though I'd have to buy a chamber reamer in that cartridge for my buddy, I know he'd do up a barrel in that caliber if I bought the reamer... I already have a Contender in 375 Winchester ( pretty close to the 38-55 ), so aside from the fact he has the reamer, I'm less interested in that... I have nothing in 40 caliber, but loaded rounds are way more expensive to start with anyway... help me decide... 32-40, 38-55, or 40-65 ??? & or how about a recommended long range bullet mold in those calibers ??? a couple of pics just to repay you for your advise... thanks... BTW... anyone have any exprience with these scopes ??? or have any other reasonably priced options ??? ( I wan't to leave the stock on the gun, so the rifle should be scoped... & I wan't something that looks "kind of period" ??? http://www.circlekb.com/page/CKCG/PROD/Optics/WM-334151
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August 23, 2008, 03:54 PM | #6 |
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I favor the 32-40, just because I have 32-20 and have always wanted the "big brother" thereof.
It has the history to match the action type, is not common enough to get lost in the crowd at the range,and is, as my granddaughter would say, "way cooool." That is one truely beautiful rifle. Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard. Pops
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Armed and Safe: Not just a theory If it time to bury them, it is time to dig them up. Remember, "Behind every blade of grass." |
August 23, 2008, 05:09 PM | #7 |
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I would still lean towards the .38-55. Not just close to the .375, they're all but interchangeable. It's common for .375 shooters to use .38-55 brass for a little added capacity.
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August 23, 2008, 05:43 PM | #8 |
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Join Date: July 11, 2005
Location: Dakotas
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I have some Remington Rolling Block rifles in 225 Winchester.
Your local gun builder buddy who thinks the 225 Winchester was unsafe in that action is absolutely right. If you take it to a profession to have it re-barreled they may not do it if they know what they are doing. The gun has been way over stressed. I know that is not what you wanted to hear. I know that some people will say do it anyway just for the money or because they don’t know better. If you must do it, and I do expect you to, then for your own safety and anyone who might inherit it or however it may fall in to the hands of others, do it in a low psi (pressure) cartridge. Tinker2 |
August 23, 2008, 05:48 PM | #9 |
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Location: Mississippi
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Nice rifle. .38-55
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August 23, 2008, 07:28 PM | #10 |
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Join Date: November 28, 2001
Location: West Tennessee
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Can't you get the action magnafluxed to check for microscopic cracks or otherwise stress tested? I'd definitely keep it to blackpowder levels.
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