mohican
Member
I aquired a H&R/NEF Buffalo 38-55.
First step - slugged the barrel - .380
Bought 38-55 dies from Lee-no other brands in stock for 38-55 the first time around
WW brass
NBT 249 grain RNFP bullets
Federal Primers
Ok, I am usually satisfied with Lee products. I really like their crimping dies
:banghead: :banghead: 
WARNING - don't expect Lee dies for 38-55 to actually work. Two of three dies in the set were actually for 375 Winchester
I tried them and crushed several cases, and the Lee expanding dies were meant for 375 bullets, not .380 bullets. [Edited to add - I looked at the parts list, and yes, the .375 winchester dies were meant to be in the 38-55 die set]
The next day, I ordered a set of lyman dies for 38-55, with the two step expanding die. Much better. I also picked up the Lee Factory crimp die. The Lyman expander is still not big enough for .380 bullets, and seating the bullets "swelled" the cases. about 1/2 of them would chamber in my 38-55. After a little thought, I came across a "hillbilly" solution. I resized the loaded round in the sizer die, after removing the decapping pin, of course. Anyone ever done this?
I separated the "resized" ammo, and gave the fired empties a good visual. Ejection/extraction was flawless, no primer dings. Out of the box, getting used to the rifle, I switched from front aperture/rear aperture to front post/rear aperture. just getting used to the gun, got 2-3" groups at 50 yards. I expect that with familiarity it will get better. Recoil is fairly mild.
At 50 yards off hand was able to hit the spinning 4"/5" spinning plate combo offhand with regularity. Same with kneeling and prone. The trigger could be a little better, but some use may help that. If not, I know a competent smith who can take the trigger down to 3 lbs for me. (I know the factory likes 5 lb triggers, way too much for this setup)
My next step - ordered RCBS "Cowboy" seating die, which is a two step die similar to the Lyman M die. I will be getting the expander plug for .380 bullets, which should cure my seating woes.
First step - slugged the barrel - .380
Bought 38-55 dies from Lee-no other brands in stock for 38-55 the first time around
WW brass
NBT 249 grain RNFP bullets
Federal Primers
Ok, I am usually satisfied with Lee products. I really like their crimping dies
:banghead: :banghead: WARNING - don't expect Lee dies for 38-55 to actually work. Two of three dies in the set were actually for 375 Winchester
I tried them and crushed several cases, and the Lee expanding dies were meant for 375 bullets, not .380 bullets. [Edited to add - I looked at the parts list, and yes, the .375 winchester dies were meant to be in the 38-55 die set]The next day, I ordered a set of lyman dies for 38-55, with the two step expanding die. Much better. I also picked up the Lee Factory crimp die. The Lyman expander is still not big enough for .380 bullets, and seating the bullets "swelled" the cases. about 1/2 of them would chamber in my 38-55. After a little thought, I came across a "hillbilly" solution. I resized the loaded round in the sizer die, after removing the decapping pin, of course. Anyone ever done this?
I separated the "resized" ammo, and gave the fired empties a good visual. Ejection/extraction was flawless, no primer dings. Out of the box, getting used to the rifle, I switched from front aperture/rear aperture to front post/rear aperture. just getting used to the gun, got 2-3" groups at 50 yards. I expect that with familiarity it will get better. Recoil is fairly mild.
At 50 yards off hand was able to hit the spinning 4"/5" spinning plate combo offhand with regularity. Same with kneeling and prone. The trigger could be a little better, but some use may help that. If not, I know a competent smith who can take the trigger down to 3 lbs for me. (I know the factory likes 5 lb triggers, way too much for this setup)
My next step - ordered RCBS "Cowboy" seating die, which is a two step die similar to the Lyman M die. I will be getting the expander plug for .380 bullets, which should cure my seating woes.
