Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General 38-55 or 375?

That's the question. want to convert a marlin 336 3030 to one of these, any one got any idea which one and why?

My own $.02 FWIW...

I'm primarily a CB shooter. The .375 Win. chamber has a looong jump to the rifling. Not CB friendly. The .38-55 on the other hand brings the rifling origin up close to the end of the chamber which is a plus in my book.

If you go .38-55 - look into what you would be getting for barrel dimensions from your supplier of choice. Many .38-55 barrels run on the order of .380" in the grooves (and more). Most of the bigger mould manufacturers product is considerably smaller than that casting bullets at .375"-.376" range - not good for accuracy in a .380" barrel. This can be overcome by getting one of the semi custom moulds such as are produced by Mountain Mold having it cut to correct diameter.

If you get a barrel that runs .375" in the grooves - and run the chambering reamer in for a .38-55 - you'll have more options in moulds & for correctly fitting full length gas checked bullets (jacketed) if you're of a mind to use those. I THINK this would potentially be a more accurate solution for either bullet type than the .380" dimension barrel UNLESS you get a bullet large enough for a good fit.


Best regards-

Sky C.

Someone who knows can confirm, but I don't think a 336 .30-30 action will handle the pressures generated by .375 Win. ammo (i.e Ka-Boom!).

I'd say .38-55 for that reason, alone.

RSY

The 336 action will handle the pressures just fine. Marlin used to chamber the 336 in .375 win and it is the same action uesed for the 1895 in 444,45-70, and 450 Marlin. the bigger issue is as the previous poster mentioned getting the barrel to fit the most usable dimensions. Too bad you can't just get one of the guns off Gunbroker.com in 375 win. Best wishes with this project.

Thanks guys I'm leaning towards the 38-55 more because of it's history than anything else.I'll let you know how it turns out and then I'll be looking for everyone's favorite loads. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Be careful. If I remember correctly, the 1895s undergo a different heat treatment to allow them to withstand higher pressures than a regular 336.

You may want to post your question on Paco Kelly's Leverguns.com forum for more feedback: http://leverguns.sixgunner.com/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=2

Stay safe,
RSY