Help with Lever Action Irritation?

J

Johnny Got His Gun.1

New member
My Rossi .38 spl/.357 Magnum lever action rifle is irritating me. The last time I shot it, I shot only .38 spl in it and had no problems with them feeding. Right now, they still feed fine, but the .357 Magnums aren't.

From what I could gather, the slight length advantage of the magnums and a slightly poor angle for feeding is preventing the .357 Magnums from loading smoothly. If I rack the lever extremely fast, I don't _always_ run into this problem, but I want a smooth "average" action such as I'm used to having.

Any suggestions?
 
Sounds like your going to have to confine yourself to shooting 38 spl. or find yourself an exceptionally fine gunsmith to work those angles out for you.

[This message has been edited by Herodotus (edited August 05, 2000).]
 
Have you tried a round-nosed bullet in the .357 load, to see if it makes a difference? From what you said, it can't be the base of the cartridge case which is causing the problem.

The only other helpful hint I can think of, without actually "messing" with the rifle, is to polish the upper quadrant of the chamber, where the nose of the bullet first rubs during the loading cycle.

FWIW, Art
 
Most lever guns will jam if not worked smartly. Any winchester will jam if treated that way even. You need to snap that lever back, most pump guns are the same. If you ease the action home it jams. If you want to treat it like bolt gun then get a bolt gun. Shooting a lever gun is a bit of a art as they are designed of that fast second shot. :) The also get snotty about the bullet shape too.
 
I am with Art on this one. I would try a RN, JSP, and FMJ and see if the results ae the same.
 
I have a Rossi lever action too! :) I would caution you to use "ROUND NOSE FLAT POINT" (RNFP) cartridges, NOT "Round Nose" in your rifles magazine. You want a bullet that touches the cartridges base, not the primer. That "round nose" is pressing on the primer of the cartridge in front of it when it is in the magazine. (Just like a firing pin). Magazine detonation can happen. This is why 30-30 ammo has that flat point also. Good shooting! :)
 
Been out of the mix for a few days . . .

Thanks for the tips. The round nose/flat round nose tip hadn't crossed my mind. As for gunsmithing, one of my colleagues is a gunsmith on the side and is who I do most of my gun business with. If there's any internal plundering to do, I'll see him.

Working the lever especially fast isn't my forte, I'll admit. I've logged far more time with a bolt-action than a lever-action. The tip on faster levering might just get me somewhere since it is a weakness of mine.

I don't mind shooting nothing but .38s in it, but I have a lot of .357 loads and would love to send them down that barrel.
 
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