Put a rust blue job on that barrel and it will be a really great looking rifle!

I only used 17GR of 4759 for this load.  I am hoping my 38 Saeco bullets that I use for 38-55 BP will work once the brass is fired.  I do not size my 38-55 once fired, just use a home made 'expander' to even out the case mouths for a slip fit with the Saeco bullets.   
The stock is kind of rough but rare.  I bought it from Joe Dobrynski on eBay.

That is a plan. One of the fired cases will end up on a seater. My Hoch tapered bullets can’t be used for fixed smokeless since they fall into the case. I don’t have a way to size the brass right now.

Wow! I wonder how that stock got separated from that rifle and ended up with Joe D. It sure looks like it came from that Jeffrey high wall. You can see the insert in the bottom of the stock where the tip of the lever fits as it's closed. Very curious..

I don't think I am going to need one.  I just ran two cases that were oversized in the neck into a 32-40 sizing die about 1/2" and it sized them down fine.  Ran them into a 38-55 M die and they fit perfectly.  No lathe was harmed in the making of this post!

westerner wrote on Oct 9^th, 2026 at 11:32pm:


Lyman M-die, neck expanding die

The lyman M die is very useful. You only need 2, long and short. Then buy or make whatever size mandrel you want.

Is the m die any different than just using an rcbs expander die with custom mandrels or does it do something extra.

Lyman M die rods are threaded on the end so you can quickly change expander plugs. Unfortunately Lyman sells the expander rods with plugs as an assembly and not just the expander plugs. But they're pretty cheap, and I just set the rods aside and use only the plugs. I drilled a wood block with a bunch of holes and used a sharpie to write diameters by each expander.
I buy the expanders direct from Lyman and since they don't sell custom sizes I just buy the next size larger and turn them down. Chuck the threaded shank in my drill press and use a file to work them down to the exact size I need for whatever I'm expanding. They have a large variety of sizes for sale, but occasionally they're a bit larger than I need. Last I bought were less than $4 each, so I bought extras in .45-70 and .38-55 to save on shipping.

Just checked and I do have one set of 45-90 Lyman dies. The expander die is stamped M-2. So it must be the M die. Lyman did good. Slick. I've always made my own when I needed them. That's why I told Jack to get on the lathe and make one. Cheaper thata way. As Johnny Cash would say...