The .358-378 RG....

One of the benefits of operating a site of this type is the challenge associated with new projects. Each is an exploration, and intellectual exercise, a quest for bigger and better, err….stuff. Underscore the process with this author’s general lack of firearm related knowledge, and even primer seating can become a very, very exciting prospect. However, after reflecting on my most recent article, “Inside the Crocogator”, I do believe it is time to make a somewhat more significant stride forward. It was time Real Guns had it’s very own wildcat cartridge, and maybe even a gun to go with it; clearly a project combination I’ve never approached.

I know coverage of unique combination isn’t uncharted territory for mainstream publications, “Chuck sent me one of his prototype .227 Wizbang, a set of dies and components, and 31 boxes of loaded ammo” is pretty standard coverage, but I always wanted to know what quagmire Chuck had to wade through to get all of this stuff ready for the “Guns and Blammo” review. If things went well, Real Guns would have a mascot firearm and I’d have something new to play with. If I failed, I’d leave a pretty good trail of “what not to do’s” which might help others find their way.

The Cartridge

I decided I would look for a gap in the periodic table of cartridges for something not currently being offered. I did, I analyzed and arrived at the conclusion that if a combination hasn’t been pursued as of the past several years, it’s probably not worth pursuing. However, this led me to another thought, “So what?”, if the factories can freely introduce redundant and irrelevant cartridges, why can’t I? If the industry can hold a straight face and sell the .260 Remington, the .450 Marlin and any Lazzeroni short fat cartridge that is slower than their long fat cartridges, can’t I skip the middle man and go directly to a ridiculous cartridge of my own creation? I wanted to uncover the steps and pitfalls of the custom cartridge/custom rifle process, not necessarily produce a break through cartridge.

I looked at the piles of Weatherby brass on my loading bench, the multiple kegs of slooooow smokeless powder and figured my new cartridge destiny would incorporate most of this material. The selection would lie somewhere between the .338 bore which I had already covered, and the 9.3mm and .375 bore which have a limited choice of popular bullet design and weights. Unless I began to make up my own calibers, the .358 was the only size left, with a bullet range of 185 – 310 grain bullets, in virtually every type of bullet construction, including full metal jacket and heavy round nose. 

Cartridge examples for this bore run from the .358 Winchester and short .350 Remington Magnum, to the big .358 Norma Magnum and .358 STA. Since the production .338-378 already existed on one side, and the .378 on the other, I thought a simple resizing to .358″ caliber would do the trick and make it easier to come up with reamers, loading dies and workable brass. I did eventually decide to go from the .378 Weatherby down and get a longer neck, then go from a .338 up and get a short neck. The longer neck would preserve powder capacity and facilitate the use of longer bullets.

This is what I believe the outcome might be, or at least a comparison between a theoretical result and hot premium factory loads for the others. Over the span of any realistic distances this cartridge would be used for large North American game, the .358-378RG should offer a clear advantage. In fact, it would hold a proportional edge over the .375 H&H in perpetuity. The .338-378 with higher sectional density and better ballistic coefficient closes the gap a little bit, but only at extreme ranges. Of course my calculations could be totally bogus and……

The Rifle

I was going to offer up my Accumark .338-378 to the process; have it rebarreled, slap on some nice wood, and get rid of what must be the ugliest piece of fiberglass on the face of the earth. I couldn’t do it. The gun is just too ugly, too accurate and too well behaved to screw around with, at least for the moment. I needed to find something different, and the choice of actions that can be easily modified to handle this size basic brass is limited. I finally decided on aRuger No.1 Tropical, originally chambered for the .375 H&H. When I’m ready; a new barrel, a little extractor work and relief around the feed ramp and I should  be all set.

I apologize for the catalog picture, unfortunately I live under the state governorship of “Red” Davis in California. So I can’t take possession of my single shot falling block rifle for a full ten days, in case I’ve become a non-citizen or served felony prison time since I purchased another firearm two weeks ago. God knows how criminals love a good single shot rifle. I don’t like to mention politics, because it turns some people off, and has been known to give others a headache from all of that exceptional thinking, but my idea of a moderate is Sam Kinison in character as a college professor in Rodney Dangerfield’s “Back to School”. Yes, I do enjoy the classics.

I did have a few quiet moments with the rifle when it was purchased and I can only say it is a very nice gun. Short, nice balance, quality aesthetics and not so unlike and the early Farquharson falling block rifles from Holland & Holland. This will be a difficult rifle to let go of to be modified, unless I’m convinced the outcome will be more attractive than the original. There are many decisions to make on barrel profiles, sight combination, stock pattern….

Tooling, or who’s doing all the real work

Wow, this part isn’t easy. For all of the listings, and all of the shops, and all of the advertising, getting good work done is like finding a plumber on Sunday who doesn’t wear a ski mask, or pull up in a Rolls with the license plate “Sucka”. I’m not going to focus on problem vendors or suppliers, but I do want to try to at least describe the type of problems that might be encountered in this type of effort.

If you want to know who the good guys are, call up a shop, tell them you are new to a process, and ask them if they would be kind enough to walk you through the details on your way to utilizing their services. If they rush you through, cut you off in mid question and expect you to just take their word for everything, hang up, you’ve got the wrong guys. If they are enthusiastic, knowledgeable and helpful, there are two certainties; you are not speaking to me, you’ve probably got the right service.

Clymer Manufacturing is one of the good places. Below is a Clymer site drawing that helps customers to understand the dimensions that need to be taken into consideration when designing and/or producing a chamber reamer. Some of the dimensions are determined by SAAMI and manufacturers’ chamber specs, others are discretionary and governed by the type off use the gun will see.

Cartridges get shorter when the neck is opened up, but longer when necked down to a smaller caliber. A case mouth thins when expanded, but thickens when reduced. Is any of this important? Sure. The direction taken here will determine the overall case length, or if cases will need to be neck reamed or trimmed when initially formed. This will also determine how large to make the neck diameter cut in the chamber. Of course the gun’s final purpose, target or hunting, determines how much clearance should exist between a freshly sized case and chamber. A close fit for a target rifle, for use in a setting where a huge buffalo won’t be running up your butt if you miss is permissible, but for field use, too little clearance and a little too much local grit can render a rifle inoperable. The chamber is the Real Guns rifle will be approximately .004″ over cartridge size. 

Another consideration is freebore length and diameter which is determined by the size and type of bullets to be used, if you are going to handload and position bullets out further than standard specification would suggest, as well as the shooters philosophy on the subject. Based upon good information offered by Clymer, I picked the longest bullet I will be using, the longest anticipated cartridge overall length, and a tight freebore to determine this measurement. Weatherby rifles have an extraordinary freebore length, perhaps as long as .700″, but they use a very tight diameter only .001″ over bore diameter to stabilize the bullet before it hits the rifling. Both Clymer and Weatherby utilize a very gradual transition ramp from  freebore to rifling.

The point is, Clymer people in sales and tech areas are helpful, knowledgeable and go a long ways to safeguard the customer by sharing their substantial experience. Before a dollar is spent and any metal is cut, the customer is given a drawing of the tool for approval. When approval is given, lead time is reasonable, as is the cost. Any of the standard reamers they carry on their site, and there is an extensive selection to choose from, run from $50 for rimless pistol cartridges, to $120 for a .460 Weatherby. While most of us like that double radius neck, apparently tool makers do not. If you’re working on a personal wildcat cartridge, the cost is a few bucks more. 

If your project is for an improved cartridge chamber, modest modification of an existing chamber, only a finishing reamer would be needed. If the project involves a new barrel that has not yet been chambered, or extensive modification of an existing chamber, you’ll need two reamers, a rougher and a finisher. The rougher will cut a chamber within .010″ of the planned finished chamber, and the finisher will cut cleanly and finish the job. The rougher can sometimes be used to produce a sizing die to match the new cartridge, but I thought .010″ was excessive for this purpose, and I didn’t want to close up the .010″ and compromise the rougher’s primary purpose – to make a correct chamber. The rougher was not necessary for the production of the die. When this part of the project is complete, I’ll post pictures of the tooling and further information.

CH4D made up the first set of chamber matched dies for my .338-378, before RCBS or Redding even realized Weatherby was shipping the production rifles for this cartridge. CH4D produces an incredible supply of useful handloading tools, equipment and supplies. It is one of most interesting sites around for handloaders, and well worth a visit even if just for the educational experience. 

CH4D was able to produce a die set from Clymer provided drawings at a very reasonable cost, correct for reloading cartridges for field use. The ability to have the dies produced in parallel with the reamers shaved a couple of weeks off of the project. Once again, another shop with helpful people who don’t try to make life complicated for people inexperienced in this type of work. These are contacts I make personally, I do not reference a company or hustle the project in association with an electronic publication or story – they would treat anyone as well. More on the die specifics when I have them in hand.

All things don’t go smoothly

Pac-Nor was an early choice for doing the re-barrel on the Ruger. Unfortunately, I got too much of a run around when  trying to get answers to simple questions, then I received contradictory information, so I decided to look elsewhere. I look at communication problems and an unwillingness to provide basic phone support as a sign of problems to come. I’m sure they are a busy quality shop, but just not my choice for this type of project.

I tried to buy a blank for a small mill in Oregon, but I couldn’t conclude the purchase. I couldn’t get a clear picture of how long it would take to for their blanks to dry enough to be worked, and I couldn’t get an idea of what I was really getting. Mostly I was concerned with trying to turn the blank over to a shop and having it come back as a pile of toothpicks with no warranty on damage to materials. I gave up on the notion that I could get a good buy on a nice piece of wood and save on the stock work. There was too much of an opportunity for finger pointing if things didn’t go well.

Next Step

I’ll take a break while the reamers and dies are in progress and use the time to check on some other shops and services. I may just try to select from a few quality custom shops that can accomplish both barrel and stock work at once central location. I don’t know just yet. I will start itemizing costs with the next installment and see of I can track how much more or less each job would cost, based on alternative or optional features. 

More 358-378RG

The .358-378 RG – Real Guns gets a cartridge

The Ruger No.1 Tropical – The 358-378RG Donor Gun

Real Guns .358-378RG  Update and Other Nifty Things

358-378 Real Guns Project Update – What to do when the parts start showing up

The .358-378RG – More Reality than Concept

Handload Data 358-378RG

Thanks
Joe