310 kit for .38 Special

[Scott Tschirhart]

I found a steel 310 handle marked .38 Special and I think I may have a set of dies around here somewhere.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Might try to duplicate a Skeeter kit.

[Walt]

I think Skeeter took bulk casting lead with him and made his bullets at his camp site, then loaded them. If it were me, I would just cast the bullets beforehand.

[Ysabel Kid]

The old loading tools are so cool!

[Eddie Southgate]

I use the 310 stuff a lot, it's what I learned on 56 years ago. Also use the Tru Line Jr press and dies. All the 310 and Tru line stuff is getting hard to get for people that actually use them on account of the collectors.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Gathering my stuff.

I know that this is a ridiculous exercise since I load thousands of rounds of .38/.357 on my Dillon 550 every year. But this is not meant to be practical. I actually want to load by a campfire.

[JimT]

I still load with mine occasionally. Dad started me out with the 310 tool about 1956. I loaded thousands of .357 Magnums and .38 Specials with it up into the 1960's. When I got out of the Army in 1969 I bought a new loading tool .. the Lee Loader! I had just bought a then new Ruger Blackhawk in .30 Carbine and used the Lee Loader to load for it. I like the 310 Tool better but did not have .30 Carbine dies. Besides, I wanted to try the new Lee stuff.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I learned to load on a Lee loader with a plastic mallet loading for a DCM .30 Carbine. I did occasionally set off a primer while seating it. Loud at the kitchen table!

[Malamute]

I like the 310 tools, I keep a basic set for things I use when I travel (38, 44, 45 Colt, 30-30). I also throw in the bench press sizing die, I can often find someone to let me use a press to size without it becoming too much of a time imposition. The Lyman full length sizing dies intended as a supplement to the 310 tools are also around, I have a couple of them and am always on the lookout for deals on ones I can use.

I have a spare set of Lee powder measures, I toss in a few measures with their charges written down on a business card or on the back one of the paper charge info things some bullet makers throw in for the powders I use or that are most common for loads I may use. They fit in with the dies without much problem with space. I like to have a set of handles and mold blocks for the most common things I use. I feel pretty self sufficient when away for extended periods. Pistol powder can be transferred to the old style IMR powder cans to save space.

If you need parts or spare dies they are around on Ebay. Some sellers have crazy prices, many are available pretty reasonably if you look around. I bought a spare 38/357 seat/crimp die to shorten for 38 Short Colt, it was about $15 I think. Theres also a long running 310 trade thread on the castboolits forum.

[JimT]

I learned to load on a Lee loader with a plastic mallet loading for a DCM .30 Carbine. I did occasionally set off a primer while seating it. Loud at the kitchen table!

I had that problem also. Later I figured out that the military rounds had crimped primer pockets. But I was just learning that stuff at the time and did not know why it would do that.

[Bill in Oregon]

It's been so long that I had and used a 310 that I'd have to start over, simple as it is. I started loading in high school in 1969: a Lee Loader and Western Auto paper shells for the 16-gauge Model 12, and a swell new RCBS Junior to load .30 WCF for the Marlin Dad ordered for me from Herter's, 150-grain Sierra (still made in California) softpoints over IMR 3031.
Skeeter sure gave us the itch to go light, didn't he?

[Scott Tschirhart]

I think the only thing I need now is a priming die.

Looking for one in ernest.

[marlinman93]

I think if that handle is marked for the .38 Special then it likely predates the 310 tools, although 310 dies will fit it. The old Ideal tools before Lyman bought Ideal from Marlin used the same threads and design, but being caliber specific they had the cartridge marked on them that 310 tools didn't have.

[Scott Tschirhart]

The markings may have been added later.

[JimT]

A SHORT & IMPROPER HISTORY OF THE LYMAN 310 TOOL

The Lyman 310 Tool has it's origins in the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. In the early days Winchester made reloading tools for their rifles. These were sold with or given with the rifle at the time of purchase. The tools were of the "nutcracker" design and many of them incorporated a bullet mold on the end of the tool so a frontiersman or rancher had it all in one compact package ... bullet casting and reloading tool.

When Winchester quit making these tools, the man who was in charge of their Reloading Tool Department ... a Mr. John Barlow... went to work for the Ideal Tool Company. He refined the Winchester Reloading Tool and Ideal brought it out in several different configurations: the #3 Tool (for use with rimmed cartridges) the #4 Tool ( rimmed cartridges but with an attached bullet mold), the #6 Tool (rimless cartridges with an attached bullet mold) and the #10 Tool (rimless cartridges).

By the late 1930's the #4 and #6 were discontinued due to lagging sales and the fact that the Lyman Gun Sight Corporation had taken over Ideal. Under new management the Lyman line of bullet molds with removable handles had been introduced and these advancements made the mold/reloading tool combination obsolete. The #3 Reloading Tool and the #10 Reloading Tool continued to be good selling items however and by 1940 were redesigned slightly to make them easier to use. They were made of steel and were very robust items. The big drawback was that you had to purchase a separate Reloading Tool for each caliber that you wanted to load for.

By the 1950's Lyman had once again redesigned the Reloading tools, incorporating a removable shell guide in the handles so one set of handles could work with many calibers. This new Tool was called the 310 Tool since you could reload both rimmed and rimless cartridges with it. Once a set of handles were purchased all you had to buy was the reloading dies and shell guide for whatever caliber you wanted to reload.

Some early handles for the 310 Tools were made of steel. By the late 1950's they were made of cast aluminum. This reduced the weight considerably. While not as strong as the steel handles, the 310 Tool did not full-length size the cases so it normally was not a factor.

The Lyman Ideal 310 Tool is no longer in production. You can still find 310 Tools for sale, but the cost today is a far cry from 1940. I have several sets in .38/357 ... .44 Special, .45 ACP and .45 Colt that I still use on occasion. While not as popular as it once was the Lyman 310 Tool will still produce fine ammunition. It is a great way for those starting out to learn reloading or for someone who does not have a lot of room and needs a small compact setup to use.

[Eddie Southgate]

You are correct in the title , some of the info is correct. As far as I can tell Winchester never made a tool with a mold attached . They required a three piece set . The Winchester tool seated a primer , seated a bullet and crimped it in. There was a separate de priming tool and you had to use the Winchester bullet mold that was designed for the tool or your crimp groove and bullet nose would not likely match the fixed chamber of the tool.

The original Ideal tools were sold as Marlin /Ballard tools and they did feature a built in bullet mold and also a fixed seating and crimping chamber and pin to seat primers . Mr. Barlow was connected to both tools. I have quite a few of the early #1 tools and none are marked with Winchester markings. If Winchester ever made a tool with a mold built on it they have kept it well hid from me, I've never seen one. I do have a bunch marked Marlin and Ideal with the mold built in. I have included pictures of the 1894 version of the Winchester tools , all three pieces but these are different calibers so not an original set . Also one of the 1874 tool which is quite different. The '74 tool is boxed . Kevin is the best available site on the internet that I am aware of but everything said on his site is not best I can tell strictly correct.