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Post by needsmostuff on Oct 25, 2023 14:17:23 GMT -5
I have a bit of an ever-present need for old H&R/NEF single shot rifles that led to this.
I wanted the stocks and receiver (case colored and walnut from the target series) but no experience with the 38-55 chambering. Initially the thought was part out the barrel and keep what I wanted.
I don't have any brass, bullets or dies so it's not a cheap one to take up. The barrel itself has been nicely shortened to a handier 20inches as it was originally 28".
Any way I figured I would run it around here and see if I'm missing out and jumping the gun by letting it go?
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Post by taffin on Oct 25, 2023 14:31:31 GMT -5
YES YOU ARE!
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Post by z1r on Oct 25, 2023 17:12:53 GMT -5
Indeed, the .38-55 is a rewarding cartridge to shoot especially with Cast Bullets. As with many firearms shooting cast, once you have sorted it out, it is capable of exceptional accuracy.
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jeffh
.375 Atomic
Posts: 1,606
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Post by jeffh on Oct 25, 2023 19:39:43 GMT -5
I've been a bit infatuated with this round myself lately - like for months - and have been studying it some. The more I read, the more I like.
I know that I should stick to my plan and keep my personal battery small. It has taken me well over a decade to pare things down and I'm hesitant to expand it again, even by one more barrel, set of dies and a mould... YET, the thought persists.
My idea is a 24" tapered Contender barrel with a sourdough front sight on a nice ramp. I have ramps to choose from and a brand-new-in-box Williams target rear peep sight already. A light and lively, mild-mannered medium-bore which would be a lot of fun to shoot and a decent deer rifle to boot.
Since the 30/30 is part of my battery, I rationalized that I could make functional brass from 30/30 cases if I needed to, as the 30/30 case started as a necked-down 38/55 case anyway. Starline lists the brass (in two lengths) and should be making some at some point in the future, and how many cases would a guy need for something like this anyway? A hundred, two hundred? Twenty?
SSK has 20" 375W barrels for $400 right now, which is a good $100 less than the others I've looked at. I cold load it like a 38/55... If it were 24", I don't think I could resist, but resist I must. I have mounted a six-year-old, 20" MGM 357 Max barrel on my new SSK-50 frame, but that barrel has yet to have a shot fired through it! Why do I need another project? I don't know, but the pull is strong.
I watched a 24" TC 38/55 barrel go on eBay for $285 a few months ago and patted myself on the back for being strong and resisting.
That back patting turned into butt-kicking at some point and, frankly, my butts getting sore.
I say scrounge a few pieces of brass and give that gun a whirl! I'm thinking you'll enjoy it and decide to keep it. To get a 38/55 in anything right now is a slim and expensive prospect. It'll cost a lot more later to act upon your intuitions, which seem to indicate that you really WANT to shoot this gun.
BTW: There's a really good article floating around out there, which Mr. Taffin himself wrote relatively recently (I'm getting old - ten years seems like a year these days) and it did not help me one bit to shrug off this 38/55 obsession.
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Post by 500fksjr on Oct 25, 2023 19:49:53 GMT -5
It is a great cart...in single shot or a win 94
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Post by Encore64 on Oct 26, 2023 0:21:20 GMT -5
The 38-55 is an excellent cartridge. Lots of great cast bullets available these days and that makes it even better. This is especially true of the Coated Cast Bullets.
I owned one of those guns for a while and quickly learned I needed larger diameter bullets for best accuracy.
I don't recall exactly what I landed on, but I suggest you slug your gun's barrel to determine.
My gun got sold off when I added a Marlin Octagon Barrel 336CB in 38-55...
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Post by z1r on Oct 26, 2023 10:34:06 GMT -5
It is a great cart...in single shot or a win 94 I have both, a Ruger #3 and a Big Bore 94. Mine are currently actually .375 Winchesters but the same for all intents and purposes. I have a Marlin that needs converting, can't decide between the .38-55 or .25-35. |
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jeffh
.375 Atomic
Posts: 1,606
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Post by jeffh on Oct 26, 2023 15:03:46 GMT -5
I have reasoned that I could get a 375W barrel for the Contender and ignore the 375W load data and have the same thing too. Might even be easier to find a 375W barrel too. 375W brass is three cents more per case than 38-55 - not enough to deter even ME and my meager budget.
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Post by wendigo on Oct 27, 2023 10:00:53 GMT -5
It is a great cart...in single shot or a win 94 I have both, a Ruger #3 and a Big Bore 94. Mine are currently actually .375 Winchesters but the same for all intents and purposes. I have a Marlin that needs converting, can't decide between the .38-55 or .25-35.
I have a #3 in .375WCF as well, it's an exceptional cast bullet launcher using 38-55 data. |
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ericp
.327 Meteor
Posts: 503
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Post by ericp on Oct 27, 2023 10:43:39 GMT -5
I had an abbreviated Buffalo Classic in 38-55, shot well but had a big chamber and I had to segregate the brass from my other 38-55s so it went to friend. It's a fun cartridge and much kinder to powder and lead piles then a 45-70.
Eric
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Post by z1r on Oct 27, 2023 12:24:21 GMT -5
I had an abbreviated Buffalo Classic in 38-55, shot well but had a big chamber and I had to segregate the brass from my other 38-55s so it went to friend. It's a fun cartridge and much kinder to powder and lead piles then a 45-70. Eric Much kinder to your shoulder as well, lol. I once shot a Cast Bullet Silhouette match with a Trapdoor Carbine using HB 405's over BP. Lots of fun since I was in the first position on the left with the wind blowing to the right. 40 rounds even at BP velocities and you know you've been shooting! |
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ericp
.327 Meteor
Posts: 503
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Post by ericp on Oct 28, 2023 9:13:49 GMT -5
Very true! I shot silhouette with an '84 Trapdoor for a season and can attest that by the end of the match you are glad there isn't a 5th bank of targets.
Eric
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jeffh
.375 Atomic
Posts: 1,606
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Post by jeffh on Oct 28, 2023 10:29:38 GMT -5
....by the end of the match you are glad there isn't a 5th bank of targets. Eric
To be honest, since I started shooting "pansy guns" thirty-some years ago, even a full-snort 30/30 in my rifle (just over 6#, complete) would start to get old real quick.
One of the coolest things about certain cartridges is that they are so amenable to to being loaded to "squirrel-load" levels, yet need make no apologies at full power. The range of loads, types of propellant, projectile weight and composition seems very wide for the 38-55, much like so many other shoulder-less cases have been for me.
...I think I think I might be rationalizing why I SHOULD get a 38-55 (or 375W) rifle barrel for one of my Contenders. I'm running out of modern things to get rid of to make room for some new old thing though.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2023 12:50:18 GMT -5
Read the info on Buffalo Bores website. 38-55 is my favorite win 94 cartridge
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