What do you like about 38-55?

El Chivo · Post by **El Chivo** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 1:05 am

accuracy, power, tradition, effectiveness, do you like the round?

tman · Post by **tman** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 4:14 am

Buffalo bores offering makes it a pretty effective medium range big game round. Expensive !

Post by **Hobie** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 8:32 am

El Chivo wrote:accuracy, power, tradition, effectiveness, do you like the round?

Yes, that about sums it up...

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:08 am

Its a great round to which I have owned many rifles chambered for in the last 40 years, shooting untold thousands of rounds. Its my main big bore silhouette cartridge.

I believe the main attraction for owning these rifles in the grand 38-55 is nostalgic as many more modern ones eat it up. It was great in it's time, but in reality, its only a hundred yard hunting gun or a 200 yard target gun with a little extra yardage added with hotter handloads.-------------------------------------Sixgun

Shasta · Post by **Shasta** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:22 am

The .38-55 is a great deer round, and is very popular for Cowboy Lever Action Silhouette shooting. It has plenty of power to knock down the 200 meter rams, with recoil only slightly more than the .30-30. The straight wall cases are very easy to reload, and good accuracy is obtainable with cast lead bullets, so long as proper bore fit is achieved. Many older rifles, especially Marlins, have oversize bores that require larger than standard bullets. Case length can be an issue with some rifles. The current manufacture Winchester cases are a bit short, but Starline offers .38-55 cases in two different lengths.
My own .38-55 is a Winchester with octagon barrel, pistol grip stock, and Marble's tang sight, made in 2005. I use the Winchester brass and RCBS 37-250-FN cast lead bullets, and have achieved AAA class in silhouette shooting.

I very much like the .38-55!

SHASTA

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 11:06 am

There seems to be little the cartridge cannot do reasonably well, from 'plinking' or small game light-loads, all the way up to pretty big game, with attention to bullet selection. Leverguns don't usually beat boltguns and single shots for ultimate accuracy, but out of a levergun people seem to find it accurate enough to do the jobs they ask of it. I think I've read articles over the years of it in single-shots for precision work, though.

stew71 · Post by **stew71** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 1:14 pm

It's an old, tried-and-true lever round. Good enough for me!

Thunder50 · Post by **Thunder50** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 2:05 pm

I have a 38-55 built on a P-17 bolt action. One of my most accurate cast bullet guns. On a calm day, I can shoot at one of our 7" square gongs at 500 yards and hit it more than I miss it, using 310gr cast bullets.

JerryB · Post by **JerryB** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 2:54 pm

I'll get to hunt with mine this year. It is great to shoot and more accurate than I am. 38-55 is a grand old round.

Borregos · Post by **Borregos** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 3:58 pm

I just know I would like one

KirkD · Post by **KirkD** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 4:42 pm

Nostalgia

ollogger · Post by **ollogger** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 7:34 pm

I have two, one is a old 1894 & the other is a Marlin CB, the Marlin shoots 5x better than the old Winchester
but the old lady just has 5x the class

ollogger

tman · Post by **tman** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 7:58 pm

A dream gun of mine is a saddle ring carbine 1894 38-55. Because of the price of an original in decent conditions eludes my meeger $ situation, I've settled for my pre angle-eject BigBore 94.375WCF. If u can afford one, GET IT!

hfcable · Post by **hfcable** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 7:58 pm

ollogger wrote:I have two, one is a old 1894 & the other is a Marlin CB, the Marlin shoots 5x better than the old Winchester
but the old lady just has 5x the class

ollogger

well put... my 1894 was made in 1895, goldrush days up here, when that cartridge was used to harvest caribou for the miners, etc.

used mine that way on some running caribou......shot two of them and yes.....it worked just like it did back then.

[ gratuitous picture follows}

ollogger · Post by **ollogger** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 8:06 pm

Cable thats alot of CLASS! Whew!

ollogger

longarm4146 · Post by **longarm4146** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:01 pm

one of my favorite cartridges. I have a vintage 1900 TD winchester and a 1920 SRC and have fared really well at some SASS long range lever matches with both. If it's good enough for six gun and kirk thats all I need.

bgmkithaca · Post by **bgmkithaca** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:38 pm

Everything about it! Hands down my favorite.

hfcable · Post by **hfcable** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 9:22 am

ollogger wrote:Cable thats alot of CLASS! Whew!

ollogger

thanks! had that one since 1982, picked it up at auction back then for 335.00$
imagine that today!

southfork · Post by **southfork** » Fri Jul 27, 2012 4:07 pm

I've had a vintage (about 1900) 1894 Winchester lever rifle in this caliber for a long time but have never fired it. The bore sluggs out at .381, and as mentioned above, that is larger in diameter than bullets being made today. Anybody know of a source for .381 or .382 cast bullets? I would love to hunt with this rifle.

hfcable · Post by **hfcable** » Fri Jul 27, 2012 4:15 pm

bore on mine is .378....i use lead .378 or barnes old style jacketed .377 which shoots very well for me.
a lot of the old marlins ran 380-381
problem is often that the chamber will not handle a cartridge with a 380-381 bullet.

will see what i can find about where to get ones that large.

38-55 · Post by **38-55** » Fri Jul 27, 2012 8:58 pm

I like the hyphen

The 38-55 just sounds cool.

I have one.... Winchester Model 94 made in 1902

I just LOVE old guns!

ollogger · Post by **ollogger** » Fri Jul 27, 2012 9:46 pm

Southfork I have a lee mold that casts a 381- 382 dia, bullet with soft lead + afew ww, but as cable said they
may not chamber, so I fixed that & bought some starline brass, the lee mold is 255gr casts bout 263
have a lyman mold it casts bout 285 but the old Win. just tumbles them, there sized at 279 & GC
they shoot great in the marlin

ollogger

20cows · Post by **20cows** » Tue Jul 31, 2012 1:37 am

With the straight tapered cases, it is much easier (to me anyway) to reload than the 30-30.

I collapsed shoulders when crimping the 30-30 a lot when was using jacketed bullets with no cannelure. I either crushed shoulders or let the bullets push in the case from the magazine spring. My solution was to rebore to the 38-55. (I know, I could have switched bullets, but this was more fun).

Then I fell in love with the cartridge and rebored another 30-30.

I use a 275 gr cast bullet in a trapper 94. I don't have to push it hard to punch holes in stuff.

I use Hornady 220 gr jacketed bullets in a 26 inch barrel and push them a little faster. Those holes tend to get a lot bigger as they go.

Whit Spurzon · Post by **Whit Spurzon** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 11:26 pm

The first time I picked up a 38-55 cartridge I could tell there is something 'just right' about it. It gets a lot of my attention.

Some friends working over the 600 yard dinger with the 38-55
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plfpKx8z6o8

A friend shooting his at 1,000 yards.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO6ihrcukcc

Me shooting mine through milk jugs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-kTlnhsa2Q

2X22 · Post by **2X22** » Sat Aug 04, 2012 1:11 pm

What I like about my 38-55 is that it has knocked every elk I've shot with it right onto the dinner table. I like it because it my most consistantly accurate levergun. I like it because it also was able to reach out and touch an antelope with a nice long shot last season. I like it because mule deer nearly drop to their knees and start pleading when they see it.

2x22

El Chivo · Post by **El Chivo** » Sun Aug 05, 2012 1:27 am

Hmmm, I may go with it.

I was thinking about doing a re-boring job on my 30-30 to 35-30 since I already have the dies and bullets on hand.

But do I really need a souped up .357? Part of my issue with 30-30 is the loads that fill the cartridge are accurate, but too fast for plain lead bullets. A bigger bullet would slow things down some, I might get that full case with lead bullets.

I think I'll pick up a Loadbook and see what gives.

I was perusing the Oregon Trail site and the look of their .380 240 grainer appeals to me. Fairly long, sort of like a scaled down 45-70.

I have been thinking to work on long range shooting, could be the ticket.

spaceman spiff · Post by **spaceman spiff** » Sun Aug 05, 2012 1:55 am

I like that I have a Win 94 takedown in .38-55 that my Grandpa bought new in 1927.

A bonus is that it's scary accurate.

spaceman

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