Equanimous Phil

Thanks, very interesting article! Something to add: your eye, respectively your pupil is also an adjustable aperture. The more it's closed, the more depth of focus you have, and that's what you want. Now, the size of our two pupils are linked. If you close one eye and reduce its light, the other pupil opens up. That's one reason to leave both eyes open while shooting and just block the tiny spot where you looking at with your non-leading eye, best is thin white plastic. A second reason for leaving both eyes open is a relaxed face. Equanimous

Signing in hasn't been successful yet as I am waiting for the account confirmation, but I read a lot of good info there in the meanwhile. The groove diameter was confirmed multiple times as .375, also by Kirk ("When we purchased Shiloh, they were using .375 barrels and I have just continued"). I'm quite confident that a 0.376 bullet is the way to go. I am from Switzerland, so your sources for lead probably won't work for me. I guess sending lead overseas will cost a fortune. A mold could be an option, but I hadn't planned to cast myself. One can find suitable bullets around 250gr here, but components for a single shot 38-55 aren't that easy to get. Despite I am looking for a heavier bullet, I found a promising 300gr/.376 lead bullet online in a store that's near my place. There aren't any specs or pictures online, so I will drive there and have a look at them. Very interesting manufacturer! I will ask if he sells and sends overseas. The 38-320ET seems to match my barrel. In one thread on the Shiloh forum the case length is stated as 2.030". Don't know if it's a typo and it's meant to be 2.080" as this is what Star Line sells..? But it looks like the shorter case will match my rifle. I'll see, I can pick it up tomorrow Equanimous

I know that a lot of clubs always use "any order" for SG targets in their stage description. However, we often require an order in some stages as it provides variety, particularly if we use the same setup for multiple stages. Example for 4 targets in a row: "Engage the two outside targets first, then the two inner targets." If you do that you have to provide reasonable space between the targets which is also dependent from shooting distance, of course. Equanimous Phil

Thank you, too, for your input! I gonna get the rifle on Thursday and will talk about it with the seller who is an experienced shooter (but it's not his rifle). After your concerns I will definitely double check the diameter. Never slugged a barrel before, so there will be some reading and youtubing waiting for me!

Thank you Dave for the links, I'll check out the bpcr.net and the other one. I asked about "chamber specs", but didn't get an answer on that

Thanks Hoss for all the Info! I appreciate your kind offer, but there's my main "problem" I somehow forgot to mention: I am from Switzerland, Europe (and that's what it makes hard to get components for such an uncommon caliber around here), so sending lead isn't option...

Thanks Pee Wee for the good input! Little to no crimp surprised me at first, but sounds logically in a single shot gun.

I stumbled across an offer for a 28" barrel 1874 Shiloh Sharps in mint condition for a reasonable price, so I just couldn't resist, kind of an early christmas gift I don't have it yet, but really looking forward to it! It's a 38-55 which seems an interesting caliber for me as it will be used just for mid-range fun plinking up to 450m (500 yds) on a quite wind protected range. I asked Shiloh about the specs. It's made in the late 80's with a groove of .375 and bore dia of .365, so "modern" specs as I understand. The twist is 1 in 16". I don't reload yet at all, but plan to, of course, and just started to gather equipement for my other calibers (45 Colt, 45ACP) and also want to buy everything needed for the 38-55 and need some advice now. Please don't be too harsh if my questions are too dumb... There will be some compromises as some components for this caliber won't be easy to get, but the cartridge doesn't have to be deadly accurate. I just want to avoid the biggest mistakes and rather buy once than twice... Bullet: I figured out so far (please correct me if I am on the wrong track) that a .376 bullet would be best, ideally between 310gr and 340gr for my 1:16 barrel twist. Can I use the same bullet for smokeless and BP? What do I have to consider? Brass: Found Star Line, but only the short ones (2.080"). Still trying to find 2.125", but would the short ones do the job? I will buy one or two boxes of Black Hill 255gr ammo to have something to begin with, it's the only 38-55 ammo you can buy around here. They also use the shorter shell. AOL: How do I determine the best AOL for this rifle when I can really focus on the chamber? Until now AOL was all about levering... Powder / Load: Some of my pards use Vihtavuori N32C aka Tin Star as this is what's available around here. I will use it for my 45 Colt and think that it should also work for the 38-55, but haven't found loading data yet... In the long run, I want to shoot BP. What do I look for? 2F, 3F? Completely clueless... What fps am I aiming for? Dies: Any recommendations? A lot of people recommended Lee factory crimps for my other calibers, is it also to consider for 38-55? Any inputs will be welcome! Equanimous Phil

This is in fact a very important number as it allows some conclusions about the real number of infected people. If you would just randomly chose the persons to be tested, the ratio of tests to positive cases wouldn't vary with the number of tests. In fact, just people with symptoms or who were in contact with infected people get tested. This means that if you test more, the ratio would decline as the additionaly tested persons are less likely to have covid. I'm sure you'll find the numbers relevant for USA or the state you're living in, but below is the chart of new daily cases in Switzerland. In summer the numbers got very low, but started rocketing end of October. One could (and some really do) claim now that this is just because of more testing. But the positivity ratio raised from below 5% to constantly 20%-25%, meaning every fifth to fourth person tested has the virus now, compared to summer when it was 1 out of 20 at most. Of course there have been more tests recently, but there are multiple times more positive results. And with this high ratio, there are probably a lot more infected peopled who don't get tested. Btw, the current situation here is comparable to April, but back then there weren't enough tests available. Thanks for reading , Equanimous

Living in another part of the world, but there are the same issues and discussions. Also here, you are blessed in these times if you live in a rural area instead of urban. And if there aren't (m)any cases where you live it's hard to believe that covid is a big deal. My view on death rates: I have no doubt that if people can somehow profit from COVID they will try to, and therefore, published numbers may tend to be faulty or exaggerated. Nevertheless, certain numbers just are facts. For example, one highly affected region in Switzerland is Wallis, see map below. Someone can question the numbers of testing and positive cases etc., but it is a fact that the number of deaths (overall, not necessary covid related) in the last 6 weeks is higher than the number of death in the 6 month before. At the end it doesn't matter how many deaths you put on covid and what the covid mortality exactly is, it's just obvious that there are a lot, and it's sad to read headlines like this: (roughly translated) Undertakers at their capacity limits "We soon don't know where to put the corpses" Hospitalizations: We have a good standard of healthcare in Switzerland which is sufficient in normal times for the population of 8.5m. There are about 1400 beds for intensive care in hospitals. Let's say 850 are available for severe covid patients. That's 1 bed for 10'000 people which ain't that much anymore if a pandemic strikes... Take care, Equanimous Phil

...is currently being hit again... As you see by the daily new (registered) covid cases. There are sad pictures in the news from our southern neighbors...

Well said! And even if you absolutely don't mind about your stage times and don't want to get better: It's just a LOT MORE FUN to shoot well functioning guns, smooth cycling rifles, non-sticking SG hulls etc. Equanimous

Check out Dick Dale, that's how he played his guitars

I really like how these holsters look FAST and TRADITIONAL at the same time! Equanimous

Thanks, good Video! Equanimous Phil (who lives in a country that is currently heavily affected again... )