Bullet diameter for Winchester .38-55 High Wall

[Muchacho Viejo]

I received a bag of 250 grain hard cast lead bullets, in .377" diameter, along with new brass, when I bought a very nice and near new Winchester High Wall rifle in .38-55. The seller had not fired the rifle, nor loaded any cartridges for it, but thought these bullets were correct.

 

I am doubting that after attempting to assemble some unprimed/no-powder dummy loads to use for rifle action test, chamber fit, etc. Several symptoms lead me to think they are too large:

 

1. The bullets will not enter the case without a significantly larger "belling" of the case mouth than I am used to seeing with other caliber cartridges.

 

2. When seated to proper depth, the bullet creates a noticable expansion, or "bulge" in the case wall from case mouth to the end of the inserted portion of the bullet. I can both see and feel the bulge, difficult to measure, but probably mic's out to a ocuple of thousandths of an inch or so.

 

3. The correct roll crimp setting is very "fussy" to adjust. With not enough crimp the round won't chamber all the way, with too much crimp, the round won't chamber all the way, either. There is a very narrow window of crimp setting which will allow the rounds to chamber. I would be hesitant to reload any live rounds without checking that each and every one would chamber!

 

4. I tried to use a couple of the bullets to "slug" the bore of the rifle so I could get an accurate bore diameter, but the bullets would only enter the bore about 3/4" of an inch before they simply jammed tight, so tight that light tapping would not move them further into the bore, from muzzle or breech, neither would firm hammer hits move them. I quit trying, but had to use a bigger hammer and pretty firm hits to dis-lodge them from the bore. Hope I didn't hurt the rifle. The bullets were beat up pretty badly from the ordeal, but I was able to get some micrometer measurements....as best I could measure... groove diameter .375", lands .369"

 

So, I'm wondering: are the .377" hard casts are just to large for my rifle. Anyone have other thoughts?

 

I suppose I will look for some .375" and try those??? If anyone has other experience and suggestions for bullets in this rifle and caliber, I sure would appreciate it!

 

Thanks,

[WOODFOX , sass#34179]

.002 larger than your bore should be ok with lead bullets you need to get a larger expander plug for your dies . You can get them from RCBS if you have their dies. I use a Lee factory crimp die on my loads . Hope this helps . Woodfox

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

You will need to use a softer lead slug to slug your barrel if you can't drive those hard-cast slugs through. Find one of your Cap and Ball shooting buddies who shoot .36 pistols and get a few of his spare balls. Or, even a soft 3/8" diameter fishing sinker will work. Spray some lube on the bullet before you try driving it down the barrel, too. If your slugging slug is smaller than the bore, you can drop an oak dowel rod down the barrel to act as an anvil against which you can upset the slug to get a good groove diameter. You will NEED to have the groove diameter pretty well measured to have good success loading many .38-55 rifles. Take it to a gunsmith if you just don't have the time and equipment and slugs to do it. It might even be good to have him do a chamber cast, too. Should only be $20-30.

 

From your problems, you probably have gun with a tight bore AND a tight neck. Newer .38-55 barrels are often found bored way under "standard" diameter, which should be about .377. Old guns are sometimes over bored. Undersize is probably more common anymore, at about .375.

 

Here's a pretty good article about the .38-55 by John Taffin. Covers some of how sloppy the barrel dimensions are.

http://www.sixguns.c...nge/336cwby.htm

 

Here's some likely causes of what you were reporting.

1) You have to bell extensively to get .377 slugs to load. That is an expander plug that is too small for .377. The new .38-55 dies are expecting jacketed bullet loading, using .375 diameter jacketed slugs. If you can drop to a .375 diameter slug (or get a sizing die for a lubrisizer that is .375 ID, and resize your existing bullets), you probably could cut back on belling.

 

2) Loaded bullets bulge the neck of the cartridge. This indicates your DIE set, in the resizing die, has a tight neck (again, expecting .375 bullets). A little bulge around where the bullet has been seated will not hurt anything.

 

3) When you crimp, it sounds like you might be bulging the neck slightly below the crimp just a thousandth or two. When you use a large bullet, in a tight-neck chamber like it sounds like your gun has, just the slightest bulge from the crimp buckling causes problems. This can be caused by crimping so the case mouth runs into the land in front of the crimp groove. The brass case mouth will be softer than the hard bullets you are loading, so the case neck bulges just below the crimp. You can feel this with your fingertip, if you try. Or slap a caliper on it and the OD will be slightly larger there.

 

Varying case length will cause the crimp setting to be fussy. Check case length and if they are not all within a couple of thousandths of each other, trim to uniform length.

 

Normally a lead bullet a couple thousandths too large would not be hard to load. But, overall my guess without having good barrel and chamber measurements, is that you need to drop down to a moderately soft slug sized to .376" diameter at the most, then carefully adjust your loading technique to crimp properly without bulging the case neck below the crimp.

 

Good luck, GJ

[twelve mile REB]

Sounds like my rifle. I had a chamber that was too small inserted a 38/55 reamer and with a couple of turns the chambering problems went away. Measure the bore as GJ said with a soft lead slug. Also my rifle shoots soft lead bullets .001 larger than the bore while my brothers likes the bullet .002 oversized much much better than it shoots hard lead, I also don't crimp there is no reason to in a long barreled single shot. I use a sliding fit bullet into the case leaving the loaded round too long then insert the round into the chamber the bullet touches the rifleing and stops and the case is pushed into the chamber sliding up the bullet. Perfect fit

12

[John Boy]

Muchacho, do a couple of steps before you start reloading:

1. Fire form the cases so they know the dimensions of your chamber

2. Anneal the case mouths down to the bullet seating depth at 650 degrees (straw color that turns to a bluish green) - dump in ice water

Then use your expander die with no resizing. Here's where you can get a 377 expander plug and expander die ... http://www.trackofthewolf.com/%28S%28tqcuo0mqbs1t4bfzwn1unpiq%29%29/categories/partList.aspx?catID=18&subID=212&styleID=1125

 

Charge the cases and seat the bullet to the proper depth for the correct OAL based on the bullets you have, probably the Lyman 375674 configuration. Put a moderate crimp on the case. I use this as a rule of thumb for crimp hardness ...

Using a kinetic bullet puller to remove the bullet, 3 whacks = light, 5-7 whacks = moderate and 10 whacks = hard crimp

No your bullets are in the correct diameter for hard cast. Soft alloy cast bullets run 379 to 381. The issue is the resizing die. Manufactures size them for smokeless powder jacketed bullets @ 375 - not for cast bullets which are larger in diameter

[Cliff Hanger #3720LR]

A 38-55 rifle is a special item.

 

I have loaded for many of these and find barrels from .376" to .385".

This requires me to slug the barrel and the chamber separately.

I use regular all lead 44 caliber balls. Just happen to have a few hundred of them.

First drive one ball all the way through the barrel and out the other end.

Second drive second ball from muzzle end and stop short of the chamber by 1".

Then drive it out the muzzle end.

Compare the two slugs.

If the slug that goes all the way through is smaller than the barrel slug the chamber is too small.

Some rifles were made with chambers smaller than the barrel.

This produces very inaccurate results.

Chamber reaming may fix this.

 

Another issue is in the reloading process. The crimping can causes the brass to bulge slightly the first 1/16" or so. This can be removed by sizing just the first 1/8" of the case after loading. (read the last article to get an idea on this case bulge. http://www.brimstonepistoleros.com/gazette/sep08.html)

 

You say you cases are bulged where the bullets are inserted. This is caused by sizing the brass more than needed to fit the chamber of your rifle. Most sizing dies for 38-55 are remarked .375" mag dies. They will size the brass far more than needed for true 38-55 rounds. Fired brass from your rifle will tell you the chamber size and how much you actually need to size your brass. Running the die all the way to the shell plate as you would with most calibers is not goi9ng to give you the correct re sized brass for 38-55. There are so called Cowboy dies that will size down less but you can do this by backing out your sizing die to get the correct diameter.

[August West, SASS #45079]

All sounds normal.

 

Most dies are set up for jacketed rather than lead bullets. You'll want to get the RCBS cowboy dies in this caliber to get the proper expander for lead bullets (or just contact RCBS and they'll send you an expander, assuming your using their dies).

 

You do NOT require any crimp for shooting a single shot rifle.

 

.377 is PERFECT for the Miroku high walls, which have consistently had a .376 bore diameter.

 

Bulge is normal and will definitely be there when cases are belled with a proper expander (i/e one for lead bullets).

 

You are good to go. Stop crimping. Get a larger expander -- RCBS will know which one to send you.

[monticello marshal,SASS#31597]

I have been shootin' a Browning (Miroku) 1885 Hiwall 38-55 with .377 245 lead for 8 years. I second August West reply. Just enough crimp to level the bell. Get the RCBS expander for the .377. Also quality results will come from using the starting powder load out of a good manual, in fact I use 2 grs. less IMR 4198 and 5744 good to 500yds. Of course, if this doesn't work then the chamber/barrel diameters as mentioned may be the culprit. Regards MM

[SlicLee SASS #16638 Life]

You say its a new Winchester High Wall, who made it.

I had a Uberti 38-55 way back, no one around. Bullets did the same bulge, bolt wouldnt close. Twas the chamber length, I listened to someone else couldnt shoot at all until I trimmed the case first to fit the exact length of the chamber. Trimmed off tiny 1K at a time until case almost went all way inside, on the advise of a long range competitor, then cut off 1K more and the bolt would close easy. Wrote down measurement cut another to that size I had it made.Then cut then 4K smaller for stretch. I used 265 gr RNFP 4198 with that wouldnt shoot better than 4 inches at 100. Got some bullets measured .3780 got better found .3785 2 inches and some at .3795 to .380 below an inch. That was me,my problem,one thing at a time good luck.

[Jabez Cowboy,SASS # 50129]

The Japan Made Winchester Highwalls are spec. at .3758 - .3772 nin to max ...

The two I have here at the present time both measure .3765...

 

The highwalls have faster twist barrels than the levers and most can make good use of bullets of up to 330 grains...

 

Hope this helps

[Butch McGie, SASS#71758]

I use the Lee factory crimp die for my modern Winchester 1885 High Wall. .377 Laser cast. Always chambers - shoots good at 500 yds. When i miss it isn't the gun or the bullets fault.

[Muchacho Viejo]

Thanks all, great information to ponder.

 

Tried to slug bore with an over-sized lead sinker last night, but it was to large (.401") too. So, I'll just cool my heels until the regular cast .375" I ordered arrive. Then maybe I can get a more accurate bore measurement, and decide if I need to order .376" or .377" cast bullets. I hadn't thought to request small quantities of samples!

 

I am not clear on the comparison of regular "cast" and "hard cast". What is the purpose of hard cast? Do they have any place in my recently made (2005) Winchester (moroku) .38-55 high wall? Seems like the .377 hard cast bullets I received with the rifle would require a great deal of pressure to force through the barrel, and would produce lead shavings and fouling????

 

I sure am looking forward to settling on a load for this rifle, and shooting it in the long distance side matches! More to follow....

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

Howdy

 

Back when you posted about the possibility of buying this rifle, I wish I had warned you that 38-55 can be more difficult to find components for, exactly because of the difficulties you are having. Bore dimensions tend to vary a lot more than 45-70.

 

Oh well.........

 

You have not mentioned if you are shooting Smokeless or Black Powder in your new rifle. With Black Powder you definitely want a softer bullet. The purpose behind hard cast bullets is so that they do not heat up and start to melt from the increased friction generated by the higher velocity of smokeless loads. The increased friction generated by higher velocity can make the surface of the bullet soften as it travels through the bore. At some point, the friction will increase enough that the lead starts soldering itself to the rifling. That's one of the root causes of leading. The idea behind a hard cast bullet is it will need to be heated higher than a softer lead bullet before it starts to soften and cause leading.

 

I cannot stress enough that you should slug your bore before you invest in a whole lot of bullets. You are really poking around in the dark if you don't know your barrel groove diameter. Even once you know your groove diameter, the prudent thing to do is load up just a few loads and try them and see how the rifle likes them best. Works a whole lot better than buying a couple of thousand bullets that may not perform well in your rifle. Learning what a single shot rifle likes best is an investment in time. Once you have it wrung out, you can start mass producing bullets.

 

The suggestion to try a round ball to slug your barrel is a very good one. You can shove an oversized lead ball through the barrel a lot easier than a cylindrical bullet of the same diameter.

 

Slugging a barrel is not very hard. I have done it dozens of times, with all kinds of slugs; soft cast bullets, hard cast bullets, round balls, fishing sinkers, all kinds of stuff. Dead soft lead is going to be the best. If you find a fishing sinker that is pure lead but too big, you can carefully reshape it with a hammer on a piece of steel until it is just a little bit oversize. You can also cut an oversized bullet down in length so there is not as much friction. Once you get the entire slug into the bore, it will be easy.

 

I have taken the liberty of pasting in here my handy-dandy instructions for slugging a barrel. Hope you don't mind the length of this post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slugging a Barrel

There are lots of ways to slug a barrel. Here's how I do it.

 

First off you need to come up with a slug. I have used all sorts of things to slug barrels. Ideally, your slug whould be just a few thousandths larger in diameter than the grooves you are slugging. If it is too big, you spend a lot of effort driving it into the muzzle in the first place. I have used soft cast bullets, hard cast bullets, soft lead round balls, whatever I have laying around that is just a tad larger than the bore I am trying to measure. I have even taken a 44 caliber soft lead round ball and hammered it down to a rough bullet shape in order to slug a 30 caliber rifle. Some folks also use lead fishing sinkers, if you can still buy them where you live.

 

When I slug a rifle I lay the gun down on a soft towel on my bench. Or else I support it in a felt lined rifle rack. I do not jam it in place so it does not move, I allow it to slide slightly with each hammer blow, hence the soft towel or felt to protect the finish. I used to slug bores completely dry, but lately I have taken to running a patch dampened with Ballistol down the bore. You don't have to soak the bore. Frankly, I don't think it makes much difference if the bore is lubricated or not, I've done it both ways and don't really see much difference.

 

Whenever possible, I will slug a bore from the chamber end. However with most of the guns we use it can only be done from the muzzle end. I start with a short rod, only around 8 or 10 inches long. It is much easier to control a short rod when you are whacking it than trying to whack the end of a 3 foot long rod while still trying to hold onto the gun. I grasp the muzzle in my left hand, and jam the slug into the muzzle so it holds still. I also hold the rod in place with my left hand, leaving my right hand free to use the hammer. I place the end of the short rod on the center of the slug to get it started, grasping both the muzzle and the rod in my fist. I like to use brass rods. Some prefer wood, but I find wood splinters and shatters. I start with a brass rod about 10 inches long. I have a few lengths. 5/16" diameter will work for everything from 38 (.357) on up to 45.

 

Most any hammer will do, I have a nice 8 ounce ball pein hammer that works well.

 

The key here is to not hit the muzzle with your hammer. I start with the short rod. Getting the slug completely into the bore is the hardest part. Once it gets into the bore, it moves more easily. Don't be scared, I have never gotten a slug stuck in a barrel. Just be careful. I change the short rod to a longer rod long before my hammer gets anywhere near the muzzle so I don't risk striking the barrel. I change over to a 3 foot rod to run the slug all the way out the bore. I keep a soft cloth by the chamber, so the slug will fall out onto the cloth without marring it.

 

With a revolver I stand the gun up with the barrel horizontal and the butt resting on the towel on the bench. The procedure is the same. I grasp the muzzle and the rod with my left hand, I jam the slug into the bore, and I control the rod with my left fist. The right hand is for the hammer. A 12 inch long 5/16" rod usually works for all my revolvers.

 

A few facts about slugging a barrel. The slug only measures the narrowest diameter of the rifling. If there is excessive wear near the chamber, like with some old rifles, the slug will slide along easily through the worn part, it has already taken the shape of the narrowest part of the bore. With a new gun, this should not be a concern. However with an old gun, it can give you a feel for if there is wear in the bore.

 

The slug must completely fill the rifling grooves. If the slug did not completely fill the grooves, any measurement you take off of it is meaningless. When your slug emerges, look for lengthwise drag marks on it. You should see these marks on both the low spots on the slug, corresponding to the lands of the rifling, and the high spots, corresponding to the grooves. If you don't have drag marks on the high spots, you may not have completely filled the rifling grooves, and any measurements taken from the slug are meaningless.

 

I hear a lot of guys say you have to measure a slug with a micrometer so you can measure it right down to the .0001 level. Frankly, I think a standard caliper is fine for measuring a slug. Measuring down to .001 is fine, particularly on a dial caliper, where you can interpolate what the dial is telling you between the tick marks. A digital caliper will round off to the nearest .0005, so you may not get as accurate a measurement. But using a micrometer that measures down to .0001 on a soft lead slug is overkill, in This Cowboy's Humble Opinion. Just the act of closing the tool on the slug will deform the lead a couple of tenths, killing the accuracy of the micrometer.

 

Obviously, you want to measure across the high spots of the slug, to get your groove depth diameter. This is simple if the rifling has an even number of grooves, so that you are measuring across the diameter of the slug. Some barrels though, like many S&W revolvers have 5 grooves. It is very difficult to get an accurate measurement on a slug made from a barrel with an odd number of grooves with a caliper or a micrometer. If you try to add the depth of one side of the rifling, there will usually be some error invovled. It ain't impossible, but it is tough.

 

Slugging a bore is really very simple, I have made it sound complicated. It usually only takes me about 5 minutes to set up to slug a bore, and about 5 minutes to run the slug all the way through. The key is finding a suitable slug just a little bit oversized, and don't whack the barrel!

 

 

 

 

OK, if you read this far, a couple of more comments. You might give Buffalo Arms a call. They have a really good selection of bullets to choose from. Again, just buy as few as you can. You can always buy more later when you have worked out all the bugs.

 

 

Buffalo Arms

 

 

Try to select a bullet that is .001 oversize of your barrel groove diameter.

 

Hope this helps some.

[Muchacho Viejo]

Thanks D.J. I really appreciate your well worded description. I've got some bullets from BA in transit that may be better for slugging, and It makes sense to maybe shorten them to ease the effort to get them started into the bore. Come to think of it, I may try cutting down the length of one of my hard cast .377" slugs, as I was able to at least get them started into the bore about 3/4" before they jammed up. in the meantime I'll try some round ball lead weights as you suggested.

 

I don't mind the time or effort to get it right, I'm learning some new lessons, and have confidence that with good advice and careful effort, I can arrive at a workable combination of components for this rather obscure caliber. The rifle itself is very simple, even elegant in design and function, thus very attractive to me, and certainly worth the effort to fine tune a load for.

 

Without the help and suggestions from experienced Pard's on this forum, this task might be beyond my abilities, but with guidance I am encouraged to continue working out the solution. I hope I'll be able to "pay forward" the benefit of these and other lessons learned, to others from time to time.

 

I will post again to report progress and results as they hopefully occur.

[Yul Catchum]

If it is Winchester brass it doesn't help your problems. I have loaded 250 rounds of it and lost half the cases. VERY annoying. Be careful about lubing case and line up your expander. Mouths are soft and cases like to bulge.

[Muchacho Viejo]

Driftwood Johnson's suggestion worked! I cut one of the .377" slugs in half, and tried slugging the barrel of my Winchester (Moroku) .38-55

High Wall rifle again. EUREKA! It worked so well I repeated it two more times to have more than one result to measure. Why I didn't think of this myself? To close to the problem I guess.

 

All three slugs measure .376" across the grooves, and .369" across the lands.....so I suppose the .377" bullets are the proper diameter for my rifle.

 

Now I need to decide between hard cast and "regular" cast bullets. I intend to load for about 1,400 fps velocity to lessen lead fouling. Will regular cast be sufficient, or will hard cast be needed?

 

And, yes, Yul Catchum, I'm using Winchester brass! Could you suggest a brand less likely to bulge during reloading with a .377" bullet?

 

I haven't mentioned before, but will now say I plan to use smokeless powder, probably H4198, and have/use a Hornady New Process die set. No black powder plans for now, but likely it is that I'll give it a try later in the shooting season.

[Yellowhouse Sam # 25171]

I'd just try a few of each diameter before going out and buying a bunch. It may like .377 or it may not....38-55's are full of surprises sometimes. Springfield Slim makes some good ones if you don't cast. He'll work with you on diameters too.

 

 

 

Starline brass runs about .015-.002 thinner at the neck and will help eliminate the bulge. Starline can benefit from annealing. Once fire formed, I only neck size to bullet depth. Oh yeah, the WW brass is actually a little short. Some use it without problem but the correct SAAMI length is 2.12 and always has been.

 

If you can find a copy of Ken Waters "Pet Loads for the 38-55" it'll help you on loading.

 

Although this is mainly for marlin levergun shooters (Marlins run about .379-380 groove) there is a lot of good info here: 38-55

[Muchacho Viejo]

Here's an update, and a photo or two...

 

First, the rifle, pictures don't do it justice -

 

http://rallred.smugmug.com/Other/Highwall-38-55-WCF/Highwall-2/1216120037_iktS7-M-1.jpg

 

Then a first range session results target -

 

http://rallred.smugmug.com/Other/Highwall-38-55-WCF/Highwall-5/1216120108_mmFiN-M-1.jpg

 

a few more photos at -

 

http://rallred.smugmug.com/Other/Highwall-38-55-WCF/16191811_Y9ffJ

 

The target resulted from 14 shots, 50 yards from sand bag & bench, barrel sight on lowest setting, 250 grain Buffalo Arms bullet, cast (not hard cast).375" diameter. I was pleased, as my eyes aren't really great anymore for open sights! This pattern is as good as I usually do with other rifles...

 

I wonder if the .375 bullet might be to small. Why? First, per earlier post, slugging with a .377", the barrel groves mic'd .376", the lands .369". Slugging again with the .375" bullet, the grooves mic'd .3755", the lands still .369". Second, chronographed velocities were significantly less than the loading tables predicted, (consistantly 15% slower than expected) with all three test loads. Third, the two softer loads, with the two slower velocities, around 1025 to 1070 fps, there was noticable unburned powder and smoke in the bore and action after firing each round. Not so much with third load, 1150 fps. All loads were using H4895 powder, starting at the minimum (21 grains) and working up to 24 grains. (Hodgdon publishes max load of 26 grains, for 1600 fps.) I want to settle on a load that will produce 1350 to 1400 fps velocity.

 

Is it possible or probable that the .375" bullet with the starting and incremental loads I used, is not sealing adequately against the bore, and thus not building the pressure or velocity expected,and not burning all the powder?

 

I have ordered some of Buffalo Arms .377" regular cast bullets, so they will be my next try.

 

In the meantime I guess I could try the on hand .377 hard cast bullets? And, I'm not to disappointed with my first 50 yard target!

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

I wonder if the .375 bullet might be to small. Why? First, per earlier post, slugging with a .377", the barrel groves mic'd .376", the lands .369". Slugging again with the .375" bullet, the grooves mic'd .3755", the lands still .369". Second, chronographed velocities were significantly less than the loading tables predicted, (consistantly 15% slower than expected) with all three test loads. Third, the two softer loads, with the two slower velocities, around 1025 to 1070 fps, there was noticable unburned powder and smoke in the bore and action after firing each round. Not so much with third load, 1150 fps. All loads were using H4895 powder, starting at the minimum (21 grains) and working up to 24 grains. (Hodgdon publishes max load of 26 grains, for 1600 fps.) I want to settle on a load that will produce 1350 to 1400 fps velocity.

 

Is it possible or probable that the .375" bullet with the starting and incremental loads I used, is not sealing adequately against the bore, and thus not building the pressure or velocity expected,and not burning all the powder?

 

1) I'd look for better accuracy than the pattern you got at 50 yards.

 

2) You can usually have best accuracy results with the slug about 0.001 oversize of the groove diameter. So, as we have covered before, the .377 slugs may give you great accuracy. But, with a tight neck in the chamber of the rifle, you may not be able to seat the loaded round. Test before you make up more than rounds that you care to break down with a bullet puller. The Winchester brass will be the thinnest neck wall, so there's no relief in trying other brands of brass.

 

3) You can shoot moderately hard bullets very well at 1400 FPS - you don't need super-hard bullets (like a linotype alloy). Those hard bullets are needed above 1800 FPS.

 

4) The .375 bullets MAY not be upsetting (technical term - obturating) to fill your bore, but I kinda doubt it. The pressure even in your 1200 FPS loads ought be be enough to bump up a moderate-alloy slug the 0.001 inch needed to fill the groove diameter. Unburned powder is common even with a good fitting bullet when you have low pressures. Low pressures due to the low charge weight are probably what is causing the unburned powder. H4895 is a fairly slow-burning powder for a cast bullet load in .38-55, and as such would not be expected to perform well until farther up in the range of velocities and pressures. Some better (faster, and possibly more accurate) powders for 1400 FPS loads might be RL-7, 4198, 4227, or 3031.

 

Good luck, GJ

 

I'd really suggest having a 'smith ream the chamber (neck area especially needing it) if you find you cannot chamber a properly-loaded cartridge with a .377 diameter lead slug in it. The neck is probably too tight for a decent cast bullet load.

 

Another accuracy tip for shooting cast bullets - most barrels do not shoot cast bullets well if they still have ANY trace of fouling from firing jacketed rounds. If previous owner EVER shot it with jacketed bullets, really SCRUB the barrel with a good copper bore solvent and brass bristle brush. Until patches come out white.

 

And, try more than one bullet design in your loads. Some designs shoot well in some barrels, and other designs flop. But, you try them in a different gun and you get the reverse. Cast bullet loading is an art, not a science, and certainly not as easy as working up jacketed ammo.

GJ

[Jabez Cowboy,SASS # 50129]

That Target would be about right, for a good shooter with a dialed in .38-55 load ,,,,, at 200 yards ....

 

 

 

 

Jabez Cowboy

[Muddy Creek Sam, SASS# 78004]

I have 2 38-55s a Winchester 94 and a Browning 1885 94 is .380 bore and the 1885 is .375 bore. I load .381 20 to 1 lead tin bullets for both and shoot both with 3f Goex, No Problems.

 

Sam

[Muchacho Viejo]

That Target would be about right, for a good shooter with a dialed in .38-55 load ,,,,, at 200 yards ....

 

Hey Jabez Cowboy...

 

Ya gotta understand, I'm not completely blind, but with a the reality of fuzzy-blurred sights.....I'm lucky to get a pattern like this at 50 yards! Tarnation, I'm not sure I can even see a target at 200 yards!

 

So...what business do I have fooling around with a single shot, long distance rifle???

 

An exercise in optimism, I suppose

[Jabez Cowboy,SASS # 50129]

Never Hurts ta dream of Cowboy things ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, It's da doing that can hurt Ya ...

 

Like thinkin Ya can still top any ole b Bronc ,,,, Or ride the hills bustin cows out of da brush fer da day ...

 

I have two .38-55s but my main longrange gun is a Highwall in .40-65 shootin 370 gr. pointed bullets or 410 gr. RNFP bullets... I start the 370 grainers out at 1,450 Fps. and they shoot flatter and drift less than most .45-70 loads , used in this game ...

Got a good friend that uses a rebarreled "Roller" in .38-55 and wins more than his fair share of matches out to 1,100 yards or so .... He has several groups of 5 shots at 500 yards that measure slightly under 6 inches ...

 

It was no mistake that Target shooters of yore used the .38-55...

 

Enjoy your new gun ...

 

Jabez Cowboy