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WTB 38-55 330 grn bullets


Hoss

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I've been looing for some 330 (or so) grain 38-55 bullets. sized to 380, to try in my HiWall. I've heard they exist, but have not been able to find any. Anybody know a supplier?

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Montana Bullet Works has some 335 grain and 312 grain 38-55 bullets.  They do not have them sized for .380, but you may be able to call them and get them sized.  I looked at them and ended up ordering 265 grain 38-55 bullets from Meister.

 

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Most folks that use these bullets cast their own !!! Like I do .... And most lever guns don't have a fast enough twist to use these bullets, they are intended for long-range single shot  guns .... In high-walls, Sharps and the like ... I think Oma or the Bullet Barn in Canada cast them, but two hard an alloy for my liking ... I use a 274 gr. RNFP in my two lever guns in .38-55 ... Both are Winchester 94s ,,, one made in 1895 and the other made in 1980 ....

I cast my bullets Soft ,, 1-22 tin to lead ...

 

 

Jabez Cowboy

 

 

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Most Uberti High walls I have slugged measure out at between .3778 and .3785 and shoot their best with bullets cast or sized at .379 ...

Hope this helps ...

 

Jabez Cowboy

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Who made your Hi-Wall?? Some of the Miroku's are 15 twist, some are 18.  The 18 twist will NOT stabilize a bullet over 260-270gr. I don't know the twist of the Uberti's but I understand they have sourced barrels from different places over the years.

Bear Tooth bullet makes some that shoot well in the 18 twist barrels.

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The 18 twist will NOT stabilize a bullet over 260-270gr.

Jack, then this makes my Uberti 38-55 the only rifle made - shooting Ideal 375166 (320gr) bullets down a 1:18 bore with MOA accuracy that will stabilize heavy bullets!

100yds ...

IMGP0317.jpg

200yds ...

IMGP0320.jpg

300yds ...

IMGP0322.jpg

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The AR15 is the poster child for confusion on barrel twists. Today, they suggest 1 in 8 or 1 in 7 for heavy bullets. They say the 1 in 9 will not stabilize heavy bullets. But I know some will. And some won't. The original twist was 1 in 14. Buzz saw.

The 38-55 with a 1 in 18 twist is "not recommended" for bullets over 275 gr. A 1 in 12 would suit the 330 gr bullets much better. However, it is cheaper to buy some 330s and try them rather than buying another gun or having yours re-barreled  :rolleyes:

 

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John Boy, even on my old computer I can see that the bullets on your 200 and 300 yd. targets are NOT perfectly stable. Occasionally one gets good groups with less than totally stable bullets but it isn't common. Also one must be aware of the DA on the day the targets were shot.  My 18 twist shoots 335's fine at EOT but won't stabilize them properly in the SF Bay area on a cool day.  Lots more to stabilizing bullets than most realize. Twist, MV, DA, bullet CG, etc. etc.

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John Boy, even on my old computer I can see that the bullets on your 200 and 300 yd. targets are NOT perfectly stable.

Jack - absolutely correct when the target has no backing to hold the target still in the wind - which was the case this day with the 200 & 300yd targets.

 

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I ran the Powley Stability Calculator for the Ideal 375166, 327gr bullet for various stability factors, where SF > 1,5 is Maximum Stabilized with twist rates between 1:14 to 1:18 and different velocities.  All reloads calculated >1.5 and remained stabilized in all the twists between 1:14 - 1:15 - 1:16 and 1:18

So, don't be concerned that a 330gr 38-55 WON'T be stabilized for these bore twists!

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I'm not interested in getting into an argument about bullet stability. Suffice it to say that we do a LOT of external ballistic research with the teams. Oehler 88's ,110K$ radars, extreme EB computer programs, etc. For example we were shooting FAR into the subsonic last week with 308's and M118 ammo. Out to 1400meters. Were running 300WM M248mk1 at 2100meters. We also look very deeply into bullet design, BC standards, twist rates, MV etc. etc.  The stability calculators such as the ones mentioned have been modified a great deal from the original work based on BP velocities and bullet shapes used with them. The G1 std. actually works pretty well for BPCR heavy bullets. The current calculators have been modified to attempt to mimic the G7 std. and modern supersonic MV's even though almost all request G1 BC inputs.  For example the Powley shows a bullet of .375 X 1.3" being stable in a 18 twist as John Boy points out BUT a stability calculator based on the true G1 BC and MV's much lower requires a 13-15 twist at Std. T & P for 1300 to 1450 fps. Almost no-one shoots at Std. T & P so a twist rate an inch or two slower works for nearly everyone. As long as SG isn't overcome by SD things go pretty well.  I am leaving for EOT so signing off on this discussion. Happy Shooting !!!

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1 hour ago, John Boy said:

I ran the Powley Stability Calculator for the Ideal 375166, 327gr bullet for various stability factors, where SF > 1,5 is Maximum Stabilized with twist rates between 1:14 to 1:18 and different velocities.  All reloads calculated >1.5 and remained stabilized in all the twists between 1:14 - 1:15 - 1:16 and 1:18

So, don't be concerned that a 330gr 38-55 WON'T be stabilized for these bore twists!

So where can I buy a 330 grn bullet? I've seen moulds, but I don't want to cast. 

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There are Custom Casters that will cast bullets for you, if you buy the Mould or agree to purchase a certain number of bullets ...

Check out the Cast Bullet web site ....

 

Jabez Cowboy

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Hoss: Chey-Cast has 335gr Snover design bullets for sale ... http://www.cheycastbullets.com/Black-Powder-38-55cal-SNOVER-335gr_p_172.html

If you plan to shoot the bullet with smokeless powder, you will have to do your calculations using the Powley Internal Ballistics Calculator because there is no smokeless loading data for the bullet greater than 265gr ... http://kwk.us/powley.html

I shoot the Ideal 375166, 320gr, strictly with black powder - 42gr FFg at 1087fps

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