Load data for 38/55 black powder 245 bullet

[Diamond Curly SASS#57086]

I have a H&R rifle in 38/55 that I have a load of 30 grains, by volume, under a 245 grain bullet. This load does decent up to 200 yards but is very flat after that.. I tried a few shots at 400 yards and the spotter said it was very flat and very short. Any help would be appreciated. I shot my trap door in 45/70 with a 535 bullet for a few years with good results but my shoulder said no more. The 38/55 is fun to shoot but maybe I am expecting too much out of this caliber. Thanks, DC

[Michigan Slim]

They aren't  barnburners even loaded hot. But, my daughters rifle puts them on a 300 yard target pretty easy. Aim higher! lol. Her load is 10.0 grains of Unique with a 250 grain Lee bullet. If that thing gets there yours will too. Tall quality sights required.

[Sedalia Dave]

1 hour ago, Diamond Curly SASS#57086 said:

I have a H&R rifle in 38/55 that I have a load of 30 grains, by volume, under a 245 grain bullet. This load does decent up to 200 yards but is very flat after that.. I tried a few shots at 400 yards and the spotter said it was very flat and very short. Any help would be appreciated. I shot my trap door in 45/70 with a 535 bullet for a few years with good results but my shoulder said no more. The 38/55 is fun to shoot but maybe I am expecting too much out of this caliber. Thanks, DC

 

30 grains by volume is not a full case for a 38-55. Should be around 45-50 grains.  Did you make a typo or are you using a filler?

 

Are you using 2F or 3F?

[Diamond Curly SASS#57086]

12 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

 

30 grains by volume is not a full case for a 38-55. Should be around 45-50 grains.  Did you make a typo or are you using a filler?

 

Are you using 2F or 3F?

I did hit the wrong powder charge, should read 40 grains of Swiss 2F. The bullets are from Whyte big lube and I just weighed three of them for an average of 245 grains. One did weigh in at 251.Thanks, DC

[Diamond Curly SASS#57086]

1 hour ago, Michigan Slim said:

They aren't  barnburners even loaded hot. But, my daughters rifle puts them on a 300 yard target pretty easy. Aim higher! lol. Her load is 10.0 grains of Unique with a 250 grain Lee bullet. If that thing gets there yours will too. Tall quality sights required.

Thanks, I did aim about a foot high at 400 but still way short. DC

 

[Hoss]

10.0 Unique in my HiWall with 260 grn bullet works well. Wind will have a pretty big effect on the bullet. I’ve shot mine out to 500 meters, but if it’s windy, it’s tough. 

Good sights are a must. If you are shooting a H&R Buffalo Classic you can’t mount a tang sight as no steel tang. While you could mount them on wood, they won’t be as stable. 

 

The 38-55 is a good target load, but has it’s limitations, primarily due to wind.  The heavier the bullet the better, mine can handle a 310. I tried 335 but the would not stabilize. Sounded like a bee going downrange! 

[Michigan Slim]

1 hour ago, Diamond Curly SASS#57086 said:

Thanks, I did aim about a foot high at 400 but still way short. DC

 

To put that in perspective, I aim 30 inches or so high at 400 with my 270. Your lobbing them in. Aim HIGH. 

[Sedalia Dave]

Here is the 38-55 ballistics data for a 255 grain soft point. As you can see at 400 yards the drop is 161 inches and change. I ran the numbers for a .375 Winchester shooting a 200 grain Winchester Power-Point at 2199 fps and it drops 78 inches and change at 400 yards.

 

 

Range	Drop (inches)		Velocity		Energy		Wind drift (inches)		Time (milliseconds)
	A		A		A		A		A
0	-1.4796		1320		986		0.0000		1
50	2.0460		1251		886		0.0000		118
100	0.0143		1189		800		0.0000		241
150	-8.1615		1136		731		0.0000		370
200	-23.0709		1090		673		0.0000		505
250	-45.2883		1051		625		0.0000		645
300	-75.3649		1018		587		0.0000		790
350	-113.8282		988		553		0.0000		939
400	-161.1849		962		524		0.0000		1093
450	-217.9253		938		498		0.0000		1251
500	-284.5285		916		475		0.0000		1413