38-55 accuracy?

C

ciphery

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Ottawa origanally Muskoka
I'm wondering how accurate can this cartridge be?
I shot a group that measured 1/2"c to c@ 100yds on Sunday but feel I could do better as the group of 4 was the first 4(fouling) shots....not that I did.
What can I expect from this cartridge?
 
From a levergun, that kind of accuracy is indeed impressive to say the least. Before Win. chambered it in the '94, it was, along with the 32/40, the most accurate cartridge out there. It was chambered in the most accurate single shots of the day, and still is today in C. Sharps and Shilohs, Ballards, CPAs, etc., and that kind of accuracy wouldn't surprise me from those rifles. It may take a while to try diff. soft lead bullets of diff. weights, dia., etc. black powder and smokeless, but groups in the .2s and .1s are possible.
 
I agree that the .38-55 is and was one of the most famously accurate cartridges, with a great deal less recoil than most of the other popular cartridges of the time. I have a custom rolling block in .38-55 that I regularly shoot out to 300 metres, and it will do minute-of-angle or better if I do my part, which isn't as often as I would like to have everyone believe. I found mine likes blackpowder with a 330-grain cast Lyman boolit. Like Ben said, try different bullets and powders, smokeless and holy black, lead and jacketed to find out what your rifle likes. My Winchester in the same calibre will usually do between 1 and 3 minutes of angle with just about anything I feed it.
 
No breech seating is an A$$ pain. My 32-35 breech seats and takes way too much time to reload. Find BP fouls too easy and is inconsistent. If find BP is too finicky with how it packed, how its poured into the case etc. Smokeless doesn't care about that.
 
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