38-55 Big Game

WhelanLad

WhelanLad

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Anyone personally Shot game with the 38-55 WCF?
I would ask about the 375 Win but I know there isn't too many with such a ripper round, but nostalgic reasons theres a few 38-55s around.

Would luv to see some Elk? or Mooses? of course deer and bear?

some info on Load used. in which Rifle.

Thanks
 
I harvested quite a few deer with a 38-55, with Dominion Factory loads or my hand loads. None went very and most dropped in their tracks. The 38-55 with decent loads is a very effective caliber at reasonable ranges.
 
I shot two meat does with an H&R BC .38/55... both were pass-throughs and did little meat damage. It is a nice short range deer cartridge.
 
I have not shot game with the .38-55, but I have been doing a bit of handloading. I just shot some loads yesterday using the Barnes 255-grain jacketed flatpoint.

With 27.0 grains of H4198, velocity was averaging 1650 fps. With 28.0 grains, it was about 1800 fps. Rifle is a Winchester/Miroku 1885 with a 28-inch barrel, wearing a 3-9 Leupold scope. Groups were about 1.5" at 100 yards, for 5 shots.

FWIW, my great-grandfather shot many moose with the .38-55, and two were shot at 200+ yards. One my Grandma witnessed about 1921; she showed me the place on the farm where it happened. The other was in 1958, just a couple years before the old fella died. He was shaving one morning and saw a moose by the treeline on his farm. He got a bit excited, grabbed the rifle, and put one well-placed shot into the heart. My Dad was courting my Mom (the old man's granddaughter) and went out to help butcher the out-of-season beast. He told me later where the moose fell and where he was shot from. 200 yards and a wee bit.
 
I had a couple of trapper/farmer friends up here who used the 38-55 a bit. Their family operated the Pelly River Ranch for a number of years; cattle, grains and vegetables raised for the riverboat traffic. Occasionally bears had to be taken care of, and either a 303Br or a 38-55 was chosen, whichever was the closest.

It was also a moose slugger that destroyed less meat than the 303.
Ted
 
WhelanLad said:
Anyone personally Shot game with the 38-55 WCF?
I would ask about the 375 Win but I know there isn't too many with such a ripper round, but nostalgic reasons theres a few 38-55s around.

Would luv to see some Elk? or Mooses? of course deer and bear?

some info on Load used. in which Rifle.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Not hunting, but I was at the range today trying out some powder-coated bullets in the 375 win. Cast 265 gr. bullets going out at about 1250-1300 fps gave acceptable (to me) groups of about 2 1/2 inches. I'm not sure there would be enough energy for hunting, but faster than that started to lose accuracy.

Also have some 300 gr cast lubed, that are sized for 38-55, which gives reasonable groups, but I don't have the mold for it, just some projectiles I was given. The problem with cast lubed I've been having is severe leading. The powder-coated bullets I tried for the first time today have solved that problem.

The problem I have with the 375 is there doesn't seem to be any jacketed projectiles available, except maybe sierra 200 grs, which are pretty expensive and I don't know who sells them here in Canada.

Was also trying some powder-coated cast 300 gr in the 444, going out about 2000 fps. Accuracy was 3 1/2 to 4 inches, not acceptable to me. Guess I'll stick with Hornady 265 gr jacketed for it, which gives really good groups.
 
Gday mate, google Hawkesbury river bullet co , from Sydney Australia way, they have a bunch of cast with different coating varying hardness... under new management but should be still doing the same thngs..
I use a copper hawk 245gr fn 375 at the moment with like 28gr of AR2207 for what I rekon is about 1850 fps or so, they are designed to go that bit quicker. the pricing is great so maybe worth a look at shipping a lot over?

1200-1300fps isn't Fast by any means , within 100m on deer or proberly bigger animals it would carry some energy and penetration wouldn't be in the question at all.
what sorta rifle is yours in? mines a model 94 BB

pastway said:
Not hunting, but I was at the range today trying out some powder-coated bullets in the 375 win. Cast 265 gr. bullets going out at about 1250-1300 fps gave acceptable (to me) groups of about 2 1/2 inches. I'm not sure there would be enough energy for hunting, but faster than that started to lose accuracy.

Also have some 300 gr cast lubed, that are sized for 38-55, which gives reasonable groups, but I don't have the mold for it, just some projectiles I was given. The problem with cast lubed I've been having is severe leading. The powder-coated bullets I tried for the first time today have solved that problem.

The problem I have with the 375 is there doesn't seem to be any jacketed projectiles available, except maybe sierra 200 grs, which are pretty expensive and I don't know who sells them here in Canada.

Was also trying some powder-coated cast 300 gr in the 444, going out about 2000 fps. Accuracy was 3 1/2 to 4 inches, not acceptable to me. Guess I'll stick with Hornady 265 gr jacketed for it, which gives really good groups.
Click to expand...
 
I have 2 - 38-55 Rifles. One is a 1979 Reproduction by Winchester, a Legendary Frontiersman. It has Williams FP on the rear and a Williams Firesight on the front.
It has a 24" barrel, and I can drive those Barnes 255 grain .377" bullets to 1800 and pennies, and it will group under 1¼ moa, if I do my part.
With is rifle I have shot several deer, including my biggest Whitetail buck, and 3 Black Bear...Very effective within 150 yards or so. I most certainly
would not hesitate to bust a Moose with this rifle/load.
My other 38-55 is a Marlin 1873 Carbine that was originally a 30-30, but the bore was beyond salvage, while the rest was in nice shape.
Sent it off to Ron Smith and had him make a 38-55 out of it. It does not shoot quite as well as the M94, but stays inside 2¼" at 100.
It likes the 255 grain CIL jacketed bullet at 1650 or so, using H322. Have not shot anything with it yet, but maybe soon. [Spring Bear]
Great old cartridge. With no disrespect WL, If you have one, you do not need a 375 Winchester. :) Dave.
 
WhelanLad said:
Gday mate, google Hawkesbury river bullet co , from Sydney Australia way, they have a bunch of cast with different coating varying hardness... under new management but should be still doing the same thngs..
I use a copper hawk 245gr fn 375 at the moment with like 28gr of AR2207 for what I rekon is about 1850 fps or so, they are designed to go that bit quicker. the pricing is great so maybe worth a look at shipping a lot over?

1200-1300fps isn't Fast by any means , within 100m on deer or proberly bigger animals it would carry some energy and penetration wouldn't be in the question at all.
what sorta rifle is yours in? mines a model 94 BB
Click to expand...

Winchester model 94 BB as well.
 
Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to use the 38-55 on any North American game, except maybe some of the big bears in certain conditions where a charge is a serious possibility. I don't know why all of a sudden we figure animals are now bulletproof, but a well-placed shot from a 38-55 will drop any critter that walks this continent.

My grandfather, before WWII, traded his Snyder for a Henry 44-40. Why? Because a 44-40 is better moose gun than then 577, he said. Then, after WWII, he swapped the brass-framed 44-40 for a 303. Again, a better moose gun - and at the time, a 303 went for the princely sum of $9.99 at Eaton's and Dupuis'.
 
Well put fer sure. The .38-55 started out as a target round but was quickly put to use in the hunting fields with good results for many folks & it's still fillin' freezers today. The .303 Brit of course has taken the biggest critters world wide in it's long & colorful history.
 
Eagleye said:
. With no disrespect WL, If you have one, you do not need a 375 Winchester. :) Dave.
Click to expand...

Dave, No mate All good! I knew I would get a few more Bites with the 38-55 than the 375BB in the title :) ;)
I have the 375 Winchester Cartridge in the Model 94 Big Bore , but you see I don't load it up very much and it behaves more like a(hot) 38-55 IMO, but not quite Full power 2200fps loads ...

I see more often the 38-55 in the hands of purists or fans of the traditional ways and a the majority have octagonal barrels , the 375 chambering Is a bit more plain compared to them - typical model 94 or a typical marlin 336.

I too have shot some Deer with mine, a few with Hornady 220gr FN jacketed , I cant recall shooting one with Cast bullet that I use yet but that's only because I slipped a jacketed one up instead... Damit! they were sambar deers, all under 100 an often much closer- bow range stuff- pass thru every time, one or two DRT an didn't move.

ya know the hunter has either got to be opportunistic or hes gotta have had a nice stalk/sit an wait or planned approach when one takes a animal with a 38-55/375 or the like... not much of this, ill stand on this hill and shoot that deer on that hill stuff..

Cheers mate!!!
keep chutin
WL
 
WhelanLad said:
Dave, No mate All good! I knew I would get a few more Bites with the 38-55 than the 375BB in the title :) ;)
I have the 375 Winchester Cartridge in the Model 94 Big Bore , but you see I don't load it up very much and it behaves more like a(hot) 38-55 IMO, but not quite Full power 2200fps loads ...

I see more often the 38-55 in the hands of purists or fans of the traditional ways and a the majority have octagonal barrels , the 375 chambering Is a bit more plain compared to them - typical model 94 or a typical marlin 336.

I too have shot some Deer with mine, a few with Hornady 220gr FN jacketed , I cant recall shooting one with Cast bullet that I use yet but that's only because I slipped a jacketed one up instead... Damit! they were sambar deers, all under 100 an often much closer- bow range stuff- pass thru every time, one or two DRT an didn't move.

ya know the hunter has either got to be opportunistic or hes gotta have had a nice stalk/sit an wait or planned approach when one takes a animal with a 38-55/375 or the like... not much of this, ill stand on this hill and shoot that deer on that hill stuff..

Cheers mate!!!
keep chutin
WL
Click to expand...

WL; It is good to see you are making excellent use of your 375BB. I doubt any animal would be able to tell the difference between the 375W and the 38-55, lol.
Neither are long range chamberings, but within their effective range, they do very well indeed!!. :) I would love to go down to your area and spend some time with you.
But, ATM at least, isn't going to happen. May all your shooting/hunting endeavors be productive. D.
 
I've also been getting very good groups with a 265-grain gas-checked cast from Jet Bullets. I have never chrono'd the load but I'm guessing it's in the 1600 fps range and groups range from 1.25 to about 1.75 for five shots at a hundred.
 
Kilo Charlie said:
I've also been getting very good groups with a 265-grain gas-checked cast from Jet Bullets. I have never chrono'd the load but I'm guessing it's in the 1600 fps range and groups range from 1.25 to about 1.75 for five shots at a hundred.
Click to expand...

That's a great load . I wouldn't hesitate to have a go at most things with that .
 
I have used & seen others use it on much game. WT does to moose to a large grizzly. They kill well and are fun to shoot. I have a Ron Smith Falling Block Works 38-55 that shoots very well. It has killed a couple coyotes and a lot of magpies & crows. A good 38-55 will still kill game just like in 1895 (year of my last 1894).
 
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