38-55 compared to 45-70 for Silhouettes

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BravoTwo

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GunNutz
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In the Mountains Grande Cache AB
Ok members I need some information from you the silhoutte shooters on the difference between and preference of 38-55 to 45-70 cartidges and rifle performance.

looking at getting into this type of shooting need some honest advice.

Thanks in advance.

Colin

(BravoTwo)
 
The 38-55 is marginal on silhouette because of low bullet weight. If you have one made up with a fast twist barrel so that you can shoot bullets in the 300 grain range, they will knock down the rams OK. Also has the advantage of low recoil and cheaper on powder and lead.
As long as you have enough weight to knock the targets down, it is mostly a question of knowing your sight settings and estimating wind drift accurately plus having a good spotter

just my thoughts anyway mooncoon
 
well my friends son tried his 38-55 but it just didn't have the poop to get the rams down I do not know what weight of bullet he was using. iff the recoil of the 45-70 bothers you then perhaps one of the 40 cal. bp cartridges . I use a 45-70 was in a pedersoli but sold it and bought anouther 45-70 in a Browning BPCR and cann't wait for next years shoots was my first time this year and I loved it more fun than punching paper.
 
Take a hard look at the .40's. Several can be easily made from available brass and your going to be handloading anyway. Even quite light 45-70 loads will take the rams down better than the 38-55.

38-55's usually shoot very well but the number of times that you ring an animal that doesn't go down and then try to shoot the rest of the bank.... Its hard enough to stay focused for this sort of shooting without that extra frustration.
 
I have a 38/55 rolling block with a fast twist barrel, i shoot a heavy bullet and I have no problem knocking over the rams the nice thing about the smaller 38 is recoil ,less powder burned, less lead used in casting, you can use 3f as well as 2f and the bullet moves faster than the 45
 
mooncoon said:
The 38-55 is marginal on silhouette because of low bullet weight. If you have one made up with a fast twist barrel so that you can shoot bullets in the 300 grain range, they will knock down the rams OK. Also has the advantage of low recoil and cheaper on powder and lead.
As long as you have enough weight to knock the targets down, it is mostly a question of knowing your sight settings and estimating wind drift accurately plus having a good spotter

just my thoughts anyway mooncoon
Click to expand...


Mooncoon, is there much in the way of BP silhouette going on in BC? I wouldn't mind giving it a try once I get a bit further along in load development (and casting skills :).

Chris.
 
The only significant one that I know of is at Heffley Creek in May or early June. There is also a non standard silhouette match (ranges are different) during the annual rendezvous at Heffley Creek at the end of August/ beginning of September. On Vancouver Is where I live there is only one or maybe two ranges long enough to hold a match. May be some matches in the Interior. I think there are some in Alberta.

cheers mooncoon
 
lethbridge has a long range shoot there is also one at Denelda here in Alberta that I know of
 
here is my 38/55 load 347.5gr bullet sitting on 47gr 2f goex .060 ldpe wad seating depth .460 with a powder compression of .115 knocks over the rams no problem btw selling the rifle and whole set up on the exchange ..got a few new toys coming got to sell this one.
 
cdnrokon said:
here is my 38/55 load 347.5gr bullet sitting on 47gr 2f goex .060 ldpe wad seating depth .460 with a powder compression of .115 knocks over the rams no problem btw selling the rifle and whole set up on the exchange ..got a few new toys coming got to sell this one.
Click to expand...

I am interested to hear about your success as I have considered building a heavier 38 calibre BP rifle. You seldom see bullets over 300 gr used because the molds are pretty rare or custom in the heavier sizes. Also I suspect that most barrels would have too slow rifling for bullets that size. What is the twist of the rifle that you refer to?

Has anyone out there got a bigger 38? Are there any that are based on brass that can be found for less than $5 a shell? I would be very interested to hear more as I have a couple rolling block actions for just such a project.
 
I shoot a 38-56 with a 300 grain slug. The mold is home made and the chamber is throated so that only the back third of the slug sits in the shell. The shells are formed from 45-70 shells and cheap like borsht compared to the longer 45 calibers. The long throat has the disadvantage that with black powder you have to run a brush through the chamber at least before seating the next shell. There is enough fouling in the throat that it blocks the next slug. That is not a problem with smokeless loads. I made the throat like that so that most of the slug was in and supported by the bore rather than the shell. Can't remember what the twist rate is but it is 1" faster than Greenhill. I like the gun because it is low recoil and still knocks the targets down. I am thinking of going to a 40 cal based on the 45-70 shell but only because it is different. You can make a shortened version of the 40-70 sharps bottleneck that way with either a shortened body and standard neck or standard body and shortened neck

cheers mooncoon
 
38-55 45-70

Morning Members.

Just a quick note to thank you all for contacting me with your views.
Now I know where I need to be to get invloved with the silhouette shooting.

Thanks again and hopefully meet up with some of you @ the shoots ins AB.

Regards

(BravoTwo)
 
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