38-55 questions.

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Greg S

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I foolishly bought a 38-55. Why foolishly? Because there are two different length cartridge cases and two different diameter bullets. Which case goes with which bullet and which mix of the four goes with my rifle? Then there is the rumour that I can single load 375 Win.

1979 manufacture Winchester 38-55 which I assume will take a higher pressure than an antique gun. Cartridge lengths are 2.080 and 2.125, about a 1/16" different. Does it matter? Bullets are .375 or .377 or close, I might be out a couple thou but they differ by that or more without considering cast sizes.
Living in Canada it seems I can't buy any of the ammo or components anyway, but if I go searching and find some for sale, which do I snap up and which do I leave laying on the table?

Is there a way to measure the chamber to find length for the case? With calipers the bore seems to be 0.3765 which sounds right for my Winchester from what I've read.
 
First: Do NOT load .375 in your 38-55. The 375 cartridge operates at a much higher chamber pressure and are unsafe to fire in rifles chambered for 38-55. Your Winchester is chambered for the 2.080" case. Nominal jacketed bullet diameter is .377". Ammo may be a bit harder to find, but components are readily available, if you choose to reload this cartridge. Rusty Wood Trading Company lists Starline 38-55 Winchester brass on their website. Bullet Barn should have hard cast lead bullets available in .379-.380" (nominal lead bullet diameter for use in the .377 bore). Or, you can cast your own. Don't have the information right in front of me, but I believe Barnes makes a .377" jacketed bullet for the 38-55. The 38-55 is nothing more than a 30-30 case with the neck blown out. In a pinch, 38-55 brass can be made by resizing 30-30. There are likely many other people on this forum far more knowledgeable about the 38-55 than I, but this information should at least give you a starting point.
 
According to Cartridges of the World the .38-55 case is 2.129, the .30-30 case is 2.040. Either chambers in my .38-55/12 ga Cape gun (the .30-30 cases having been sized up).

I use a .379 cast plain base bullet.
 
A bit more info that may be helpful. Factory Winchester Super-X ammo is available in 38-55. Not all retailers may have it on the shelf, but could be ordered. As a matter of historical interest, the 38-55 is the parent case for the 30-30. As well as the 25-35, 32-40 and 32 Winchester Special cartridges. There is plenty of loading information available for both jacketed and cast bullets.
 
You are highly unlikely to run into the longer case length unless you have some vintage ammo, or you specifically order some from Starline or other supplier.

That being said, even in the modern repros, the chamber is cut to accommodate the longer case. I have a Legendary Frontiersman [1979, I believe]
It handles the longer brass just fine, but the stuff is a nuisance, since I have to reset my seating/crimping die to load it.

I have slugged the bore in mine, and it is .4767" or so. It shoots all .377 bullets just fine, but will not shoot the 220 Grain Hornady bullet designed for the 375 Winchester.
It also shoots the Barnes 255 grain .375 bullet well, but to shoot it at the proper length to cycle through the 94 action, you must load it in 375 Winchester cases.
This is no issue.....but as cautioned, do NOT shoot any factory 375 Winchester ammo in your 38-55!!

Better to use the Barnes 255 grain, .377" bullet specifically designed for the 38-55, and so stated on the box. [A bit pricey, but an excellent bullet]

This chambering also responds well to cast bullets from 240 grains up, but be sure they are .002" larger than groove diameter for best results. [mine are .379-.380"]

The 38-55 is a great chambering, and with handloads, you can drive 255 grain jacketed bullets to 1700+ fps. Very potent out to 150 yards or a bit more.

Powders that have worked best for me are IMR3031, H322, RL7, H or IMR 4198, N202.

I shot my largest Whitetail deer to date with my 38-55, and it is a decisive killer of deer sized game.

Regards, Dave
 
The longer cases were used in the old single shot stuff. Your newer Winchester lever is certainly chambered for the shorter case. Perdersoli and Uberti clones of the older single shot rifles seem to be all set up for the shorter length casings again. At least from my reading to support my own .38-55 habit.

The older and even newer single shot rifles and single shot clones seem to be bored to suit the smaller .376 to .377 size bullets. Again the lever rifles are bored to take the later introduced .379 to .380 sizes.
 
What they said. ^^^

Think I "might" "maybe" "possibly" have 20ish 1f Winchester cases under the bench in a dark dusty corner, there is also a better chance that RustyWood trading (sponsor) can put you onto some....
 
Rusty Wood is where I got my Starline brass for my Remington rolling block.

The only real way to check the chamber is to start with casting the chamber using the low temperture Cerosafe or some sort of plaster. For testing the bore a common way is to "slug" the bore with a dead soft lead round ball or a soft lead fishing weight. You literally hammer the lead into the muzzle crown using a plastic or maybe brass mallet. Once down in the bore use a close fitting cleaning rod or softer metal punch to push it into the bore. Then use a cleaning rod to push it down to the chamber and out. Now you've got something to measure that you know is clean and easy.
 
Cast your chamber. Now you have your case length.
Slug your bore. Now you have your bullet diameter.

You're looking at $20 in supplies and under an hour to do this. Many tutorials online and on youtube.
Personally I wouldn't even cast the chamber, I would assume (with confidence) that it's the shorter case length. Slugging a bore is something I do for nearly all my rifles since I shoot cast bullets and need to size for the groove diameter. For a .377-.390" bore you could try a round ball for a .40 muzzle loader; they are usually around .390-.395". $10/100 usually but maybe you can find a local with a .40 muzzleloader who will give/sell you a couple. If you sized them down to the diameter you need for your rifle you could even load the round balls with a few grains of shotgun powder for kitten fart loads.
 
I gotta agree with lutnit. You can pretty much assume that it's a short casing chamber on any lever rifle or modern single shot reproduction.

One thing I've done is size a case so it's a snug but finger pushable fit. I then insert this test fit load with the bullet just in the mouth a short ways. This OAL tester is then chambered and the rim seated fully. And now for the trick. To avoid the bullet sticking to the rifling lead and pulling out of the casing I push on the bullet lightly with a cleaning rod or wood dowel in the bore as I open the breech and the extractor pulls on the rim.

In your case you could do this same OAL check but without closing the bolt. Instead just press seat the tester with your finger so it's fully seated then with the cleaning rod or dowel just pop the bullet free of any wedging it did in the rifling leade. Your desirable OAL would be a few thou less so it doesn't bite into the rifling every time.

I'd like to claim that this is all my idea. But I got it off the web from another BP friendly forum. But the wood dowel or cleaning rod pushing stick IS mine. I didn't trust the bullets to stay put so I figured I'd give them a hand with a little pressure from the front.
 
Thanks for the replies. I'll check the bore with a lead slug and take for granted that the chamber is for the short casing and that sounds like an easy way to determine OAL. Thanks all!

Off to the gun show in the morning and if I don't find parts there, I'll be ordering from RustyWood tomorrow night. Funny that they didn't come up when I was doing Web searches. A place on the Sunshine Coast came up but they were all out of stock, same as anyone else I could find in Canada. I would rather buy jacketed bullets. I tried cast bullets in my 30-30 a few years ago and had a great amount of fun trying to get the bore clean again. I wasn't happy with the lead left in the gun, don't want to go there again.
 
Well, it's not a round which wants to be shot at higher speeds. Particularly if shooting cast bullets. Keep things down to around 1300 to 1400 fps and just use a heavier bullet for hunting or longer distance shots. That'll go a long ways to reducing or avoiding leading up.

I also just checked and Rusty Wood is showing .38-55 Starline as in stock.
 
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