38/55 single shots

Had a Pedersoli roller in 45-70 and found the stock uncomfortable to shoot and the action awkward though reliable. Now have a new Winchester 1885 heavy barrel in 38-55 with MVA sights and love it. I will search no further.
 
I have an original hiwall made in 1915 if I recall correctly. Has a Schutzen butt, great shooter. Also have a Ballard Pacific, has a larger diam bore and much more picky about its diet. A great old calibre and one of my favorites.
 
I have had them all Martinis ,Highwalls,Ballards Rollers and Hepburns and now I have two sharps for my main rifles for silhouette.I always liked the Ballard I had one with double set triggers all done up and re barrelled in 50/70. I should have done a 40 or 45 barrel .I find as most of my shooting buds get older they are trying a lighter caliber .We also have our .22 silhouette matches and we are going crazy with high dollar single shots in those as well.
 
What is the rate of twist on the ballard compared to the highwall? 1/12 and 1/14 I bet

Willy Tincup said:
I have an original hiwall made in 1915 if I recall correctly. Has a Schutzen butt, great shooter. Also have a Ballard Pacific, has a larger diam bore and much more picky about its diet. A great old calibre and one of my favorites.
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Here is a Ruger #1 that has been rebarreled in 38/55 a few years ago. It may not be an antique but sure is a great cast bullet shooter !
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RC
 
The .38-55 is a great cartridge in a single shot. Mine are for 200m/yd/40 rod shooting :). They eat a lot less lead and powder than the .45's and can be very accurate of course.

Chris.
 
I got to try a few different Sharps rifles in .45-70 and that was enough to suggest that after a dozen or so shots my shoulder would be done for the day. The owners of those rifles sheepishly confirmed that this was the case for them too.

So when I came across an old Danish rolling block action married to a Sharps barrel in .38-55 I figured I'd found my happy "baby bear's porridge". And certainly shooting it is a dream. Enough kick to be interesting but a lower recoil that lets me shoot all day. And the Sharps barrel is no slouch for accuracy.

However it's a cartridge that is suffering from identity confusion. It comes in two different lengths of brass and two different bore diameters. It started out as a .376'ish inch bore using 2.125 long cases and at some point shifted to 2.08 length cases and .380 bullets. So one can't just assume anything when they have a .38-55 rifle. Bores need to be slugged and chambers checked to determine the right size of bullet and brass before they can get serious.

Is it worth it? I guess so. I like my rolling block well enough that it's got a Uberti High Wall in .38-55 as a companion. And I'm strongly considering buying one of Tradex's rollers to use for the action and add a new barrel chambered in my own options for a .38-55 combo from the different options.

The rolling block who's receiver was born in 1869;

Rifle2.jpg
 
another round that has been used by guys at our club is 38/50 Maynard one guy has a new barrel on a Martini action in that cal and makes his brass from 30/40 Krag with a Kal Tool Case Stretcher. As of now he shoots a paper patch bullet also from Kal Tool with good results.
 
The .38-50 Maynard on a .30-40 case sounds cool. Is he using it for silhouette? I have a highwall chambered in .38-50 Remington Hepburn based on .30-40 Krag brass. I wonder how the case capacities compare? I use 60gr of Goex Fg in mine with a Brooks elliptical paper patched bullet. Mine is stocked for bench shooting.

Chris.
 
He is still in the load dev stages , he built it for silhouette matches ,but like most of us we have way too many toys and not enough time to play with them.
gunlaker said:
The .38-50 Maynard on a .30-40 case sounds cool. Is he using it for silhouette? I have a highwall chambered in .38-50 Remington Hepburn based on .30-40 Krag brass. I wonder how the case capacities compare? I use 60gr of Goex Fg in mine with a Brooks elliptical paper patched bullet. Mine is stocked for bench shooting.

Chris.
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I have a trapdoor Springfield in 38-55 and very much enjoy it. Switched to a buffington sight this year which made it easier to shoot. With my eyes the gun is not exceptionally accurate but that is me and not the gun. I use it as a loaner at our annual turkey shoots. Some day soon I will have to try it with black powder. Being lazy, I have not wanted to bother cleaning it right away if I shot black. Perhaps worth mentioning that the problem that I had with the previous rear sight was that it was from an original trapdoor and it adjusted by sliding the V portion up and down and across. I found the sight kept getting shifted. That is not a problem with the buffington but for 100 yard shooting, I have to have the "ladder" up and use the peep sight at the bottom. With the ladder down, the V seems to be set for around 200 yards

cheers mooncoon
 
I don't have a .38-55, but I do know a guy at the local black powder shoots that has one. Pleasant to shoot and accurate.

At one time it was popular for deer and black bear. The first cartridge chambered in the Winchester 1894. Anyone hunt with a .38-55 ?
 
I have H&R Target in 38-55.Great gun and even better cartridge.I use to shot it with BP and smokeless-all with lead.

Haven't shot it in a while.I'm much more into surplus guns now so I should put it up for sale...
 
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