Talk to me about 38-55 Single Shot

Re3iever

Re3iever

Regular
Rating - 100%
41   0   0
Location
Newfoundland
On various sites I frequently see this caliber mentioned. I have a nice collection of antique and replica 45-70's but think I might like something in a smaller caliber just for a change.

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? Recommendations? Guns for sale??

Thanks, Retreever
 
For an odd caliber that is much smaller how about 25-20 Single Shot? Not to be confused with the Winchester 25-20- a much different cartridge. Perhaps in an 1882 Maynard?
 
Last edited:
Lyman make a sigle shot.
The little sharps.
I have the 22 version.. fine piece.
Dale has a couple in 38/55 . Nice rifles. I like the scale down action. Set trigger is wonderful.
Nice to BOOT EH!!

I have a 375 win, just love it, I think if closey mirrors the 38.55 with a slight edge..
 
38-55 H+R single shot work well and are not over expense. Marlin cowboy are rare, Winchester 94 in 38-55 can be useful but well 0ver 1000 bucks.
38-55 can be interesting to reload for but take time and patience.
It can be a soft recoiling cal. if loaded that way.
Deer hunting in the woods would be good.
 
Re3iever:

If you look at some of the old literature, Ballard came up with their .38-55 in 1884, {which, due to conflicting histories, was either just a lengthened version of their 1876 .38-50, or was the same but just made with their "Everlasting" brass (so essentially it was still just a .38-50, but because of MIBS [More Is Better Syndrome] even way back then, the name made for better copy}, because it had less recoil than the .40 target cartridges which were then popular (.44-75, .44-100, both introduced in 1876 & the .40-63, .40-70, .40-85, .40-90, all introduced in 1881), which were introduced because of their having less recoil than the .45's, which were brought out because they had less recoil than the .50's, although in Ballard's case, they never, as far as I know, made any Big 50's.

It's also interesting to note that Ballard's original .38-50 came about a scant year after Stevens' introduction of their .38-35 & .38-45 cartridges in 1875.

A short time after introduction of the .38-55 in 1884, they introduced their .32-40 for the exact same reason and eventually Stevens got into the act with their .25-25 in 1895, .25-21 in 1897, and taking that line of thought to the extreme, they came out with their .22-15-60 in 1896. To my mind, this was done due to the lack of strength in their 44 series (not their 44 1/2 series) rifles.

While the above relates only to Ballard and Stevens cartridges, Remington, Bullard & Maynard all went through the same shrinking process, as did the shirt-maker.
 
Marstar has a nice Pedersoli rolling block in 30/30.Here is one of my favourites a greener martini in 22lr.Small bore martini s are a blast

image.jpg


I also have this C Sharps high wall in 22lr

image.jpg
 
Last edited:
single shot #### day
Here is my Roller that started out as a 12.7 x 44R then to a beast of a barrel in 32/40 now wears a GM barrel in 40 cal chambered in 40/50 SS
just finished fire forming 100 pcs brass from 303 British
Treebone wood, MVA scope and sights and beautiful work done by the Dr .
2A36E42B-5955-4CC6-BA02-8B30613E36D6_4_5005_c.jpeg
C231691E-052A-4001-9F3A-E6A07B433036_1_201_a.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 2A36E42B-5955-4CC6-BA02-8B30613E36D6_4_5005_c.jpeg
    2A36E42B-5955-4CC6-BA02-8B30613E36D6_4_5005_c.jpeg
    34.1 KB · Views: 344
  • C231691E-052A-4001-9F3A-E6A07B433036_1_201_a.jpg
    C231691E-052A-4001-9F3A-E6A07B433036_1_201_a.jpg
    104.8 KB · Views: 348
A thought just occurred to me - I recently purchased an 1881 Spanish Rolling Block action that had been re-barreled in 45-70 there is still some work to do but would this be a good candidate to change out to a 38-55 rather than continue with the 45-70 build?

Thanks, Retreever
 
cdnrokon said:
Bits Of Pieces for the barrel maybe ? Ron Smith ? Pick a rate of twist for the heavier bullet for more knock down power on the rams at 500
Click to expand...

for more knock down power on silhouettes, I have a rolling block chambered in 38-56 with a twist fast enough to stabilize a 300 grain bullet. Shell is a necked down 45-70 shell and relatively little recoil. I also have a trapdoor springfield rebarreled to 38-55 which is a fun gun to shoot with minimal recoil. Both are cheaper on powder and lead than the 45 and 50 caliber guns

cheers mooncoon
 
mooncoon said:
for more knock down power on silhouettes, I have a rolling block chambered in 38-56 with a twist fast enough to stabilize a 300 grain bullet. Shell is a necked down 45-70 shell and relatively little recoil. I also have a trapdoor springfield rebarreled to 38-55 which is a fun gun to shoot with minimal recoil. Both are cheaper on powder and lead than the 45 and 50 caliber guns

cheers mooncoon
Click to expand...

I've seen that roller knock down the rams at our range, very impressive, Doug!
Cat
 
Pl. be aware that some older .38/55's have oversize bores, requiring larger bullets. However, Winchester brass is too thick so proper bullets cannot chamber. Thinner Starline brass is required.
As a target cartridge, it can be very accurate and also loaded warmly to be an effective hunting round.
 
Re3iever said:
A thought just occurred to me - I recently purchased an 1881 Spanish Rolling Block action that had been re-barreled in 45-70 there is still some work to do but would this be a good candidate to change out to a 38-55 rather than continue with the 45-70 build?

Thanks, Retreever
Click to expand...

One of the considerations is that a new extractor would have to be custom made for the smaller cartridge head. Proper sized one might be commercially available but i don't know of any. I believe the 1881 era RB's use the "slide extractor do they not?
 
fingers284 said:
One of the considerations is that a new extractor would have to be custom made for the smaller cartridge head. Proper sized one might be commercially available but i don't know of any. I believe the 1881 era RB's use the "slide extractor do they not?
Click to expand...

Hi Fingers, yes it has an unusual extractor which is nearly impossible to find however after talking to the RollingBlockParts.com guy I bought his CNC machined blank extractor and the retaining screw. This extractor can be modified to accommodate any caliber. He has done this before for other Spanish actions where the owner wasn't worried about affecting the value.

Retreever
 
If you went with Mooncoon's suggestion of the .38-56 you could use the existing extractor. You'd want to be careful of the reamer design you use, in order to make sure it makes sense with your barrel's dimensions as well as the thickness of the brass. Reloading dies should be available from Buffalo Arms, that's where I got mine when I had an old Winchester 1886 in .38-56. It's a neat little cartridge and not very common.

Chris.
 
If you buy & use the 38-56 reamer, you can also use the reamer to cut usable dies in a few minutes . I use my "homemade" dies to form 45-70 cases down to 38-56.

38-55 would be the easier route as most everything including dies are local commercial avail. but a 38-56, altho significantly gratifyingly to get one shooting, is a different breed of cat to master from start to finish.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom