I'm looking for a jacketed soft point 38-55 bullet for a friend of mine. He doesn't need cast bullets. The Hornady bullet is only .375 and a little light. The Barnes bullet is the perfect weight and diameter, but mucho expensive. Are there any other 38-55 bullets out there that are somewhere around .377" in diameter? I've already checked Winchester, Remington, and Speer with no luck.
What jacketed 38-55 bullets are available?
- Thread starter Win 38-55
- Start date
Those are the only two I can find in Alberta and yes the price of the barnes bullets alone makes buying factory ammo a cost effective alternative. Speer used to make a 235 grain or something but I think they are discontinued. I wonder any commercial casters make a 260 grainer? It is definitely getting difficult to find a decent jacketed bullet for 38-55 or 375 Win and I agree the Hornady is a little light.
Henry Nierychlo
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Surrey, B.C.
HI
I can get there following in.
CAST 38-55cal 260gr LFNGC LBT CAST BULLET 100/BX
They are made by Cast Performance in Riverton, Wyoming
Send me a PM if you are interested in a price.
Regards, Henry
I have been told by several suppliers that they cannot get the jacketed bullets like the Winchester Super X loads. My ancient 1894 shoots them well but according the 38-55 sites in the states the 38-55 prefers cast and in the 250gr range. I have had my barrel slugged at 0.378 and have had OMA in Nanaimo cast bullets sized specifically for that barrel. Cost me $38 for 250 rounds and have a set of Cowboy dies now to load them. Got a Cast Bullet Handbook and reading it now. Virgin lead to boot. He is a BP shooter himself and seems to know what he is doing. FYI he tells me he does not use recast lead.
I suppose he could try paper-patching one of the available 0.375" jacketed bullets.
If he's real ambitious, he could have a die made to "bump" jacketed bullets up in size - essentially what you do is squeeze the bullet down in length and since it has to go somewhere, it then goes up in diameter. The die would consist of a 0.380" sizer die (they do spring back a bit), with an adjustable top portion with the same profle as the bullet, and a flat 0.380" base for the ram portion of your press. You need a strong press, as even 2-3 thou requires quite a bit of effort.
A lot of work for someone who won't use cast.
If he's real ambitious, he could have a die made to "bump" jacketed bullets up in size - essentially what you do is squeeze the bullet down in length and since it has to go somewhere, it then goes up in diameter. The die would consist of a 0.380" sizer die (they do spring back a bit), with an adjustable top portion with the same profle as the bullet, and a flat 0.380" base for the ram portion of your press. You need a strong press, as even 2-3 thou requires quite a bit of effort.
A lot of work for someone who won't use cast.
- Location
- Ottawa origanally Muskoka
Why would anyone want to wear out an old gun by shooting copperjacketed bullets through it? A lino type cast bullet with a gas check will do just fine won't it? That's what I use in my old 38-55 Marlin. I have had no problems with cast lead so don't see the need for jackets. I know jacketed bullets look nice but are they worth it in such an old BP cartridge? Never used jacketed bullets in 38-55 so don't really know how they compare accuracy or ballisticlly to lead.
Thats odd-I was in Reliable Gun here in Van and they had several boxes of Winchester Super X 38-55 in 255gr on the shelf-new stock. Have you looked around? I have never had a problem getting the stuff and my gun shoots the jacketed happily. Winchester may not be selling the separate boolits but I can still get the ammo. There is always a possibility that its old stock from a distrib but that doesnt matter much to me as I plan to load cast shortly anyways to save a wad of cash. Apparently this cal was designed to shoot cast and prefers it. FYI google 38-55 and look at the list of sites that come up in the US. I spent a whole day just looking thru forums. Cast is the way to go. Cant beat it for price at the very least. Smokeless and cast will do nicely for me. This is a real fun gun to shoot and has a 26in barrel on it. Apparently loading cast will also improve the accuracy as well. Well Woo Hoo! Im ok with that.
Winchester's Super X 38-55 ammo is pretty tame. I chrono'd it at around 1,300 fps. My friend wants to load his own and we already have a source for cast bullets (Bullet Barn). He just needs a source for jacked bullets. Thus far, it looks like Barnes is the only game in town other than having a friend custom swage some (which is where I got my own private stash).
Super X is a 1300fps load. Says so on their site. Aside from OMA and Bullet Barns cast the only way I know to get those jacketed boolits is to buy factory and pull them. I did this search some time back and got the same result. Apparently Win just makes them to load for this cartridge and does not make them available. 375 apparently dont work as they are too loose. OMA was fast and actually suggested I slug my barrel. Mine is at .378 and he has sized my cast for that barrel. Let you know how the old girl shoots. After many forums that we have both been a part of it seems that cast is the way to go anywas-the only way. 255 gr is no problem for OMA and I have 250 waiting to get stuffed.
Winchesters Old Rifle section tells me max CUP rating for the old girl is 38,400 and a 1700/1800 fps round is well withing acceptable perameters for this old stuff. Let us know if you find any jacketed rounds though-that would be nice.
Winchesters Old Rifle section tells me max CUP rating for the old girl is 38,400 and a 1700/1800 fps round is well withing acceptable perameters for this old stuff. Let us know if you find any jacketed rounds though-that would be nice.
