What's the .38-55 good for?

Grouse Man

Grouse Man

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My father in law found a couple of boxes of .38-55 and passed them along to me. I already have a 6.5 Swede, .30 Remington, and .303 Br. Is there something the .38-55 can do spectacularly better than the aforementioned cartridges? Or should I sell the ammo and not get infected by it?
 
There's no shot for immunity, neither is there a cure. Go ahead and get the lever gun bug - they're a riot to shoot, and in the thick stuff that .38-55 is pretty formidable. Best carrying design ever dreamed up, great balance and just plain a lot of fun.
 
It can be had in great easy to carry woods carbines (94 Win etc), and make bigger holes in deer sized game with heavier bullets. I have a Savage 99 in this caliber, basically it's a 375 Winchester (although not identical). A little slower, longer case (if memory serves), usually pretty accurate, works very well with cast bullets. Works well on bears too. And if you only have 3 rifles, you obviously need more. FWIW - dan
 
In the right gun, it makes a good long range BPCR silhouette rifle, with a 300+ gr. bullet and a 1-16" twist barrel, it can knock over the 500 yd. rams......the same rifle makes a good hunting rifle with flat point bullets. Oldtimers preferred it over the 30/30, .32, and .35 due to the larger bore and heavier bullets.
 
.38/55

What's it good for?

The short answer is "everything."

Well, maybe not big bears or running moose, but you get the idea.

If you're uneasy about having all that ammo, you can drop it off at my sister's-in-law in Winnipeg. wink,wink,nudge,nudge.
 
The 38-55 caliber in either rifle or carbine is fun to shoot. I have carried it for hunting deer . Targets out to 200 yards are possible. Lots of bullet choice and simple to reload.
 
My father in law found a couple of boxes of .38-55 and passed them along to me.

Well in my opinion you got the start to a durn good huntin combination :)
Just pull the bullets & dump that meager itty bitty bit of powder in the trash & dump in 35gns of 3031, reload the bullets...
Oh wait 1st you need a 38-55 gun :rolleyes:
 
I rebarreled a trapdoor springfield into 38-55 and shoot it in turkey shoots and for practice. Makes a fun gun with minimal recoil plus using reloads is relatively cheap to shoot.

cheers mooncoon
 
Funny this thread comes up. Just tonight my buddy was telling me he dug an old Winnie 38-55 out of the basement. Only problem is he says there is a small bulge on the outside of the barrel, which cannot be good. He had no idea how or when that happened.
 
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