Anyone on here shoot the 38-55 ? Pics added

[whbonney26]

Does anyone on here shoot the 38-55 caliber? What do you like or dislike about it? What rifle do you have that shoots it?

 

[762NATO]

I don't know if anyone has heard of it; is the 38-55 a wildcat? What are its ballistics, and what is it akin to?

 

[jayd]

38-55 was the 40 cal of It's day

 

[whitsend]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.38-55_Winchester

The .38-55 Winchester cartridge is named for its approximately .38 caliber bullet (actually .3775 caliber) and was introduced in 1876 by Ballard which belonged to Marlin Firearms from 1875 on for various single-shot target rifles and in their 1893 lever action. It was later used by Winchester for its Model 1894 lever-action rifle. Winchester continued to use the round in various rifles until about 1940, and also used it in a few commemorative editions of rifles since then. Also Marlin used this caliber in some 336 models.

A modernized version of the cartridge debuted in 1978 as the .375 Winchester, designed with higher pressures and to be used in modern firearms only. It is not safe to fire factory .375 Win ammunition in rifles chambered in 38-55, especially in older versions of the 38-55. The brass is very similar (identical in some cases) but using modern, higher pressure .375 loads in an older rifle could cause serious injury to the shooter.

The .38-55 is renowned for its exceptional accuracy at ranges up to 330 yards. It is often used to hunt black bear and deer at moderate ranges[1], and is also used in Cowboy Action Shooting sidematches.

 

[lsu fan]

the accuracy is renowned at 335 yards?

 

[JimmyB]

The link above is correct. The 375 Winchester was developed as a modern replacement for the 38-55
375 brass is thicker than the thin walled 38-55

I’ve been considering the 375 myself. Apparently, a Marlin 336 chambered in the 30-30 can be drilled and rifled for about $150
I haven’t been able to find a gunsmith that will do it

This would be a great deer and hog gun especially with the 265gr GC BTB

Since you ask ‘what rifle shoots it?’ Lever guns is all I know that shoot the 38-55 or 375 Win. T/C has a barrel for the 375 but ‘a very light rifle shooting a 250 or 265gr bullet?’

A lever gun would be the best choice

 

[JimmyB]

Both the 38-55 and the 375 Winchester are 150yd chambering.
That’s probable enough since most deer and hogs are taken at 75yds or less

If you shoot a lot and can estimate ranges well, you could stretch it some

 

[Hevi-shot]

I was gonna go with the 38-55 over the 45-70 just for the cool factor and less recoil until I found out how hard it was to find ammo. I heard Winchester was the only manufacturer and they only release ammo every three years or so. I've yet to see any other company make the round. It shoots a big bullet pretty stinking accurate compared to the 45-70's
rainbow trajectory. I saw a few guns by H & R at the gun shows and they seemed nice, YMMV. Good luck, I think the gun would be neat to show off as it is rather rare, at least in the deer camps I've grown up in.

 

[whbonney26]

Im in the process of building one right now. I got to shoot some a few times and decided I want one for myself. I have a few boxes of ammo that I picked up a few years ago.

I know people who shoot it regularly at 300 yards. There is a guy on youtube who actually shoots his out to 1,000 yards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO6ihrcukcc&feature=channel_video_title

I love lever guns so I have been wanting one for a while now.

 

[whbonney26]

The link above is correct. The 375 Winchester was developed as a modern replacement for the 38-55
375 brass is thicker than the thin walled 38-55

I’ve been considering the 375 myself. Apparently, a Marlin 336 chambered in the 30-30 can be drilled and rifled for about $150
I haven’t been able to find a gunsmith that will do it

This would be a great deer and hog gun especially with the 265gr GC BTB

Since you ask ‘what rifle shoots it?’ Lever guns is all I know that shoot the 38-55 or 375 Win. T/C has a barrel for the 375 but ‘a very light rifle shooting a 250 or 265gr bullet?’

A lever gun would be the best choice

I have seen some single shot breech loaded rifles shoot it before on a range in Alabama. At the time I was not paying enough attention to the caliber to inquire more about it. Could have been a TC or some other similar type.

 

[Coonie]

I had a Winchester Legendary Frontiersman in 38-55 that was in used shape so I fired it, and it printed really close at 200yds( under 7" with benchrest/sandbags) if you don't mind the 10-16" drop at 200yds with factory ammo. It had nice low recoil and a whole lot of potential with hotter handloads. Also check out Buffalo Bullets for their modern gun loads.

I've seen Lyman introduce a Sharp's copy chambered in 38-55 with their globe front sights and tang rear adjustable sights, and I'm currently trying to get a '42 era 94 rebarreled to a 26" octagon barrel.

 

[Akajun]

I have two, both H&R handi rifles in 38-55 and my buddy has a third. I love them, but the caliber and those two guns in particular have issues.

Ill start with the caliber first, Winchester is the only company making ammo that I know, however if you reload the ammo is no problem. Factory ammo is loaded pretty mild as it has to be able to shoot in older guns. Starline and Win make brass, several companies make bullets in 375 and barnes makes its originals in 377 for older guns with large bores. It should be noted that Winchester factory ammo is loaded with 377 bullets, but does not sell them as components. A number of companies sell cast bullets and moulds for casting your own are made by several companies.
Now for the H&R series.
H&r had there head up there ass when they designed the dore and chamber dimensions for the gun. 38-55 was never standardized and bores can go as small as .375 to .381. H&r sent most of these guns out with .380 groove and shallow rifling only .376 between the lands. A .375 bullet will rattle all the way through. However shooting factory win ammo, it shot well, but with such an oversized bore, I dont know for how long that would have lasted. They also cut the chambers too small, which is no problem if you shoot only factory ammo. I like to shoot cast in my gun, and to get it to shoot I have to cast my own at .380, and rent a reamer from the older black powder dimensions to open up the chamber to accept this larger bullet. This story, and many like it are well documented on Cast Boolits.com. H&R no longer offers this chambering.

The good part is that H&R's can be loaded hot, in fact I load using .375 winchester data, which is almost twice the velocity. Even all souped up the guns have very little recoil and are accurate.

 

[JimmyB]

Anybody know of a gunsmith that could convert a Marlin 30-30
to 375 Winchester?

I think this thread finally pushed me over.

 

[hunter5567]

Look up JES reboring on the west coast. He does reboring of Marlin rifles to 38-55, 375 win, 356 win, 405 JES and 444. He has a sticky on Marlinowners.com. forums. He uses the 375 bore diameter which is lot easier to load for than .380 bores. I beleive he charges $225 now which includes shipping back. You just have to pay the shipping there and you can send it direct to him and not involve an FFL and he can ship directly back to since it is repair work. I plan on having one done in the future in 375 or 356. The factory 38-55 loads are anemic at best and about as powerful as a 44 mag handgun. 255gr bullet at 1200fps with a good tail wind. The 375 chambering will shoot 200gr bullets at 2200fps and I think the 255gr bulets can be driven close to 1900fps. I beleive Hornady makes a 220gr flat point bullet. The 375 is shorter version of the 38-55 by a few thousandths loaded to way higher pressures and chambered originally in the beefed up Winchester Big Bore rifles and Marlin lever actions and also in T/C Contenders. Winchester still loads the 375 ammo and you can find other manufacturers on the web.

 

[whbonney26]

Look up JES reboring on the west coast. He does reboring of Marlin rifles to 38-55, 375 win, 356 win, 405 JES and 444. He has a sticky on Marlinowners.com. forums. He uses the 375 bore diameter which is lot easier to load for than .380 bores. I beleive he charges $225 now which includes shipping back. You just have to pay the shipping there and you can send it direct to him and not involve an FFL and he can ship directly back to since it is repair work. I plan on having one done in the future in 375 or 356. The factory 38-55 loads are anemic at best and about as powerful as a 44 mag handgun. 255gr bullet at 1200fps with a good tail wind. The 375 chambering will shoot 200gr bullets at 2200fps and I think the 255gr bulets can be driven close to 1900fps. I beleive Hornady makes a 220gr flat point bullet. The 375 is shorter version of the 38-55 by a few thousandths loaded to way higher pressures and chambered originally in the beefed up Winchester Big Bore rifles and Marlin lever actions and also in T/C Contenders. Winchester still loads the 375 ammo and you can find other manufacturers on the web.

Here is his website. I have used him before and he does great work. http://www.35caliber.com/

I will be reloading once the small stock pile of factory ammo that I have is gone. I have a friend who shoots this caliber and he casts bullets for it also. Im not too worried about ammo.



Here is my project so far.


Well, its been a long time coming. I have been roughly working on this rifle for almost a year now. Bought a pretty rough 20" carbine 30-30. Then I bought a 26'' octagon barrel and mag tube.

When I got the original rifle all the bluing was gone but I still had lots of metal prep to do. I ordered a stock set off of eBay (Mistake). It was very rough fitting and my lack of woodworking skill really did a number on the stock. I sent it to a friend here and he said it could be saved but would be ugly.....Then we found out the forearm was not the right one. So......a complete waste of money on the wood.

For the receiver I was going to send it off for Color Case Hardening but then decided I would go with a worn look.

The rifle sat dormant for months as I did other things but recently I decided to start working on it some more in my free time....what little I have. I was ordering me some parts from Numrich and seen they had a buttstock like I wanted. I jumped on it because I was having a hard time finding curved buttplate stocks for a post 64 94.

Its still a ways from being finished. Need the barrel installed and headspaced (If I can find a gunsmith around here that will actually do it) and then I will order the forearm when I measure and see just what length I need.

Anyways....here are a few pics. Still have some metal work left to do to get the gun to have the look I want but maybe you can get the idea. Also, I will be working with the stock once I get the forearm to get it to look like the gun has been used.

Here is when I first got the gun;

After a little work;

and after I decided to actually do some real work on it......this is tonight but with plenty left;

Hope you guys dont mind the progress pics. Maybe soon I will have some finished pics and then a range report.

 

[cenla_hunter]

I have a Marlin 336 30-30 rebored/chambered by Jesse to .375 Winchester. The bore/groove is .376, but Jesse also cuts the chamber long enough to accept 38-55 brass.
I recently killed a couple of feral hogs with it; loads were Hornady 220 gr FNSPs loaded to about 1950fps. I also load a 250 gr LFN-GC Beartooth hardcast bullet to 1850 fps. Neither of these loads are max loads.

375 Winchester and 38-55 are really a handloader's cartridge.

 

[whbonney26]

I have a Marlin 336 30-30 rebored/chambered by Jesse to .375 Winchester. The bore/groove is .376, but Jesse also cuts the chamber long enough to accept 38-55 brass.
I recently killed a couple of feral hogs with it; loads were Hornady 220 gr FNSPs loaded to about 1950fps. I also load a 250 gr LFN-GC Beartooth hardcast bullet to 1850 fps. Neither of these loads are max loads.

375 Winchester and 38-55 are really a handloader's cartridge.

Sounds like a sweet gun.

 

[whbonney26]

I was gonna go with the 38-55 over the 45-70 just for the cool factor and less recoil until I found out how hard it was to find ammo. I heard Winchester was the only manufacturer and they only release ammo every three years or so. I've yet to see any other company make the round. It shoots a big bullet pretty stinking accurate compared to the 45-70's
rainbow trajectory. I saw a few guns by H & R at the gun shows and they seemed nice, YMMV. Good luck, I think the gun would be neat to show off as it is rather rare, at least in the deer camps I've grown up in.

Just to let others know.....Winchester, Blackhills and TenX I know make it. May be others also.

 

[hunter5567]

If you get the .375 rebore done you can get ammo from Winchester, Wisconsin cartridge, Georgia arms, and I beleive Reed's Ammunition. I've had a few of the Marlin 375 rifles.
Now playing with a Marlin 444P Outfitter.

 

[whbonney26]

If you get the .375 rebore done you can get ammo from Winchester, Wisconsin cartridge, Georgia arms, and I beleive Reed's Ammunition. I've had a few of the Marlin 375 rifles.
Now playing with a Marlin 444P Outfitter.

I have not slugged the bore on this one yet but will soon.