38-55 fills a doe tag

[Ole_270]

Haven't been on here in awhile. Rifles have taken a back seat to shotguns the last year or two. Getting ready to head back to South Dakota for a 2nd pheasant hunt.
Anyway, late last week I filled my 2nd doe tag with the old Marlin 336 rebored by JES to 38-55. Used 21-4198 with a NOE 377-250B at roughly 9 Bhn, powder coated. Sitting in my old bow stand, near the gate into a large brushy pasture. Caught a doe coming through the gate, she then turned towards the stand a few steps. Shot was at 10 yards, hit the top of the near shoulder blade and passed through and out the bottom of the belly. She swerved and bounced off the fence, then stumbled maybe 10 yards before dropping. That shoulder wasn't worth much, shattered bone and bloodshot everywhere. Still got some good freezer meat, along with a doe from the early pre-rut antlerless season and a medium buck on opening day of rifle season. Thinking about getting another doe tag for the January doe season and using the old JC Higgins M51-L in 308 with the NOE copy of the Saeco #315. Use the meat to make summer sausage and jerky.

 

[oscarflytyer]

A 38-55 harvest is on my To Do list. Mine is a Uberti/Cimarron.

 

[Ole_270]

Will sure get the job done with proper projectile.

 

[Rushcreek]

Congratulations on the doe!
I killed a buck last year with my Win/Jes 38-55 and I’m planning on using it soon for the annual doe reduction hunt with the cousins.
23 grs of 4198 and the Lee 250 gr works!

 

[Rex]

The last deer I shot was with an old Marlin model 93 in 38-55 that my Grandpa gave me when I was a young boy. The ammo was a bit over 50 years old and I had a hard time seeing the small sights on a 26" barrel. Don't know why I waited so long to hunt with that rifle. I'm sure Grandpa and his brother Forrest were there helping me or I'd never got the job done. I was 79 at the time.
Rex

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

Congratulations on the viddles!!
I like that bullet too. I have the mold and shoot it in my 375 Winchesters. Its loaded to just 1800+ but I didnt get a chance with it this year.

 

[L Ross]

Am I then only guy that had such trouble with .38-55s that he gave up on the caliber? A Model 93 Marlin, an 1885 Winchester, a Hepburn, and an 1894 Winchester. Tight throats preventing proper sized bullets for their large bores.
The Hepburn was splendid when breech seated, and semi fair with soft lead and BP. Everything else and in all the other rifles was/were disappointing. I felt that if the bores were actually .375" or the chamber could accept a loaded round with a .382" bullet we could still be dating. All of my examples could not chamber a bullet fatter that .377" and most of the barrels were .379".

 

[Ole_270]

Congratulations on the doe!
I killed a buck last year with my Win/Jes 38-55 and I’m planning on using it soon for the annual doe reduction hunt with the cousins.
23 grs of 4198 and the Lee 250 gr works!

I started out with that bullet too. Switched to the 4 cavity NOE mold for the flat base and more importantly the multiple cavities. The Lee was very accurate using a scope, but I changed to using the Skinner Express sight for less bulk. At nearly 71 years of age the two bullets don’t show any difference on the target with the peep sight.

 

[Gary]

I started out with that bullet too. Switched to the 4 cavity NOE mold for the flat base and more importantly the multiple cavities. The Lee was very accurate using a scope, but I changed to using the Skinner Express sight for less bulk. At nearly 71 years of age the two bullets don’t show any difference on the target with the peep sight.

I was just wondering if you were still kicking, good to see you post again. You have any Quail over your way this year, none here. I'm still using on that Silver pwd you sold me a few years back.
I have a Uberti that JES rebored to 38-55 and I like it a lot. Forgot to add, I'm using the Lee 250 with Silver pwd coat and some with a Copper color; it's how I tell the different pwd charges.

 

[todd]

congrats on filling your freezer!!!

i have a JES 35/30-30 in Winchester m94 that uses 200gr RCBS FNGC and 2400/tuft of dacron and i shot it 2 years ago at fat 4 pt.

 

[Ole_270]

No quail to speak of here. I’ve seen a covey a couple times in my hiking the hills but very seldom

 

[CZ93X62]

I meant to use my rebored 38/55 this year on my deer hunt--but wasn't able to get out a lot. I cast some of the the Lee plain-base 250 grainers in the Condor Cuddler Rotometals bismuth concoction and sent them with 22.0 x IMR 4198 into five-shotters of 2"-2.2" at 50 yards. The Gods of the Hunt didn't bless my paltry efforts this year, and that's likely a good outcome--dunno if I could have dragged the critter out. What a crummy year.

Anyway--I am developing a real fondness for the 38/55 caliber. I have had some kind of 45/70 around since about 1990, but have only had the 38/55 since about 2013. With the onset of 'Unleaded Hunting Bullets Only' here in Kalifornistan, the 45/70 and 38/55 emerge again as viable deer harvesters due to diameter and relative heft. From a hunting perspective, Cal-DFW has set the clock back almost 200 years in terms of terminal ballistics outcomes--ya gotta go big, or go home.

 

[fiver]

i remember Barnes making a copper bullet for the '38' cals a number of years back.
maybe they still do?

i got nuthin on the 38-55 i shoot the 375 Win... the Hornady 200 works just fine on a deer.
both of them accept 379 bullets no problemo so that's what size i use with the lead bullets.

 

[CZ93X62]

I've checked Barnes and others for unleaded FN bullets for the 38/55, and no can find so far. 38/55 is something of a niche caliber, and commercial viability for only one state is a problem.

 

[Missionary]

Congratulations ! 38-55 has been a very good corn cruncher cartridge for what.. 130 years now ! Upper Michigan woods were well supplied with that fine old cartridge.
My 1st center fire bean eater in ILL-Nois about 20 years back was with a Dan Wesson 375 Supermag loaded with a 255 gr. FNPB from an old Ideal mold loaded to 1100 fps to duplicate a 38-55 at about 75 yards. I knew my shot would be about 15 yards in a wood lot.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

Yeah, between Winchester Marlon and Remington a few caliber, but mostly the 3855 got royally screwed. With all different dimensions of the chamber and the barrel and the throat it's a miracle any of these guns even shoot. My marlin cowboy was all screwed up it had a .380 barrel but it wouldn't chamber a bullet bigger than .378. Even W thin brass... I ran a .400 throating reamer in it and then it was pretty good.

 

[Fiddler]

20:1 bullets are your friend when it comes to .377-.378 bullets thru a .380 or greater barrel.

 

[Gary]

No quail to speak of here. I’ve seen a covey a couple times in my hiking the hills but very seldom

Wow!! Those hills were full of Quail when we were kids.

 

[Glaciers]

Yeah, between Winchester Marlon and Remington a few caliber, but mostly the 3855 got royally screwed. With all different dimensions of the chamber and the barrel and the throat it's a miracle any of these guns even shoot. My marlin cowboy was all screwed up it had a .380 barrel but it wouldn't chamber a bullet bigger than .378. Even W thin brass... I ran a .400 throating reamer in it and then it was pretty good.

Yes your definition is certainly accurate. My JES rebore if I remember is .377 with short brass and my High Wall 2nd year production has a .382 and with thin Starline brass can’t begin to chamber anything close. I was thinking of having the chamber recut, but everything is original with this old single shot right down to the letter from Cody.
I think Fiddler has the right of it, maybe 30:1 might be better.
My shooting shed is right outside of my reloading room so this spring (“Spring time in Alaska it’s 40 below” and some years that can be a very accurate) well probably in May I can see what can be made to work. While High Walls have graceful lines I’d rather shoot it than make a wall hanger out of it.

 

[Glaciers]

I've checked Barnes and others for unleaded FN bullets for the 38/55, and no can find so far. 38/55 is something of a niche caliber, and commercial viability for only one state is a problem.

Well AL you could try powder coating with a copper or brass colored paint and since PC bullets will pass a hammer smash test you would possibly be able to fool them or at least a halfway decent argument in court.
Otherwise I suggest you hunt Oregon, Nevada, Idaho comes to mind.
I can’t think of anybody make non leaded bullets.