So I just purchased a Winchester High Wall 1885 in 38-55. Plan to shoot it with holy black and cast boolits. I was wondering if anyone could help me out with mold choices and bullet weights for 100 to 200 yard target shooting?
Thanks!
-------- Andrew BPCR in 45-70, and 38-55
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I had exceptionally good luck with the RCBS 378-312-BPS.
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Nice,
Slug the bore and find the twist rate. Then you can figure a bullet weight. and length.
Jon
Jon Welda CW5 USA Ret.
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Slug it, on a modern rifle?
That mold show obsolete, guess I'll do some scrounging around. Found brass last night.
-------- Andrew BPCR in 45-70, and 38-55
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is it an original 1885 or a modern Mirouku?
"if it was easy we'd let women do it" don't tell my wife I said that!
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It's a Mirouku Winchester.
-------- Andrew BPCR in 45-70, and 38-55
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I have the 16" Mirouku/,Winchester Carbine in 38-55.It likes the RCBS GC with 4198 sized. 376. My Stevens 44 likes a big .381 Ideal 375167 bullet and Light charges of Unique breech seated. My AW Peterson Barrel 1885 likes the 375272 Hudson bullet with 4759 with a .378 base also breech seated. I can't help with BP as I don't use it in cartrige rifles. all my chambers and barrels are different throat dimensions so it's each to its own.
I can't recall the twist rates of my rifles
"if it was easy we'd let women do it" don't tell my wife I said that!
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Ouch, guess I'll be slugging it then. I'll hold off on moulds til that gets done.
-------- Andrew BPCR in 45-70, and 38-55
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keep us posted. My Mirouku 38-55 chamber it tight.I wonder if all of them are.Is yours a traditional hunter? I have one in 30-30 that's a pretty accurate rifle.
"if it was easy we'd let women do it" don't tell my wife I said that!
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Should have it by Monday!!
-------- Andrew BPCR in 45-70, and 38-55
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I love my 30-30. I put Browning a BPCR Soule and Lyman 17 up front. It's not gonna win matches, but It shoots a plain base breech seated into 1.5" at 100 often.enough to make me smile.its shot a couple much smaller groups but i.consider those flukes. The pitcher with the target is two 5 shot groups at 100 and one 5 shot group at 200 ( bigger bull)
"if it was easy we'd let women do it" don't tell my wife I said that!
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If memory serves me right a 280 grain or so bullet is the most linear you can use. The old Lyman 375248 is a good place to start and will give good service with either black or smokeless, smokeless being the most critical to the bullet’s diameter.
Forrest Gump is my smarter brother.
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No pics yet, but I picked her up from my ffl yesterday. What a gem. Spent a little time cleaning oil oil and grease out of the action. Freed up the trigger considerably and the lever functions smoother.
Varnished oil was preventing the hammer from catching the sear reliably. That's working properly now. Ordered a mold and some supplies from Track of the Wolf, and hoping for brass from Starline.
Til then it's clean, oiled, and in the safe.
-------- Andrew BPCR in 45-70, and 38-55
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The SAECO #373 265 grain Flat-nose gascheck mold gave good service in both a Rolling Block and a Marlin 1893 carbine.
Cast of 94% Pb, 4% Sb, 2% SN, sized .377, lubed with LBT Blue and loaded mainly with Reloder #7. I also used the RCBS 37-250-FN with the gascheck ring machined out for plain base with good results in the Marlin.
The Rolling Block was maddening, shot sub-minute one day and Improved Cylinder the next. This rifle is now a .45-70 and shoots very well.
Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest
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I hate to love the 38-55, but I do. Original rifles from the pre-smokeless days usually had a true .380" groove. After the introduction of the 375 Winchester, the "updated" version of the 38-55, manufacturers seem to be unaware of the differences.
The current 38-55s are just about all using 375 barrels. That's why grooves usually run in .376-.377 versus the .379 called out in the spec.
I have the opposite problem. My H&R Target rifle has a 38-55 barrel that slugs right at .379 but with a 375 chamber.
The result is that my .380" Lyman 375166s will not chamber safely. There's a slight slip fit into the chamber but no clearance for case expansion at the neck. The other, typical bullet molds called out cast a smaller bullet, appropriate for the current Winchester 38-55s
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Been a long six weeks, feels like a year. I double checked my bore and it measures .375 so that's my casting goal, found a nice antique iron mold at a upstate shop, and bought a new Lee for comparison. Also for my amusement I picked up a original 1894 Winchester tool, as well as RCBS cowboy dies.
A Brother gave me 25 Winchester brass, brand new. Those have been annealed and prepped for loading.
Got a OAL measurement done. 2.64" puts the bullet right into the forcing cone, but not engraved.
Everything's on hand to start loading, except a case holder for the press.
Pic's 'cause it's happening !
-------- Andrew BPCR in 45-70, and 38-55
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I bought one of these not long after they were introduced twenty-five or so years ago. I've tried a variety of bullets, but have used the Lyman 270 - 280 grain gas check #375449 exclusively for years. I run these through a .379" sizer. Bore and groove dimensions are .373" and .379" respectively according to a Browning design engineer. Twist rate is 1 in 15". These are very accurate rifles. I don't recall ever trying jacketed bullets, but there's no need to.
There's a full length article with a lot of data using one of these rifles in HANDLOADER #210, April 2001.
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