Have a chance to shoot mule deer does in a small suburban lot. Would really like to use my Marlin 38-55 with reduced loads to limit sound. Shots will be 50yds with plenty of chance for supported shooting so ideally head shots. Anybody have favorite load to suggest? Thinking Hornady 220fp at 1500ish fps?

They're going to be quietest at sub-sonic velocities, eliminating the "sonic boom," which means much lower velocity, preferably around 1100 fps depending on air density.

My present .38-55 has a 26" barrel and does this with a 247-grain cast bullet and 9.5 grains of Trail Boss, but some other powders will work.

thanks for the info. Pass throughs? I am a big fan of cast bullets but pass throughs are an issue do I use pure lead treat it like a black powder?

My bet is you'd get pass-throughs with any bullet from a .38-55, except maybe a round ball. You going to be shooting from the ground or elevated?

ground....around buildings under a dead tractor over an abandoned scrap pile that kind of thing, 65yd about longest shot I can see potential for. abandoned farm "weed corner" over run with does and 3 point bucks. Serious consideration to archery but never a fan of the arrows DRT(dead right there) effect. If I can do this discreetly I will be invited back years on.
Got a 50-90 im thinking to turn into a blackpowder and "slap" them down.....I know thats an exaggeration but hope it conveys th idea....but ive a wonderfully accurate 38-55 ive never shot anything with and that rankles

How's the .22 ammo availibality there? Good subsonics-S-K or Eley and an accurate .22 would be much safer.

not legal......

250ish cast and 10gr or a bit less of Unique will work but they will pass through with behind the shoulder shots--maybe even with high shoulder shots.

I'd cast your bullets dead soft--pure lead--and either load black powder or cast them a little oversized. If your rifle is really accurate and you have time to pick your targets, look for raking shots from "either end."

I'll look at Ken Waters' "Pet Loads" and see if he has any "gallery loads." Those might work if cast soft.

Couldn't find any .38-55 gallery loads in Waters' book but the Hogdon powder catalog/reloading manual I have shows two low velocity loads for the .38-55 under "long range rifle match," a "Cowboy Action Shooting" event"

250 grain cast bullet, 6 gr. Trail Boss @842 fps

250 grain cast bullet, 7 gr. Trail Boss @911 fps

Those should be quite quiet, and have low penetration.

I would try to get high and shoot into the ground.

It's never gonna be "quiet" while supersonic.

A nice solutions would be a .300 Whisper/AAC with a can. You can shoot .220 gr. bullets at 1,050 fps subsonic, pretty quiet. Now, the range won't be that much, probably 100 yds. And you'll need to hit them in the right spot.

You don't need to spend a bundle on an AR set up, a single shot H&R will work. The cost of the can and stamp will be more than the gun, but it can be used on other .30 cal. rifles with threads.

It's an excuse to get another gun...

DF

Might find this article by Paco Kelly interesting..
http://www.leverguns.com/articles/paco/small_charges.htm

I've used the load in Paco's article (6.5 gr Red Dot behind a 250gr cast bullet) and not only is it very accurate, it is also very quiet. Velocity from a 20" carbine was 1030 fps and the load was accurate enough to head shoot rabbits at 50 meters.