I went back and re-read the entire thread. I don�t believe Dave King or I ever advocated the .375 Winchester and .38-55 are or should be considered, interchangeable. Dave King was pretty clear in his initial postings the question was out of �curiosity.�
I believe my comment about the high-pressure .38-55 being treated as a wildcat or special use cartridge is reasonable � loaded to higher pressure it is not the same cartridge. I express this thought as I think of writing in the main-stream press and in books of higher-pressure loading data for the .38-55, .250 Savage and .257 Roberts as examples. Special use cartridges such as Ron Carmichaels .356 Rimless are perhaps best described as a semi-wildcat as it utilizes a standard cartridge case (.358 Winchester) loaded to a shorter overall length with different types of bullets (flat nose Vs spitzer).
I don�t believe either of us suggested loading data that would produce a �grenade� when used in a rifle of recent manufacture.
I prefer somewhat heavy for the caliber bullets in my lever-action rifles and have experience with the remarkable killing properties of the heavy bullet driven at modest velocities. I do not agree that all lever-action rifles must be short in order to be handy.
Personal experience with two 26-inch barrel .30-30�s has proven to me these are powerful and quite handy rifles. I primarily hunt West Texas whitetail deer and pigs with my lever-action rifles. I use most of the modern lever-action cartridges. I have experienced more �one-shot-dropped-in-its-tracks-kills� with the .307 Winchester and the 170-grain bullet driven at 2,350 fps than with any other modern lever-action rifle. This is not a maximum load for the .307 cartridge. The words of Townsend Whelen and T. R. Truesdell � no one hunter can gain enough experience to make definitive statements on killing power are applicable here.
As a teenager I read articles by Ken Waters (1958 Gun Digest comes to mind), Dean Grennell, P. O. Ackley, Homer Powley, Frank Hemphill, H. V. Stent, Henry Stebbins and others comments on the killing power and handiness of lever-action rifles. The effectiveness of cartridges such as the .348 Winchester and its Model 71 rifle and carbine were discussed. There were a number of discussions of wildcat cartridges such as the .30-.348 and the improved version. The .25-35AI, ,30-30AI. .308/.444 and several other wildcat cartridges were discussed and I have played with several of them � recently. I see little difference in a discussion of one of these wildcat cartridges and the high-pressure loading of the .38-55, as long as the approach is tempered with caution and a definite goal is established prior to stepping outside the lines.
In discussions of this type my skill at communicating my thoughts often comes up a bit short. Shooting and reloading is simply hobby for most of us. It should be fun and interesting. If we cannot have a reasonable discussion of these questions on a well moderated shooting forum such as the Campfire, where can we?
William Iorg
Last edited by selsnslim; 02/09/07.
