I too have a hankering for a 38-55, and I even bought a 30-30 donor rifle back last winter.
I have to agree, the more I research the 38-55, I see more walls than windows. Sorry, gnoahhh. I have to disagree. I'm thinking of this 38-55 as Ohio-compliant whitetail deer rifle. There just aren't that many jacketed bullets for this chambering, and although there are quite a few cast bullet options, I find that they're all on the heavy side for whitetail. I know-- that's my tastes, but I'm used to playing in the 30-06 kind of sandbox where the bullet choices are overwhelming.
Yes, there are least-versatile choices, especially if you look at the reverse. What is the most versatile chambering?
Take 30-06: I had grafs.com up a little while ago-- over 400 bullet choices. You can go from a 100 grain plinker to a 250 grain match bullet. You've got bullets for varminting, plinking, big game hunting and dx shooting.
So bullet choice is a big component of a chambering's versatility.
Then you've got rifle offerings. Everyone offers a rifle in 30-06. Every type of action is covered. Every conceivable barrel length and twist is covered.
38-55? You've got levers and single-shots. Sure you could custom-build it into anything, but you have to ask yourself why? What's practical?
Case capacity is a factor. 38-55/375 WIN is on the Ohio-compliant list, because it has a limited case capacity. Nobody will be able to drive a bullet all THAT fast as a result. 30-06? Dang! Think of what a 30-06 can't do, and it's an impressively small list.
I just got done hunting a season with a Ruger Model 44 in Kentucky. I fell into the Model 44 after acquiring the donor rifle for the 38-55 build. Having used it to take a buck, I'm seeing that this may be my designated Ohio deer rifle. It dropped a buck at 80 yards and did so without muss or fuss. I daresay the 38-55 project would not have done any better. As a result, I may hold off on the 38-55 build.
