Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General Interesting .38-55 data

I was researching rebore ideas and found this:

http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/bin/TLC380250RF/data/loadnotes01.pdf

250s at 2000 fps sure caught my interest. Has anyone here run such loads through a JES rebored modern rifle?

No sir, but I run the 260 gr cast performance lnfn-gc bullets to 1855 fps with RL-7 powder and have for years, brass lasts forever, a damn deer or pig wont even slow that bullet down, run mine in a modern '94 Winchester sized to .380" in a 24" barrel.

Interesting info, I might have to try some, but so far my rebored Marlin is shooting a 220 gr. FP of my design at 1700 and gets complete pass throughs up to 100 yds.

Old70

Not sure what you'd need 2000 fps on. Last year I took a doe at less than 30 yards with a 250 gr. Accurate 38-250 bullet cast at about 9 Bhn, bullet took out the near shoulder bones and exited in front of the far flank. Muzzle velocity was just 1400fps. I do have one load I like in this Jess rebore that is running a bit over 1600, but that is about all I want in the little carbine.

That sounds like a great load. A 260 has even better sectional density. Would you care to share or PM?

I was never interested in the .38-55 due to the weird variances in bore dimensions over the years and seemingly anemic performance. Not long ago I read a story by Townsend Whelen, "Red Letter Days in British Columbia". They didn't seem to have any problems killing a bunch of stuff with a .38-55 and a .40-72. Anyway, it got me thinking a .38-55 would be a might better than a .30-30 for anything bigger than deer. Seems like a neat round and I hear nothing but positives about Starline's brass for the cartridge.

It is a cool old round with a lot of rich history as a target and hunting cartridge, I installed a Lyman receiver peep on my '94 38-55, I can tell you 200 yard hits on my gong are all day cake with a good rest. I'll go out to the shop, grab my load book and send ya a PM.

2000 fps ?>! That's insane!

I have pushed a 245 cast bullet (powder coated) to 1800 fps in a Winchester 94 (modern with 24" barrel) in 38-55 with smokeless powder.

Not very accurate and kicked like a mule. (Ladder tested with crono from 1200 fps to max velocity of 1800 fps)
I backed it off to 1400 fps and it registered 1" MOA at 100 yards with Williams peep sight. Good enough for a deer load in the bush.