Just bought an 1899 c 38-55 and was wondering if anyone has a good hand load for this caliber.Thanks Tom
PICTURES!!!! Sorry no help with hand loads...
Will try to down load some pics just as soon as the rifle arrives .I am so worked up about getting it that I can hardly sit and type this .Thanks Tom
Thanks for the info Craigster.Tom
Have had good luck with the following loads in more than one 38-55. Work them up for safety. All use Win. brass and CCI200 primers, seated to crimp groove and crimped if necessary.
30.0 RL7, 255gr Barnes or Win. bullet, avg. vel. 1750, about a max load. Hunting load.
27.0 RL7, 250gr cast bullet, linotype, fairly fast cast load at 1670 fps. I would hunt with this with a softer alloy bullet.
19.0 AA5744, 250 cast bullet, duplicates factory ammo vel. at 1380 fps.
45gr bulk measure, Pyrodex RS, 250 cast wheel weight alloy, very uniform vel. at 1310 fps.
45gr bulk measure, Pyrodex Select,250 cast as above, 1290 fps.
45gr. bulk measure, Goex FFG black, 250 cast, not chronoed but guess about 1300 fps. All pyro and black powder used a single .030 card wad under bullet and were lubed with 50-50 mix of beeswax and Thompsons bore butter. In other guns and calibers I have had better luck with Pyro RS than the Select, in this case they performed nearly identical.
Have had good luck with the following loads in more than one 38-55. Work them up for safety. All use Win. brass and CCI200 primers, seated to crimp groove and crimped if necessary.
30.0 RL7, 255gr Barnes or Win. bullet, avg. vel. 1750, about a max load. Hunting load.
27.0 RL7, 250gr cast bullet, linotype, fairly fast cast load at 1670 fps.
quarterboredave
Your top 2 Loads are as the same or about what i have been using on my 38-55
I'm 29.5 and 27.5 on both, and both work well.
"April is National curmudgeon month" grin
Thanks for the data quarterboredave ,I will give them a try .Tom
LoadData.com has several hundred loads for the 38-55.
Specify a powder or bullet weight you want to use and I could get you the posted loads for it.
Have had the best luck with RL7 in the 38-55, but have found loads with other powders that were just as good. It just worked out that the loads listed seemed to work well in more than one gun. Your loads just show that to get the best for an indivual rifle a little adjustment may be required. I forgot to mention that the pyro and black loads were thrown in just in case some one wanted to try them. I know from experience the cleaning up a lever rifle after shooting them takes all the fun out of making smoke. But in a single shot rifle they can be a hoot and surprisingly accurate.