Uberti .38-55 high Wall

[Rokkit Syinss]

One of these recently followed me home. Shoots 12-15 shots well with HSM factory ammo but leads badly. Probably due to .3790" boolit that's hard cast but it makes empty Starline brass for now.

Upset slug shows a .3810" throat with .3795" grooves. I'm thinking a mold that drops .3185" to .3825" then size to .3810" should work. Since the original spec was for 255gr boolits and it shoots the 255gr factory stuff well aside from leading with very mild recoil I'd like to stay in that weight range. I've seen recommendations for Accurate Molds 38- series of their 250B, 285B and 320E. Has anyone shot these from a Uberti? How do you like it?

[country gent]

If you get a mould at .3825-.383 I would pan lube and shoot as cast dia, as long as they will chamber. I shoot a c sharps high wall (1-12 twist) with 460 grn nasa bullets out to 500 yds. BP loads. If your rifle is 1-14 you might give the lyman 335 grn bullet or the rcbs 302 grn a try. The heavier bullets perform better at longer ranges.

[marlinman93]

Not sure about the current run of these, but my brother has owned one for a couple decades and loves his. He shoots nothing but cast bullets, and uses a 255 gr. bullet. Not sure whose mold he's using, but he usually doesn't buy custom molds and I'd bet it's a Lyman or RCBS mold.

[Reverend Al]

It seems like most of these Uberti .38-55 High Walls suffer from very large bores. I shooting friend of mine bought one of them about a year ago and it suffers from the same affliction. It's a very nicely built rifle and has beautiful wood, but anything much under .381" in a cast boolit is about as accurate as throwing rocks ...

[JoeJames]

One of these recently followed me home. Shoots 12-15 shots well with HSM factory ammo but leads badly. Probably due to .3790" boolit that's hard cast but it makes empty Starline brass for now.

Upset slug shows a .3810" throat with .3795" grooves. I'm thinking a mold that drops .3185" to .3825" then size to .3810" should work. Since the original spec was for 255gr boolits and it shoots the 255gr factory stuff well aside from leading with very mild recoil I'd like to stay in that weight range. I've seen recommendations for Accurate Molds 38- series of their 250B, 285B and 320E. Has anyone shot these from a Uberti? How do you like it?

HSM must keep their bullets sized way down. I tried some of their HSM 240 grain 44 Special cowboy loads in my Henry Big Boy - 44 Magnum/44 Special, and it's the first time I have ever seen clear sideways key holing at 15 yards. I measured a pulled bullet and it appeared as though it was sized to .428. I think the only tine it touched the rifling was mere happenstance. I am sure they are good in tighter bores, but just does not do well in my Ruger revolvers or the Henry.

[Walks]

I've got a buddy that bought one some 20 odd years ago. He shoots the BEAR CREEK .379DIA bullet. These are Moly Coated. Which may be why there is no leading.
But I did slug the bore at .3785 when he first got it.
On the other hand his MARLIN 336CB in.38-55 slugged at .376DIA , so he stocks .377 bullets for it.
Once I developed loads for both he bought 3000 of each bullet and an 8lb can of IMR3031. I think He still has about 5700+ bullets left. He doesn't shoot the .38-55 much.
I suppose his bore diameter on the UBERTI is so much smaller, is probably because I think it may have been one of the first one's made. Our old COWBOY GUNSMITH spent a lot of time getting the extractor to work. But it does shoot better then he can.

[marlinman93]

It seems like most of these Uberti .38-55 High Walls suffer from very large bores. I shooting friend of mine bought one of them about a year ago and it suffers from the same affliction. It's a very nicely built rifle and has beautiful wood, but anything much under .381" in a cast boolit is about as accurate as throwing rocks ...

Al, that's not an oversized or large bore. It's a very normal size bore for the .38-55 barrels and ammo of original specs. I've pulled bullets from original .38-55 Ballard and Marlin cartridges, and they run in the .380"-.382" diameter. Original rifles from Marlin, Remington, and Winchester all had bores of the same or larger size of the Uberti you mentioned.

[Reverend Al]

I've had quite a few Winchesters that had .377" to .378" bores (which is supposed to be nominal bore size), but I also had a '94 Winchester in .38-55 that measured .384"! A "normal" .378" boolit would slide down the barrel without much resistance. It would appear that in most cases "bigger IS better"!

[Bohica793]

I use the Accurate 38-250D in my Uberti with great success. Mine drops at .381, I size to .379 and lube with Carnuba Red. Alloy is 30-1. Powered by 22 grains of IMR-4198.

[indian joe]

I've had quite a few Winchesters that had .377" to .378" bores (which is supposed to be nominal bore size), but I also had a '94 Winchester in .38-55 that measured .384"! A "normal" .378" boolit would slide down the barrel without much resistance. It would appear that in most cases "bigger IS better"!

my winchester (1980's vinatge commemorative) is 378 bore - I shoot the LEE 250 grain as cast - its a good BP boolit - this outfit shoots REAL good

[50target]

I have a Uberti HW in 38-55. Starline brass & nothing less than .380 dia and all is good. At.379 ain't nothing accurate about it. Love the gun.
Bob

[Lance Boyle]

I BOUGHT AN ACCURATE mold. The250b. I spec,d 0.384 with 30:1 but get closer to .386. I size it Down but my die was rough and would smear. I polished that up. Die is 0.383”.

I am about out of 30:1 now. No matter, I have a frozen right shoulder and am not shooting much at all this year. I need a much better sight thaN buck horns. Sorry my typing is bad today.


Edit ‘twas hunter specialties that were fair at 0.381”

[oldred]

That rifle does not suffer from an oversize bore and it is sized properly, a lot of newer 38-55s however suffer from an undersized bore! The true 38-55 has the larger bore and always has but the newer ones seem to just use a .375 caliber barrel, I suppose it's (the .375) an industry standard bore for several modern cartridges and was so close to the 38-55 they just use it instead of tooling up to produce the real thing with the proper bore for a very small market.

[indian joe]

That rifle does not suffer from an oversize bore and it is sized properly, a lot of newer 38-55s however suffer from an undersized bore! The true 38-55 has the larger bore and always has but the newer ones seem to just use a .375 caliber barrel, I suppose it's (the .375) an industry standard bore for several modern cartridges and was so close to the 38-55 they just use it instead of tooling up to produce the real thing with the proper bore for a very small market.

I am highly delighted I got a 38/55 that is NOT the real thing ! Its a lever gun so I guess we dont belong here anyhow ----undersized 375 bore + cheap LEE mold + blackpowder + no finickity loading process = bullseyes ......wanted a 38/55 for years .....lucky I couldnt find me a real one

[John Boy]

Rokkit - IMO, the most accurate bullet for the 38-55 is the 320gr Ideal 375166 - Accurate Mold clone ...
http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_...=38-320E-D.png
I too 50 BP reloads to the range with my Uberti 1885 HiWall and shot all the rounds consecutively with no patching or blow tubing from 200m to 500m. Accuracy was excellent with minor MOA sight changes from my table of settings.

[Rokkit Syinss]

Thanks guys. I went with the Accurate 38-250D design speced to drop a 1:20 at minimum .3815" for the body, will size to .3810". requested the nose be no larger than .3810 to prevent chambering problems. Since the High Wall is not fun to take apart I will not be shooting BP from this rifle, I have a .45-70 Sharps that I will eventually use BP in.

[indian joe]

Thanks guys. I went with the Accurate 38-250D design speced to drop a 1:20 at minimum .3815" for the body, will size to .3810". requested the nose be no larger than .3810 to prevent chambering problems. Since the High Wall is not fun to take apart I will not be shooting BP from this rifle, I have a .45-70 Sharps that I will eventually use BP in.

Rokitt
I am puzzled I have a Uberti 1876 that has had over five hundred blackpowder rounds through it -- has not needed to be dismantled - dont look like it will need to be in the near future. If your load is figured right the crud stays in the barrel - if you think about what you doing when you clean it the crud comes out the front end of the barrel - and the action stays relatively clear - mine has got a few little fly spots on the brass lifter, but the guts of it is clean and it functions nice.

[oldred]

Since the High Wall is not fun to take apart

I don't know that any gun is fun to take apart but that Uberti is not at all complicated or hard to take apart????

The Uberti is a copy of the original 1885 Winchester and (unlike the newer Jap versions which are a completely different design) the Uberti is super easy and simple to disassemble/reassemble.

[indian joe]

I don't know that any gun is fun to take apart but that Uberti is not at all complicated or hard to take apart????

The Uberti is a copy of the original 1885 Winchester and (unlike the newer Jap versions which are a completely different design) the Uberti is super easy and simple to disassemble/reassemble.

Oldred
I wonder who starts all the stories about how hard blackpowder guns are to clean? Seems like a lot of blokes that havent used black are scairt of it because of the cleaning "problems" .....yeah you do have to do it - cant put em away dirty like ya can with a smokeless one but the cleanup is easy as pie --- it puzzles me that so many fellers fall for that line!!!!

[Lance Boyle]

Oldred
I wonder who starts all the stories about how hard blackpowder guns are to clean? Seems like a lot of blokes that havent used black are scairt of it because of the cleaning "problems" .....yeah you do have to do it - cant put em away dirty like ya can with a smokeless one but the cleanup is easy as pie --- it puzzles me that so many fellers fall for that line!!!!

Especially with a single shot with an opening breach.