High Wall 38-55

[KCSO]

38-55 Highwall

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Buckshot...

I seem to remember you are working with a Uberti Highwall. I have a Cimarron in 38-55 coming and was wondering what bullets and loads have worked best for you. How close was your barrel to spec? Did you have to lap prior to shooting cast? What bullet has yours liked best? Come on brag a little.

Put this in the wrong spot, hope to hear from you.

[Buckshot]

38-55 Highwall

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Buckshot...

I seem to remember you are working with a Uberti Highwall. I have a Cimarron in 38-55 coming and was wondering what bullets and loads have worked best for you. How close was your barrel to spec? Did you have to lap prior to shooting cast? What bullet has yours liked best? Come on brag a little.

Put this in the wrong spot, hope to hear from you.

................At the breech the barrel slugged .373"x.3794". At the muzzle it's .371"x.3794". The chamber will accept the Starline 2.125" brass. I have been kind of just fiddly dickin' around with it to date. My Lyman 375449 drops at .378" so it's too small. Made a Bump/Swage die to make them .381". Shot well.

I have the Saeco mould for thier 225gr FNPB which drops at .382" on the base band. I shoot them just tumble lubed over 16.0 2400 from my 1893 Marlin (.380" groove) and it does well. The Uberti didn' tlike them. No leading but the groups were a bit largish.

The Lee 378-250 FNBB over 10.0 Unique (and in short brass) did VERY well, and recoil in the Uberti is a joke :-) It also shot the slug well over a few other powders but I didn't press it as it drops at .380".

I only size about the top 1/2" of the Starline case. Have to use a universal de-capper as the size die is backed off too much. No big. Best groups shot to date were with the group buy 255gr slug
I honchoed. These drop at a skoshie over .383" in the old boolit/scrap/WW alloy I had in the pot and I size'em to .382". They're a GC design.

At this diameter and with how I'm sizing (barely) the brass, there is NO boolit bulge in the brass. There are 3 crimp grooves in this boolit design and I seat to the bottom one but didn't crimp. In my rifle you can seat easily by thumb, short about a 1/16th and the breech block finishes up. The boolit engraves the first drive band and does not de-boolit if extracted.

Two weeks ago with 23.0 H4198 + dacron and 22.0grs surp SR4759 + dacron both produced 10 shots groups at 50 yards of a scant inch. Basicly just a half dollar sized hole.

I just recently put an insert front and apurture (Marbles) tang sight on it and those 2 loads were the first using the new sights. I also got the Saeco 2 cav 255gr tapered slug but have only cast up some 1-10 to load some BP. A shooting buddy is nagging me unmercifully about shooting BP with him and his Uberti (he bought from Jon K here) he's having a blast with it and it's unmercifully accurate.

Hopw this helps you a little anyway. I've just been kind of flopping around without rhyme or reason. Loading this and that and bits of other stuff I have lying around boolit wise. Just finished up a swage die set to make paper patch slugs, so we'll see about those too :-)

.................Buckshot

[KCSO]

Thanks Buckshot,
I was wondering about the groove diameter in this one. I have a custom brass mould from Mountain Moulds and it casts 381 so that is what I will try first. I also lapped my Lee mould so I could shoot them in a Marlin so I sould be goood to go there too. I am kinda anxious for this one as dur to an injury I have a bum shoulder and shooting a long string with my 45's is pretty trying anymore. I have been thingking of turning a large hunk of brass into a paper patch mould so this might be the one that gets it.

[KCSO]

Well it arrived yesterday and I spent last night mounting the sights and tuning the trigger. I set the trigger at 2.5 pounds crisp and have put on a bead front sight and a Marbles rear sight. I would really like to try a Beech sight and this might be the gun for it. Somewhere under all that red varnish is a good hunk of wood.
Mine slugs 371x3795 which I think is still just a tad large, but the Marlin was 380+ so everything should work. I am mainly interested in using this for some target shooting and a little hunting and I am some daunted by the weight of this thing, 9.75 pounds with the sights and cleaning rod in.
I do have about 150 rounds of 30-30 brass that needs trimming and I may fire form some of that to see how long it ends up. It was interesting that you should mention 10 grains of Unique as that was one of the best loads in my Marlin.
I am going to turn out a paper patch mould on the order of the old Ideal adjustable, I don't expect that P/P will be any more accurate, but it will cause comment at the range.

[Buckshot]

...............Check out my thread on the swaging forum. Just got a core mould, core bleed and form die set up and running for my Highwall.

................Buckshot

[KCSO]

Buckshot
Send me your shipping address I have some hunting bullets with a gas check base that came from my Mouuntain Mould that you might want to try for hunting. I can push 1/2 WW 1/2 pure lead at 16-1700 with no leading and they expand really well in deer size game, wide meplat.