38-55 vs. 32-40

[August]

I am tired of getting beaten up by my 45-70 hunter and want to get a lighter caliber for cowboy side matches -- most of which are at, or under, 200 yards. (I have a BPCR for longer ranges).

There are currently some 32-40 hiwalls available, but my shooting pards are telling me I'd rather have a 38-55. I have shot a 38-55 hiwall and it is very comfortable and accurate!!! In general, lever gunz are easier to come by in 38-55. And, since, I want to use same caliber for single shot and lever, that might be the best choice. 38-55 hiwalls are rarer than hen's teeth.

There are currently some 32-40 hiwalls available. Lever gunz in this caliber are not, however. I like the idea of a 32-40, but, again, my buddies are advising against it in favor of the 38-55.

Any suggestions, advice, or experience that you care to share with me?????

Thanks!!!

[Jon K]

38-55.........&..............38-55!!!!

Both can be found in Hiwall & Lever, but 38-55 is more versatile, and a lot more Boolit mould selection.

Do your research and choose the one you like best, you're the one who has to make the most of it.

Have Fun Shooting,
Jon

[JeffinNZ]

.32-40 are reknown for being tough critters to get shooting well with BP. That is not to say it can't be done but you may generate fewer grey hairs with the .38-55 round.
Quite possibly however the .32-40 may be a good candidate for Pyrodex. Just a thought.

[McLintock]

If you're in it for cowboy long range, go with the 38-55. You can shoot Buffalo Rifle category as well as single shot with it, and Rifle Caliber Lever with the 38-55. Also, if you're ever going to shoot black powder, as said above, you'll probably find the larger bore more friendly. It seems that as the bore size goes down, more issues with fouling occur, which makes it harder to do in cowboy stuff. You have to shoot generally 10 shots for time and can't do any blow tubing or wet patching between shots or your time suffers so much you may as well not shoot. Somebody will always have a good ten shot string with a good time. Brass, bullets and all that are easier to come by for the 38-55 as well. Some matches, like Winter Range, Stampede and many others, are shot at well over 200 yards and the 38-55 will be less wind sensitive as well. JMHO
McLintock

[xtimberman]

I'm tired of getting beat up by my heavy ordnance, too. :???:

I don't have a rifle in either cartridge right now, but I've had several of both in the past. I'm currently shooting black powder and duplex loads in a .32-35 Maynard - the predecessor to .32-40. There is nothing wrong with .32-40 at 200 yds. Recoil is negligable in a heavy SS and you can concentrate on getting off the shot. You can shoot your .32-40 literally all day long and really enjoy it! :)

.32-40 was THE choice for 200yd matches over a century ago. Most of the super accurate 200 yd offhand rifles were chambered in .32-40 - just look at surviving examples of Harry Pope, Schoyen, Peterson, etc., etc. They fired BP, duplex, and inferior smokeless powders with fabulous results. How about a Pope .33-40 if you want to nit-pick the caliber?

Matching up the bullet weight, diameter, and temper with the bore and twist of your rifle is the main hurdle. .32-40 SSs frequently prefer bullets heavier than what the loading manuals tell you to use. Folks often try to shoot the Lasercast and Meister bullets starting out. They work, but I've never been fortunate enough for any of the store-bought ones to be very accurate. OK at closer ranges in lever guns, but not good enough at distance.

xtm

[JerryW]

Got both 38-55 hands down for BP. 32-40 for smokeless. JerryW

[powderburnerr]

or just get a 40- 50 bottle neck and enjoy working up a load for it ................Dean think outside the box...........

[NickSS]

I have experience with both and both can be made to shoot extremely well. However, lever action 32-40s are hard to find compared to 38-55s. Of course you can always have a win 94 or Marlin 336 rebarreled and it might end up cheaper than finding an original Winchester 94 in 32-40. Same with single shots. You can get 38-55s easier and cheaper than 32-40s. I personally have settled on the 38-55 in a high wall (made by C. Sharps) and a Marlin Cowboy rifle for lever gun matches. Both will work out to around 400 yards without too much trouble.

[xtimberman]

...and getting back to your original comment about wanting to quit gettin beat up by your .45-70....

A .32-40 in a heavy rifle recoils like a big .22 LR with most cast bullet loads. A .38-55 can be a kicker in a light lever gun.

xtm

[McLintock]

We started out talking about Cowboy Action on this thread and you don't want a "light lever gun" for Cowboy Long Range, you need a rifle with a 26" octogon barrel with full mag if you want to be competitive. You need to be able to load 9 rounds in the mag and only have to load one on the clock. When you're shooting 10 shots in anywhere from the low 20's to the mid 30 second range, that time to load shells is critical. Good rifles aren't light and the recoil is very manageable in either a Winchester or Marlin. Same with the single shot, the Browning Traditional Hunter isn't a real heavy single shot, but in 38-55, with either moderate or hot loads it's very manageable. You can't shoot 10 shots from a single shot in the 60-70 second range at 300 yards and have a heavy recoiling rifle, and I've done it more than once with the 38-55 and what I call hot loads; 31 grs of 3031 and the Lyman 375449 bullet. I won Winter Range (National Championhsip of Cowboy Action Shooting) at the 275-300 yard distance twice, and Stampede at 370 yards once with the 38-55, and recoil was never an issue. My avatar picture that I use is from 2004 when I did 10 shots with hits at 290 yards in just over 60 seconds to win, second place was less than 1.5 seconds behind me and with another Browning 85. You have to shoot fast and accurately in Cowboy shooting to do well and the 38-55 is the best round by far in my opinion. I just won Rifle Caliber Lever Action at the Arizona Terrtorial Round Up using my '94 in 38-55 and shooting black powder. Most other were shooting smokeless loads, and second place was a new type Winchester '86 in 45-70 that could only load 8 rounds in the mag. I beat him by about 1.5 seconds, but loading that 9th round on the clock made the difference. If I'd been using my Browning '86 in 45-70, that holds 9 rounds in the mag I probably would have went well under 30 seconds for the ten shots. I did just over 21 seconds with that gun and smokeless loads to win the Rifle Caliber Lever Gun category at Winter Range in 2007. I'm not trying to brag, I'm just trying to give examples of why I'm saying the above and why I'm recommending the 38-55. If you think I'm full of s**t that's OK to.
McLintock

[xtimberman]

Sounds like McLintock knows what he's talking about! :Fire:

I was mainly focusing on the recoil issue and my experience with both cals. on the bench and offhand at 200 yds.

As an older fellow, I'm enjoying my light-recoiling rifles more and more. I'm a big fan of both .38-55 and .32-40 - but I guess my preference toward the .32 is showing. :-D

xtm

[August]

I really appreciate the wisdom of experience that has been expressed here. Thanks to all!!!

Yes, I had cowboy matches in mind. We've started a new long range club here that meets once per month.

The problem is finding a 38-55 hi-wall that doesn't break the bank.

Thanks to all!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Alcalde]

I am new to the forum. Can you refer me to someone that can help with questions on chamber length and bullet diameter for the new Charles Daly "Little Sharps" in 38-55? I am totaly confused about case length. Starline sent me both long and short cases and they both chamber in my rifle. Thanks.

[Boz330]

About the only way to be sure is with a chamber cast. You might try getting ahold of Charles Daly and see if they know. If the cases are new they probably both WILL chamber. The problem arises when there is a bullet in the case if it is chambered short then your preasures will be elevated with the long cases. On the other hand the short cases will work in either. That probably won't be a problem unless you are going to shoot straight black and long range.

Bob

[McLintock]

Yeah, as Boz said, a chamber cast will tell you for sure, but if you don't have the cerrosafe, load a couple rounds of each length case and see how they chamber then. If the short one does and the long ones are much harder to chamber, then you probably have the short chamber.
I learned this the hard way with a C. Sharps Hi Wall in 38-55. I ordered some Rocky Mountain Cartridge cases with small rifle primers and 2.130" long. Thinking a custom rifle would surely have the long chamber, I loaded them up and went to shooting; they were really hard to chamber, which should have made me check but I didn't; I kept figuring I had the bullets seated out to far. After a case separation that blew the front end of the case out to nowhere, I started checking and sure enough it was the short chamber. Got 99 good Rocky Mountain cases now with nothing to use them in, but I might try them with the Roller I'm having done (the C. Sharps got a 38-50 barrel on it).
McLintock