is anyone shooting a Uberti 38-55

[brstevns]

Have been wondering about those little Uberti Remington Rolling Block in 38-55 win. is anyone shooting one of these ?

[Green Frog]

One of my shooting buddies shoots a Uberti 38-55 copy of a high wall. He finally got it to shoot well when he slugged the barrel and found it to be .382 or bigger. Once he found an odd oversized old Ideal 375249 mould (mine) he got instant good results. I would slug the barrel first before I started any load development.

Froggie

[Reverend Al]

Ditto ... a friend of mine bought one recently and it wasn't shooting all that well, but I think he's having the same problems ... undersized boolits. :-(

[country gent]

The rolling block is a fun rifle to shoot and easier prone than some others. The 38-55 is a easy cartridge to work with and is easier on powder and lead supplies than the bigger cartridges. Slug your barrel and buy your mould accordingly. Know the twist in your barrel as its possible to be one of several, Mine ( C Sharps High wall) is 1-12 for 365 grn bullets but 1-14 and slower are there. Remember the original 38-55 was a .250 grn bullet or so. A friends Pedersoli High wall is 1-14 and does really well with the 312 rcbs bullet.

[marlinman93]

Have been wondering about those little Uberti Remington Rolling Block in 38-55 win. is anyone shooting one of these ?

"Little"? Is this an Uberti Rolling Block built on the smaller #2 action, vs. the full sized #1 action?

[50target]

Have a Uberti Hi Wall in 38-55. Shot it yesterday with Lyman bullets weighing 341 gr. It won't shoot for squat with less than .380 dia. The Meister 255 gr do well. Wanted to try heavy & with H4198 at 100 yds, had 4 of 5 could cover with half dollar & 7 RDS go slightly larger. I like it in spite of a lot of negative remarks.
Bob

[Chill Wills]

"Little"? Is this an Uberti Rolling Block built on the smaller #2 action, vs. the full sized #1 action?

I wish and hope they are. But, I think it is just the one.

[marlinman93]

I wish and hope they are. But, I think it is just the one.

I hope it's on the big #1 action. The #2 is strong, but it's a pistol caliber action, and not really suited for the .38-55 cartridge.

[Bohica793]

I have the High Wall 38-55 and love it. I use an Accurate 38-250D mold which drops at .381 with WW+2%. I size to .379 and it shoots MOA or better all day long.

[Chill Wills]

I hope it's on the big #1 action. The #2 is strong, but it's a pistol caliber action, and not really suited for the .38-55 cartridge.


I hope it's on the big #1 action. The #2 is strong, but it's a pistol caliber action, and not really suited for the .38-55 cartridge.

My thought was that I wished they made a #2. Never mind what Uberti chambered them for. I just wish they also made a #2 action.

Okay, second question...
Other than case head on a 38-55, which is smaller than, say a 44WCF, why is the modern steel (if it were made) #2 not suitable for the small head 38-55?

[marlinman93]

They do make a #2 still, but I believe they are in .357 Magnum. There have been reports of them shooting loose and having headspace issues from full power .357 loads.

The #2 action is pretty strong for it's size. But it wasn't designed for .44-40 either. Remington chambered some in .38-40, but have only seen pictures in Marcot's book. He also shows some in .38 Long and .44 Long also, but these were all during the period of black powder, which is much more forgiving. Once smokeless powders became the norm, Remington dropped anything larger than .38 Long and .32-20 calibers.
It's easy to look at the difference in the #2 and #1 actions, and see where the weak points are. First being the much smaller pins for hammer and breechblock. Then the smaller action and shorter thread shank of the #2 action. Not to mention the overall size and thickness of the #2 action. Even the #1 1/2 that was a pistol caliber thinner action would be a better choice for a .38-55 rebarrel.
Not saying someone couldn't use a .38-55 caliber chambering in a #2 of modern steel if they used common sense, but eventually someone would try to hotrod theirs and then it would likely suffer a tragic end.