38-55 ammo question, Hendershots

[Bleachedtech903]

I just got a Winchester 1894 made in 1898, chambered in 38-55. I was planning to buy a box of Hendershots ammo loaded with 200gr Hawk bullets. Just so I wouldn't have a bunch of extra bullets if they didn't shoot well. I know they more than likely won't shoot well, but my question is does anyone know the load they use. They say it is safe, but I wonder how fast of powder it is to have the best chance of filling the rifling, without hurting the rifle. The rifling wearing down isn't really an issue to me, since the barrel is quite messed up on the outside, so I may buy a new barrel in the future. If they don't work the best I will probably get some 230gr powder coated rounds loaded with a slower powder like 3031 since it wouldn't need to fill the rifling as much as the 200gr hawks.

[charlie b]

I think you are wondering if the bullets will be upset enough to fully fill the grooves?

I would expect that the bullets used are larger in dia than the groove dia and, when fired, will be 'swaged' down in the throat such that the grooves are fully sealed. That can be accomplished with very low charges of powder, including the 'mouse fart' loads some folks use.

[15meter]

Listing the load they are quoting may help.

My only experience with Hendershot's is for a 450/400. A buddy ordered a couple of boxes to try in a Watson Bros. double rifle. Before he shot the ammo he gave me 4 to dissect. The powder had the appearance of 4831, all 4 loads within a tenth of a grain of each other.

Unfortunately, the load was approaching 10% heavier than any listed load I could find. He choose not to use that ammo. The listed velocity was also higher than what was listed for that cartridge. He had concerns for both regulation and accuracy with the higher velocity. And concerns about possible damage to a fine old rifle.

He ended up using a load I developed with RL-15. He got a monster Cape Buffalo with no damage to the rifle.

Are you going to hunt with the new rifle? Hawk bullets may be overkill for target shooting. Cast boolits shoot well out of a 38-55, I used to load for that cartridge a number of years ago. Still have the stuff, hoping to again in the future. It's a neat old round.

That's the one that started me on forming brass, when I started 38-55 brass was almost non-existent, blown-out 30-30 was the best option. Annoyed the wife greatly with all the toilet paper wadding decorating the back yard

[Kraschenbirn]

(1) Have you slugged the barrel? Without knowing your actual groove diameter, any guess about boolit 'correct' boolit diameter is just that: a guess. (2) Powder coated boolits won't 'fill the rifling' any better than lubed boolits.

In my experience, most 'modern' (reproduction) 38-55s have a .378 groove diameter and perform quite well with a .380 diameter cast boolit but the bore of your early '94 may vary from that. Also, original factory loads for the .38-55 were 250 grainers so the twist rate of your barrel might be a bit on the fast side for accuracy with 200 and 230 gr. boolits.

Bill

[Bleachedtech903]

Yes, I plan to hunt deer with this gun. That's why I was going for a lighter bullet since I don't really need penetration and would rather opt for speed for more cavitation and expansion, especially given the softer hawk bullets. I have not slugged the bore, just wanted to see if the bullets would work by chance, because hawks website says these bullets have been shown to expand into .380 bores given more pressure and speed, but I was checking and seeing if hendershots ammo would be able to do that without being too hot of a load for my gun. I was going for powder coated because I wanted more speed without using a gas check, nor need to lube bullets, plus they were sized much closer to .380. If I were to get another barrel I was thinking an older NS barrel, rebored to 38-55, meant for .375 bullets.

[centershot]

Back when I had one, I settled on a load of 10 gr. of Unique with the 250 gr. Lee RNFP at 1500 fps. The bullet dropped at .380", the barrel miked .378, so it was an easy trip through my .380 sizer. It killed deer quite nicely, was very accurate and easy to shoot. And 700 rounds per pound of powder. There's a reason why hunters of yesteryear were fond of the 38-55. The original load was much the same as mine, albeit loaded with black powder but performance was good! Did I mention 700 rounds per pound of powder?

[jednorris]

Ditto to what "Centershot" said. I use 9.0 Gr. of Unique and a 255 Gr. bullet which is powder coated by "Bear Creek Supply".