H&R 38-55 problems

[EOD3]

Houston, we have a problem...

Took my 38-55 to the range for the first time today. Things didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped. I put together 10 each of 4 different loads, two lead and two jacketed all with moderate loads of 3031 and varying amounts of crimp. All the loads keyholed at 50 yards, some a little bit and others a full 90 degrees. :confused:

The cast bullets are .378 and the jacketed are .375. The barrel is ~.378.

What should I try first? :groner:

[NickSS]

Some of the 38-55 rifles put out by H&R have large thoughts so slug your thought and bore. Approximate is not good enough. I would guess that your rifle has a groove diameter of around .380 or larger. I have never slugged mine only because the first load I tried was so accurate in it that I never felt the need. It is a Lyman 250 gr LFPPB pushed by 18 gr of AA5744. Shoots around 1 moa so I am happy.

[Bret4207]

The problems with the H+R 38-55's seems to be the chambering as Nick said. If you google the rifle/cartridge combo you'll find lots of info. As I understand it some guys open the chamber a bit, some develop specialized cast loads. Search around a bit and you'll find the info. Google is your freind here.

[rmark]

Apparently all the 38-55 rifles made in the last few years have the same problem, too small chamber for a proper bullet fit to the barrel. 3 possible fixes I’ve seen suggested –
1. Ream the chamber out with a 38-55 reamer, or
2. Use Starline’s longer 38-55 brass, which is thinner and allows a larger bullet to be used, or
3. Use shorter .375 Win. brass and seat the bullet out.
I also have the H&R 38-55 and have just started with the longer Starline brass. Not enough shots fired yet to form an opinion.

[ktw]

Fix #4: Work up a black powder load using a soft alloy bullet paper patched to bore diameter.

-ktw

[mauser98us]

I used 375 Win brass and seated the boolits out. Works fine

[EDG]

My H&R .38-55 has a .375 land diameter. I can push a .375 J bullet through it with a cleaning rod. The groove diameter is .380. It will not chamber a round with WW brass and a .379 bullet, I have to crimp the round slightly by running it in the sizer die. It will chamber a round with a .380 bullet and the thinner Starline brass. There is no way it would shoot with bullets as small as you used.

[C A Plater]

I have one of the problem child .38-55s. I tried a bunch of things that mostly worked but the one sure cure was to rent a reamer and fix the chamber. I slugged the barrel at .378 and used the 4D reamer (http://www.4-dproducts.com/displayitem.php?rowid=441&tname=rental) with the .400" mouth. It still need .379-380" boolits no longer needs special brass and every round goes through the target nose first. It was a very small amount of metal removed from the chamber but it changed it from a PITA to a fun shooting rifle.

[EOD3]

I've got a few loads to test Monday. If they don't work better, I may send the rifle back to H&R with a polite request to fix the )*&^R# thing.

Maybe I should thread the chamber, install a breech plug, and turn it into an in-line front stuffer... :(

[Jon K]

Ream the chamber.........if you want to fix it

If you want a cheap alternative.........blow out 30-30 brass, it will be shorter 2.020", and is thinner than 375 Win brass. This will allow you to use a .380 boolit.

Good Luck,
Jon

[405]

Seems to be a common theme with the 38-55 in the Aitch & Aura.

Yes, if you want to keep the gun the most straight forward way to fix it would be to re-ream the chamber to allow chambering a large enough diameter bullet... one about .001-002" larger than groove diameter.

Then for some true spearamentation get a custom mold cut to best design/diameter for your gun's throat and groove diameter. The bullet should weigh about 240-260 gr. Specify a gas check design. Size to .001-.002" over groove diameter. Use a softer alloy maybe 20:1 or even 40:1. Lube with something like Felix or SPG. Load the case with 2F or 3F blackpowder so that the bullet is seated with light compression with the front drive band of bullet just off lands. Use no crimp or at most a mild taper crimp.

For smokeless--- use the same combination as above except you may want to increase the BHN hardness of the bullet up to about 10 and load over a mild load of something like 5744.

After re-reaming the chamber I'd almost guarantee the above ritual to produce good accuracy.

Or sell the gun

[rmark]

250 grain Lee bullet cast from wheel weights and sized .379 using Lee sizer from ranchdog.com, with 7.0 grains Green Dot powder, I shot a 5 shot 2” group at 50 yards yesterday morning. Previous groups using sized and un-sized bullets with Unique were about 6“. Note that I’m looking for light target loads.

[rockrat]

I wouldn't bother with sending the gun back to Remington, as I don't think they have any more 38-55 barrels, plus it might take 6 mo. to get it back (see posts at Greybeard on Remingtons service). Easy to ream, its what I plan on doing to mine.

[lathesmith]

I did as Jon K did; I just use blown-out 30/30 brass, 9 grains of Red Dot, a Lee 250 grainer sized to .380, and my H&R barrel shoots fine. I just use it as a plinker anyway, I don't need anything hot. If you want to hot-rod it a bit, your best bet would probably be to ream the chamber. I don't think it will do you any good to send it in, you'll likely have a looong wait followed by a returned barrel informing you that it is "in spec".
lathesmith

[Mallard57]

Hi,
I tried to drop a .380 sized boolit in one of my fired Starline cases the other day and it wouldn't go in the case. I think I'm going to ream my chamber with one of 4D's reamers with the .400" neck.
Jeff

[Jbar4Ranch]

My H&R .38-55 will shoot sub 10" groups with Goex CTG and a cast .379" 240 grain BBFN bullet at 500 yards with this goofy tang sight set up. Seven to eight inch groups are common on calm cool days.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v93/jbar4ranch/HRsight.jpg

[C A Plater]

Hi,
I tried to drop a .380 sized boolit in one of my fired Starline cases the other day and it wouldn't go in the case. I think I'm going to ream my chamber with one of 4D's reamers with the .400" neck.
Jeff

You will be very happy you did. The barrel is actually a pretty good one just mismatched with the tight chamber. It really is such a simple job I wonder why the factory never did that with returns. I used a tap wrench to hold the reamer and spun it by hand giving a few squirts of cutting oil, letting gravity pull it down until it just touched the rim shoulder. Very little metal is removed but it sure makes a big difference shooting.

[Mallard57]

You will be very happy you did. The barrel is actually a pretty good one just mismatched with the tight chamber. It really is such a simple job I wonder why the factory never did that with returns. I used a tap wrench to hold the reamer and spun it by hand giving a few squirts of cutting oil, letting gravity pull it down until it just touched the rim shoulder. Very little metal is removed but it sure makes a big difference shooting.

That's what I'm hoping, it seems to have potential considering the mismatching diameters.
Thanks,
Jeff

[EOD3]

I just read an article in one of the gun rags about using wax to cast a chamber. I think I'll give it a try and get some hard numbers to work with. Based on what you guys are saying, I'm going to be in the market for a reamer and enough casting equipment to make proper bullets. :coffee: