Hollow Point for 38-55?

[Okie2]

Would a custom bullet with a hollow point work in the 38-55? Haven't seen anyone refer to a HP in one...don't know the pros & cons. Thought it might be a really good deer projectile. Looking to have a mold made up in the 380/265 GC HP. Any thoughts? Just wondering why I don't see HPs in many rifle bullets...just in the pistol. What velocity would I need to get expansion? Thanks, Scott

[358wcf]

Scott-
I had Erik Ohlen at Hollowpoint Mold Svc in Corvallis make me a HP on one cavity of my mold when he had it to enlarge the driving bands.
This is being used in my Win94 in 38-55 as a hunting boolit. Plan is to cast it fairly soft, 20-1, and have it increase expansion at the leisurely velocities reached by this grand old round (perhaps 16-1700fps?).
I've only used this boolit a bit so far, and only on paper at this point, but it is an extremely accurate projectile with minimal load development.

You are certainly on the right track here. With such a HP boolit in the 38-55, you have a versatile hunting round/rifle for all but the very largest game in the lower 48 states.
Deer, pigs, and lots of small game are in danger when such a rifle is in the field--

358wcf [smilie=1:[smilie=1:[smilie=1:

[Marvin S]

One member on this site was selling a hollow pointing tool in the for sale area. That may be a way to go if you already have a mold you like.

[Okie2]

Marv...saw that...Think I want a dedicated mold for the purpose...not much more $$$ & I trust the mold maker's skill more than mine!!!!

Anybody else use a HP in a 38-55...mines a cheapo single shot...won't worry about any deformation due to tube feeding bullets.

[NickSS]

A HP bullet should be useable in a 38-55 just like it is in the 45-70. I read a book a few years ago written by a guy in the 1890s were he talks about hunting deer with the 45-70 he really knew what he was talking about because his profession was a Market hunter of deer. He shot hundreds every year. What he said was that when he switched to the 45-70 from the 50-70 the 400 gr RN bullet penetrated too much and did not expand. So He started casting his slugs from pure pig lead and clamping a piece of paper between the mold halves at the nose. This was successful in reducing penetration and increasing damage so that the 45-70 was as good a killer as the 50-70 on deer. Later he bought a Gould HP mold when they came out which worked even better on deer. So a HP bullet may held but not at excessive velocities. I shot one deer with a HP 44 mag bullet from a Marlin lever action a bunch of years ago and was disappointed when I finally found the animal. The bullet had hit the shoulder and basically blew up and failed to penetrate both lungs. I had to hunt for three hours for the deer before I found it. Personally I like a soft bullet with a flat nose. They expand well and give good penetration as well. Of course this is at lower velocities. I generally use 30-1 alloy for this purpose.

[Boz330]

I have taken 2 with a 38-55 and BP. One was a pass through the other the boolit was recovered and it was about 5/8" and 96% weight retention. This is a Lee 250gr boolit with a fairly good Meplat. Cast from 20-1 lead tin alloy. I don't think you really need the hollow point.

Bob

[BABore]

Here's a pic of mine. 380-265 PB & GC. Drops a bit over 0.380.

[Buckshot]

http://www.fototime.com/60E6988607F591E/standard.jpg

........Well, I haven't altered any of my moulds, but I do swage HP's :-)

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

[missionary5155]

Good morning
With soft lead a hollow point will open a bit more as velocity slows down. To me it all hinges around that impact velocity. I hunt river bottoms so I probably will never get more than a 70 yard shot. My longest .38 shot was at 22 yards. I have the cover to let them get real close so shot placement (As Always) is rather easy. But a FN 50-50 bullet through the shoulders on whitetail at my ranges and the fun part is over.
If I was to have those longer shots I would have to see what a FN bullet would do at expected impact velocity before I would go to the expense or work of a hollowpoint.
I have drilled bullets also. I made some guides from hard wood and used a hand drill. I now have a drill press and that really makes it EASY. So drilling is EASY. But I really do not have the need with a rifle.

[GabbyM]

If you've one of the H&R handy rifles with black powder dimensions the Saeco tapered bullets work very well. I have the #338 RNFP 255 grain. It cast around .382" on the bottom bands. You can load it out long with a couple grease groves exposed to where the smaller front bands run up into the rifling increasing your case capacity. A case full of 3031 will be about 32 grains depending on how far out the bulllet is seated. Which is a 375 WIN load. With a long barrel Handi Rifle that should be over 1800 fps. In a big bore you can get away with running a BHN # 10 alloy which will expand nicely. No need for hollow points or gas checks in a 375 / 38-55 IMHO.

You'll probably end up with a .380” bullet being as big as it will chamber with room for release. Big bullets are easy to pan lube then run through a Lee die honed out to the size you need.

I can fix you up with some of those boolits if you'd like to try them. Of course for the Price of a Saeco mould you can buy one of the BRP moulds from BaBore which are much nicer. See post #7. Have your hollow point and or a gas check. Both of which sure can't hurt anything.

[Okie2]

Ordered one from BRP Products right after I posted this thread....IT'S ALREADY HERE!!!! WOOO-HOOO!!!. Looks great...can't wait to melt some lead. Thanks, terrific job. It's a 380-265 GC HP 2cav w/pins. Animals best run now! Scott