38-55 bpcr rate of twist

[glen ring]

I am seriously looking into shooting BPCR. I want to purchase a rifle that me and my wife can comfortably shoot and I already own a 38-55 in a Marlin cowboy that we shoot Lever action silhouette with.

My questions are....
What is a good and accurate rifle in 38-55?
What rate of twist do I need to look for to shoot heavy bullets?
I know that the 38-55 is probably a marginal BPCR cal. , But we just like shooting together, are not very serious competitors and I can't afford to buy two rifles.

Any recommendations on accurate rifles and good heavy bullets would be very welcome.

[calaloo]

Vintage .38-55's usually had a 1:18 twist. The Uberti still does. A better twist rate for a 330 grain bullet would be at least 1:14. I think some .375 barrels can be had in 1:12. Older .38-55's could have a wide span of bore sizes. I removed the inaccurate barrel from my Uberti and replaced it with a Green Mountain barrel. The Uberti barrel's groove diameter was .383 and the G.M. barrel is .3775 with a 1:14 twist. I am still developing a black powder load but the accuracy is already much better than before.

[doubs43]

Glen, Davidson's has the Winchester High Wall with 28" octagon barrel in 38-55 on sale. If you use their "Gun Genie" and put in your zip code, you can get local dealer offers on-line. You should be able to get one out the door for between $900 & $1,000..... a bargain IMO.

The rate of twist for the Winchester is 1-18 and I shoot the RCBS 312-BC bullet that drops from my mold at 320 grains. The groove diameter is said by Winchester to be .376" and, while I haven't slugged my bore, I size my bullets to .377" and I couldn't be more pleased with the results.

I put a Pedersoli USA-431 Creedmoor rear sight on mine and a Pedersoli USA-462 Tunnel sight with spirit level on the front. The trigger is adjustable down to about 3 1/2 pounds. The quality of the rifle is excellent and I can't speak highly enough of mine.

The target below was shot at 100 meters and measures 1 1/4 inches C-C. This is typical and not at all a fluke. The rifle IS accurate!
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i99/doubs43/100MeterTargetHiWall.jpg

[montana_charlie]

The Pedersoli Hiwall in 38-55 is available with a 1 in 18 twist, and in a 1 in 12 twist...depending on which model you choose.
The faster twist is for heavy bullets.

The chamber was designed with input from Dan Theodore, and it uses the 'old' long 38-55 case. Pedersoli's use of that chamber is the sole reason Starline makes brass in that length.

Dan Theodore has also designed a bullet which fits the Pedersoli throat, to satisfy those who want a heavy one for longer range work.

If you decide to go for a Pedersoli rifle, just ask and I will get you the diagram for that bullet.

Looking at 38-55 from a different perspective, Shiloh offers that caliber in their Sharps, too.
CM

[Boz330]

I am seriously looking into shooting BPCR. I want to purchase a rifle that me and my wife can comfortably shoot and I already own a 38-55 in a Marlin cowboy that we shoot Lever action silhouette with.

My questions are....
What is a good and accurate rifle in 38-55?
What rate of twist do I need to look for to shoot heavy bullets?
I know that the 38-55 is probably a marginal BPCR cal. , But we just like shooting together, are not very serious competitors and I can't afford to buy two rifles.

Any recommendations on accurate rifles and good heavy bullets would be very welcome.

Really depends on how much you want to spend. I have a CSA Sharps 75 in 38-55. It has a 15 twist Badger barrel and shoots the Lyman 330gr bullet with plenty of accuracy to 600yds. I haven't shot silhouettes much with it but have shot a bunch with my 40-65 and a 350gr RCBS and never had one fail to fall even with a low hit. If you want to shoot anything heavier than 330 you will probably need to go to a 12 twist and something like the 38-50 Hepburn which holds a bunch more powder.
You might give the 40-65 consideration if you are worried about knock down. Recoil isn't noticeably worse than the 38-55 and you can go up to 400gr boolits. Components aren't hard to come by either.

Bob

[NickSS]

I have a 38-55 C Sharps high wall and a second one in 40-65. I bought the 38-55 to save on lead and powder for my local club silhouette shoots. All shooting is done at 200 yards and it works super great for that. Then I started shooting full range silhouettes and it did not take long to convince me that the 38-55 is a little shy on power for 500 meter rams. I was shooting a 330 gr LBT bullet. So I bought the 40-65 and have no problem knoking down 500 meter rams with it. The recoil is a little more but not nearly as much as a 45-70.

[glen ring]

Nick
How often do you ring rams?

[Cimarron Red]

Hi, Glen,

Sent you a PM.

[Don McDowell]

I am seriously looking into shooting BPCR. I want to purchase a rifle that me and my wife can comfortably shoot and I already own a 38-55 in a Marlin cowboy that we shoot Lever action silhouette with.

My questions are....
What is a good and accurate rifle in 38-55?
What rate of twist do I need to look for to shoot heavy bullets?
I know that the 38-55 is probably a marginal BPCR cal. , But we just like shooting together, are not very serious competitors and I can't afford to buy two rifles.

Any recommendations on accurate rifles and good heavy bullets would be very welcome.

There's alot of country covered by "bpcr shooting" If you think you're into sillouettes then a larger caliber is probably well advised. If you're main drive will be for "buffalo" type gong matches then the 38-55 will work fine.
Cheapest way might just be spend some serious dollars for a set of longrange sights on your marlin.
Next best would be the 1885's from Davidsons. I know of a few of those being used in gong matches and they handle that job pretty well.
Next stop would be the C Sharps 75 model with the deluxe sights.
Why in the world Pedersoli thinks anyone would pay 1900$ for one of their higwalls, when you could buy two of the winchesters is beyond my abilities to reason.