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Hey folks. I've been wanting a lever action to fill the gap between my .30 WCF's and my .45-70 and the .38-55 seems like a dandy. Was cruising GB and found a rough post-64 Winchester 94 that has been rebored by JES. Seller claims it shoots great and is asking $500.00. I wouldn't spend $500.00 on it but I was wondering if I should offer him something for it as a practical .38-55 hunting rifle.
https://www.gunbroker.com/Item/724367461
It's being offered by Jesse Ocumpah, who is JES Reboring, so he did the rebore on the rifle. He probably picked the rifle up at a gunshow and then rebored it. Jesse did a Marlin 336W rifle for me in .375 Winchester, and it's an excellent shooter. You can make an offer, and whether he accepts or not is up to him, as he knows how much he's got invested in the rifle and the work. The worst that can happen is he'll say "no thank you". He really is a nice guy.
Hope this helps.
Fred
I looked at the listing and I believe , based on the seller name and location, that Jess at 35caliber.com is the seller. If so, he is good. I’ve got a couple of Marlins that he rebored and couldn’t be happier.
Consider the cost of a ‘94 Winchester, $325+, then add the rebore cost, $235 and this deal doesn’t look too bad.
It looks like one of the post 64 guns. Probably works fine but it is a 94, no scope.
Unless you are really stuck on a 38-55 and 94', I'd buy a used 336 in 35 Rem. Probably shoot great, can be scoped and has strong resale.
Nice one on GB $460 BIN w/6 hours to run #731449714
Getting ready to send Jes a 336 to be bored to 375. I already have a couple 35's, just want somethin a bit different.
Thanks, I'll think about it. My local guy sells the Remlin 336C in .35 every day for a bit more than $500.00. Also, factory 94's in .38-55 aren't rare, there are quite a few on GB at any time. $600.00 or so is the going rate for the common variants in good shape.
If you bought an old 30-30 for 300 and Jes bored it for $250 + shipping you are head of the game.
Good afternoon
You can also find rusty bore rifles at bargains here and there. Bought several 336's over the years for under $150 and JESS did his work returned for $235. Just be patient and shop around.
Mike in Peru
ReloaderFred has the right idea. You won't find a used Win 94 38-55 for that money that will shoot as well as the Jes rebore.
Make him an offer.
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Whyat is Jesse's brother. I bought a Marlin 336 from him off of GB about 3 years ago and it was the same price with shipping included. Mine is also rebored to 38-55 with 5 groove rifling and it is a great shooter.
I don't believe he will except a lesser offer as I have seen many of his sell and usually quick.
I would trust that it is as advertised.
Jedman
Well, I just had to eat an HVAC repair so no new rifles for awhile. I will keep JES in mind if I should run across any .30-30's with a bad bore. The .38-55 is an intriguing cartridge, for sure.
A 38-55 is a great cast bullet caliber and one on a 94 smokeless action is better. I do not have a JES rebore as I have a Marlin CB but I would not hesitate to get one done under the right conditions.
I would check first into the rebore as JES make them in a tighter bore that can shoot 375 jacketed bullets. It might also take a 375 Winchester but check. Some of the purists want a 38-55 to be around 380 but there are many advantages to the tighter JES rebore.
As you have not messed with the 38-55 you have not had the fun of slugging the barrel and trying to determine if your used one has a tight enough bore to chamber a bullet larger enough to fit the bore. That rifle would be pretty straight forward.
I prefer the 38-55 over the 45-70 for deer simply because they are all that's needed. Mine shoots the Lee bullet just fine as fast as one can push a non-gas checked bullet and with the right combo of filler I can get it to move a little faster if wanted. A 255 grain bullet traveling close to 1600 fps is not something to sneeze at. I was looking at 44 mags and realized that I something I liked better. Downrange the 38 will catch a 44 bullet pretty quick. It started out as a target cartridge in Schuetzen matches for 200 yard shooting and is an accurate cartridge.
DEP
Call me crazy, but I've been wanting to go a different direction, I'd like to find an NEF sb-2 action and have it bored to 38-55. With a lightweight 20" barrel, it would be a dandy deer rifle!
Most .38-55's I see for sale are smokeless powder actions. I wouldn't buy an original BP gun unless it was a screaming bargain. I may just save up and buy a new Miroku 94, the quality is excellent and you can get one for about a grand if you shop around. Or, Henry might start producing them if we complain loudly enough! Yes, a single shot .38-55 would be pretty sweet.
I have a M336 Marlin that was rebored by JES to 38-55. The easiest rifle to find loads for I've ever tried. It won't be for sale as long as I'm above ground.
Sounds good. Unfortunately, people in Kentucky take care of their rifles so you don't find many with a bad bore. I can't bring myself to rebore a rifle that is perfectly shootable.
Howdy Ferguson That is axially what I did ,I bought a Scoped 366 Marlin,30-30 with a scope took it to the range an shot at 100 yds . it was shooting 6" high shot a nice group.My buddy Marty was spotting for me , I said to him the way this shooting I should be able to hit the 8" swinger at 259yds. , so shot at it an he said you pin wheeled it , so I shot at it 4 more times with solid hits , he tried with the same results . I took it home an shipped to JES for a rebore to 38-55 ,2 weeks later it came home an I've been shooting it ever since 2" at 200 yds. all day, every time I shoot the leading is less until there was none , JES Bored to .375 four groove ,I have been sizing to .377 ,248gr. mould from MAGMA Engineering I cast it to 256gr. using 4457 powder @ 1500fps.that is over my Pact Chronograph, I also have a1885 WIN. 38-55 same load but sized to .379 it will shoot just a touch better than the 336
Wow, sounds great. If I come across a .30 WCF that won't shoot for a good price that is exactly what I will do.
While I realize many like the Micro Groove I would consider re-boring an any Marlin with a MG barrel to 38-55. MG is just trickier to load cast for. I have used the Ballard rifled Marlins for some time and they are pretty easy to load for, almost no brainer. You might be able to pick one up fairly reasonable.
DEP
My MG rifles shoot boolits just fine. I think proper size, lube, and powder choice is key. We have had some reports of Remlins with bad bores that the factory says are within spec. One of those would be a good candidate.
I love my 30 30 Win 94 rebored to 38 55. It shot good as a 30 30 but better as 38 55 and just plain fun.
Ferguson You have to keep the Velocity down in the micro groove, I believe that most of the folks having trouble reloading for the MG are trying run their cast bullets at the same velocity as Jacketed bullets.
I'm Currently reloading Cast Bullets just for my Marlins 30-30 ,357,38-55, 45-70, 4065 ,25-20,44mag, 35 rem,
In .30 WCF at least, I run my 150 grain boolits and Sierra Pro Hunters at 1900-2000 fps. More accurate than factory and kills just as dead. Regardless of published ballistics, I don't think that is too much slower than real world velocity of factory ammo out of an 18-20" barrel. I have run gas checked Lee 358-158-RF pretty hard out of my .357 1894 with Micro Groove with similar results to Hornady and Speer j words. Given that my 1894 is no longer in production and worth 3-4x what I paid for it, I now feed it only more modest loads.
I have never seen a Win 1894 that wasn't a smokeless action. Tell me if I'm wrong.
The very first ones in calibers like 38-55 had black powder barrels until they perfected the "smokeless" barrels. 30-30's and their off shoots were smokeless. The 38-55 is the basis for all most all of the Winchester 94 cartridges. All they needed was a different barrel. Any case afterwards could be made out of the 38-55.
DEP
Attachment 210856I found a Marlin 30AS no wood and rusted bore for $50.00. Sent it to Jesse he did the 5 groove and I bought ruffedin stocks and finished them in Linseed oil! Came out nice and shoots awesome! The price of the rifle in question seems like a winner to me, just my 2 cents worth!
Awesome!! I actually like the model 30 better than the 336.