Used B/P Rifles

[jednorris]

I purchased a C-Sharps "Ole Reliable Rifle in .38/55 Cal. about three years ago. I have been shooting and reloading for over 50 years and for the life of me, I cannot get this gun to shoot well. My buddy has one just like it and he has the same problem and is selling his. I have come to the conclusion that #1, a guy selling a Rifle usually is selling it because it will NOT shoot. #2 I am starting to think the only safe way to get a competitive grade B.P Rifle is to drop $3,500.00 and buy a NEW one. Am I just getting flustered or just not finding that 1 in a million?

[country gent]

Buying a used rifle is always a question. You dont know what care its been given. What if any modifications have been done. Or other things. IE cleaning a big bore rifle with a small rod is asking for damage the bigger brushes and jags take more pressure to puh them the small rod flexes more. Another thing Ive noticed is the chamber cut is very important to the best accuracy. Throat dia, length, leade all matter.

38-55 is also one where there are several twist rates because of the range of bullet lengths, especially in the available cast bullets.

Since you have the platform, shop, and skills rather than selling and buying a new one. why not pick up a good green mountain barrel ( I just did a roller in 38-55 with a 3# tapered octagon contour 32" long 1-14 twist used a McPherson 38-55 reamer for the slightly longer throat). Set it up as it should be and know what it is.

[725]

Have you slugged the barrel? That caliber / cartridge has been around and there may be various sized bores out there. Slug it, see what you got, and try a cast boolit a thou or two over.

[M-Tecs]

On any purchase like this I start with jacketed and smokeless since it tends to be a lot less fussy than BP and cast. If you can't get it to shoot jacketed and smokeless it only gets worse with BP and cast.

[HWooldridge]

On any purchase like this I start with jacketed and smokeless since it tends to be a lot less fussy than BP and cast. If you can't get it to shoot jacketed and smokeless it only gets worse with BP and cast.

Amen to that advice. Truer words have never been spoken…

[jednorris]

After a year and a half, I had C- Sharps put a new barrel on it. I have tried everything from a 245 to 335 Gr. bullets, five kinds of Smokeless and three different Gr. of Black. The BEST I have been able to get is 4 M.O.A. When I sent it to C-Sharps the first time to replace trigger, it came back a 6-1/2#s. When it came back from having the barrel put on, the camming action of the block almost broke the lever. C-Sharps has to have the worst Gunsmiths in the business. I have had the Rifle sent three times, at a cost of $300.00 per round trip. I have had other people take the Rifle for a while and try to get it to shoot. I have put almost $4,000.00 in this gun and I cannot keep it in the eight ring.

[country gent]

Is this a double set trigger or standard?

Up on st rt 109 there was a gun shop that had a smith that specialized in these rifles. Ive went blank on the shops name and the smith I think the town is Adrian Michigan just above Jasper.

This sounds like it may be a combination of several things.

[Rockindaddy]

Jed: I'll bet you are shooting boolits that are too small in diameter. They are sliding down the bore. Every 38-55 I have ever had or currently have shoots like it has eyes. My current project is getting an 1893 Delux Marlin to shoot. Bought a two cavity Lee 375 mould to recut the cavities. I figure the employee at the Marlin factory came into work on a Monday recovering from a fun weekend. He must have fallen asleep on the Pratt and Whitney rifling machine as the groove diameter is .386" I will make a cutter out of a piece of 01 tool steel and heat treat it to 57 Rockwell. Want to try to cut the cavities out to .387 and powder coat the boolits. Will ream the chamber neck to accomodate the larger diameter projectile. Drive em around 1800 fps and put Banbi in the freezer this fall. Slug your bore. You need a projectile that is .002~.003" over groove dia. I bet that gun will shoot great!

[Fitz]

are you using long brass or short brass star-line has both, I have a winchester jap made single shot and a winchester lever gun in that caliber and both love the long brass and shoot better than I can , this is with smokeless and cast shooting paper patched bullets at BP velocity

[country gent]

Johnsons is the name of the shop