Kenny,
You posted, a while back, some great results with your new .38-55 Sharps Mouse Gun. I'm in need of a bullet and would like to know what your choice was and what your barrel twist was that went with it. Could you post that info again?
I'm a bit worried about the amount of powder and velocity that I can get out of an unthroated .38. Everyone shoots these big 330+ gr bullets with great results but I can't get enough powder behind a 317 grain RCBS spire point bullet to do the job (with 1.5 Swiss). If you know what velocity you were getting, I'd love to hear about it.
Thanks,
Brent
Kenny's .38-55
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Brent
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Omaha Poke
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Brent, if I am not mistaken, the powder charge Kenny uses is 44 grs of Goex 3FG. I am not sure of the bullet maker or weight. As soon as I get a day that the rain won't wash my paper target off the backing, I am going to test 3 different loads of 25 rounds ea in my new .38-55. The load is w-w brass, CCI 200 LR primer, 317.5 gr Hoch NP bullet cast 30-1, 25 rds 44.5 grs Goex Ctg, 25 rds Goex 3FG, and 25 rds Goex 2FG. OAL of loaded round 2.703 rifling engraved 1/16".
I will let you know which is the most accurate in this rifle as soon as the damn rain lets up.
Randy
I will let you know which is the most accurate in this rifle as soon as the damn rain lets up.
RandyRandy Ruwe
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Kenny Wasserburger
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- Location: Gillette, Wyoming
Good evening Brent,
Long time no see!
Here is the original Post on the 38-55. The Shiloh sure seems to like the Lyman Postell in 38.
I have tried .377 sizing and may stick to that instead of the .376. Time will tell just have not had time to play with the cartridge this past summer too busy working. The New Job makes for less weekends hopefully more shooting!
38-55 Outing.
Got in early from work so grabbed my 38-55 and headed to the range with some loads I worked up last night.
Conditions were not the best windy!!!!!!!!!! 17 Mph winds WSW with gusts to 28 mph. The RH was 18% Range was 200 yards at the Gillette Gun Club. Range is north facing skies where overcast.
Load is as follows:
Winchester Brass brand new, belled with the Belling die in my Lee 38-55 die set cases were not FL Sized.
Fed 150 Pistol Primers seated flush with the case head.
Lyman 335 gr bullet, Postell type, with My alloy it weighs 333.3 grs with boring regularity while casting, it comes out of the mould at .379 and is Lubed and sized to .376 in a Seaco Lube Sizer.
Bullet was lubed with SPG for this outing.
A .030 Poly wad is also used on advice from JR aka Alterfurtz on Shooters.
Powder Charge is FFF Goex 44.0 grs by weight, made Aug 14th of 2002.
Charge is compressed .240 with a 3/8 steel shank cut from a 4 inch Bolt, and shaped to fit the seating die in my Lee Die set.
The bullet is seated with all grease groves covered to an Overall length of 2.780 front driving band is into the lands aprox .015.
Bullet is seated with a Redding Saeco Competition Die there is quite a bit of neck tension.
Test Rifle is my new 38-55 Shiloh 1-15 twist barrel on a older Shiloh acton. The barrel is a heavy half round with 30 inch length, rifle weighs 11.74 lbs, with the C. Sharps mid range sight that came with the rifle when I bought it That is going to be changed soon to a MVA Mid range sight or Schutzen sight. Front sight is the MVA low profile sight.
As I said it was windy and I put the sight on Mech Zero then put in 3 MOA left wind to deal with the 14 to 17 mph steady winds from the West South West. When I looked down the sight I saw that I had left the MVA Pinhead in the front sight. Target was the NRA 200 Bull and A pinhead is not the best for Bullseye shooting but I had forgot my sight inserts so went ahead and used it.
It would appear that my eyes are still good enough as I was able to make the pinhead out and center it in the bull quite well the Group size seems to bear this observation out.
We used 5 deep blows to contend with the low humidity and I think with the smaller caliber 3 blows may have been sufficient for the conditions. A very nice lube star was observed on the muzzle after the session and fouling was Very light in the bore after shooting almost 20 shots.
I put 7 shots down the barrel to foul it in well before going to the sandbags and the Chronograph. My bag set up is 2 shot bag filled with Frac Sand which is much like sugar in size. We use it to fracture formations in oil field drilling. The top bad is a bunny ears bag that fits my Forearms on my Shiloh’s nicely. I had just read at lunch time today in my NRA Shooting sports some tips on bench resting ones rifles, for load testing with some tips from bench rest shooters.
After fouling in the barrel we fired the last 8 shots I had left of good ammo and bullets on the target and over the Chronograph. The high MV was 1197 Fps and the low was 1185 Fps ES was 12 fps and the mean was 1192 Fps the std (Standard deviation) was 3 FPS!!!!!
It appears that the mech zero is not zero on my rifle as with 3 moa right in, the group was on the left side of the target about 4 moa from center. However the group was most impressive I can only account for 7 impacts in the group of the 8 shots. But for sure there are 3 bullets in one hole and perhaps a fourth one? 6 obvious hits are in a group of 1.65 inches tall by 1.2 inches wide! The 2 that are perhaps a double are to the left of the group and open it to 2.05 tall by 2.10 wide that’s 8 shots in a group just a touch over MOA at 200 yards.
I must say this is only my second outing with this fine little rifle but it is quite apparent that it is quite the shooter I am most pleased. Anyone considering a 38-55 from for a light recoiling and accurate rifle. The 38-55 from Shiloh lives up to the old tales of this cartridge’s fine accuracy at 200 yards even in the wind. Recoil is almost nil in this 11.74 lb. rifle. Now if this load will knock over Rams at 500 meters is still to be seen. Perhaps some of the other 38-55 shooters can tell me if my 333.3 grain bullet at 1192 fps will do the job.
Kenny Wasserburger
PS there is a nice MVA Midrange Sight on the rifle now too!
Long time no see!
Here is the original Post on the 38-55. The Shiloh sure seems to like the Lyman Postell in 38.
I have tried .377 sizing and may stick to that instead of the .376. Time will tell just have not had time to play with the cartridge this past summer too busy working. The New Job makes for less weekends hopefully more shooting!
38-55 Outing.
Got in early from work so grabbed my 38-55 and headed to the range with some loads I worked up last night.
Conditions were not the best windy!!!!!!!!!! 17 Mph winds WSW with gusts to 28 mph. The RH was 18% Range was 200 yards at the Gillette Gun Club. Range is north facing skies where overcast.
Load is as follows:
Winchester Brass brand new, belled with the Belling die in my Lee 38-55 die set cases were not FL Sized.
Fed 150 Pistol Primers seated flush with the case head.
Lyman 335 gr bullet, Postell type, with My alloy it weighs 333.3 grs with boring regularity while casting, it comes out of the mould at .379 and is Lubed and sized to .376 in a Seaco Lube Sizer.
Bullet was lubed with SPG for this outing.
A .030 Poly wad is also used on advice from JR aka Alterfurtz on Shooters.
Powder Charge is FFF Goex 44.0 grs by weight, made Aug 14th of 2002.
Charge is compressed .240 with a 3/8 steel shank cut from a 4 inch Bolt, and shaped to fit the seating die in my Lee Die set.
The bullet is seated with all grease groves covered to an Overall length of 2.780 front driving band is into the lands aprox .015.
Bullet is seated with a Redding Saeco Competition Die there is quite a bit of neck tension.
Test Rifle is my new 38-55 Shiloh 1-15 twist barrel on a older Shiloh acton. The barrel is a heavy half round with 30 inch length, rifle weighs 11.74 lbs, with the C. Sharps mid range sight that came with the rifle when I bought it That is going to be changed soon to a MVA Mid range sight or Schutzen sight. Front sight is the MVA low profile sight.
As I said it was windy and I put the sight on Mech Zero then put in 3 MOA left wind to deal with the 14 to 17 mph steady winds from the West South West. When I looked down the sight I saw that I had left the MVA Pinhead in the front sight. Target was the NRA 200 Bull and A pinhead is not the best for Bullseye shooting but I had forgot my sight inserts so went ahead and used it.
It would appear that my eyes are still good enough as I was able to make the pinhead out and center it in the bull quite well the Group size seems to bear this observation out.
We used 5 deep blows to contend with the low humidity and I think with the smaller caliber 3 blows may have been sufficient for the conditions. A very nice lube star was observed on the muzzle after the session and fouling was Very light in the bore after shooting almost 20 shots.
I put 7 shots down the barrel to foul it in well before going to the sandbags and the Chronograph. My bag set up is 2 shot bag filled with Frac Sand which is much like sugar in size. We use it to fracture formations in oil field drilling. The top bad is a bunny ears bag that fits my Forearms on my Shiloh’s nicely. I had just read at lunch time today in my NRA Shooting sports some tips on bench resting ones rifles, for load testing with some tips from bench rest shooters.
After fouling in the barrel we fired the last 8 shots I had left of good ammo and bullets on the target and over the Chronograph. The high MV was 1197 Fps and the low was 1185 Fps ES was 12 fps and the mean was 1192 Fps the std (Standard deviation) was 3 FPS!!!!!
It appears that the mech zero is not zero on my rifle as with 3 moa right in, the group was on the left side of the target about 4 moa from center. However the group was most impressive I can only account for 7 impacts in the group of the 8 shots. But for sure there are 3 bullets in one hole and perhaps a fourth one? 6 obvious hits are in a group of 1.65 inches tall by 1.2 inches wide! The 2 that are perhaps a double are to the left of the group and open it to 2.05 tall by 2.10 wide that’s 8 shots in a group just a touch over MOA at 200 yards.
I must say this is only my second outing with this fine little rifle but it is quite apparent that it is quite the shooter I am most pleased. Anyone considering a 38-55 from for a light recoiling and accurate rifle. The 38-55 from Shiloh lives up to the old tales of this cartridge’s fine accuracy at 200 yards even in the wind. Recoil is almost nil in this 11.74 lb. rifle. Now if this load will knock over Rams at 500 meters is still to be seen. Perhaps some of the other 38-55 shooters can tell me if my 333.3 grain bullet at 1192 fps will do the job.
Kenny Wasserburger
PS there is a nice MVA Midrange Sight on the rifle now too!
We'll raise up our Glasses against Evil Forces, Singing, Whiskey for my men, Beer for my horses.
Wyoming Territory Sharps Shooter
Wyoming Territory Sharps Shooter
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Brent
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Jim Watson
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Caution, I am WAY new at BPCR, only since last Spring.
I have a Winchester Single Shot .38-55, no-name rebore from .32-40 at .378+" and 1-15" twist, originally bought for CAS sidematches and what was on hand to try for silhouette.
I got that Lyman 378674 mold. Mine casts 337 grains at .378+" in 20:1 and I load it as cast, pan lubed with SPG.
My coach had suffered through some of the spotty GOEX and so I went with Swiss 1 1/2 as he changed over. My first load of 40.6 grains and a .030" wad compressed .135" to just cover all the lube grooves chronographed 1121 fps. It shot accurately, especially when I went to Federal LR Match primers. Pistol primers, magnum primers, and other brands are less accurate.
But I rang a couple of rams and started looking into "+P" loads.
I tried different charge weights and different compression/seating. I am now at 45.0 grains Sw 1 1/2 compressed as required to seat the same as the lighter load. Sorry, I don't have the measurement at hand, I just crunch it down with the compression die at the same setting as for 40.6 grains. Velocity 1215 fps. Accuracy is as good as 40.6 gr but recoil is perceptably increased. Call me a wimp, but that is all the fun I want out of a crescent rifle buttplate, so I make up and mark separate ammo for rams only.
More powder blows groups out, even with less compression = lube showing. Less compression with 45 grains cuts velocity and does not help accuracy, so that is where I will shoot until I can hold harder and figure the light and wind on real steel. I know from paper targets that with either load there is no mechanical reason to miss; running about 1.5 MOA.
I have a Winchester Single Shot .38-55, no-name rebore from .32-40 at .378+" and 1-15" twist, originally bought for CAS sidematches and what was on hand to try for silhouette.
I got that Lyman 378674 mold. Mine casts 337 grains at .378+" in 20:1 and I load it as cast, pan lubed with SPG.
My coach had suffered through some of the spotty GOEX and so I went with Swiss 1 1/2 as he changed over. My first load of 40.6 grains and a .030" wad compressed .135" to just cover all the lube grooves chronographed 1121 fps. It shot accurately, especially when I went to Federal LR Match primers. Pistol primers, magnum primers, and other brands are less accurate.
But I rang a couple of rams and started looking into "+P" loads.
I tried different charge weights and different compression/seating. I am now at 45.0 grains Sw 1 1/2 compressed as required to seat the same as the lighter load. Sorry, I don't have the measurement at hand, I just crunch it down with the compression die at the same setting as for 40.6 grains. Velocity 1215 fps. Accuracy is as good as 40.6 gr but recoil is perceptably increased. Call me a wimp, but that is all the fun I want out of a crescent rifle buttplate, so I make up and mark separate ammo for rams only.
More powder blows groups out, even with less compression = lube showing. Less compression with 45 grains cuts velocity and does not help accuracy, so that is where I will shoot until I can hold harder and figure the light and wind on real steel. I know from paper targets that with either load there is no mechanical reason to miss; running about 1.5 MOA.