I have been reloading for the 38-55 for over 20 years with no problems. My Remington Rolling Block is a pleasure to shoot

Thank you for covering this article as well as the first thing I learned shooting the 38 55 30 years ago.And I only shoot rifles with new barrels that are at 375, the darn things shoot like a dream.I love the gun guns that their chambered in and I love the round

I have two Winchester model 1894 rifles in this caliber - one made in 1900, the other in 1990(ish.) Easy to reload for!  I cast my own projectiles, make my own lube, but use smokeless powder, LOL!  GREAT cartridge.  Thanks for the video!

I keep hearing what a mess 38-55 is, and I kind of wonder why people bother.

I have a model 1885 in 3855 and it’s one of the most accurate rifles I own. I use 4198 powder I don’t have a groove diameter problem like you do. My groove diameter is 379 so I use 380 size bullets lead hard cast bullets. One thing I do that you’re not doing is I seat my bullets all the way to where they are touching the grooves in the rifling. I’m using 240 grain hard cast bullets I do not roll crimp the cartridges, but I do crimp them lightly.

I once had a beautiful 1893 Marlin in 38-55 that shot very well with hot hand loads. Took some playing around, though.

Interesting. I had a 1884 Springfield that I tried loading with soft lead cast Lyman 457125 (500 gr.) and IMR 3031. Although the load used was from the Lyman handbook,  results were terrible with bullets tumbling and humming down range. The rifle was a rescued beater and did not have a pristine barrel, so I blamed my poor results on the barrel condition. I later tried loading the same bullets in unresized cases using black powder with a small amount of cream of wheat filler between the powder and bullet. Bullets were taken right from the mold and hand lubricated with Alox bullet lube sticks. The cartridge was just starting to show a little loading resistance during the latching of the trapdoor. The rifle then shot groups about 2 inches at 100 yards using the original Buffington sights. The rifle shot high at the lowest sight setting so I unpinned the original front sight and pinned in a higher front sight. I filed down the replacement front sight until the rifle shot to point of aim at 100 yards. The book by J.S. and Pat Wolf, Loading Cartridges For The Original .45-70 Springfield Rifle And Carbine, delves into making antique rifles shoot accurately. I liked reloading a single cartridge case at the range with its simplified black powder cleanup.

Some 38-55 cases are longer than the newer standard 38-55 case.  (The 38-55 Ballard)

Yes,  I've seen that only really thin brass, will only allow the .383" grooved ammo to easily chamber.


But yeah... I agree that the 38-55 can be a real nightmare to deal with.   If I ever buy another one or build one.....  I'd start with a .375" grooved bore, tapered throat... (.378" down to .375" bullets),  using thick 375 Winchester brass,  and a chamber length allowing the longer 38-55 brass.

The chamber base would be pretty tight too, with a diameter of .417"...
And of course a rifle with tight headspace.

I had to have a custom NOE bullet mold made for mine and it works now instead of keyholeing rifeling was .380

An option you didn't mention is loading the bullet into the barrel first, then loading the charged case.  That would be a pain in the butt with many rifles, but with a Model 1885 it's a snap: make a dummy cartridge to push the bullet into the lands, then remove that cartrige and load a charged cartridge with an over-powder wad or cardboard disc closure.  This was not uncommon in rifle matches using falling block rifles when they were all the rage.  This also allow you to shoot these old rifles without re-cutting the chamber.  Maybe we just need to return to the old ways.

Loading 38-55 can sure be a challenge. I have 6 rifles in that caliber, 4 Ballards, a ‘93 Marlin made in 1894, and a ‘94 Winchester made in 1923 ranging in bore diameters from .380 to .385. The Marlin with the largest bore was the biggest problem. I ordered a custom bullet mould from Accurate and sized to .385. In order to get it into the Starline cases, I fire formed them in another gun. I also had to grind out a case forming and bullet seating dies. Now it shoots well.
I use Pyrodex RS in the Ballards and 4198 in the other two and 30 to 1 bullet alloy in all.
I had some chambering problems with the Ballards but using the largest bullet that will chamber even though a bit smaller than I would prefer, they shoot fine with the softer alloy. I believe it was Mike Venturino who said enlarging the chamber was a mistake and would just ruin an antique barrel so I would never do that.

another quality channel !

Thank you Sir, Good detective research.

I've just acquired a secondhand Pedersoli Remington Rolling Block 38-55 and a bunch of casting and  reloading gear. Not my first rodeo, but I'm already discovering some of these issues! Starline brass with its thinner walls to the mouth seem to be the go. A 270gr mould that throws 0.379 diameter pills is working for me, but I'm powder coating to increase diameter to 0.380 for a 0.379 groove diameter. Trailboss loads were fun, and I followed those up with some full power loads with 27.1gr of BM2. This showed me just how poorly I was shouldering the rifle with the first shot! That curved steel butt plate really let me have it, still feeling it from just one poorly shouldered shot!

I've only used the vernier sights on the rifle, but I have a Malcolm 3x scope to try. It is fixed in place by the front ring (isn't set to move freely under recoil). I didn't see your scope moving in their fashion either, although I noticed yours has a spring in the mounting. Can yours move or is it held tight? No issues with that recoil?

Get a custom mold maker (Buffalo Arms or Accurate) to make you a .382 mold.  Buffalo arms makes a neck expander plug that will allow you to get a .381 diameter bullet in a Starline case.  If you stick to black powder or smokeless loads in the 1,200 fps range you will never have to size you brass again.  This is how I shoot my .381 1882 Manyard with Starline brass without a problem.  Winchester messed up the 38-55 by reducing the bore diameter to .375 and the die makers started making dies for a .375 bore.  Black powder is much more fun to shoot and a heck of a lot cheaper, the 1885 is easy to clean with modern BP solvents like Balistol.  I clean between shots for best accuracy.  Shot this way the 38-55 is my favorite BPCR chambering.

This is the best explanation I’ve heard so far on the relationship between bullet fitness and the /end of chamber diameter, excellent excellent thank you, you

I had two reamers cut by PTG for two different chambers on  two barrels on my CPA Stevens

One was a 38/55 and the other 35/40 Maynard.
Im traveling right now so I don’t have exact numbers handy but each reamer was
Cut to allow for bullets .001 over groove, brass to be trimmed to .011 thickness and a release of .003.

My theory was to be able to get fixed ammunition as straight as possible before firing,
Permitting some obturation on ignition, while still in the brass.

I. Normally cast /  shoot Brinnel 8 which I hope limits nose slump

I reload with a Dillon 550B for a H&R Buffalo Classic.  I quit using the 38-55 barrel due to not being able to find ammo at commercial shops.  I get wonderful results with the 45-70 barrel, so I nearly always shoot that.  I have a small stockpile of 38-55 ammo and I feel that I should not use it all just shooting silhouettes at the range.

I'm enjoying your presentation.You do an excellent job.Thank you for your time and effort.I am very, very happy with watching you.Could you possibly do a newer gun?Maybe a newer marlin , or winchester , with the three seventy five bore

I did not see a video about rechambering this 38-55.  I have a couple Winchester 38-55's  I have not reloaded for them yet.

I have you thought  of bullet mold  that would give a heeled bullet as with 22,s.Maybe a custom mold.