Which 38-55

[Will Penny]

Hello I am a new member and have had few lever guns over the years. I am wanting to buy a lever gun in the 38-55 and have been reading here and thought what better place to ask people's opinion on which modern rifle chambered in this cartridge is the better. That being said, better is a relevant term. Found a Legendary Frontiersman I like the looks of, just wondering if they shoot cast well? Please let me know what you folks here think, thanks, Will Penny.

[rbertalotto]

The current Winchester Model 94 "Sporter" is one hell of a rifle. I picked one up and with a 250g LEE bullet out of 20-1 Alloy and 9g of Unique I'm shooting 5" groups (5 shots) out a 300 yds with a tang sight.

Amazing fit and finish..........







Only gun I have in this vintage cartridge that out shoots it is my Uberti Highwall in 38-55

[ollogger]

Hi & welcome! Great bunch here

I have a 375 in a 94 & a Marlin 38-55 CB I load them two the same with RL7 & 2
different bullets, they both do real well, that said I have a old 94 that wont shoot anything
the bore is bad, bore condition is everything, I have a few old Winchesters that shoot cast
well with decent bores, Don't think you could go wrong with that 94 your looking at
Some times it takes a bit to get that sweet spot


ollogger

[20cows]

Welcome!

All the 38-55s I've been able to play with are re-bored Winchester 94s that started life as a 30-30. The ones done by Jess are three lands and grooves and shoot cast bullets realy well.

[Old Savage]

Welcome

[El Chivo]

Funny but I've never thought of a 38-55 as having a long barrel. Seems like it should be a carbine length thing.

[Shasta]

Hello Will Penny, and welcome to the Leverguns forum.

In my experience, the various commemorative rifles Winchester has produced over the years are good shooters. I bought a Winchester Model 94 Chief Crazy Horse when they first came out in the early eighties, not as a investment, but because I wanted a .38-55 for shooting and hunting. It was cheaper than buying an original. I use cast lead bullets in all my lever actions, and the .38-55 does very well with them as long as proper bullet diameter is used.

My current .38-55 is a Legacy model produced in 2005, just before Winchester went belly-up. I bought it because it has a 26" octagon barrel and a checkered pistol grip stock, features that I prefer that were not offered on any of the previous commemorative rifles, plus it came equipped with a Marbles tang sight. Unfortunately it also had a rebounding hammer and tang safety which gave it a very heavy trigger pull. I was able to remove and replace those parts to achieve a light trigger pull necessary for my chosen sport of lever action silhouette shooting.

I would advise that if you want a .38-55, get one of the older Winchester commemoratives such as the Legendary Frontiersman you mentioned. They shoot cast lead bullets very well and there is no rebounding hammer to contend with.

SHASTA

[Griff]

and Welcome to THE Forum!

Wil,

I've never had a .38-55, but have aspirations. Since I've had a couple outshoot me and my custom .30-30 on a couple of occasions, I have to say it's a great cartridge., in just about any quality rifle. I'd have to say that the 3 that I've seen folks have great success with are the mdl 94, either an original or a Commemorative, the Marlin Cowboy, and those Uberti 1885 replicas. The single shot is no disadvantage unless you're putting yourself in circumstances where a fast follow-up shot, or 2 or 3, or... might be required!

On or more of those 3 is one my "need" list!!!

[pwl44m]

Welcome Will, I think U will like it here. The caliber U r looking for is also on My bucket list. I had a Marlin 93 but it was worn out and measured 383 so I sold it and am on a quest for an original Winchester.
Perry

[Marvin S]

I have a legendary frontiersman and it does shoot very well with. 379 and .380 dia lead.

[Will Penny]

Thanks for the greetings and kind posts. A little about me, very little, I was born in AR. and raised a Navy brat. Live all over and stayed in So. Cal. (Poway) for 16 years. I loved going to the desert and all of the things that made it So. Cal. Moved home to AR in 2000 and have been loving it. Work as a contractor all over the world and getting ready to got back to the sand box soon. I have been casting bullets before I started school, and still doing it @ 50. Been shooting door lock guns too with cast for years. My only other lever is an old Marlin in 35 Rem. long barrel Ballard style rifling. Have set my sights on a Winchester Legendary Frontiersman for $929. Just working over the phone sucks at times. Thanks for listing to me ramble, Will Penny.

[Griff]

FWIW, IMO except the John Wayne, none of the Winchester Commemoratives have escalated in value. To bring that kinda money, it needs to be in "New" condition, not "like new", but clearly new, in a good to very good box w/all the original box contents. Withour those, it's no longer a "collectable" piece, just a shooter. I have 3 commemoratives, two purchased from forum members, One has the original box, all the contents, & even the outer shipping carton and was clearly unfired. One was like unfired, possibly new, but had a coupla flaws, no box or such, the 3rd was significantly modified from its original configuration, but in like new condition. I believe I gave and the sellers received fair value for them. At least I have no regrets, and I've heard none from them.

Again, that's just my opinion.

[Ranch Dog]

I suspect that you will get as many ideas as posts. I'm not a fan of the "cowboy" type rifles and wanted a modern 38-55 Win cut to the SAAMI spec so decided to have JES Reboring do the work for me. I sent him a NIB Rossi Rio Grande 30-30 Win, never shot it, and he sent me back a real 38-55 Win hog thumper! Killed this one just a couple of days ago!



I'm able to shoot a .378" bullet, the Winchester or Starline short brass and I load it to 42.0K PSI. Here is the 250-grain bullet I'm shooting, my TLC380-250-RF.

[Will Penny]

Well Griff maybe you haven't looked at what the Legendary Frontiersman is selling for these days. As for mine it has never been fired of even had a round through the gate. I have bought mine to carry & hunt with. It was still cheaper than even the latest production 38-55 out there today. I paid $850 plus shipping. My Dad had the Lyman 375296 mold today & 30 brass old western. Looks like I'm ahead of the game as far as I can see!