Any .38-40 shooters here?

[Bill in Oregon]

A guy on another forum was asking whether a properly handloaded Ruger in .38-40 was deer capable. I posted a link to this article by John Taffin.
http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt3840.htm
Got me to wondering if any here hunt deer or hogs with this old classic, properly handloaded for the intended choice of sixgun, of course. It's a round I have never played with, although tempted.

[Merle]

A guy on another forum was asking whether a properly handloaded Ruger in .38-40 was deer capable. I posted a link to this article by John Taffin.
http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt3840.htm
Got me to wondering if any here hunt deer or hogs with this old classic, properly handloaded for the intended choice of sixgun, of course. It's a round I have never played with, although tempted.

Not in a revolver, but I am tempted to use my TC Contender pistol.

[Ray Newman]

I have a Ruger "Buckeye Special" 10mm/.38-40 convertible.

'Nevva' shot the 10mm, but I occasionally shoot the .38-40 with Tail Boss and Berry's copper plated bullets. Snappy little round. One of these days I will find a nice 1892 and spring for Colt SAA in .38-40.

Always thought that the .38 WCF --aka .38-40 -- was an underappreciated and often overlooked round. From what I have read in the old reloading books, Back-in-the-Day the original lead bullet and Black Powder loading was not to be underestimated.

[M. M. Wright]

Pretty much analogous with the 40 S&W. 10mm bullet at 11-1200 fps. I've been shooting a Bisley, 7 1/2" bbl in 38WCF that is a tack driver. Many an old lawman favored the 38-40. A good 92 Winchester and a Colt SAA in 38-40 was plenty of armament for anyone unless he encountered a big bear.
The 38 WCF Bisley went down the road and I'm left with a 4 3/4" Bisley in 41 Long Colt. Same barrel so with the right cylinder it could handle the 38-40.

[ollogger]

With Johns loads it would take a deer with no problem! I have a Uberti in 38-40 colt clone
and its a very nice revolver, with the fixed sights it shoots better than the rest of the herd with
cast bullets, would not hesitate to try it on deer



ollogger

[Sixgun]

I've shot that cartridge in just about any rifle or sixgun ever to come down the road since about 1880 or so. The handgun to use for heavy loads is the Ruger with the extra 10mm cylinder. I have a bit more than 3k out of mine and some heavy experimental loads with a 200-220 grain bullet gives me the confidence to take it elk hunting at short ranges.

Any quality vintage handgun designed for smokeless powder can easily push the standard 180 gr. bullet to 1050-1100 and is more than enough for a deer out to 50-75 yards.----6

[Daisyman]

A guy on another forum was asking whether a properly handloaded Ruger in .38-40 was deer capable. I posted a link to this article by John Taffin.
http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt3840.htm
Got me to wondering if any here hunt deer or hogs with this old classic, properly handloaded for the intended choice of sixgun, of course. It's a round I have never played with, although tempted.

A friend of mine was loading some of those for me tonight. We found some jacketed bullets at the last gun show actually for a 40 S&W. It's hard to find any kind of bullet for them, cast or otherwise. No cannalure on these so the bullets won't stay put. We don't dare to crimp any harder for fear of bulging. I'm going to try them one at a time in my Win 1873.

[AJMD429]

A guy on another forum was asking whether a properly handloaded Ruger in .38-40 was deer capable. I posted a link to this article by John Taffin.
http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt3840.htm
Got me to wondering if any here hunt deer or hogs with this old classic, properly handloaded for the intended choice of sixgun, of course. It's a round I have never played with, although tempted.

A friend of mine was loading some of those for me tonight. We found some jacketed bullets at the last gun show actually for a 40 S&W. It's hard to find any kind of bullet for them, cast or otherwise. No cannalure on these so the bullets won't stay put. We don't dare to crimp any harder for fear of bulging. I'm going to try them one at a time in my Win 1873.

How about using the Lee Factory Crimp Die...? Mine will crimp solidly into any bullet - cannelure or not.

[Daisyman]

A guy on another forum was asking whether a properly handloaded Ruger in .38-40 was deer capable. I posted a link to this article by John Taffin.
http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt3840.htm
Got me to wondering if any here hunt deer or hogs with this old classic, properly handloaded for the intended choice of sixgun, of course. It's a round I have never played with, although tempted.

I read that article by John Taffin and he stated he added a cannelure to his bullets. Any idea how you do that? That's what we needed.

Irv

[Daisyman]

A guy on another forum was asking whether a properly handloaded Ruger in .38-40 was deer capable. I posted a link to this article by John Taffin.
http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt3840.htm
Got me to wondering if any here hunt deer or hogs with this old classic, properly handloaded for the intended choice of sixgun, of course. It's a round I have never played with, although tempted.

A friend of mine was loading some of those for me tonight. We found some jacketed bullets at the last gun show actually for a 40 S&W. It's hard to find any kind of bullet for them, cast or otherwise. No cannalure on these so the bullets won't stay put. We don't dare to crimp any harder for fear of bulging. I'm going to try them one at a time in my Win 1873.

How about using the Lee Factory Crimp Die...? Mine will crimp solidly into any bullet - cannelure or not.

We might try that. Thanks

[hayabusa]

I also have a Ruger "Buckeye Special" 10mm/.38-40 convertible and never shot it in 10mm. I have shot it a few times with Winchester 180 grain jsp ammo. Shoots pretty good.
With the Winchester 92 in 38-40 and the same ammo I one shot a young deer and it did not move out of its tracks, a true DRT episode. Lung shot and in one side and out the other.
I think it kills deer very well.
hayabusa

[piller]

Never shot it, but the reloading manual values on it seem to show that it was/is a powerful enough cartridge for for most applications. Don't sell the old cartridges short. Many of them were as good as what we see commonly now.

[Griff]

Stuff that puppy full of 3F BP with a properly lubed bullet and have a blast.

A guy on another forum was asking whether a properly handloaded Ruger in .38-40 was deer capable. I posted a link to this article by John Taffin.
http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt3840.htm
Got me to wondering if any here hunt deer or hogs with this old classic, properly handloaded for the intended choice of sixgun, of course. It's a round I have never played with, although tempted.

...It's hard to find any kind of bullet for them, cast or otherwise. No cannalure on these so the bullets won't stay put. We don't dare to crimp any harder for fear of bulging. I'm going to try them one at a time in my Win 1873.

Nope, but ya gotta hunt. Oregon Trail, Meister, Missouri & Montana bullet companies all make a cast 38-40 bullet.

Or buy any 10mm bullet and use a Corbin Hand Cannelure Tool.

[cshold]

Stuff that puppy full of 3F BP with a properly lubed bullet and have a blast.

A guy on another forum was asking whether a properly handloaded Ruger in .38-40 was deer capable. I posted a link to this article by John Taffin.
http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt3840.htm
Got me to wondering if any here hunt deer or hogs with this old classic, properly handloaded for the intended choice of sixgun, of course. It's a round I have never played with, although tempted.

...It's hard to find any kind of bullet for them, cast or otherwise. No cannalure on these so the bullets won't stay put. We don't dare to crimp any harder for fear of bulging. I'm going to try them one at a time in my Win 1873.

Nope, but ya gotta hunt. Oregon Trail, Meister, Missouri & Montana bullet companies all make a cast 38-40 bullet.

Or buy any 10mm bullet and use a Corbin Hand Cannelure Tool.

Amen Griff

[EdinCT]

I have never found a revolver in my price range but have shot a few deer with a 92 rifle no problems. I also have crimped a Hornady XTP with a lee factory crimp die and it will not go anywhere. A good flat nose lead will do fine on a deer too.

[Merle]

A guy on another forum was asking whether a properly handloaded Ruger in .38-40 was deer capable. I posted a link to this article by John Taffin.
http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt3840.htm
Got me to wondering if any here hunt deer or hogs with this old classic, properly handloaded for the intended choice of sixgun, of course. It's a round I have never played with, although tempted.

I read that article by John Taffin and he stated he added a cannelure to his bullets. Any idea how you do that? That's what we needed.

Irv

there is a device that you set the bullet in then turn a crank. that will engrave a series of cuts into the jacket & give you a place to crimp. sadly I don't recall the brand name, but it should be easy to google up.

[cas]

I have a cannelure tool. It's a boring chore but it works.

Ruger Buckeye+ 180grXTP's+ an undisclosed amount of 2400= 1450FPS with little fuss.




I never did get to shoot anything with it, brought it hunting a few times but nothing played along. I got on to other things and haven't taken it since. Maybe next year, it's long over due for a trip out.

http://www.cylindersmith.com/38-40Ruger-Magnum.html

[Daisyman]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I just want to try my old Winchester '73 out for the fun of it, so rather than spend a good deal for a cannelure tool, I will try the crimp die first and see how it works.

[cshold]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I just want to try my old Winchester '73 out for the fun of it, so rather than spend a good deal for a cannelure tool, I will try the crimp die first and see how it works.

Here's the granddaddy 38-40 info. thread of them all.
From the forum good o'll days.

http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... 81&start=0

[Bill in Oregon]

CS: Thanks for linking to that thread. There might be a Cimarron 73 in .38 WCF in my future.