Favorite cast HUNTING bullet for 38/55?

[Goat]

Anyone care to share their favorite cast hunting bullet information? I would like to know the bullet brand if you do not cast it yourself ,the diameter, weight,whether gaschecked or not and at what velocity you shoot them. I wouldn't mind knowing what powder you use as well and what you shoot them out of too.
I hope to find a load to use in my re-bored Marlin 336 shooting a Beartooth LFN 250gr GC .377"bullet with RL-7. Thanks
Goat

[Lobo]

Hey Goat !

What did you rebore from?? Who did your rebore??

[Hobie]

Anyone care to share their favorite cast hunting bullet information? I would like to know the bullet brand if you do not cast it yourself ,the diameter, weight,whether gaschecked or not and at what velocity you shoot them. I wouldn't mind knowing what powder you use as well and what you shoot them out of too.
I hope to find a load to use in my re-bored Marlin 336 shooting a Beartooth LFN 250gr GC .377"bullet with RL-7. Thanks
Goat

Lyman 375296 (GC) over 28 gr. IMR 3031. Who casts it isn't as important as that it is well cast. Diameter might be a concern with some producers. These go a chronographed average of 1553 fps from my rifle with .375 bore.

[2X22]

I use the RCBS 250gr. But out of WW's and pure lead with gas check seated ready to load, they weigh 280.5grs on average. I use 32grs of 3031 and since I don't have a chronograph right now, I estimate the velocity at around 1700-1750fps. I size .379 which seems to be perfect for my Marlin Cowboy since I've shot as many as 400 rounds between cleanings and it still shows no signs of any lead streaking. Groups with this load run right at about 1 3/4 to 2 1/4" at 100 yards.

Two years ago I took a giant Roosevelt elk at about 80 yards that I shot 3 times as he was running through the timber. 2 shots exited and 1 stuck under the offside hide. The bullet was expanded to .71 and still weighed 241grs. My son took one look at the bullet and said 'gee Dad, I pay $1 per premium bullet (270 Win) and I HOPE for that kind of performance'!

Oh, and from 1st shot to where the bull went down was less than 30 yards.

2x22

[TedH]

I've got three molds for the 375/38-55, but my favorite is the Ranch Dog TLC379-235-RF. I shoot it in my Marlin 375, but it would do nicely in a 38-55 just the same. I cast them fairly hard, and push them fast in my 375, but I think they would do just as good cast a bit softer and slowed down to normal 38-55 velocities.

[457121]

i shoot a home cast LBT LFN 250gr. gc @ .381" with 32.0gr. RL-7 for 1950 fps from my Win. 94. RL-7 gives me the most speed with the best accuracy. by the way, that sounds like darn fine shootin' 2X22.

[Shasta]

I used a Winchester Model 94 Chief Crazy Horse Commemorative .38-55 rifle with the RCBS 37-250-FN gas check design cast from wheelweights, sized .379 and seated over a charge of 47 gr. FFFg black powder to bag a buck back in '86 at about a hundred yards. Dropped where he stood. The bullet struck the buck quartering from the front, broke a rib going in, severed the spine, and was found just under the hide on the off side. It did not expand much but penetrated well considering the slower velocity of black powder. I haven't chronographed that load but would guess it close to 1400 fps. Here is a picture of the wound channel:




SHASTA

[Catshooter]

I have a Win 94 with a 26 inch barrel that I re-barreled from a .30-30 carbine.

I cast the Lyman 375449 from wheel weights and they fall out of my mould at .3795, which is also the bore size. I was sure they would lead but nope. These are loaded over 30 grains of AA 2230 for a chronoed 1750 fps in blown out mixed .30-30 brass.

From the bench my best was an inch and a half at 150 yards but the rifle/load combination can out shoot me.

I've shot lots of chickens, turkeys, pigs and rams with it but they were all steel, sorry. I can tell you though that the load works well, if I connected they were all a one shot stop!


Cat

[bgmkithaca]

I have a Marlin 336 Cowboy that mic's a very smooth and uniform .381. The bullet is from a lapped out Lyman Mold that was a 264 grain GC FP and sized to .382 . The charge is 33 grains of AA-2200 and chronographs at 1811 give or take a bit. The alloy is Taracorp with a little extra Tin added-it comes out of the mold at 15-16 BHN and shoots quite well for a hunting load. I get groups at 200 yards that consistenly run just under 2 1/4 inches, the load is warm in my rifle so if you try this one use caution and prudent loading development. I have taken only one head of game with it so don't know much about performance-that was a Texas Dall Sheep at 105 yards, the expansion was more that I expected for the size of the animal. Had an exit wound of around 1 1/4 inches, it broke ribs on both sides or likely would not have got that much expansion.

[Goat]

Lobo, the Marlin started out life as a 1982 model 336 Texan in 30/30 with an 18.5"barrel. Over on Marlinownwers.com someone posted that this rifle was for sale on Gunbroker. I gave it a look and hit the "buy it now" button. The re-bore was done by Jesse Ocumpaugh @ www.35caliber.com. I have no complaints with his work and you can often find guns already done on Gunbroker. I had already found a '74 Texan that I was going to send to Jesse when this one came my way. I have kept it as a 30/30 because I did not have one. Jesse can do the bore at .375 so you can use the more readily available jacketed bullets. Mine is done this way and I like the option of using the jacketed stuff which I did last year to take a young 4 point buck. I think that the price is still just $225 for the re-bore and I haven't heard of anyone who was unhappy with his work. You can find a lot of info doing a search on Marlinowners.com.
Thanks to everyone for sharing the info!
Goat

[2X22]

by the way, that sounds like darn fine shootin' 2X22.

I can't take much credit. I didn't have time to think and the rifle did all the hard work

2x22

[Yodar]

"Test Vehicle": Rebuilt Winchester 94 circa 1940 ( probably a 30-30 originally), 26 inch barrel, 0.375" groove diameter, Marble tang sight.

Load: Winchester cases, Winchester large rifle primers, 23.3 grains of RL-7, 260 grain cast lead, round nose, flat point , gas checked, bullet from Bonus Bullets sized 0.376".

Velocity: 1493 fps, average of five shots, standard deviation = 23.6 fps, extreme spread = 59 fps.

Group: 1 5/8 inches at 50 yards ( 4 shots in 1 inch).

I have not shot anything but paper targets with this load so I can't say anything about how it would perform on game.

Good luck. Be safe. Do not "hotrod" the .38/55.