38-55 Factory Line

[Roudy]

Just read on another forum where a fellow was considering the purchase of the H&R Target Model and some folks were responding that he should stay away from it because the chamber and bore dimensions are screwed up. 

I bought a Target model last year and began reloading immediately.  I did have some difficulty getting my bullets and cases sized so they work and it now seems to shoot pretty well.

My question is, "What is the factory response to the odd sizing that they do with this caliber?".  Is it intended only for factory loaded ammunition?  Are the chamber dimensions tight for improved accuracy??

I really like my Target Model, but just curious.

Roudy

[quickdtoo]

That's a good question, probably the same response as to why the 44Mag bore is so overbore and the twist rate is an obsolete 1:38", same for the re-release of the .444 Marlin Handi in a month or so. Makes ya wonder what in the world they're thinking, or if they are!

Tim

http://www.brimstonepistoleros.com/gazette/jan06.html

[Walks with a gimp]

  If some of the available cabilers in these rifle's chambers are not quite perfect for fit like mentioned above, what's the most consistent caliber for deer. One that I won't have problems with factory ammo right out of the box? Does the .308 work well in this rifle? I was considering one and handloading some 110 grain loads for "plinking" and some heavier round nosed bullets for deer under 100 yards. I've bowhunted for 35 years so getting close to game on my own property is not a problem.

[quickdtoo]

The only ones to be leary of are the .44mag and .38-55 for chamber and bore issues, the .243 Superlight can be picky to find a load for, any other caliber shouldn't be a problem.

Tim

[Walks with a gimp]

  Thanks Tim!  I'm not new to guns and actually left them alone for about 6 years or so but recently aquired a .223 varmint Handi and it's got me thinking about more guns again. These are pretty cool little guns

[JPH45]

There are currently  no SAMMI specs for the 38-55, it is considered an obsolete chambering. The old standard was .380 on the groove, .375 on the bore. The cartridge all but died; I may be wrong on this, but I believe even Winchester had at one point stopped making ammunition fo it. With the CAS shooting crowd and the resurgance of interest in all things old, the 38-55 found itself being sought after once again.  The makers foudn themselves with a ready market.

Problem is that there are no working standards to go by, so anything goes. Winchester, Marlin and NEF use what seems to be (least so far as user reports go) a chamber that is sized to the .375 Winchester that may or may not be lengthened to the original 38-55 chamber length. The case headspaces on the rim so chamber length is not crtical, so long as it is long enough. The 38-55 is about .050 inches longer than the .375 Winnie (Don't slam me, I didn't bother to look up exact dimensions, working off the top of my head instead) and has a different case taper. The 375 has a fatter taper supposedly preventing it from being chambered in an older 38-55 since it is a high pressure round.

Lot's of people have had trouble out of all three makers. Each claim that their chambers are cut to specs, but since SAMMI has no specs on the 38-55 it begs the question of whose specs? Barrel dimensions suffer equally with reports of .377 to .381 being made by each manufactuer. Since there are no current specs on this chambering, the problem is not the makers proving they are right, but the customer proving they are wrong. What a hell of a way to run a business.

EDIT: There are also chamebrs that are tignt, it seems that 38-55 chambers are found but reloading dies size to 375, not 38-55 The problem is messy, messy, messy.

[Roudy]

The first rounds I loaded for the target model would not chamber.  I kept adjusting the bullet seating die until it "taper crimped" the cartridge enough to chamber. 

When I first started shooting 2 out of three cases would stick in the chamber requiring me to poke them out from the muzzle end with a dowel rod.  I think the cases are "ironing out" because only about 1 in ten stick anymore.  I'm hoping that eventually none will stick anymore, if not I guess I'll have to polish the chamber a bit or get it cut out some.

Roudy

[quickdtoo]

After you polish the chamber, remove the ejector, polish it and the housing, then put a BB behind the spring when ya put it back together, that and polishing the chamber should end the FTEs, ejector R&R is in the FAQs.

Tim

[Walks with a gimp]

As far as chambers are concerned, is the 35 Whelen chambering workable in the Handi Rifle and are they available?

[quickdtoo]

As far as chambers are concerned, is the 35 Whelen chambering workable in the Handi Rifle and are they available?

Guess I shoulda mentioned it earlier, forgot,  but it would have if the factory would have done a little better job on the chambers, but they've been discontinued due to incompatibility with factory ammo apparently, most reported misfires due to too much headspace which was probably due to the mini shoulder of the whelen Rem factory ammo in combination with a sloppy chamber. Those that handload for the recent production 35 Whelens are able to make them work very well. The original RMEFs were excellent if you can find one, they also had a 26" barrel, mine shoots the 225gr TSX at 2900fps, the 22" does 2815fps with the same load of Rl15.

Tim

http://www.graybeardoutdoors.com/smf/index.php/topic,100788.msg1098266994.html#msg1098266994