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Offline rsl

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38/55 question
« on: March 26, 2013, 08:30:26 AM »
Looking at a 2006  WH prefix serial number.. 38/55 Target  Did that year have chamber problems... Thanks in advance.. Rick
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Offline petemi

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Re: 38/55 question
« Reply #1 on: March 26, 2013, 10:08:56 AM »
Yoo Hoo Tim.  Do we have short chamber problems?  If I recall correctly, early on I may have had chambering problems with large cast bullets, but it's been a long time ago and all I've shot since have been our secret bullet.

Pete
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Offline quickdtoo

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Re: 38/55 question
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2013, 10:34:13 AM »
The WH prefix stands for Wesson & Harrington made 1995-2001 NEF and HR1871, as far as I know, all H&R 38-55 Target models have SAAMI spec chambers and bores that won't allow cast bullets large enough to shoot well to be chambered, neck reaming is the fix(4D has the reamer) although there are other work arounds, I have had three late model 38-55s, all extractor model, one complete 2007 rifle and two factory barrels(Pete has one of em  ;)) they all have tight necks and won't chamber .381" bullets, will barely chamber .380" if the round is crimped with a Lee FCD, the .380" hard cast bullets didn't shoot good at all, some didn't even hit the target at 100yds. Pete and I shoot custom jacketed .379" bullets in ours, I have also shot some gas checked .380" soft lead cast bullets at 375Win velocities that were accurate, I think if the bullet is soft enough it may bump up (obturate) and filled the grooves to shoot well.

Tim

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Offline rsl

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Re: 38/55 question
« Reply #3 on: March 26, 2013, 12:26:12 PM »
Thanks..
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Offline Grumpybear

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Re: 38/55 question
« Reply #4 on: March 26, 2013, 12:30:26 PM »
I'm not sure of the year on mine and I got it used, but it will chamber a .383 lead bullet with no problems, so there are some that will handle it.
 
It shoots a .383 well. :D
 
Grumpy
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Offline quickdtoo

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Re: 38/55 question
« Reply #5 on: March 26, 2013, 12:32:52 PM »
New or used? If used it was neck reamed by a previous owner or H&R since it's a common problem, there are hundreds of discussions on the problem.

Tim
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Offline gcrank1

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Re: 38/55 question
« Reply #6 on: March 27, 2013, 05:24:59 AM »
The 4-D neck reamer will make your life MUCH easier, so if the rifle is a decent buy and you like it, go for it (they dont make 'em anymore and dont come up for sale very often).
Short the reamer job get Starline brass (a bit thinner necks than WW) and .378-.379 KINDA SOFT cast bullets and maybe the Lee Factory Crimp Die and you should get good chambering and extraction/ejection and enough bump-up to be accurate. At least, mine are, as always, YMMV. The original type (pre-SAAMI) chamber they seem to have duplicated was for Black Powder and soft lead bullets of BORE dia. which would bump up. After the advent of smokeless the successful cast bullet methodology changed. Many commercial cast bullets are too hard for this.
And I should mention, I dont resize cases, just decap, recap, powder and fit the largest bullet that comfortably will go in. If you shoot hot loads you may have to resize, or when cases get iffy about ejection.
I use a Lee Universal Decapper and Hand Priming Tool, and the FCD will make sure the bullet doesnt want to come back out. Only you can decide if you want to buy the whole die set right away.
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Offline normbro

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Re: 38/55 question
« Reply #7 on: March 27, 2013, 06:19:07 AM »
Same here. Mine would not shoot .379 cast bullets, and would not chamber anything bigger. The .400 38-55 neck reamer did the trick. My bore slugs at .381. Now it chambers .381 and .382 cast bullets easily and shoots fine.
 
normbro
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Offline jleem66

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Re: 38/55 question
« Reply #8 on: March 29, 2013, 05:51:49 PM »
May be overworking me and the brass. I use Starline 2.125 brass and Cast Performance .380 bullets. I "necksize",then use Lee expander die, then use a custom long .378 expanding plug down to bottom of bullet seating depth (this controls side bulge), then finish up with a Lee FCD. Lot of work, but loaded rounds chamber properly and guns shoot great.
Moved up to .380 bullets after fire-lapping.
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Offline jeepmann1948

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Re: 38/55 question
« Reply #9 on: March 30, 2013, 01:53:44 AM »
The reason Pete likes the 38/55 some much is because if you add the two numbers together it is only slightly more than his age ;D
George
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Offline cwlongshot

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Re: 38/55 question
« Reply #10 on: March 30, 2013, 03:23:01 AM »
Quote from: normbro on March 27, 2013, 06:19:07 AM
Same here. Mine would not shoot .379 cast bullets, and would not chamber anything bigger. The .400 38-55 neck reamer did the trick. My bore slugs at .381. Now it chambers .381 and .382 cast bullets easily and shoots fine.
 
normbro

This is what I did to mine as well...



CW
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