oversize bullets for 38/55?

[gunther66]

I know this has been discussed before but search is not my friend. Have a  Handi BC  Barrel  That slugs  .381 to .382 with a .400 throat. The  largest dia bullets I  have are .381 and still get poor groups and keyholes.
Can anyone direct me to a moderatly priced mold that will drop .382+ bullets or the bullets themselves.
So far this barrel has been a study in frustration as I have purchased several boxes of bullets billed as .382 and up only to find they are only .379-.380. My Lee mold drops 'em this large. Beagling didn't work for me.
Any help will be appreciated.  G66

[curator]

Gunther,
 
 "Reasonably priced"? What I have found over the past 50+ years of reloading for obscure cartridges is that inexpensive, off-the-shelf bullet moulds are mostly useless. Not only are they made for the jacketed bullet reloading guys they have the "one-size-fits-all" mentality. The best money I have ever spent was buying a bullet mould from LBT. I read their material and sent off a throat slug. I got a mould that made bullets that not only fit my gun and cartridge perfectly but shot accurately with most loads. Adding up money spent on stuff that did not work, I was money ahead with an LBT mould. Not only did it make better, more consistant bullets but was a pleasure to cast with. Bullets drop out effortlessly, with no pounding. Sprue plate cuts sprues with no raised areas and bullet weights are within + or - .5 grains for good accuracy. Veral Smith is an sponsor on thie site, contact him and start enjoying your rifles!

[Nobade]

Either loading with black powder, with proper alloy and lube or paper patching if you want to use smokeless, will solve your problems. And be cheap to boot.

Before you order a custom mould, how big a bullet will your chamber accept in a loaded round?

I recommend www.accuratemolds.com  Tom makes some nice custom moulds at production prices.

If it were mine I would paper patch it. Or shoot it with black powder. Both work great.

[gunther66]

Good morning
Thank you for the info,Nobade &  curator.
I throated the barrel to .400 to accept the oversize bullets.
Paper patching never crossed my mind.I will give it a try.
What alloy should I start with loading the 38/55 with BP?
Your ideas give me a hint of optimism after a long string of failures with this barrel.    G66

[Reverend Recoil]

I would try paper patching before ordering a custom mold.

[Nobade]

Good morning
Thank you for the info,Nobade &  curator.
I throated the barrel to .400 to accept the oversize bullets.
Paper patching never crossed my mind.I will give it a try.
What alloy should I start with loading the 38/55 with BP?
Your ideas give me a hint of optimism after a long string of failures with this barrel.    G66

I would try 20:1 to 30:1 to start. (lead/tin) Stick-on wheelweights work pretty good for me also. That soft bullet will work well with BP or for paper patching. If you are not familiar with PP and smokeless powder, let us know. Rev. Recoil and I both have done quite a bit with it and likely know the tricks to make it work for you.

Oh, that Lee bullet should work well for both. It carries a lot of lube for BP, and can be sized to bore size easily for patching back up for PP.

[gunther66]

Today I loaded up 10 rounds of BP and went to the range. 5 were lightly compressed and 5 heavily compressed.WW and  Lee lube without grease cookies. First 5 grouped 12" at 50 yds  with two tumbled bullets. Second group was even worse at 15" and 3 tumbled.
Sure looks like the WW is too hard. Next comes the paper patched. wish me luck with this. Many more experiences like this and there will be 38/55 barrel on the scrap pile.

[gunther66]

Today I loaded up 10 rounds of BP and went to the range. 5 were lightly compressed and 5 heavily compressed.WW and  Lee lube without grease cookies. First 5 grouped 12" at 50 yds  with two tumbled bullets. Second group was even worse at 15" and 3 tumbled.
Sure looks like the WW is too hard. Next comes the paper patched. wish me luck with this. Many more experiences like this and there will be a 38/55 barrel on the scrap pile.

[Nobade]

Another thing to try that may bring you happiness is granular filler. Pick a powder that you know is safe as a full case load, like 3031, 4064, 4895, etc. Now drop it back about 1cc and replace that with BPI shot buffer, Cream 'o' wheat, etc. so that you have a compressed load with the bullet seated. This trick has allowed me to shoot undersize bullets through a number of rifles and handguns with good results in the past.

I am surprised the BP loads didn't work. I shoot air cooled wheelweight bullets and BP all the time with good results. I would have used a real BP lube, but otherwise I would have thought it would have worked. Heck, paper patched BP loads use bullets PATCHED to bore diameter, so the actual bullet is way below that and they shoot really good once you develop a proper load.

[gunther66]

Any idea what the physics are  involved  in the fillers?  Does this for some reason help the bullet to "bump up" to better fit the bore?

[Nobade]

They do raise pressure some, but mainly work like a "super gas check" and keep any gas from blowing past the bullet and tearing it up. Used properly, they allow you to get away with lots of things you ordinarily wouldn't be able to.

[KIMBER45]

I have tried everything I can think of. Floated fore-end, different powders, different bullets, different bullet diameters from .378 to .381. First 2 shots are within 3 inches. The fouth is way right, the next is either way high or way low. That's taking time between shots and on a 48 degree day.  I'm about ready to retire the 38/55 Target [ that's a mis-nomer] to the back of my safe and consider it an investment as the price goes up on them.