I finally got a little cool weather and a chance to shoot a newly acquired Target Model. I loaded some new brass primed with Remington standard large rifle primers with 8 grains of Trailboss under a Magnus .379 cast 265 grain bullet with a very slight roll crimp. I loaded these with a set of beautiful RCBS cowboy dies. These are uniquely colored and very functional as they come with both a 375 expander and a 379 expander. I used the larger expander and everything went smooth. At the range, this gun and load shot very well. I had tried and tried to use the open sights in dry firing this gun. I just couldn't do it. I repalced the sights with a late 60's era Redfield 2 3/4 power scope that was my grandfather's. I shoot it off of my varmint rest at 50 yards and it shot into a large beautiful cloverleafs about 1.25" across on Caldwell orange peel targets. I also shot a couple of yard monsters (armadillos) this weekend with this load. I liked hearing the thump of the bullet when it strikes. It is a meek rifle load but is on par with many big bore revolvers. The noise level and the recoil were very low. I didn't even wear ear protection after the first couple of shots. I am going to load some handmade jacketed 379 bullets over some IMR3031 to get a hotter load. I have pondered getting this gun for years because of all I have read both good and bad about loading and bore sizes in 38-55. I am glad I bought it and it might become the most used handi I have. I will kill many deer and varmints with this gun in the years to come.
