Reloading help needed.

[bear crossing]

Hope someone can provide info.I would like to load some rds for a 38/55 Winchester ,early 1900 vintage,oct barrel.Bought it years ago from a fellow who shot a lot of cast bullets .I have some HORNADY 300gr DGX bullets.My question is what powder and how many gr work the best?Can"t seem to find the right info on the net.Any help would be greatly appreciated .

[Dick284]

You have the wrong projectiles.

Go find some Western Munitions 245gr cast bullets, and then buy a Lyman manual.

["No Choke"Lord Walsingham]

Do not trust load data from the internet forums. Purchase a legitimate hand-loading/reloading manual from a reliable source and/or check out official load data from manufacturers websites.

To do otherwise is to seek your opportunity to become the newest member of the War Amps!

Sounds like a great rifle, best of luck!

[Flieguy]

I have also heard that old 38-55 rifles can have oddly sized bores, so slugging it before deciding on an exact projectile might be a good idea accuracy wise.

also, if you're not 100% sure what you're doing, I highly recommend having someone who is experienced with reloading with you while you do your first batch or two.

this is the load data for the 38-55 from the Lee second edition modern reloading manual:

[Pioneer2]

Is the barrel marked nickel steel ? These can take a little warmer loads. Go to the cast boolits forum they have lots of info there.But yes as suggested slug your bore to ensure proper sized bullets are used.........Harold

[WHITIEY]

The 1894 in 38:55 was and is a great gun with knock down power.To maintain its notoriety the reloading components must be in harmony with each other, thus the 300 gr bullet you are inquiring about does not belong to the 38:55 family.The max cast bullet gr would be 269 gr{#2alloy}375296.You would need to slug your barrel to determine if jacketed bullets could be used.Anything larger then .377 cast should be used only.An older reloading manual is a must.Lyman,s CAST BULLET HANDBOOK third edition will give you all the information you need.If all else fails i,ll just have to trade you for something more modernGood luck and cheers

["No Choke"Lord Walsingham]

Some very interesting posts here!

I suppose, in retrospect, the highlight of my own above is a sales pitch for manuals (not a bad thing at all, they are a very good thing to have) and sounding not all that unlike a safety guy...

[WHITIEY]

From the safety guy to the sales rep. Good one but i was actually angling more towards the old 94

[densa44]

I note that one load is Trail Boss at 6 gr. The other loads and 3xs higher with other powders.

I would recommend against any powder where a "double charge" is possible.

That's all I know ask Dick anything else you need to know. BTW I have never heard of a 34:55

["No Choke"Lord Walsingham]

I am not too sure about a double charge of Trail Boss being a thing. It's quite a bulky powder that takes up considerable room in a case for the charge weight. It's designed mostly to replicate easy shooting black powder loads and for lighter loads without the possibility of secondary explosion effect.

[ken1989]

Lots of good data in the Handloader May - June 1976 issue (No 61).
PDF too big to attach.
PM me with email address and I will email you the data.

[Attilathecanuk]

Look up the 38/55 on Hodgdons reloading site, there is 6 loads listed that may be of help. . Only has info for 250&255 gr bullets though.
http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle