QUIGLEY SHOOTING ASSOCIATION NEWS
Quigley Shooting
Association News by Ken Hall
The 38-55 for BWSS Shooting – Part 2
In the previous article, I put forward the notion that the old 38-55 would be a suitable contender for the long-range category in the very popular Cowboy Action Shooting disciplines. This time I will show how I put together what I believe to be a suitable all-round load for short to mid-range shooting, i.e. 50 to 500 yards with a single-shot rifle.
At this moment, there are really only two options open to us - an original Winchester 1885, or a modern reproduction. Let’s assume that an original is not likely to be used for Cowboy Action Shooting and concentrate on the reproductions currently on offer to us:
The David Pedersoli Hi Wall in 38-55 with a 30 inch barrel with a 1:12 twist.
The difference in barrel twist rate stems from the modern requirement to stabilize the heavier and therefore longer, bullets now in vogue for Long Range Steel Silhouette shooting. The well known Greenhill formula, used to determine the twist rate required to stabilize a certain bullet length, calculates that the 1:12 twist will stabilize a maximum bullet length of 1.81 inches and the 1:18 twist a maximum bullet length of 1.2 inches. I have found however together with other shooters from across the pond, that while this may be true with modern nitro powders it may not be so conclusive when using the ‘black stuff’. I shoot the Uberti version with the 1:18 twist rate and have found that it fully stabilises the Lyman 378674 335gn Postell bullet, which casts at 1.312 inches, at least up to 600yds and probably 1000yds with the correct load.
The Uberti Hi Wall also with a 30 inch barrel but with a twist rate of 1:18.
Both these offerings are well suited for long-range shooting as well as for CAS side events. As well as the barrel twist rate, they also differ in butt configuration. Whilst the Uberti closely follows the original crescent shaped butt style, the Pedersoli version has the more user-friendly shotgun style butt. I assume this is to cater for the American market, which seems to equate the crescent butt with a certain amount of pain. Personally I have found that, whilst shooting full load 45-70 and larger calibres with the crescent butt, it might require some form of recoil reduction protection. This is hardly a problem with the humble 38-55 - even when stoked up to capacity. If a shooter was to decide that recoil was a problem, it is easily solved by using an off-the-shelf slip-on shotgun butt-pad fitted with a suitably shaped insert made of compressed foam or the like.
Let’s look at the component parts of the cartridge. First, the brass case…….. In 1884, when first introduced, the 38-55 case was of the balloon or folded head type, measured 2.129 inches in length and easily contained 55grains of black powder behind a relatively short 255grain flat-nosed bullet. With the introduction of the drawn, solid head case, the
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