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.38-55 Win black powder loads

tinman
My uncle has a 38-55 in a New England arms single shot, 1:16 twist shooting a 253gr cast bullet. Currently he is striving for a good 100yd round that will produce MOA. Has been using FFF Goex.

Tinman
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4 comments

Date Votes
  • Hawk Carse
    Aren't we all?

    What is his loading procedure?
    Does his bullet have BP lube and is it at least groove diameter? Does he closely inspect them for casting defects and uniform weight?
    Does he use drop tube and compression die? Over powder wad?
    Does he blow or wipe between shots?
    If so, then he can only fiddle with powder charge, degree of compression, and seating depth.

    I shoot a little BPCR Metallic Silhouette and have tried FFFg to gain a little velocity for better ram knockdown with the .38-55. It didn't help much and accuracy was not as good, but there are shooters using it regularly.

    Mashing the bullet down on the powder is not a route to best accuracy. A drop tube and compression die to get the powder down in the case where the bullet can be seated gently is pretty standard in my game.
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  • USN_Airdale
    fill the case full of FFg Black and seat the bullet,FFFg is too fast for any of the "large" capacity cartridges smaller rounds like 25-20, 32-20 use FFFg.
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  • Bert H.
    quote:Originally posted by USN_Airdale
    fill the case full of FFg Black and seat the bullet,FFFg is too fast for any of the "large" capacity cartridges smaller rounds like 25-20, 32-20 use FFFg.


    Very sound advice[^]. Personally, I use IMR 4198 for all of my 38-55 loads.
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  • glabray
    Loading cartridges with black powder requires a lot more than simply dumping in powder and seating a bullet on top. In addition to what has already been mentioned: It is essential that there is no empty space in the cartridge. Often the best accuracy is obtained by filling the case with the amount of powder that will cause the powder column to be compressed about 1/8 or 1/10 inch when the bullet is seated to the correct depth. If less powder is desired, the space must be filled with something, typically cardboard wads.

    The type of lube can effect accuracy with black powder also. He should always use a soft lube such as SPG, never a hard lube. Hard lubes are for smokeless powder. The bullet alloy should be on the soft side. Unless specifically intended for black powder, most cast bullets for sale are intended for smokeless and are too hard for black powder.
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