The .38-55-255 High Power Cartridge
By I. W. Copeland
American Rifleman, No 39, No. 19, Feb 15, 1906 - Page 390-391
The small bore high power rifle has been very thoroughly discussed in Shooting AND Fishing. Its weak points and merits have been brought into glaring view. So the writer has nothing to add save the fact that he was converted from a heavy “soft coal” burning .40-82 to a Marlin .30-30 about the time the latter arm made its initial bow to the public. Nine years was spent in its company with a great deal of satisfaction, though several occasions arose where the small blood-letting qualities of the bullet caused the wish for the old .40 caliber.
When the heavier calibers came in high power, they received their turn. The writer did not take kindly to the model 1905 Winchester, though a number of his friends, thor0ughly experienced men, swear by it. Three years ago a .38-55 Savage was purchased, and for the benefit of those who may be on the fence, wanting a load which will bleed well, has reasonably fiat trajectory, exceeding hard hitting qualities, exceeding the .45-70 or .45-90 loaded with black powder, and still being one which may be used with black powder without bothering with a confusing mess of antimony, powdered charcoal, etc. (just 255 grains of 1 to 32 tin and lead), the following is written.
Nine deer and four moose are the score to date for this caliber in the hands of the writer’s hunting partner and himself, and not an animal hit failed to give up the ghost almost instantly. On deer, the 255-grain, soft-nosed bullet penetrates clear through wherever hit, not destroying meat any more than a .30-30, which nearly always parts from its jacket and often goes to pieces, seldom penetrating clear through.
Moose seem to succumb to it as quickly as to the heavier .35-250 with its big charge. Both bullets will penetrate clear through a moose any-where, stopping sometimes at the hide on the opposite side from point of entrance, for the bullets have expanded to such an extent that the tough skin pouches out.
One moose was shot from the bow of a Peterborough canoe, distance 400 yards, the sights set for 100 yards, and the front sight taken clear to the barrel. One bullet entered at the junction of the neck and shoulder, passing diagonally back through the opposite shoulder, lodging under the hide. The other entered the neck about six inches in front of the first, passing out at the other side. The moose went about fifteen feet.
The second was shot from a big rock in a swamp and was coming head on. One bullet knocked him down at 150 yards, passing through the top of back, but missing the main spinal column, and four more bullets were sent into his shoulders as he made desperate struggles to regain his feet. Of course, such an amount of shooting was unnecessary, but when the opportunity offers at a moose with a fifty-eight-inch spread, one feels like making doubly sure. Those chances are exceedingly costly in comparison to ammunition.
Moose number three was shot from a burnt ridge at 250 yards. He was trotting pretty rapidly, and one shot through the hams downed him, a poor place to shoot at, but the most available at the time. Another shot was put through the heart to finish his struggles. It went completely through. The shot through the hams had passed close above the crotch, breaking bones in both sides, and was the most perfect upset imaginable, being about the size and thickness of a half dollar, with the jacket right up against it, inside the hide on the far side.
The fourth was downed with three shots at 175 yards. One skimmed under the hide on top of the shoulders, the second through the shoulders, stopping at the hide on opposite side from entrance, and the last going through just back of the heart, also stopping at the hide. This moose went the farthest of any hit, and it only made about 100 yards after being struck the first time.
It was our good fortune, two years ago, to meet a gentleman from Philadelphia, who with his guide was skinning a moose which had just been downed with a .35-250, 1895 model Winchester. He had shot it six times, once in the neck, the bullet having gone clear through. The remaining bullets were in various part of the body, all being stopped by the hide on far side. We carefully examined the wounds and could see no advantage in destructiveness over the .38-55 high power.
Of course, the trajectory is lower with the .35, but at ordinary hunting ranges, especially in timber, the difference is so slight that it is not noticed. The only place where an extremely flat trajectory is a benefit, is in mountains, and even there a great deal of game gets away to die in some secluded place, which might have been cleanly killed had more time been spent in carefully stalking it to a reasonably safe distance, which may be reckoned at about 100 yards for the inexperienced, and not over 300 yards for the best of hunters. Of course, some exceedingly long shots are made, but there is a good deal of bull luck about them.
The individual can suit his tastes in either the Marlin, Savage, or Winchester. The first and last should have the smokeless steel barrels, while the Savage is only put out with the high pressure