The .38-55 As A Long Range Target Cartridge
By “Dan”
American Rifleman, vol 40, No 20, Aug 23 1906, page 390
I have been enabled to give the new Ideal copper base .38-55 bullet a short, but in every way most satisfactory trial. The .38-55 is not considered a long range arm in the same sense that .30 calibers are, but with this new bullet and 24 to 26 grains weight of Laflin & Rand Lightning powder, shot from a nickel steel barrel, the possibilities of range are much extended.
This load is a well-balanced one, pleasant to use, and without doubt has a “get there" faculty which appeals to us in much the same manner that the shell full of black FFG and 300 grains of lead used to, and which made the .38-55 so popular as a target arm, and, with the appropriate load, equally popular as a game gun,
On some of the ranges throughout the country Krags or other high power arms have all but supplanted every other form of range gun, just as the 600 and I000-yard target has replaced the 200-yard. Many a good .38-55 was laid away when modern small bores came into use on the range, because a satisfactory load for the increased distances was not yet discovered. Should such a load be perfected, it would not be a foolish prediction to say that this caliber would again become very popular for long range shooting. The new Ideal bullet with modern high pressure powder is a step (and a long one) in this direction.
A friend and myself, in experimenting with the above bullet, used a Winchester, half magazine, model 1894 rifle, with special nickel steel barrel and equipped with Lyman peep and wind gauge sights. For 200 yards the rear sight was elevated 2-16 of an inch, which is identical with the elevation for the Union Metallic Cartridge Co.’s high power factory load for this particular gun. At the time of trial, there was no wind, and the light was perfect. From a sitting position, with elbow, shoulder, and muzzle rest, my friend found it no trouble, at 200 yards, to place five consecutive shots within the nine ring (three of which were tens) on the Standard American target. At 300 yards, with the same kind of rest and the rear sight elevated 3-16 of an inch from point blank elevation (also the same as for the factory load), the result was 24, military count, the last shot being a 4 at three o’clock, which was accounted for by an unlucky pull. At 500 yards, with the rear sight raised 7-16 inches and the same rest, 23, 25, and 24 were scored consecutively,
At each of the ranges the elevations were practically the same as those used for the Union Metallic Cartridge Co.’s factory load; in fact, we used the known elevations for the latter, without trial shots, with the above results. As it was growing late and I was a long way from home, I was obliged to curtail further experiment.
I should have been highly pleased to try some of these loads at 600 and 800 yards, but perhaps some brother rifleman who is as much interested in the .38-55, will give us the results of his trials with this bullet, up to 800 yards. It was found necessary to enlarge the mouth of the shell to admit the unsized bullet, and, in order to leave no flaw as to loading, each powder charge was weighed on an apothecary scale. The shell was crimped just enough to hold the bullet in place.
The score of 25 at 500 yards was made with 26 grains of Laflin & Rand Lightning powder, which is one grain more than is advised; the recoil was not perceptibly increased, nor was there any deposit of lead in the barrel after the five shots had been fired. Increasing the powder charge, when using dense powder, should, of course, under no consideration, be attempted by the novice, nor would it be wise in any event to attempt it unless a nickel steel barrel was being used.
It was noticed that the rifle, although much more difficult to clean than with some of the low pressure powders, was much easier to clean than a .30-40, probably on account of the increased twist and smaller bore of the latter. Further, cleaning from the breech certainly adds to the facility with which powder residue may be removed.
Since the trajectory is the same as that of the factory load (U. M. C.), we may expect the same effect on animal tissues when using the Ideal soft-pointed bullet, and as to the efficiency of the former I can personally vouch for the fact that it leaves nothing to be desired when used on moose or deer. If anything, it is more than necessarily powerful for deer. In every instance that I know of, it passed clear through a deer, wherever struck, making a frightful wound on exit, and in two instances where a moose was the target the bullet was found under the skin on the opposite side, perfectly mushroomed, and in both instances making a clean, quick, and humane kill.
A comparison between the wound inflicted by a .38-55 high power soft-pointed bullet and that of the .32 Special, soft-pointed (the only small caliber, high velocity cartridge whose effect on game I have personally witnessed), or any other representative high power small caliber, would make very interesting reading.
In conclusion, I wish to take this means of thanking Mr. Barlow for his kindness and advice to the brotherhood of riflemen. He is ever willing and ready to lend advice and offer a helping hand in any experiment within the bounds of reason.
DAN.
Cleveland, Ohio.