Next lever action - .45 colt or .38-55?

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wlewisiii

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I'm pondering another lever. I dearly love shooting my Winchester 94 in .30-30 but am considering my next one.

I have a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt. So a lever, probably a Rossi given my budget, would be a good companion for that especially since I reload.

OTOH, I'd like a lever with a bit more oomph. A used Winchester in .38-55 might well be within my means as well. I'd probably reload it just like with my .30-30 so ammunition cost shouldn't be any worse than the rest once I get a bit of brass. One other idea is getting a beater in .30-30 and getting it rebarreled in .38-55.

Thoughts?
 
Valid point, but for reasons I can't explain, I've never warmed up to the idea of a .357/.38 lever action. It's especially ironic given my absolute favorite DA revolver is the Model 10.
 
Believe me, the 45 Colt has plenty of oomph! Get the 45 Colt as a companion carbine to your Ruger
 
If you reload, why not? HSM loaded ammo is available online for $24 a box of 20. Buy some factory ammo, reload the brass.
 
I'd hate to have to choose between the two... Love em both.

I'd be tempted to go with the 38-55 if you are an experienced reloader and even more so if you cast your own bullets. It's a great long range cartridge and impressive on game too.

38-55 at 400 yards and vs. Milk Jugs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-kTlnhsa2Q

I'd also HIGHLY recommend you use the (long) Starline Brass and the RCBS Cowboy Dies for the caliber. The 38-55 is one of those calibers that needs a lot of tweaking for individual rifles. Mine likes .381"+ bullets and I've seen other rifles that like .376" on up to .383"

starline2.jpg


lee379250.jpg


oldtimecartridgebox.jpg


I even use it in the 1,000 yard shoots.
windscb1000yarddingermo.jpg


Here's some video of a friend making an iron sighted offhand 1,000 yard shot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO6ihrcukcc&feature=plcp&context=C4515898VDvjVQa1PpcFPcKDZMbcEQcwVJ7XmMZ-vKvNTGAWcnIEY%3D

windscb1000yarddinger.jpg


That being said I REALLY like my 1894 in 45 Colt. Easy and inexpensive to reload. Devastating on Deer and Black Bear with 315gr cast bullet. Mine will cycle and shoot everything from 147 grain round balls on up to WFP 350's accurately. I'll even happily digest over-length Keith Style SWC. Not a gun I use for long range but I do use it for silhouette matches and shot my personal best score with it (39-45 including the shoot off - not bad for open sights and 50+ year old eyeballs).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da3TBtCY3G4&feature=plcp&context=C480e7c9VDvjVQa1PpcFPcKDZMbcEQc3YGgliYyy2eTSoXi6m45es%3D
 
Why not the rossi in 454 casull which will also shoot 45 Colt. If they had it in my favorite finish I would have one but they make them only in a stainless steel finish.
 
I went with a LNIB Rossi Model 92 Trapper to go with my Ruger Vaquero and Beretta Stampede, all in .45LC. Always wanted a six-gun and carbine combination in the same caliber and now I have it. The Rossi was very affordable, has decent fit and finish, and is great as far as its functioning is concerned.
 
I'm a big fan of the .38-55, it pretty easy to reload but does take a small amount of skill and attention to detail to squeeze out every last ounce of accuracy. Out of a full sized rifle the .38-55 is actually a fairly mild shooting cartridge that really packs a wallop on the receiving end. You really need to be careful though, once you get in the .38-55 cult it darn near impossible to get out of it, it's almost as bad as the 10mm cult, or the .41 magnum cult. :)
 
The 38-55 is one of those calibers that needs a lot of tweaking for individual rifles. Mine likes .381"+ bullets
Click to expand...
What he said.

Off the shelf .375" jacketed bullets will not likely be a good fit in many old bores.

rc
 
Thanks for the info. I think I'll aim for a rifle in .38-55 next. It just seems like it would be a heck of a lot of fun. Kernel, that Winchester commemorative seems neat but is probably going to be more than I can afford. I might just go look for a beater 94 in .30-30 and have it rebarreled to .38-55 by these folks: http://www.35caliber.com
 
I own a slicked up Rossi 45c 16" carbine, it's light & fun to shot specially if you handload.
 
wlewisiii,

Don't be frightened off by the "commemorative" nomenclature. Winchester made a ton of '94 commemoratives, most sell for little premium, if any. You just gotta be patient and keep your eyes open. The best thing is everyone thought they'd be SO collectable, or something, they put them up in boxes and never shot them. Now, if you have a C&R, you can buy them cheap AND they come in unfired condition, even though they might be 20 or 30 years old. I just picked up a Canadian Centennial carbine LNIB condition for less than the discount price on a new Marlin or Mossberg .30-30.

Paid about $200 for an Illinois Sesquicentennial last year. It had a little exterior wear, and a ugly stain on the stock, but the mechanicals were perfect. Cleaned up nicely. Both now sport Williams Fool Proof receiver sights with the target-type finger adjustable elevation knobs (I get the target knob parts from Brownells and then install them on a plain FP sight). Since I have a C&R got both rifles from online auction sites, and both shipped to my door step with no sales tax. Neither has that godawful saftey they started putting on in '92.
 
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Well, I do have a C&R so I'll keep looking for a 50+ YO one as well as one of these commemoratives. A quick glance at gunbroker shows almost all prices over $1000 and the one that's not is still $700. I'd rather find one as close as possible to the $250 I spent for my 1965 in .30-30 ;) so I'll just need to keep watching for when the bargains pop up.
 
my vote goes to what is actually on my list of near future purchases, a .357 magnum lever action.. out of an 18 inch barrel with the right loads youll equal the energy of a 30-30 or 7.62x39 at the muzzle.. downside is the pistol bullet bleeds off velocity faster downrage due to the aerodynamics of it... but itll easily take deer out to 150 yards
 
Yeah, there's jokers that put up commemorative 94s at rediculis prices. They never sell. If they're asking $1000 then you know it's worth half that or less. You gotta wait for one that hits some pawn shop somewhere. Those "pawn stars" want to get their money out fast, so they're more resonable to deal. Both mine came from pawn shops.

If I was going to rebore to .375 Win or .38-55 I'd serously consider the Canadian Centenial Rifle (not the carbine). It's got a lot of things going for it:

1.) They're cheap. It was one of the first commemoratives Winchester made (c. '67 IIRC) and they way over estimated damand. They made a ton of them, like 100k. And, of course, practacly everyone is still sitting in it's origianl box, unused and unfired. There's always a bunch of them on gunbroker.

2.) They had some nice features that would go well with a "cowboy" theme long range rifle. Heavy 24" octigon barrel, curved steel butt plate, a tall Mables-type dovetail front sight, polished steel nose cap (instead of the common barrel band which is bad for accuracy). Very retro looking. Some not so fancy scroll work on the reciever, maple leafs and such, that's not so bad, fairly descrete, not guady like some of the commemoratives. They're real Winchesters, and marked as such, not USRAC rifles. Plus, no saftey (which I already mentioned) to get in the way while buffalo hunting. :p

Would look really cool, and perfectly in keeping, if you mounted a big ol' veiner target sight right on the tang.
 
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