Working on a levergun

[220yotekiller]

That is an amazing rifle!

 

[Hammsolo]

Man, that is a badass rifle.

 

[deer_shooter]

Wow. Can’t wait to see how it shoots.

 

[p_ham]

First off, thank you all for the kind words. Now to the range report:

EXCUSES!!!
1: I was all hopped up on Mt. Dew
2: I haven't been shooting as much as I should
3: It was cold
4: Low power optic
5: lever action

Ok. Now that that's out of the way, I took the rifle out yesterday with a low pressure load I pulled out of my butt. Velocity was 100fps slower than what it should have been. I didn't estimate engraving pressure correctly, and my fired case capacity was a little more than expected. The results weren't great, I think there just wasn't enough case fill. But the gun didn't blow up and it gave me an opportunity to run some rounds through the action.
I regrouped and changed some numbers around to reflect my velocity. I loaded up 10 more rounds for velocity testing over a 3 grain span.
Velocity ranged from 2560 to 2660fps @ 30 degrees an 30 in Hg. The brake was doing its job, recoil was similar to a .308.
I told myself I would be happy with 1.5" groups out of this rifle, but I think I can do better than that after today's outing. I've got 20 rounds down the barrel at this point.

For the cold bore shot, I had ran a couple patches through and then oiled the bore. I'm using a Wilson barrel and they are lapped at the factory. I've found break in to be minimal.
the bottom right, I jerked the hell out of the trigger. Bottom left, I don't know if it was me or the gun. Either way I think it shows some potential.
I'm excited to try some heavier bullets and slower powders.

 

[deer_shooter]

Damn thats a cool rifle! Definitely has potential.

 

[cahunter805]

Definitely has some potential. I bet with another 60-80 rounds it will be settled nicely and shooting great. Such a cool project! Congrats.

 

[noharleyyet]

Those pics need a Viagra warning caveat.

 

[BrentD]

Are those Tube Magazine approved bullets? They look pretty pointy for use in a large caliber lever gun with a tube mag. I prefer flat noses larger than the primers, but I may be overcautious.

 

[p_ham]

Are those Tube Magazine approved bullets? They look pretty pointy for use in a large caliber lever gun with a tube mag. I prefer flat noses larger than the primers, but I may be overcautious.

They're sold as a lever action bullet but they are a little more pointy than I would like. They probably won't be my final pick anyways. I'd like to be in the 250-275gr range.
I talked to Steve from Hammer bullets, their .375 lever approved bullets have a 4mm hollow point. I'll have to measure the Makers when I get home.

Recoil is surprisingly soft especially for such a large case.

 

[BrentD]

They're sold as a lever action bullet but they are a little more pointy than I would like. They probably won't be my final pick anyways. I'd like to be in the 250-275gr range.
I talked to Steve from Hammer bullets, their .375 lever approved bullets have a 4mm hollow point. I'll have to measure the Makers when I get home.

Recoil is surprisingly soft especially for such a large case.

Why so light? that's like a .45 ACP. She's a real .45! I have slunk down to a 410 gr bullet and I feel guilty about that. 480 gr seemed a bit more reasonable, but I went the "express route" in the end.

 

[p_ham]

Why so light? that's like a .45 ACP. She's a real .45! I have slunk down to a 410 gr bullet and I feel guilty about that. 480 gr seemed a bit more reasonable, but I went the "express route" in the end.

If I go much heavier it gets really hard to find a bullet with a short enough nose length to cycle.
The 250-275 range seems (on paper) to be a good balance of trajectory vs energy. I'll be around 1800fps and 1900ft/lb at 300yd, which is my intended max hunting range for this rifle.
If I decide to go hard cast, that might change things up a bit.

 

[BrentD]

If I go much heavier it gets really hard to find a bullet with a short enough nose length to cycle.
The 250-275 range seems (on paper) to be a good balance of trajectory vs energy. I'll be around 1800fps and 1900ft/lb at 300yd, which is my intended max hunting range for this rifle.
If I decide to go hard cast, that might change things up a bit.

Lead is your friend here. Lead and some tin perhaps. It really does work.

I think my OAL is around 2.6", but my 95 is an old one made to handle .40-82 and .45-90s. Not sure how the new ones work. Still, I know you can get a bigger bullet in there. Much bigger, even jacketeds though I don't have any.

YOu might look at buffaloarms.com for precast or jacketed bullets for your purposes.

 

[p_ham]

Lead is your friend here. Lead and some tin perhaps. It really does work.

I think my OAL is around 2.6", but my 95 is an old one made to handle .40-82 and .45-90s. Not sure how the new ones work. Still, I know you can get a bigger bullet in there. Much bigger, even jacketeds though I don't have any.

YOu might look at buffaloarms.com for precast or jacketed bullets for your purposes.

I can fit up to 2.68" I'll check out Buffalo Arms.
I haven't found much over 250gr cast for .375 cal though. Lot's of molds, but that's another hobby I'm not sure I want.

 

[BrentD]

I can fit up to 2.68" I'll check out Buffalo Arms.
I haven't found much over 250gr cast for .375 cal though. Lot's of molds, but that's another hobby I'm not sure I want.

I'm sorry, I forgot this is a .375". My apologies. But look at lead bullets. There will be some that are more flatnosed.

 

[p_ham]

I'm sorry, I forgot this is a .375". My apologies. But look at lead bullets. There will be some that are more flatnosed.

I thought that may have been the case. I'll keep an eye out for some boolits!

 

[BrentD]

One of the standards for the modern .38-55 is a Lyman 250 gr FN bullet. I don't have the exact mould number handy but I could dig it out. It kills antelope really well.

 

[p_ham]

So I've done some more research, I think it's possible to really get some butt kicking loads out of this.
If I switch to N550 powder:
256gr Hammer @ 2440fps 3384ftlb
275gr Hammer @ 2360fps 3401ftlb

250gr Hawk @ 2515fps 3511ftlb
270gr Hawk @ 2410fps 3482ftlb

I'm going to talk with the owner of Hawk Bullets and get some more info from him on jacket thickness, bullet shape, etc..

Lever Evolution is showing some scary fast velocities but that powder makes me nervous so I'll probably stay away from it.

 

[nhenry]

So I've done some more research, I think it's possible to really get some butt kicking loads out of this.
If I switch to N550 powder:
256gr Hammer @ 2440fps 3384ftlb
275gr Hammer @ 2360fps 3401ftlb

250gr Hawk @ 2515fps 3511ftlb
270gr Hawk @ 2410fps 3482ftlb

I'm going to talk with the owner of Hawk Bullets and get some more info from him on jacket thickness, bullet shape, etc..

Lever Evolution is showing some scary fast velocities but that powder makes me nervous so I'll probably stay away from it.

Why's it make you nervous? I use it in my 30-30 loads and it's proved pretty easy to work with. I know they're nowhere near the same cartridge, but I like the powder

 

[p_ham]

I havent seen any load data for it in a large case,
I thought I remember seeing that it was a progressive blend, but that could be false. I just don't know how close the burn model is in Quickload/Gordon's is for it either.

 

[p_ham]

Why's it make you nervous? I use it in my 30-30 loads and it's proved pretty easy to work with. I know they're nowhere near the same cartridge, but I like the powder

I guess the easy thing to do would be plug in known data and see how close the software is.