Buffalo Bore Heavy 38-55 Win 255gr JFN – Robust Modern Rifle Load

Description

The Buffalo Bore Heavy 38-55 Win 255gr JFN is not the mild cowboy load the cartridge name usually implies. It drives a 255 grain bonded core flat nose to 1950 fps for roughly 2153 ft-lbs, at 38,000 CUP. Read the rifle note before you buy: this is for modern smokeless era rifles in sound condition, and it does not belong anywhere near an antique 38-55. Twenty rounds per box, item 11C/20.

• Buffalo Bore Heavy 38-55 Win 255gr JFN Overview
• 38-55 Winchester Hunting Ammo Ballistics
• Why The 255 Grain Bonded Flat Nose Bullet Works
• Specifications
• Rifle Suitability And Range Notes For This Heavy 38-55 Lever Action Load

Buffalo Bore Heavy 38-55 Win 255gr JFN Overview

The bullet is a jacketed flat nose with a bonded core, measuring 0.377 of an inch. Bonding means the lead core is chemically joined to the jacket rather than simply seated in it, so the two do not separate on impact and the bullet holds most of its weight through heavy bone.

The flat nose is not a style choice. A 38-55 is normally fired from a lever action with a tube magazine, where bullets sit nose to primer, and a pointed bullet in that stack is a safety problem. A flat meplat is also what makes the bullet cut a clean full calibre hole.

Buffalo Bore loads the Buffalo Bore Heavy 38-55 Win 255gr JFN in the longer 38-55 case, which they note gives better accuracy and lower chamber pressure than the original 375 Winchester factory loading did. The 0.377 bullet sizes down to 0.375 on firing without a pressure penalty, which is why one load covers both chamberings.

38-55 Winchester Hunting Ammo Ballistics

2153 ft-lbs at the muzzle puts this well past where most people file the 38-55 in their heads. For comparison, a 30-30 with a 150 grain bullet makes around 1900, and a 308 Winchester about 2600. This sits between them, with a much wider and heavier bullet than either.

That bullet weight is what this 38-55 Winchester hunting ammo brings to the table. 255 grains of bonded core at 0.375 to 0.377 of an inch is a great deal of projectile, and it carries its momentum through shoulder bone in a way a 150 grain 30 calibre bullet does not.

Trajectory is the price. The 38-55 was never a flat shooting cartridge and 1950 fps does not make it one, so treat this as a two hundred yard load at the outside and most shots as well inside that. In the thick country a lever gun usually lives in, that is not a real limitation.

Why The 255 Grain Bonded Flat Nose Bullet Works

Bonded core construction is the quiet upgrade here. A conventional cup and core bullet at close range on heavy bone can shed its jacket and lose half its weight, which turns a 255 grain bullet into a 130 grain one part way through the animal. Bonding stops that.

Weight retention is what lets the 38-55 punch above its reputation. A 255 grain bonded flat nose bullet that holds together will reach the far shoulder on elk sized game, and it will do it from a rifle most people think of as a deer gun.

The flat meplat adds to that. A wide flat nose crushes and cuts rather than pushing tissue aside, so the hole is full calibre from entry to exit. Combined with the diameter, a 255 grain bonded flat nose bullet makes a genuinely large wound channel by lever action standards.

And it fills an awkward gap. If you own a Marlin 336 in 38-55, a Winchester Big Bore, or a Ruger single shot, factory ammunition for this cartridge is usually loaded very mildly to protect antique rifles. A heavy 38-55 lever action load lets a modern rifle do what it was actually built for, and 375 Winchester compatible ammunition in this pressure class is not easy to find elsewhere.

Specifications

Rifle Suitability And Range Notes For This Heavy 38-55 Lever Action Load

Check your rifle before anything else. At 38,000 CUP this is loaded far above the pressure original 38-55 rifles were designed around. Buffalo Bore is explicit that it is intended for modern firearms built with smokeless powder metallurgy. A Winchester 1894 from the black powder era, a Ballard, or any other antique is not a candidate, and if you have any doubt about a rifle’s age or condition, have a gunsmith look at it first.

Know your bore diameter. Older 38-55 barrels can run as large as 0.381 of an inch, which will not shoot a 0.377 bullet well. Modern rifles are closer to 0.375 or 0.377 and are where this load performs. If your rifle is a slug the bore first situation, do that before you buy a box.

375 Winchester owners can use this too, which is part of why 375 Winchester compatible ammunition is worth seeking out at all. The 0.377 bullet sizes down to 0.375 on firing without raising pressure, and Buffalo Bore notes the longer 38-55 case gives lower chamber pressure and better accuracy than the original 375 Winchester factory loading did.

Sight in with this exact load. It is considerably faster than the mild factory 38-55 ammunition most rifles are zeroed with, and the difference at a hundred yards is more than enough to matter.

375 Winchester Compatible Ammunition Availability

This heavy 38-55 lever action load is in stock and ready to ship from MAG5 Firearms, a family owned FFL dealer in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Ammunition orders ship to most states, and local customers are welcome to pick up in the shop. If you need case quantities or a milder 38-55 load for an older rifle, call us and we will check what our distributors have on hand.

Manufacturer details are on the Buffalo Bore site. For another heavy lever gun load, see the 30-30 Win 150gr Barnes TSX or the 45 Colt +P 225gr Barnes XPB, or browse our full ammunition selection.