Chris, welcome to your new obsession .

I started out much like you did by entering the single shot world from an interest in lever action rifles.  Nowadays the few lever guns i still have get used once or twice a year while my single shots get used once or twice a week.  Soon I'll be selling another to make room in the safe for another single shot

There is a lot of great advice here and the .38-55 is a great cartridge in a single shot rifle.

By the way, I'd recommend giving black powder a try.  I was slow to try it and it's almost all I shoot these days.  I don't think anyone is likely to win a benchrest competition with it any time soon, but it's an enjoyable way to shoot these old rifles and the accuracy potential is far better than many think.   

Chris.

Shooting by yourself.  If all I did was shoot by myself, I'd probably do very little shooting.  Shooting in single shot matches is fun and addictive.  Good deals on nice rifles, scopes, molds, equipment, and new friendships are to be found at matches. 

              Joe.

Had to be away from the computer all morning and missed a lot of posts.  Just know that I appreciate all the helpful comments and suggestions.  I'm on a fixed and very low income (poverty level) and it's going to be hard to come up with the funds, but I really yearn to own a fine single-shot rifle.  I shoot by myself because I'm unable to afford the membership to shoot at either of the local ranges.  Otherwise I might be on the line regularly.  Oh, I forgot to mention, I live in central Oklahoma.

Yes, Marlinguy, it's Wind who sparked my interest in long-range dinger shooting............though I've never met him in person, we often exchange e-mails daily.  And I hope someday to make the trek from Oklahoma to Washington to meet him and shoot with him...........though it's somewhat doubtful I'll be able to.

1-16" twist is pretty slow in today's world of 38cal barrels and heavy (long) bullets. Am shooting a GM 1-14"  and it works well with everything I shot in it up to a 1.423" length and 368gr bullet. Most folks I know who shoot a 38-55, 38-50 or 38-56 are shooting 1-14"  or faster and a couple have gone to 1-10" (Douglas). They are proving themselves to be accurate at longer distance out through mid-range (600yd) and no problem knocking over the rams. Am hoping that the powers-that-be will start rethinking their prohibition on 38s at 1000yd based on these new barrels/bullets.

Many people pick up a Rolling Block receiver and build a custom rifle for under $1,000 to get started.

I have seen people get started with a sporterized Swedish Rolling Block 8x58R for under $600. Just had to find some good tang sights to get going after finding some cases and an 8 mm bullet mould of 200 to 235 grains. 

The heavier the bullet the more kinetic energy it has and the less susceptible it is to wind conditions.
However heavier bullets are longer and require a tighter barrel twist to stabilize the bullet.

We use the Greenhill's formula to determine the twist for a specific bullet:

Here is an interactive link to the formula:

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Most people stick to the .32 calibers for better recoil control for Schuetzen however most people go to the .40 or .45 calibers for Black Powder Cartridge shooting disciplines. A .38-55 may be good to start out in both disciplines but is a bit heavy for Schuetzen and too light for BPCR (from a competition perspective) however it would get you started.

OMG Creedmorematch, that's a beautiful rifle.  I won't even bother asking the price.  I make less in a year than some people make in a month, so I'm sure a rifle of that beauty is way beyond my range.  Heck, I probably couldn't afford to pay for the engraving!    But thanks for the thought.  Besides, I'm just testing the water right now.  Could be a year or two before I could afford even a "starter".

As I previously mentioned, I'm from central Oklahoma.  I just checked, and the closest ASSRA group is a 2 1/2 hour drive from my place.  I've checked with two of my friends who shoot at the local gun clubs and they don't know of any single-shot groups.  Do you fellows know of any?

Thanks, but as previously mentioned, I'm not at all interested in matches..........of any kind.  I just want to know the closest place I can go to see these rifles in person.