Are there any good 38-40 deer rounds?

[Mt.Man]

My father left me an old octagon barrel 38-40 that I would love to take a whitetail with. Are there any good rounds out there that would do the job at close range?

Thanks

[bronko22000]

Having used a '73 in 38-40 one year for whitetail I found it to be very underpowered. As you know, if you've shot this cartridge, at 50 yds, you can hear the bullet impact the target. I did shoot a doe with it but based on the results, I would never use it again. I would much prefer even a .357 lever gun.

[Nomercy448]

Most factory ammo for the .38-40 is loaded pretty mildly. I know winchester used to make a jacketed soft point for .38-40, not sure if it's current production, but Midway still lists it as of today. It should push around 1150fps (published), meaning on the order of 550ft.lbs., plenty to kill a deer.

Looking at the other loads available at midway (all low recoiling "cowboy loads"), the Winchester Super X looks to have the highest velocity/energy. The others are in the 800-900fps range with 180grn lead bullets, to the winchester's 180grn jacketed soft point at 1150.

Yes, a .357mag DOES have more power, but the .38-40 worked well for deer for a LONG time before the .357mag ever came around. You might consider contacting a local reloader to press you some custom ammo, or see if Hornady offers the .38-40 for custom loads. My Speer manual says it can get 1514fps from a 180grn lead FP from a 24" barrel. That'd push you up to the 900ft.lbs. range, and give you a lot more range with the historic old rifle.

[Mt.Man]

thanks for the info