Looking at a couple of old time cartridges for whitetail hunting next fall(and an excuse to buy another rifle).The 38-55 and the 45-90.Any body have any personal experiences with either one?

Buck, never hunted with either, but have shot same. Keep in mind that any rifle that will comfortably handle the .45-90 will be heavy. Also, it was a Winchester "express" cartridge that was designed to handle 300 grain bullets-not the 400-500 grain of the .45-70. Still plenty of bullet. The 38-55 can be had in the much more handy 94 action. For Michigan hunting it would suffice. Just my 2 cents. A middle of the road approach would be to get a 1876 Winchester copy in say .45-60-my dream gun.

45/60 eh?Might have to look into that.I own a 45/70 and have taken a fair amount of deer with it so I'm somewhat familiar with the bigger bores.Toying with the idea of buying a Sharps rifle and looking into the different calibers they will build around.Also I don't reload,I don't mind have to do some looking to find rounds for them but don't want a rifle that you can't find ammo for it anywhere.

for Michigan deer hunting I would go 38-55 in a nice lever gun

38-55 is the parent case to 32win , 30-30win, 7-30 waters and a few others that remain wild cats

Midway is still selling loaded ammo for 38-55 but not 45-90 they do have starline 45-90 brass

I assume you will be reloading for it , but will you be casting for it ?

I assumed you were looking at lever actions. The Sharps can be had in a variety of chamberings. If you don't reload, that complicates things somewhat.
Best to look into ammo availability and choose from that list. There are 2 companies producing the Sharps Rifle-both in Montana. Then there are the Italian imports.

45 colt is ol timey. May i suggest a marlin 1894? Or an import '73 winchester in 44-40?

starline is making brass in

38-55
40-65
45-70
45-90
45-110
50-70
50-90
50-110

NOE is making molds for everything you could want.

are you going to cast or buy projectiles becomes the question?

In the third post above,he said he doesn't reload.

45-70 , 45 colt , 32 win spl , and maybe , just maybe 38-55 but your at or over 2 dollars a round in 38-55 with very few sources

all the 45-90 45-110 50-70 50-90 50-110 40-65 are all hand load only proposition

I think 45-70 would be as old timey as I would dare get and expect to find ammo for it reasonable , it is popular and it has been popular and it is currently being made in several production guns.

38-55 was almost extinct and made a small comeback with cowboy action shooting and silhouettes but is definitely specialty and likely to be limited runs and expensive.

deer bear moose with a 45-70 is plenty of gun

There are custom ammo makers for all the above rounds-see Buffalo arms for example. They ARE pricey though. I think Buck just wants something unique to hunt with.

makes it tough if you don't reload .I reload and just ordered a Tc G2 contender rifle in 30-30 looked at 38-55s for a while and decided I didn't need another caliber that I gotta scrounge around for stuff even brass is expensive and not always in stock I shoot 25-06,6mm,and 35 rem. I,ll reload for the 30-30 but to get started I ordered 200 rounds from Natchez Shooters Supply for $144.50 shipped 5 boxes win 150 grain/5 boxes win 170 grain and if I find a 38-55 barrel for it someday I,ll buy it and use my 30-30 cases for making 38-55 cases until then I,ve convinced myself that,s what I needed

If you want to try something unique to hunt with, look at going blackpowder cartridges in one of the various single shot rifles out there on the market. Since you don't reload its going to be expensive if you looking at purchasing loaded ammo for some of the oddball old cartridges. If you go the blackpowder cartridges route, you could get into reloading cartridges fairly cheap and easy since you really don't need all the reloading equipment. Really all you need is a way to decap and prime the cartridge and a muzzleloader blackpowder measurer. If you stick to a single shot rifle, you don't even really need to crimp the bullet in the case. That would give you a little bigger option on cartridge selection and a lot of fun. I load, target shoot and hunt with a lot of blackpowder cartridges and they are a blast to shoot and a sense of accomplishment when you do take a deer with one.

Looking at some of the different sites out there I get the impression a lot of guys in the BP realm shoot a lot so they're into reloading.Like Coonlove said I'm more into using and owning a unique rifle to hunt with,target shooting would be limited to sighting in before deer season.I've owned a few odd ball calibers in my day but not anything like these.You can buy these rounds but they are pricey.But price isn't really a deal killer because a box of 20 can go a long way.After talking with you guys I think I'll start looking at some of the lever actions out there and see whats what.Looking at the options out there now,I'm in no hurry.

Factory loaded 38-55 is fairly anemic. I have killed several deer with it in an old 94 win. Not my first choice. All of the old cartridges that are factory loaded today are lawyered down in strength. My first choice is 33 winchester, a 200 grain flat point moving about 2000fps.

no only expensive to by you can get 45/90 and 40/65 for around 60 dollars a box and 50/90 for a bit over a 100 the others are also available but I am not sure what they run as I don't shoot them

I shoot a Uberti copy of a Winchester 1885 single shoot in 45/90 and a Sharps copy in 50/90 and started off buying rounds but have since moved to reloading my own way cheaper

Uberti has quite a few copys of the older guns in the old cals I just bought a copy of the 1876 Winchester centennial in 45/75 but haven't had a chance to shoot it yet and yes I had to buy a box of cartridges for it but have a set of dies on order

i use grampa's ol 35 rem pump when i want to get nostalgic.shoot enough black powder that i don't have an urge to get really nostalgic more than that.

Only seen a 38-55 shot once. We had a town dog giving our cattle a hard time. After dad ran him off the first time,he came right back. When dad caught him chasing cattle the second time It was lights out. The first gun he grabbed was my great uncles 38-55. It did the job

Not to start a fuss but clear up a couple of misstatements
Old western scrounger has a lot of the oltimey cartridge available as new manufacture.
38/55 is not the parent case of any of the cartridge listed it was developed by Ballard for Marlin
And the 30/30 was the parent cartridge for 32wcf 7/30 waters etc.. Winchester still loaded factory cowboy loads a few years ago for 32/40 , 44/40, 38/55, 25/35. I ordered six boxes for a customer in 44/40 38/55 & 25/35 two of each, he got a little sticker shock when his bill was just under $300. The 25/35 is a neat cartridge that would make a fine woods rifle for deer. And a decent "shooter" in most of the above mentioned lever cartridge guns can be found in shotgun news for a couple grand. Expect to pay about three grand or more for the USA made Sharps.+2years in line.
Nostalgia and Unusual costs some serious coin nowadays. Any of the old time vintage rifles in collectable condition will probably be around 10. But be careful, there have been some forged "collector rifles" Good luck with your quest .

The 32 Remington is a obsolete round, and you can still get ammo .
For deer it's a good round. And lite recoil, if the kids want to shoot.
But it's not a leaver gun