30 Cal pistol bullets in 30 cal rifles?

[Terbltim]

Hey Gang,

I want to introduce a young lady to shooting a 308 BLR that she inherited from her daddy.
She has no center-fire shooting experience and it seems that a light-wt bullet will reduce the recoil to something she can tolerate as a beginner.
I have over 3 decades of handloading experience and I'm almost embarrassed that I haven't tried this myself. Asking around seems like a good way to start.
Some time ago (yrs) I looked into using a Hornady 90gr XTP in the 308.
There were various forums where contributors claimed very good accuracy and surprising performance, (including exit wounds on deer from chest hits!)
I never followed up on the idea. Now I wish I had.
My question is...
has anyone here done any of this?
If yes, would you please give some details about the load and the exact shooting situation ?

[Mikey]

I have had the pleasure of using both the Sierra 85 gn and Hornady 85 gn slugs for the 7.62x25mm Tokarev through a 308.  I first shot them from a 7.62x25mm insert for the 308 and then later for the 30-06 before I loaded a couple into some full sized rifle cases.  I've also shot the 30 Luger and slugs the same way. 

When I loaded them into full length rifle cases, the 308 in particular, I used a Unique powder charge - I think I started with about 12 gns whichis the minimum load and ran it to about 16-17 gns. 

Recoil with these loads was very light and at the upper load end the accuracy was pretty decent, enough I think to get her interested in shooting and not develop a flinch or become frustrated by not being able to hit her target. 

IIRC I used the powder charges for a 120-123 gn cast gas checked slug in the 308 with those 85-90 gn slugs. 

FYI:  I found that using the insert the accuracy dropped off as I believe there was a awful lot of free travel for the slug before she impacted the rifling and the slug may have skidded down the barrel a bit before picking up the twist.  I also wonder if the twist is too slow inthe 308 (1:12) to really stabalize those short slugs for really great accuracy.  HTH and good luck.

[Terbltim]

Very good and useful reply, thanks!

I can already speak to the question of rate of twist.
The shorter, light-wt bullets require less twist without exception.
A real concern is that the rate might be so fast that the bullet's construction cannot withstand the centrifugal force and might fly apart when exiting the barrel, a well-known phenomenon.
That was one of the issues that amazed me about the 90gr XTP.
I believed it wouldn't withstand the spin...but it did!

Your post is very helpful as info as I get ready to tackle this project.

Thanks again.

[hillbill]

you could try the 100 grn hornady short jacket bullet.ive used it a lot in 30-06. it is accurate but i havent used it on any game.

[southernutah]

Speer makes some 100gr RN plinkers. You could load some at beging load and go have fun.

http://www.speer-bullets.com/ballistics/detail.aspx?id=78

[hillbill]

yup hornady make the same thing shown in the link.

[Frank46]

I'm going to suggest trying out sierra 125 grain spitzers. These can be downloaded and still give excellent accuracy. I've used these in the '06 using 40grains 4895 which is somewhat similar to the old 300 meter loads. Yes it has some recoil compared to using the pistol bullets suggested. But the shooter will see that she can be able to shoot good groups and instill confidence in her shooting ability. Just a suggestion. Frank

[Richard P]

Tim,  I hope you are going to take time to introduce the lady via the 22 lr route.  Unless she already has shooting experience she'll need time to develop confidence in aiming and trigger control.  She can get that with 22s.  It;s not as loud and cheaper.  She'll appreciate the lack of recoil.
   To the main topic, the light 30s can offer another step up the ladder but remember to keep the speed down at first.  Lyman offers data for reduced loads by applying their loads for cast bullets.  For a 120 cast bullet they use Unique at 12 to 15gr ; 2400 at 18 to 21gr ; 4227 at 20 to 24gr and 4198 at 23 to 26gr.  You should orient powder to the rear with these for consistency.  These loads should equal the 30 carbine in velocity so they have some punch.   Richard