cast loads for jackets

[srussell]

question? i have used load data for jacketed boolets to load cast. but can you use cast load data to load jacketed boolets, for reduced loads?

[Nobade]

Sure, as long as the load is stout enough to not stick a bullet in the barrel. I wouldn't use any loads less than about 20K psi in rifles. In handguns the loads are pretty much the same anyhow.

If you ever stick a jacketed bullet in a rifle barrel you will quickly learn why that is to be avoided at all costs.

[res45]

In some instances that can be risky depending on the load and J bullet used,cast lead bullets produce less bore friction than J bullets so in many cases they require less powder to produce the same pressure and velocity while the J bullet requires more powder to produce the same pressure and velocity.

With many handgun loads you will find the Max. load for a cast bullet will be much closer to the starting load for an equal weigh and profile J bullets.  You should never go below the starting load listed in the manual with a given type bullet and powder.  In rifle loads I would use either cast bullets and date for those cast loads or use proven data for reduced J bullet loads.

Trail Boss Loads
http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Trail%20Boss%20Reduced%20Loads%20R&P.pdf

The Load
http://members.shaw.ca/cronhelm/TheLoad.html

[Land_Owner]

You can try just about anything - once.  It's your gun, they're your fingers, it's your face, it's your funeral.

The recommendation is to use jacketed bullet loads for jacketed bullets and cast bullet loads for cast bullets.  There is a plethora of available and safe load information on the powder and bullet Mfg's pages on the Net.  Heed the warnings.

[Savage]

Generally speaking, even the minimum suggested cast load will propel a jacketed pistol bullet out of any pistol barrel. I would hope you'd notice if the bullet didn't exit the barrel. There are lots of clues, like no hole in the target, or a round that sounds different than normal. At that point it's time to check the bore! Anyone who reloads should be aware and conscious enough to detect this sort of problem.
If you want lead bullet velocities, it's best to go with lead bullets. Lead bullets are much cheaper to shoot, and easier on the barrel as well. Not that most of us will ever wear one out.
Good Luck!
Savage

[Ranger99]

i'd have to go w/ landowner here
you may stick one of your appendages
in a fan and come out ok, but why try?

[srussell]

i agree with land owner. it one of those things that come up, with the can i do it. when  talking with  the range bunch. and yes i like my fingers eyes and can wait for my funeral. thinks for the reply guys

[Savage]

It's done all the time by IDPA/USPSA shooters loading down to minor. Some end up going to a 11-12# recoil spring for functional reliability. You just have to experiment with bullets and loads to get them where they need to be. It's safe enough when done properly. Only real hazard is a BLIB (Bullet Lodged in Barrel) if you go too low. As those: Fail to operate the slide, sound like a pellet gun, and make no hole, they are hard to miss.  I'm not suggesting anyone load anything without consulting a reliable reference.  There are tons of good reliable references available now days. Back in the early days (60s) when I started cartridge reloading, there was very little available. Lots of trial and error. Some worked out ok, some not so ok. The Powley Computer was a game changer in that it gave us something more than a guess as to burn rates and pressure curves. Lots of the guys in the clubs that shoot a high volume of pistol ammo start out with a progressive press set up to throw one charge of one particular powder, for a particular bullet, and go to work loading never changing anything. One of those "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" things. Works for them!
 
Savage

[mdi]

You can try just about anything - once.  It's your gun, they're your fingers, it's your face, it's your funeral.

The recommendation is to use jacketed bullet loads for jacketed bullets and cast bullet loads for cast bullets.  There is a plethora of available and safe load information on the powder and bullet Mfg's pages on the Net.  Heed the warnings.

Yes! I agree 100%!

[D Fischer]

Why would you want to? You want to go reduced loads, shoot cast. Cast are cheaper than jacketed.

[JeffG]

From my understanding, shooting jacketed bullets using cast load data in rifles, are not applicable or advisable. The differences in bullet coefficient of FRICTION, bullet obduration rates, and and time-pressure curves can cause dangerous ignition rates. Stuck bullets can happen. I wouldn't do it.

[Land_Owner]

From my understanding, cast loads in rifles are not applicable or advisable.

Not sure I understand your thinking? 

Cast loads for rifles have been around since BEFORE jacketed bullet existence.  Muskets and Flintlocks use cast bullets to this day.  Modern rifles evolved from there.  There are exceptional cast bullets and cast bullet loads for nearly all modern rifles.

[JeffG]

I beg your pardon!! I got distracted while typing on my phone!! Ihave been shooting cast bullets in rifles for decades! What I meant to say was not to shoot jacketed bullets with cast data. I will correct my post!

[Land_Owner]

Thank you for clarifying.  We're on the same page.

[Greg B.]

Another problem that happened with the first jacketed pistol bullet designs was that if you used reduced loads it would sometimes blow the lead core out and leave the jacket stuck in the barrel. More recently the last box of jacketed hollow points I bought (Hornady XTP ?) were designed for either high or low velocity.  While this may have had to do with with velocity vs. bullet expansion stuff can happen. As many of the others have suggested I would use cast loads for cast bullets only.