Cast vs jacketed vs swaged

[GH1]

Who uses what and why? 
I tend to use cast for my target loads as they're more economical.
GH1

[stimpylu32]

That is a whole world of WHAT IF's , I shoot mostly cast in my handguns and jacketed in rifles , not always but most times . I have shot some cast in some of my slower rifle loads , just to see how they would do . My 45/70 happens to like cast better than jacketed .

As for swedged lead it tends to be much softer than cast due to the mix used ( more pure lead ) , so I tend to save those for very light target loads at low speed . Most of the swedged lead bullets will run around 6 on the hardness scale while most cast in a 20 to 1 mix will run around 12 to 15 , thus allowing for a faster load .

stimpy

[bilmac]

I didn't know any one was making swedged lead bullets yet. They are a poor bullet, and now that you can buy a large variety cast bullets so I'm surprised there's any market for them. I think Speer was the last big outfit making them.

[stimpylu32]

I didn't know any one was making swedged lead bullets yet. They are a poor bullet, and now that you can buy a large variety cast bullets so I'm surprised there's any market for them. I think Speer was the last big outfit making them.

They still make some , I just picked up a couple of boxes of .429 to load some 44 Spl for my BIL , they do well in his Mod 29 S&W .

stimpy 

[Darrell Davis]

Even'in shooters,

If we come right down to it, almost all commercial bullets other then cast, are swaged to one degree or another.  Some without but most with jackets.

There is a company called Corbin, in Oregon which advertises in the gun mags. and sells a big line of swaging equipment.

I would agree that there is little swaging remaining with the old half jackets we used to see, and wouldn't be surprised if casting isn't picking up in popularity.

However, although I expect there are some casters in my area I don't know any of them right off.

Keep em coming!

CDOC

[sk330lc]

I didn't know any one was making swedged lead bullets yet. They are a poor bullet, and now that you can buy a large variety cast bullets so I'm surprised there's any market for them. I think Speer was the last big outfit making them.

Speer, Hornady , and Remington still make them.    I shoot Hornady's .358 158gr RN in light 38 and 357mag loads.  They work great just don't push them over 700 800 fps and your golden.

[tobster]

I recently started loading for the 45-70 cartridge and it appears to me that if you buy cheap jacketed bullets [I use the term "cheap" loosely-an example being remington hp's] they will cost less money than some cast bullets. Am I missing something,or do you need to cast your own bullets to experience a cost savings? So in target shooting and recreational shooting I  lean towards jacketed if they shoot as good as cast or swaged.

[gypsyman]

I've never had much luck with swaged bullets. Seems that I always got more leading than what should be. So I started casting over 20 years ago. All but one of the bullets I cast is for a gas check design. Pain in the butt putting the checks on 1 at a time, but can get enough volocity to due what is neccessary.
Jacketed bullets in the varmint rifles thou. gypsyman

[jlchucker]

I use both cast and jacketed.  I do use some commercially cast bullets bought in bulk, but mostly I cast my own, especially for rifles.  As for using cast bullets for hunting, I've yet to hear of any RCBS 200FP in 35 Remington bounce off any deer.  Same goes for the 300 and 405's cast from a variety of molds for the 45-70.  A gascheck Lyman 311284 shot out of a 30-06 or 30-40 Krag can not only be a very tight grouper, but a very effective bullet on game as well.

If the supply of jacketed bullets dries up for some reason, I've got the molds and makin's to keep loading and shooting for a very long time--like for the rest of my hunting life.  Now, where's my 30-30 and box of handloads (bullet Lyman 311041)?  I need to go to the range, and to he** with Speer, Nosler, Hornaday, Sierra and the rest.

[Glanceblamm]

I shoot a lot of bargin brand cast bullets and use the XTP as a standard to be compared to. The cast seem to be right there with the targets showing a very minor difference.
No experience with a swaged.