Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Dr. Howell, a question on reduced loads..

Dr. Howell,

I have a question concerning reduced jacketed bullet loads in rifles. I've been a long time user of SR 4759 for reduced loads in bottleneck centerfire cartridges. At what velocity does it become sensible to use cast rather than jacketed bullets. I have heard 1600 fps used as a minimum. Is that a reasonable figure?

Thank you for your help,
JB

As a very general rule of thumb, I'd consider any rifle load with a muzzle velocity below 2,000 ft/sec worth looking into as a cast-bullet load. Cast bullets and jacketed bullets don't load or shoot the same. After you've played around with both for a while, you may find either a great overlap or a great gulf between cast and jacketed bullets at muzzle velocities of 1,500 to 2,000 ft/sec. A lot depends on the caliber of the cartridge (the bigger the caliber, the more likely it's a good cast-bullet cartridge -- generally). A lot depends on the twist of your barrel and the length of the bullet you expect it to stabilize. You'll be extremely lucky if you can get cast-bullet loads to shoot well at muzzle velocities much over about 1,800 ft/sec. You'll find out just how well you really like loading down!

Dr. Howell,

I've been using a 40 grain Sierra HP over 11 grains of SR 4759 in my .222 Remington (1 in 14"). I will eventually experiment with cast bullets, but I've never shot them in a small bore centerfire.

Again, thank you.
JB

Suggest you invest in the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook. Lots of good info about using cast bullets in rifles of all sorts. Small caliber rifles are very difficult to get to shoot accuractely. They describe and explain why. E

E,

Thanks for the recommendation.

I admit to being more than a little hesistant to use cast in the small calibers. I will probably stick to jacketed, being an intrinsically lazy sort. I am getting great results, accuracy wise, with the above mentioned load. I was more concerned with minimum recommended velocities with jacketed bullets. Bullet configuration/weight seems to be a major player in getting good results at lower velocities.

Regards,
JB

If you are interested in really loading down, I've shot a number 4 buckshot pellet in my 22-250 using only a primer. Used it indoors and it shoots quite well. The only downside is that the shot is so soft that it leads badly even at primer velocities. Even though low powered, this load appears to have sufficient vellcity and energy to be potentially harmful....expecially to CATS ! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />