PDA

View Full Version : Loads for cast vs. jacketed



wlc
10-18-2012, 06:58 PM
My search foo may just be weak, but I can't find what I'm looking for. I know in "general" that we should push cast boolits a little slower than their copper clad counterparts. My question is this: If for instance I can't find a load recipe in a particular boolit weight, but there is one for a jacketed bullet in that weight is their anything wrong with using that jacketed data for a cast boolit. I also notice that sometimes in the same weights that they will have the max and for that matter the min loads several grains or tenths of grains lower for cast vs. jacketed. Is this just an issue about leading or alloy or what? Help....

Thanks!

geargnasher
10-18-2012, 07:04 PM
Obtain hard copies of several reputable loading manuals containing cast boolit data, cross-reference the data for common sense and safety checks, and use the cast boolit data listed. Don't try to compare apples to oranges.

Gear

chris in va
10-18-2012, 07:58 PM
Cast boolits offer less friction resistance than jacketed, hence the lower charges. Don't use jacketed charges with cast.

.22-10-45
10-18-2012, 08:32 PM
Hello, wlc. In working with the .22 Hornet and 7X57, I use powders that are listed for jacketed bullet use.
However...I DID NOT start at those jacketed bullet levels! Only be slowly and carefully working up a cast-bullet load..sometimes you can find yourself up into at least the starting loads for jacketed. The most accurate load with the Hornet is 7.0grs. H4227..but I can go as high as 10grs..with no leading..this is well into jacketed charge weight.
Likewise with the 7X57..by starting low with H4895..I found this little rifle likes e'm hot!..I am well up into mid-range jacketed bullet charge weights..accuracy is around 1 1/8" at 100yds...absolutly no leading..only my shoulder is telling me to quit..with this light 6 1/2lb. sporter.
By always begining with the start loads, and working up carefully, you can avoid any "surprises"!

williamwaco
10-18-2012, 09:11 PM
Gear +1

http://www.amazon.com/Lyman-Cast-Bullet-Handbook-Edition/dp/B004DWBKQY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350609046&sr=8-1&keywords=lyman+cast+bullets

45 2.1
10-18-2012, 09:25 PM
No HV shooters I see.................

Mk42gunner
10-18-2012, 10:21 PM
What calibers are you looking at? It makes a very big difference if you are looking at say a .30-06 and someone else is thinking about a .45 ACP.

Robert

geargnasher
10-18-2012, 11:44 PM
No HV shooters I see.................

:bigsmyl2:

Gear

Moonie
10-19-2012, 11:32 AM
lol, you guys are trouble makers...

:groner: [smilie=l:

Wayne Smith
10-19-2012, 11:36 AM
In the 30-30 I use standard condom loads for cast. One of the few you can do that with and have little danger of lead in your barrel. In other cartridges it is not a safety issue, it becomes a leading issue quickly. Balance between velocity and hardness/toughness of your boolits are what you need to consider, not safety.

MT Gianni
10-19-2012, 12:05 PM
Pistol or rifle? 30-30 or 300 Weatherby Mag? Are you after repeated results at a known distance or good results at varying yardage? Are you in Kodiak bear territory or inner AK?

wlc
10-19-2012, 12:55 PM
Pistol or rifle? 30-30 or 300 Weatherby Mag? Are you after repeated results at a known distance or good results at varying yardage? Are you in Kodiak bear territory or inner AK?


Mostly pistol loads with the occasional rifle load. My 300 WBY gets only jacketed. I do have a 416 Ruger that I'd like to do cast in but can only find one load. In bear country I would carry a 12 ga with slugs or something in the 454 casull, if actually hunting them then one of the big boomers gets carried

pdawg_shooter
10-19-2012, 01:58 PM
Cast boolits offer less friction resistance than jacketed, hence the lower charges. Don't use jacketed charges with cast.

I use jacketed loads with my cast all the time. But then my cast are paper patched. Jacketed velocity and accuracy, no leading because the lead never touches the barrel, and you can match your alloy to the velocity for great hunting bullets. Whats not to like?

geargnasher
10-19-2012, 02:06 PM
WLC, I belive it's becoming clear why there's no way to answer your original question in any sort of accurate, general manner.

Like Pdawg, I base my starting loads for high-velocity paper-jacketed boolits off of published, copper-jacketed data. But only to figure a safe start point. I also tend to select a double-base ball powder that is slow for the cartridge, sometimes slower than any listed for that cartridge with any weight boolit. By the time fillers or buffers are accounted for, the load may look like nothing published. And that is by no means the only way to shoot pp'd boolits that works. Experience and lots of study will tell you what works. That's why I recommended sticking with published cast data for cast boolits, work from several reliable sources, and then realize that YOUR gun and YOUR boolits add their own wide range of error to the published data. It's up to you to start low and work up to what is safe and accurate for your guns.

Gear

mpmarty
10-19-2012, 02:09 PM
As in all other reloading issues, "IT DEPENDS".
I like to push my 175gr cast 308 into 2200fps velocities and do so with 2400 powder, not a jacketed popular load at all but it works for me.