I feel naughty...

[Silvercreek Farmer]

First handload ever was a cast boolit, all my deer shot with cast boolits, all vermin not shotgunned shot with cast boolits, my side arm carries cast.

I do have a few j-words on hand for diagnostic purposes, but I couldn't imagine actually USING one.

But alas, I asked for 223 dies for Christmas, and just put in an order for some soft points for longer range predator/pest control.

Why do I feel dirty?

[richhodg66]

I hear you. I shot a deer this past Fall with a jacketed bullet in my old .30-06. No real excuse, but I got impatient and bogged down by problems hunting this year and took the easy route, first one I'd killed with a jacketed bullet in ten years. I felt like such a loser, I mean, only pansies hunt deer with jacketed bullets, right? It won't happen again.

Actually, I have done cast bullets in .22 centerfires to a certain extent. Good results in Hornet, not so great in .222. Haven't tried .223 at all yet, but I have two rifles chambered in it, so I probably will eventually

[Bazoo]

I'll buck the trend, I like jacketed bullets. The thing I don't like about them is cost and the supply issues. I'd like to get into swaging someday when money allows.

Cast has it's place, but unlike many here I don't take every gun I own and make it into a 1500-1800fps cast lobber. I run cast in my 30-30 at full speed and in handguns mostly.

[gpidaho]

I love to shoot my cast bullets and have shot them in every rifle I own. Lately I've faced up to the fact that I own two or three rifles that just don't like "Boolits" one being a 14 twist bull barrel 22-250 another is an extremely accurate bolt 223, I believe it's a 12 twist. The 223 is the pickiest, It shoots very well with jacketed 52gr. match bullets and that's it. The hardest and most fun is getting the AR's to shoot well with cast' Gp

[skeettx]

I have tens of thousands of jacketed bullets in addition to my vast supply of cast.
I will be fit to be tied, if I die before they are used up and someone gets them for
nearly nothing!!!!!!!
I am 71 and shoot almost daily, cast and jacketed.
Tomorrow is 38-55, 303 Savage, 223, and 38 special
Temperature will be about 28 degrees.
Mike

[RKJ]

I'm with Bazoo; I shoot cast in my pistols and in the 45/70 Marlin, but shoot jackets in everything else. I've got molds for the 30's and the 243 but find I like jacketed better in most of my rifles

[Cole440]

Dare I say it, I don't want to be banned! There are some places where jacketed is a good choice! Use things for what they are good at and have fun. That's all that matters!

[fcvan]

I started shooting cast in a rifle about 8 years ago. First was Dad's 03-A3 sporterized 30-06. Results were good and I was following recommended loads in the Lyman 49. Then I started powder coating. I'm getting 2250 to 2450 FPS from several 308 Ws I own and that depends upon barrel length. I have yet to chronograph the 30-06 in any detail but I believe I was getting about 2250 FPS.

I started loading .223 with the Lyman 225-415 and had good results. Then I powder coated those and the groups shrank to a repeatable 1 MOA at 2250 FPS, 2450 FPS from a single shot 24" barrel. I am now using an NOE 225-62 RN Plain Base designed for powder coating. I get the same results but still working out the bugs with cycling the AR 15. My 180 Model Ruger Mini 14 eats anything so no worries. My next non rain range day will be with some of the NOE boolits cast with a slightly harder alloy. I like casting, I hate having to buy bullets such as If hunting in CA they have to be non-lead now. I have some .308 loads with a lathe turned 150 grain HPBT I used to order for 27.50/100. Yup, they don't sell those anymore. Heck, I also bought some lathe turned HPBT 55 grain bullets at 11.00/100 and didn't feel ripped off at that. Same story, no longer available.

The real guilt was right before I retired, I was getting sintered copper bullets for 223 that were about 8.00/100. I was still working and doing a lot of overtime so my casting time was limited. So yes, I (cough, cough) shot store bought. I didn't shoot them all up so I have loaded, and some not loaded yet, store bought bullets. Is there a group here that offers counselling for troubled casters who strayed to bullets? I'm just asking for a friend, of course.

[Winger Ed.]

Some how, a couple years ago, I ended up with a rat gun..... ahhh,,, AR.

Cast didn't seem like the way to go, so I feed it factory 2nds and GI bullet pulls when I can find a deal on them.

I wash away my shame with a bit of cactus Whiskey.

[samari46]

For a really long time I used to shoot steel plate matches. Was buying the store bought 230 grain RN hard cast at least 2-3k at a time.My buddy was even worse that me. 1200 just on saturday and sunday alone. UPS guy would ring the bell out would come the heavy duty cart 5000 which is ten boxes and off to his reloading shed. Couple or three weeks same thing. Had well north of 60K bullets through his kimber. Cracked the frame where the slide stop was had it tigged and continued shooting. Frank

[Mytmousemalibu]

That sounds like my now retired M&P race gun. After approximately 50,000rds of very hot 9mm competition loads, (something that gun was never intended for and purpose built guns wear down eating) the slide cracked. Same thing, I Tig'ed the slide and put it back to work. Probably another 15 to 20,000 rds and the KKM barrel was having a hard time with accuracy. I slugged the bore and you can barely catch a nail on the rifling engravings. Its now living the easy life as a dryfire trainer with a CO² barrel. It ate a ton of Berry's plated and Precision Delta jacketed. You can't push cast that hard in a gun like that otherwise I would. Same for my new hot rod, PD jacketed. Now the other not so wild competition guns all eat Blue Bullets. They are a coated lead boolit but not sure if they are cast or swage'ed?

I simply don't have the time to cast and compete. I go through far too many bullets to consider casting for my competition needs. Jacketed still has a home with me, I don't discriminate, i like guns & bullets of all flavors!

[Thin Man]

Bazoo, swaging is a good thing, at least for me. In 1973 I met a fellow who was a caster. He had decided to move over into swaging and was going to sell off all of his casting gear. Furnace, boolit lube-sizer, molds, etc, everything all together for one money. I bought all of it, still have all that plus an expanded assortment of molds and related gear. And still searching for more. This is an addiction. Is there a support group for guys like me? Oh, yeah, I'm in the group right now. Thanks, everyone.

[Hickory]

First handload ever was a cast boolit, all my deer shot with cast boolits, all vermin not shotgunned shot with cast boolits, my side arm carries cast.

I do have a few j-words on hand for diagnostic purposes, but I couldn't imagine actually USING one.

But alas, I asked for 223 dies for Christmas, and just put in an order for some soft points for longer range predator/pest control.

Why do I feel dirty?

I know your feelings and concerns.
After acquiring my Corbin Might-Mite press and dies and began making my own jacketed 224 caliber rifle bullets I felt complete, proud and without shame.

[LUBEDUDE]

I haven’t loaded a J-word in 40 years. I think a high liberal estimation of J-words loaded in my 50 years of loading would be 250. For the amount of shooting I do I just can’t afford them.

[lightman]

Confession time! I only shoot cast in a few rifles, a 30-30, a 30 carbine and a 45-70. The higher pressure or smaller caliber cartridges get a steady diet of j-words. All of my pistols get a steady diet of cast, mostly wheel weight alloy, with only the occasional j-word thrown in.

[375supermag]

Hi...
I shoot mostly commercial cast lead bullets in my handguns...thousands of rounds per year.
I usually load a few thousand jacketed bullets in my handguns each year, mostly Hornady HP/XTPs. The only rifle that gets cast bullets is my 1873 Cimarron .45Colt.

My son and I shoot more and more jacketed rifle bullet reloads each year but essentially no cast bullet rifle loads.
The only handgun I own that doesn't get cast bullets is my .375SuperMag. Haven't gotten around to finding a commercial cast bullet for it yet.

[Texas by God]

I have shot cast in my 25-06 and my 22-250 and it was a fun diversion from their true purpose. But jacketed is the way to go with them for accuracy and velocity at distance. My other hyphenated cartridges will live on cast with an occasional j-word thrown in( 30-30, 30-40, 38-55 and 44-40). It’s all fun!

[Tripplebeards]

First handload ever was a cast boolit, all my deer shot with cast boolits, all vermin not shotgunned shot with cast boolits, my side arm carries cast.

I do have a few j-words on hand for diagnostic purposes, but I couldn't imagine actually USING one.

But alas, I asked for 223 dies for Christmas, and just put in an order for some soft points for longer range predator/pest control.

Why do I feel dirty?

I shoot 60 grain VMAX is added two of my 223 is loaded with 25 g of benchmark and they shoot little cloverleafs like my avatar in 100 yards... That was 100 yard group with one of the loads out of my 14 1/2 inch POF P415. I also shoot 27.7 grains of benchmark with a 40 grain Nosler ballistic tips out my Remington LTR. Both rifles will shoot .3” inch groups at 200 yards when I do my part with these loads. They are perfect predator and varmint rounds. I’ve shot dozens of coyotes with the 60 grain VMAX with this load. It travels about 2850 out of my 14 1/2 inch barrel and 2975 out of my 20 inch LTR last I chronographed it. I never can see the whole coming down and if it exits it’s about a quarter to 50 Cent size on a coyote and they drop in their tracks every time and never flinch with behind shoulder shots broadside. Furthest shot tested on a dirt dog with this load so far is 250 yards. I haven’t tried the 40 grain Nosler ballistic tips yet but they’re cruising at 3800 FPS. It shoots like a laser and should be destructive out to 400 yards would be my guess before it starts running out of steam. I’ve tried soft points in the past and they just don’t have the hammer of Thor anchoring capabilities like the ballistic tips or vmax do that literally explodes inside the animal. If you’re crossing over to the Darkside pick up a box of Nosler ballistic tips. I have found several different powder combos that shoot very tight and the the guns I’ve tried them in. The Vmax are finicky though. It always takes a lot of ladder testing and several powders to finally find one good load...like the load in my avatar. If you want to “ Feel naughty” and blow up some predators or varmints that makes an animal look like it stepped on a grenade when you shot it The Nosler ballistic tips and vmax are your friend. I’ve shot coyotes with 70 grain ballistic tips out of my 26” barreled 243 loaded a little hot at 3650 ft./s that I’ve almost blown in half. I loaded up about 600 rounds for the AR with the 60 grain VMAX and 25 grains of benchmark and have them in vacuum sealed bags waiting for coyote Armageddon!!! I also put together an A.R. 10 chambered in 243. I tested it out last year with 55 grain Nosler ballistic tips at 4100 ft./s. The best it shot was .3” inches with two different loads at 100 yards. Both loads Chronographed just under 4100 FPS. I wanted a laser beam out to 400 yards with semi automatic capabilities when I calling coyotes When four of five come in and something that was fast enough they could not outrun. The downside is it weighs as much as a 50 BMG or a Sherman tank.

[Kraschenbirn]

In my modest collection of CF sporting rifles, there are only two that are solely fed on jacketed: the .243 M700...acquired during the Nixon administration...and the Ruger #3 .22 Hornet that I bought while they were still in production. Neither gets to the range more than a couple times a year and I have an 'adequate supply' of bullets for both. (Once upon a time, passing through Sedalia, MO, I got lucky and cleaned out Sierra's 'factory seconds' of 100 gr. SPBTs for the .243 and 40 gr. RNSPs for the .22 Hornet along with a bunch of 120 gr JSPs for the 7BR is was shooting for IHMSA at the time.) Everything else, including the milsurps, gets 95% (or better!) cast boolits.

Bill

[Tom W.]

In my A.I. rifles after fire forming I'll load j word bullets, 180 grain GameKings in the 30-06 A.I. and whatever is laying around for the 30/30 A.I.

Store bought ready rolls is another subject.....

[Cole440]

Confession time! I only shoot cast in a few rifles, a 30-30, a 30 carbine and a 45-70. The higher pressure or smaller caliber cartridges get a steady diet of j-words. All of my pistols get a steady diet of cast, mostly wheel weight alloy, with only the occasional j-word thrown in.

I must confess to the same !

[leadman]

I shoot cast in 33 different cartridges. I own two 6mm cartridges I do not load cast for.

I load jacketed bullets in most of my hunting loads, especially for elk. Hard to get a tag so do not want my range limited if a good long range shot presents itself.