Originally Posted by
405grain
"For that matter if a gas check, powder coat, and lube used together gets me up to jacketed bullet performance I will do all three."
It's not realistic (or desirable) to expect jacketed bullet performance (velocity) from cast bullets. From a hunting aspect, cast bullets do not have a copper jacket that needs to be overcome for the bullet to expand. Cast bullets expand normally at much lower velocities, and would probably come apart violently with little penetration if fired at jacketed velocities. If cast from a hard enough alloy to get good penetration at high velocity they would probably lack good expansion.
From a target shooting aspect, fired at jacketed velocities cast bullets would be spinning at an rpm that exceeds their tolerance for good accuracy. Generally cast bullets begin to loose accuracy once velocities start going above 2000 fps. There are some specific target cartridges, load combinations, and barrel twist rates that can allow for higher velocities, but these are in specialized target rifles build for competition. As a general rule, for best results with most rifles (both for hunting and target shooting) velocities should be at around 1950 fps or less. There are always examples where people can load a little higher, but these are usually the exceptions, not the rules. Cast bullets work great when used in their best range of velocity.