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Thread: Realistic Expectations for Cast Boolits

  1. #201
    Boolit Master
    toallmy's Avatar
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    After a few years I have came to a 2 inch or close to it - 100 yard group with a rifle most of the time works for me .
    Handguns well that depends I'm not that good with them , the little devils just keep wiggling around but a 4 inch 25 yard load puts a lot of holes in my targets with most of my magazine loaded handguns . I'm working on the 50 yard handgun shooting but it's not coming easily to me .
    But I am enjoying it very much !

  2. #202
    Boolit Master
    Bent Ramrod's Avatar
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    The .38-55 and .32-40 are kind of special circumstances. Loaded carefully with cast boolits at the original black powder velocities, they are capable of fine accuracy out to 200-300yd or so. With a modern tighter twist barrel, the longer boolits out of a .38-55 can reach out further, but they will be affected by the wind more than a .40 or .45.

    The jacketed bullet loadings of the .32-40 and .38-55 were typically offered in the “Hi-Speed” smokeless powder ammunition as a means of bringing the calibers into the effectiveness level of the .30-30 and .32 Special for hunting. These loadings were accurate enough for deer hunting at woods ranges but would not win a Scheutzen or benchrest match.

    You could conceivably load the jacketed bullets down to a level that would beat the cast boolit loads for accuracy, but whether the difference would be significant would be in the eye of the beholder. Jacketed .38s are expensive, and available in a limited selection of weights and diameters, whereas cast boolits have a greater variety of both, with a better chance of matching the potential of your rifle.

  3. #203
    Moderator Emeritus / Trusted loob groove dealer

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    Quote Originally Posted by dverna View Post
    You have been reading fairy tales. A cast bullet will NEVER outperform a good jacketed bullet. You are heading down a long frustrating road with that perception in your head. A reasonable expectation is to double the groups you get with jacketed bullets.
    You must be doing something wrong. My cast loads are equal or better than jacketed.
    The solid soft lead bullet is undoubtably the best and most satisfactory expanding bullet that has ever been designed. It invariably mushrooms perfectly, and never breaks up. With the metal base that is essential for velocities of 2000 f.s. and upwards to protect the naked base, these metal-based soft lead bullets are splendid.
    John Taylor - "African Rifles and Cartridges"

    Forget everything you know about loading jacketed bullets. This is a whole new ball game!


  4. #204
    Boolit Buddy
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    I watched my father reload 38 specials with a local vermont state trooper around 1962, and knew i would love to try that. when he was working i would pick the lock on his gun cabinet to look at the reloading gear he had. fast forward to 1967 and i went into the air force, was assigned to air police (the name was changed to security police the same month) during tech school i was given the duty to sweep floors in the air force marksmanship section on lackland afb texas. that section was full of armors working on pistols and rifles tinkering to make them better, and a lot of reloading was being done in another part of that building. i was in heaven! at my first base after tech school we had to bi annually qualify with .38s and m-16. i became friends with the range officers and they let me have all the empty brass. i stockpiled the 38s and bought a model 28 smith,i sold the 5.56 to a local gun shop (traded mostly) for the dies, powder, bullets, primers to get me started, i found an rcbs press at a garage sale....the rest is almost history. many state championships were to follow as i learned, got better, and found any shooting match i could to enter within driving distance in the next 50 plus years. now the eyes are not what they once were and i seldom compete any more...oh i could still go and they would know i was there, but the young eyes and reflexes would be atop the podiums . and that is the way it should be, it is part of this long process we call life, and i have no regrets whatsoever for this long life and hobby i have lived . i still reload weekly and get to the range when i can, but mostly teach others now and try and guide them in the right direction. i am honored to pass my knowledge for many helped me on my journey.

  5. #205
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by waksupi View Post
    You must be doing something wrong. My cast loads are equal or better than jacketed.
    Horses for courses, you are both right and wrong. Best bench rest jacketed bullet groups are less than half the size of the best cast bullet bench rest groups. In your run of the mill 9mm pistol you probably would not see an accuracy difference between cast and jacketed. My 357 cast bullet ammo is more accurate than factory jacketed bullet ammo. In my .22 hornet Hornady factory ammo is more accurate than any ammo I have loaded and I have tried very hard with my handloads. My jacketed bullet hand loads are more than twice as accurate as my cast bullet handloads. Still, I mostly shoot cast bullets.

    I can't imagine anyone loading blackpowder cartridges with jacketed bullets and if they did I doubt they would improve accuracy.

    This is not a single variable calculation.

    Tim
    Words are weapons sharper than knives - INXS

    The pen is mightier than the sword - Edward Bulwer-Lytton

    The tongue is mightier than the blade - Euripides

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check