Mouse fart loads with jacketed bullets?

[dangerranger]

I have for years used Mouse fart Loads for practice, teaching new shooters, and for my mom to shoot out of her old guns. I have always used cast bullets just because that's what I shoot.

I recently passed on a recipe to a friend who is going to have to rehab her hand and needs a light recoiling gun to shoot left handed. She is also going to carry this as a defensive pistol till she can shoot and carry right handed again.

130 gr LSWC bullet over 3 grains of Trail Boss. It should get her 650+ fps out of a snub nose J frame pistol in 38 spl. I have reduced that as low as 2.5 grains without any problems.[ in a longer barreled gun].

But her husband normally only loads jacketed bullets, and is wondering how much difference the jacket will make? Will they be safe at these reduced speeds? And is there any published data for reduced jacketed loads?

Do any of you guys have any experience with jacketed bullets at that low of velocity?

Thanks DR

[tdoyka]

yes, trail boss does work on jacketed bullets as well as cast. i have shot a bunch of hornady jacketed with trail boss out of my ruger super redhawk in 44 mag.

i don't know about jacketed bullets, but i think it does not expand. cast boolits are a better option

[35remington]

Jacketed bullets risk sticking bullets in the barrel at velocities cast clear easily.....especially true if powder is near bullet on firing. Do not go too low or risk a ringed barrel from a stuck bullet with jacketed.

2.5 Trailboss and a jacketed bullet is asking for trouble.

[JSnover]

Jacketed bullets risk sticking bullets in the barrel at velocities cast clear easily.....especially true if powder is near bullet on firing. Do not go too low or risk a ringed barrel from a stuck bullet with jacketed.

2.5 Trailboss and a jacketed bullet is asking for trouble.

Been there and done that. Low noise/recoil for new shooters isn't necessarily a bad idea, just don't go too low.

[SSGOldfart]

well DR the older Speer manuals #9 &#10 have a few reduced loads for the j words,you can always use the universal load of 8 to 10gr. Of unique,or red dot,some cowboy shooters use trail boss,I've never used trail boss because I've never found it.:bigsmyl2:

[petroid]

I think the OP was loading for 38 SPL. I don't think anywhere near 8 grains of Unique could be considered safe with any bullet

[Mk42gunner]

I've never used Trailboss, or tried to run jacketed bullets at that low velocity. My Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading, fifth ed doesn't list any jacketed loads slower than 800 fps with 125 grainers, for what its worth. They used a 4" S&W Model 15.

Sticking a bullet in the bore is one thing on the range, where you might catch it before something bad happens; doing it in a self defense scenario would be very bad news.

I would rather carry a gun full of 148 midrange wadcutters than take a chance like that.

Robert

[SSGOldfart]

I think the OP was loading for 38 SPL. I don't think anywhere near 8 grains of Unique could be considered safe with any bullet
Yes Sir you are correct I miss read the post,this is a good example of why we need to check a load,with a manual,before using that data. with the 38 special maybe he should be looking at a wadcutter target load and not a jacketed bullet load

[dangerranger]

Thanks Guys! I was not able to find any data below 800 FPS. Probably because Jacketed bullets were not designed to work that slow. None of the hollow points are going to open at that speed anyway. If they want to shoot a low performance load till her hand is rehabbed it will have to be cast! DR

[paul h]

Using jacketed bullets with loads much less than published starting loads is just asking for a stuck bullet.

[BD]

The coefficient of friction between a gliding metal jacket and the interior of a clean barrel is much higher that the cof between a lubricated cast boolit and that same barrel. "mouse fart" loads are one thing using cast lead, they are an entirely different thing using jacketed bullets as they significantly increase the risk of a squib at the same time that they significantly increase the danger of a catastrophic failure shooting over that squib when using jacketed. I personally wouldn't go there.

[opos]

Just wondering if maybe a coated lead bullet might be an answer....I've just started to shoot some of the Missouri "high tech" coated bullets with Trail Boss and with w231 and it's clean, can be loaded fairly light and no chance of leaving a jacket in the barrel....I have bad arthritis and recoil is not my friend...just a thought.

[lar45]

Goodsteel has a revolver barrel that he has milled one side off there is a pile of bullets stacked up in the middle of the barrel.
I'll see if he can post a pic of it.
That will answer the question of low velocity jacketed

[MBTcustom]

Uberti pistol with a bulged barrel
152767
152768
Definitely has more than one stuck
152769
What do you think? 4 bullets? 5 bullets? More?
152770
Try a dozen. Probably a light, low recoil load for fun Sunday plinking eh? Good thing too, because after it stuck three jacketed bullets, it was able to get 9 more cast bullets stacked up behind it without turning it into a hand grenade.
152771

Fella got lucky. I was able to save his pistol with a new barrel.
152772

My opinion: Leave the plinking to the cast and plated bullets. Jacketed bullets need power to get them through the barrel.

[square butte]

Holy Cow - Nice cross section job Goodsteel

[lar45]

A picture is worth a thousand words!

[Groo]

Groo here
You can load the "coated" bullets like falcon or black&blue light with no soft lube problems.
Or try the plated if your range required,.
But NO loading cup and lead jackets or all copper bullets light.
I stuck one too[ ONCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]