How do I choose a bullet weight?

6GunJustice

6GunJustice

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
Location
BC
I'm just putting the final touches to my garage bench and plan to begin reloading. I will begin with my most expensive cartridge .454 Casull. I've done enough research to know I need H110 powder and magnum rifle primers, but I am unsure of what bullet weight/type to choose ... what is the difference between 250gr and 350gr? Lead vs. full jacket? ... that type of thing.

Thanks in advance.

6Gun
 
I don't know how I figured it out. I always like shooting heavy for caliber bullets so when I got my 454 Casull I looked at what was available in that range and then went and bought the 340gr bullets for it.
 
Lighter bullets generally can be driven faster. Jacketed bullets will not deposit lead in your barrel. Nothing wrong with lead bullets as long as you realize that you have to reduce the powder charge. Heavier bullets will have more recoil than lighter bullets. If you are just starting out in reloading I would recommend you stick to jacketed bullets.
 
When I started I found the easiest place to start was to use bullets similar to what I was already using in factory ammo. From there you can try different things (so long as you have published load data for it).
 
RSA1 said:
Hi 6GunJustice,

My reloading manuals only refer to using small rifle primers, not Magnum.

RSA1
Click to expand...

not gonna hurt using magnum primers though, especially using h110/w296

LUTNIT said:
When I started I found the easiest place to start was to use bullets similar to what I was already using in factory ammo. From there you can try different things (so long as you have published load data for it).
Click to expand...

same thing i did when i got my 500 mag, went with factory weights then got casting with other weights.

6GunJustice said:
I'm just putting the final touches to my garage bench and plan to begin reloading. I will begin with my most expensive cartridge .454 Casull. I've done enough research to know I need H110 powder and magnum rifle primers, but I am unsure of what bullet weight/type to choose ... what is the difference between 250gr and 350gr? Lead vs. full jacket? ... that type of thing.

Thanks in advance.

6Gun
Click to expand...



another thing that will help is looking through your reloading manuals for different bullets and weights, even has load data :)
 
If the reloads are "hammers of Thor" it will be no fun to shoot. Be about as useful as a 2' member(manhood). Something toward the light end of the reloading manual will get the gun used a lot more.
 
emerson said:
If the reloads are "hammers of Thor" it will be no fun to shoot. Be about as useful as a 2' member(manhood). Something toward the light end of the reloading manual will get the gun used a lot more.
Click to expand...

Speak for yourself. Many love "hammers of Thor" loads, myself included.
 
joe-nwt said:
Speak for yourself. Many love "hammers of Thor" loads, myself included.
Click to expand...

That may be, but I'm sure many more get tired/sore/flinchy and don't shoot their big expensive stuff much. Big loads are great to talk about, but hit hard at both ends. For a round or 2 hunting it might be ok, if flinching doesn't become a problem. Even semi-pro hunters don't seem to send dozens of 458 etc downrange for practice.
 
You don't need magnum primers unless your manual says to use 'em. They have nothing whatever to do with the cartridge or its name. They are about the powder only. Don't recall H110 needing 'em. Only used it, briefly, for .30 Carbine,
You choose the bullet weight for the job. Heavy bullets are good for longer distances. They do add to the felt recoil. Think physics.
 
YES you must use magnum primers with H110/Win 296 (same powder I'm told) and a good heavy roll crimp. I've used many kegs of 296 in 357s and 44s and have learned all the ins and outs of this hard to light powder. However no other powder gives the velocities in the big handgun cases as these 2 do. Select which ever bullet you wish to use, do NOT use H110/296 with non jacketed bullets as these powders cannot be reduced enough to get velocities into lead bullet range. There are many better powders for lead bullets at 800-1000 fps. If you try to reduce H110/296 you will end up with a squib load that can lodge a bullet in your forcing cone or barrel (if using a rifle) and have a very hazardous situation. I personally prefer heavy for caliber bullets in the big handgun cases, I have always used 300 gnrs in my 44s even before they were common. I used to buy Barnes 300s for the 444 before any one made them for handguns, and shoot them in all my 44s.
For lead bullet loads in my 44s I always used Unique because it is very accurate and was always readily available in Whitehorse. A lot of guys were using it for lead loads so the stores always had it. It is one of the dirtiest powders on the market though, so with all the new powders out there, there is probably a better choice now.
 
emerson said:
That may be, but I'm sure many more get tired/sore/flinchy and don't shoot their big expensive stuff much. Big loads are great to talk about, but hit hard at both ends. For a round or 2 hunting it might be ok, if flinching doesn't become a problem. Even semi-pro hunters don't seem to send dozens of 458 etc downrange for practice.
Click to expand...

Again, speak for yourself. Many big bore silhouette shooters would disagree with you, for instance. Each individual will figure out their own level of comfort. if the OP has been shooting factory until now, I'm sure he's quite familiar with top end loads.
 
I guess all that matters is that you and the OP enjoy shooting a lot of heavy loads through your handguns. It has been my experience that the majority of shooters are less recoil tolerant (ie accuracy suffers) than they believe, be it with handguns or rifles. The rifle silhouette crowd seem to gravitate toward the most powerful cartridges with the least recoil. Most shooters are reluctant to admit recoil effects their shooting because they will be labelled female cats, not logical decision makers.
 
I personally like shooting heavy loads now and then just because IT IS SO MUCH FUN, but I will also be reloading a bunch of .45 Colt as I can shoot both with my Super Redhawk. This will give me the best of both worlds I think. I'll probably start with 350gr jacketed (factory loads I currently shoot) but I will probably experiment abit with different bullets and find my liking ... I've shot 250gr before and they seemed abit wimpy - slightly more recoil than the .45 Colt.

Thanks for your info everyone!

6Gun
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom