Trail Boss

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TomorrowNeverKnows

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So I have a few pounds of Trail Boss left over that I was hoping to use with Campro plated bullets. I see a lot of old posts online about Trail Boss being ok to use with plated bullets, but can't find any load data for 357 or 44. Anyone use Trail Boss with anything other than lead bullets?
 
There is no reason why you can't. Trail boss was designed for the cowboy action crowd so not likely to find data on plated Bullets. I use it in 38's but wouldn't hesitate to use plated Bullets. For the velocity you get from TB, there is no real reason to use anything other than lead though.
 
dogzilla said:
There is no reason why you can't. Trail boss was designed for the cowboy action crowd so not likely to find data on plated Bullets. I use it in 38's but wouldn't hesitate to use plated Bullets. For the velocity you get from TB, there is no real reason to use anything other than lead though.
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I just want to use up the rest of my Trail Boss powder and don't want to deal with the mess of lead bullets again. Campro bullets just slide right in.
 
Trail boss is a lot of fun with any bullet. Seat the bullet to desired depth, mark the bottom of the bullet on the case. Fill case with TB to this mark, weigh the powder and this is your max load. Subtract 30% for your starting load. Find the load with the best group and enjoy. Do not compress.

I use it for cowboy sass and plinking loads in most of my guns
 
Doors of Perception said:
Trail boss is a lot of fun with any bullet. Seat the bullet to desired depth, mark the bottom of the bullet on the case. Fill case with TB to this mark, weigh the powder and this is your max load. Subtract 30% for your starting load. Find the load with the best group and enjoy. Do not compress.

I use it for cowboy sass and plinking loads in most of my guns
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Thanks I have read a lot about the filling the case to the base of the bullet as a max load but couldn't find anything official since Hodgdon removed that Trail Boss PDF a lot of people reference in older posts. I have a lot of Trail Boss and a lot of Campro 158gr so might as well load a few to try it out.
 
If it's not published don't do it. Many don't realize in handloading a soft lead bullet and plated bullet data has to be different at the low end. Otherwise you end up with a plated bullet actually stuck in your barrel. Plated bullets come apart quite differently than lead. Resulting in often larger jacket pieces. I once fired a 44 special inside an indoor range using plated bullets with reference to cowboy load velocity (not published) A handgun shooter three places away was rewarded with a piece of plated bullet struck him in his thigh. Thankfully was not enough juice to actually hurt him.
Never, ever again!!!
 
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Brutus said:
If it's not published don't do it. Many don't realize in handloading a soft lead bullet and plated bullet data has to be different at the low end. Otherwise you end up with a plated bullet actually stuck in your barrel. Plated bullets come apart quite differently than lead. Resulting in often larger jacket pieces. I once fired a 44 special inside an indoor range using plated bullets with reference to cowboy load velocity (not published) A handgun shooter three places away was rewarded with a piece of plated bullet struck him in his thigh. Thankfully was not enough juice to actually hurt him.
Never, ever again!!!
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So you're saying that a plated bullet came apart immediately after leaving the muzzle and a piece went more than 90 degrees to your side to hit another shooter?
I've had 223 bullets come apart but the pieces still went down range, what you describe sounds like a ricochet, not a bullet jacket coming apart.

Maybe I'm misinterpreting your wording but that doesn't even sound possible. Nothing is going to travel down the barrel at 1000fps then turn 90-100 degrees as soon as it clears the muzzle. The pieces should travel down range like a shotgun spreading out as they get further away.

I do agree that someone should never load unless it's published data but Trailboss is a weird one that can be used for a lot of things. I use it behind a 150gr 308 bullet in my 300 Blackout bolt action. Works great for a cheap subsonic plinking load.
 
I think what he was saying was that the bullet hit the target, shattered and came back to hit the guy. That actually happens a lot in cowboy shooting even with lead since you are shooting at plates @ 10 yds or so. I just found TB to be dirty as hell. In my 1873 lever gun I had to run it dry, because if there was any oil at all, the residue would form a paste and actually gum up the shell lifter by the end of the match. I use Red dot now, and am running TB thru my 38 and 44 special revolvers just to get rid of it
 
dogzilla said:
I think what he was saying was that the bullet hit the target, shattered and came back to hit the guy. That actually happens a lot in cowboy shooting even with lead since you are shooting at plates @ 10 yds or so. I just found TB to be dirty as hell. In my 1873 lever gun I had to run it dry, because if there was any oil at all, the residue would form a paste and actually gum up the shell lifter by the end of the match. I use Red dot now, and am running TB thru my 38 and 44 special revolvers just to get rid of it
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Well that certainly makes a lot more sense but that is a projectile selection for the intended use issue not a load data for plated bullets issue.
 
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