Reloading for pistol caliber rifles

[flatwins]

If you're going to make your own or reload with lead bullets, you need to match the hardness of your bullet with the velocity you're going to push them at and make sure that they fit your bore correctly. This site will tell you all you ever wanted to know about it----

castboolits.com

Thanks for the info. I'll check it out. FWIW, on these lever actions, I'm pretty much wanting to load for plinking so the cowboy action loads are the "hotness" I'm looking at.

 

[Jefpainthorse]

Ditto the hardcast and gas checks...

Also... slugging your barrel to get the proper diameter of lead bullet will help accuracy a whole bunch

Every rifle and carbine out there will favor a pet load. I know a few folks who got Microgrove Marlins to produce very good accuracy and velocity using cast lead bullets

 

[Roadking Larry]

Didn't catch this one before.

My experience with .38 spec/.357mag in a Marlin 1894C.
I shoot almost exclusively cast through it, with the Lee 158gr RNFP bevel base bullet. It is a 1980 vintige making it a Micro-groove barrel. The #1 cure and solution to leading is bullet to bore fit in these rifles. If you match your bullet diameter to bore size leading is just not a problem as long as you keep velocities within cast bullet parameters, I have pushed this bullet to 1900 fps with no noticeable leading, accuracy went to crap but it didn't lead up. Accuracy with cast bullets out of marlin micro-groove barrels can be just as good or better than with jacketed bullets.

 

[Blitzfike]

I load several different pistol caliber carbines. On the high powered stuff (44 mag) I load jacketed or plated bullets, ditto for the gas operated stuff. I shoot a bunch of 45 colt, 45 acp 40sw cast lead in carbines. The 40sw I load pretty warm using a slower powder (AA#7) and get superb results and increased velocity with it. I have a 44 mag lever gun that will handle cast or jacketed equally well, and a Ruger 44 mag carbine that I don't shoot lead in at all. I have shot a few hundred plated bullets in the 44 mag with good results. Blitzfike

 

[flatwins]

I loaded up some plated 38 fairly lightly and went plinking with my 1866 lever last weekend. I didn't see how they grouped on paper but I was knocking down pig silhouettes at 100 yards. Nothing special but I was just having fun rather than putting too much science into it. I'll load up some more in the same fashion but also want to load some with more heat. I'll try some lead too.

 

[WhiteyMacD]

If you want to be historical, most rifles that were carried were in pistol calibers so the guy didnt have to carry 2 different types of ammo. Back then, it was all lead.

But a good hardcast bullet should be GTG.